Ambrosia Shore (The Water Keepers, Book 3)

by Christie Anderson

  “That’s good to hear,” I said, humoring her. “Why don’t we go take it back inside the house so you don’t lose it again?”

  She patted my arm with a shaky hand. “You’re certainly right, dear.” And then she shuffled her little feet so quickly across the barn that I was suddenly struggling to keep up with her.

  A moment later, we were safely back inside Andella’s house where she went straight to busying herself with making me a snack despite my protests. Meanwhile, I pulled out Rayne’s cell phone and stared at it, wishing it would ring so Jax could tell me that my father was finding a way to meet up with me at this very moment to make everything right again.

  Andella reappeared in the front room with a tray full of pastries. “I haven’t seen you in such a long time,” she said, cheerfully handing me a warm cup of reddish-pink liquid. “It’s nice of you to stop by.”

  I paused as I accepted the cup from her outstretched hand. Earlier in the day, Rayne’s grandmother seemed to be mixing me up with one of her children or grandchildren, and now it seemed like, at least in her mind, I was an old friend dropping by for a visit. I didn’t know what else to do but play along. I figured, as long as she wasn’t accusing me of being an intruder, we were both going to be fine.

  I moved my nose down over the edge of my cup to get a better look, and a soothing aroma wafted up through the steam. It was some kind of spicy, fruity cider that I assumed was made from Lizzy fruit. The woman did live in an orchard full of them, after all. I allowed a few sips of the cider to ease down my throat, hoping the warmth would calm my tense nerves.

  I wondered if Rayne’s grandmother was even aware that some men had been on her property to haul her innocent grandson off to jail. She certainly didn’t seem upset. I didn’t think she even noticed that anyone was gone, not even Rayne’s family members who had left early in the morning to go to the hospital. She just nibbled away at a triangle-shaped pastry while urging me to, “Eat them while they’re hot, dear.”

  It hadn’t been that long since I first called Jax, probably less than an hour, and there really wasn’t anything I could do until I heard back from him. So, I picked up a triangle drizzled in white glaze and started to eat.

  Just as I finished the last bite of my pastry, Andella stood from her chair without saying a word, without even looking at me for that matter, like I wasn’t even there. She left her cup of cider and half-eaten pastry sitting on the coffee table as she exited the room. My eyes trailed after her, wondering if she was planning to come back, wondering if she would even remember how to get back. But only a moment later, she reappeared, clutching the same brown book she brought in from the barn earlier.

  Andella sat down beside me on the sofa. “This is for you,” she said, placing the book in my lap. She nodded, encouraging me to take it.

  “Um…okay,” I said. “Did you want me to read it to you?”

  Andella went on without answering my question. “I’ve been saving it for you,” she said proudly, “just like you asked me to. It had been so long, I wasn’t sure you would come back, but here you are. I kept it nice and safe.”

  I felt bad for her. She obviously thought I was someone else, probably whoever gave her this book a long time ago; poor old thing.

  “Of course you did,” I said, trying to smile. “Thank you very much.”

  Andella took my hand and patted it between her palms. “Yes, how wonderful,” she said with a sigh, continuing to pat my hand, but a moment later she stood up. “Now, I hate to make you rush off, dear, but I’m afraid I’m a little weary today; you understand.”

  Andella motioned for me to follow her as she walked to the front door. Apparently, our visit was over.

  “So nice to see you,” she said, urging me outside. “Come again soon.”

  I stood on the porch, unsure how to react as Rayne’s grandmother gave me a final wave goodbye and shut the door. For a moment, I stared at the closed door, clutching the old book in my hand. That whole conversation was just…odd.

  But, I figured if I got bored at least I would have something to read. For now, I decided not to disturb Andella and started across the path toward Rayne’s parents’ house. Just as I strolled around the front side of the yard to check out Binnie’s rose garden, Rayne’s cell phone finally started to ring. I was seriously relieved when I saw Jax’s number on the screen.

  I answered the phone as fast as I could. “Tell me you have good news,” I said hopefully.

  “Well,” Jax replied. “I could lie if you’d like.”

  My jaw tightened. “Please say that you’re just teasing me, Jax.”

  “Sorry, love, I wish I were.”

  “So, what happened?” I complained. “I thought you were supposed to be Mr. big shot with connections and all that.”

  “I am,” Jax said. “Believe me; I’m just as baffled as you are. The Ambassador isn’t back in Banya yet, so I went to the border to pass through the Threshold to call him, but they wouldn’t let me through. Me! Jax Bennett! They said my clearance has been temporarily suspended, whatever that’s supposed to mean. But don’t worry, Sadie. I plan to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible. The only people who can revoke my clearance are members of the Council, not some weak little Border Patrol guard.”

  “So, what am I supposed to do now?” I asked, frustrated.

  “I guess you could wait until the Ambassador returns, and then set something up.”

  I started pacing around the flower garden. “And do you happen to have any idea when he might be coming back?”

  “I couldn’t really tell you,” Jax said. “As far as I know, he’s never been gone this long before. Actually, I was hoping maybe you would know.”

  “Me?” I said, surprised. “What makes you think that I would have any idea?”

  Jax chuckled. “Oh, I don’t know…maybe a little something called Operation Sadie…”

  “Operation Sadie? Jax, I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Don’t worry,” he said deviously. “Your secrets are safe with me, Sade.”

  I shook my head, not anywhere near in the mood for his games. “Whatever you say, Jax. Look,” I said, squinting, “how long do you think it will take to clear up this border clearance thing?”

  “I don’t know,” Jax said bluntly. “I’ve never had this problem before. But I doubt it will take long. You know my father is the head of security around here, right? What am I saying? Of course you do; everyone knows that. I’ll just call him up and ask him to step in. He does stuff like that for me all the time. The boys over at Border Patrol have to do whatever my father tells them.”

  “Okay,” I said. “That sounds good. You need to call him as soon as we hang up. And call me back right after you talk to him. Oh, and don’t tell him that I’m the one who…you know…”

  “I know, I know,” Jax said dismissively. “I told you, Sade, your secret is safe with me.”

  I hung up the phone wondering what exactly Jax thought it was he knew, or really did know for that matter. Could he really know any of my secrets? Was he so annoyingly smart that he had already figured everything out? Or was he just messing with me for the fun of it? It did kind of seem like life was one big game to him.

  But he had to be at least a little suspicious, didn’t he? When I first met Jax, I was working with Nicole at a frozen yogurt shop in Newport Beach, he had even been to my house; and now I was on Ambrosia trying to act like I belonged here just like everybody else with a Watermark. Jax had to know there was something fishy going on. I just hoped that Jax was loyal enough to Rayne, or at least to the Ambassador, that he would help me out anyway, without pressing for the answers.

  There was so much to think about that my forehead started to cramp. I sat down on one of the stone benches in Binnie’s garden, hoping I could get myself to relax a little. The only thing I could think of to get my mind off things was to open the old leather book Andella gave me and start to read.

  I was surpri
sed when I opened the binding to find the pages covered in fancy-looking handwriting rather than typed print. This wasn’t a book at all; this was somebody’s journal. I was immediately intrigued. Then again, I was suddenly reminded that my own diary had been stolen several times—the most recent time by Jax of all people—and it was a terrible feeling to know that someone had been thumbing through my innermost thoughts for a bit of light reading, or even worse—to figure out how to lure me into a trap, like Voss did.

  I closed the book shut. It was the right thing to do. My fingers tapped on the smooth, worn out leather, making a mental note to myself to remember to get my diary back from Jax as soon as I had the chance.

  Of course…this journal was super old; the person who owned it was probably long gone by now. And whoever it was had left it in Andella’s possession, so they obviously didn’t care if she were to read it…

  Curiosity got the best of me. I flipped open to the first page and started to read:

  6 August 1625

  I could not have dreamed up a more absurd, improbable scenario than this. That I, Jane Carpenter, the once ridiculously naive and easily forgettable, Jane Carpenter, a person of little consequence, would be preparing to marry the most gallant, most honorable man I have ever had the privilege to converse with in all my nineteen years. Yet, it remains the truth. By this time on the morrow, the dashing Mr. William Fairbanks will be my lawful wedded husband and I will be his wife.

  Oh. My. Gosh. Was I reading this right? There was no way… I read the entire paragraph again. The frilly lettering was a little hard to read, so there was a chance I had made a mistake, wasn’t there? There had to be. There was just no way that this little brown book that just happened to fall into my lap by a delusional old lady was the actual journal of my ancestor, Jane Carpenter.

  But I read it again, and I could only come to the exact same conclusion. It was Jane Carpenter’s journal.

  8. TEASE

  How was it possible that I was holding a book written by my own ancestor almost four hundred years ago? What were the chances? And why did Rayne’s poor, confused old grandmother have it in the first place? Was it possible that Andella actually knew Jane Carpenter?

  I tried to do the math in my head. The first journal entry was dated back in 1625 when Jane said she was only nineteen, and Rayne told me the night before that his grandmother was over two hundred years old. So, if Jane Carpenter also lived for more than two hundred years, then, yes, it seemed completely possible that their lives had overlapped by at least a few years.

  When Andella gave me the book she seemed to be confusing me with someone else. She said she was keeping the book safe just like the person had asked her to. Was Jane Carpenter that person? Was Rayne’s grandmother confusing me with Jane? We were related after all. Maybe Jane and I looked similar to each other. But why would it be so important for her to keep the journal safe in the first place?

  I thought about running over to Andella’s house to pick her brain for answers, but she really didn’t seem like a reliable source at the moment. I decided that the best place to find the answers was right in the journal itself. I couldn’t help but continue reading:

  I haven’t been one to write much in the past, but am now doing so by the request of my beloved William who believes our journey to this world we now call Ambrosia, which began more than two years past, is of great importance and we would all be wise to make record of it. Although I find the pen wearisome at times, I would do near to anything that my William were to ask of me. And what a better time to begin to take note than on the eve of what is to be the most joyous of occasions?

  By some, at present, it is believed that I am a girl too young to be wed, and certainly not a proper match for the man who singlehandedly discovered the glorious divide that would lead our people to this blessed new land. But I for one will not allow the ignorance of others to affect my happiness, and certainly not on my own wedding day. Notwithstanding, these ill feelings are only shared by a select few, and I find the majority of those I am acquainted with to be quite in agreement of our union.

  Our many experiences these two years past have been most tiresome and have caused much grief at times, yet our small settlement continues to grow at a steady pace and we are nothing short of optimistic for our futures.

  I was so engrossed in my reading that when the phone in my hand began to buzz, I flinched and almost dropped the book to the ground.

  I tried to clear my head from the shock, fumbling with the buttons to answer. “Uh…hi, Jax.”

  “Okay, I talked to my father,” Jax began without taking a breath. “So, would you like the good news first…or the bad news?”

  I closed the book in my lap. “You mean there’s bad news again?”

  “Um, yes,” he continued matter-of-factly. “So the bad news is my father is not going to help me get my border clearance back at the moment because he’s the one who suspended it in the first place.”

  “It was your father?” I groaned.

  I could practically hear Jax’s eyes rolling as he said, “Apparently, he feels my, quote, vacation, has gone on long enough and it’s time for me to get back to business like all the other hard-working Scouts in Banya.”

  “He’s not going to fix it for you then?” I complained. “That’s just great. So was there really any good news, or were you just trying to make me feel better?”

  “Actually, there is some good news this time. My father was already aware of Rayne’s arrest. Before I even called him he stopped the Border Patrol on their way back to Banya and took Rayne into his own custody.”

  “Are you sure that’s a good thing?” I asked in alarm. “Rayne told me—”

  “Sadie, love,” Jax cut in. “My father is the third most powerful man on this planet, and he also happens to be a close, personal, long-time friend of Ambassador Fairbanks. He assured me that he will do everything in his power to ensure that the Ambassador is notified, as soon as possible, that one of his most trusted agents is being held in custody without his knowledge. I assure you, you have nothing to worry about.”

  “Well, okay…” I said, hesitating. “I mean, he is your father. If you feel sure that we can trust him in this situation…”

  “I’m sure,” Jax insisted. “In fact, he even offered to get you into the Court of Ambassadors to see Rayne if you wanted.”

  My eyes bulged open. “Jax! You told him I was involved?”

  “He already knew, Sadie. I’m telling you, my father is no idiot; he’s Head of Security over all of Ambrosia. He knows everything.”

  My fingers clenched around the phone. “What exactly did he say about me? Did you tell him where I am?”

  Suddenly, Jax started to laugh.

  “What’s so funny?” I demanded.

  “Oh, Sade,” he said. “You are too adorable. My father doesn’t know that you’re involved. I just can’t control myself from teasing you sometimes.”

  “Wait, so you were just joking?”

  “Well,” Jax explained, “he did seem extremely interested in finding out who this mystery girl is that would cause Rayne Stevens to go on a rampage to bring her across the border, but he doesn’t know it was you.”

  I took a deep breath and let it exhale slowly.

  “Although…” Jax went on, “I do know who this mystery girl is, and I’m very curious as to why the Ambassador was so concerned about getting her back to Ambrosia in one piece.”

  I really didn’t like where Jax was going with this. Rayne made it very clear that I shouldn’t tell anyone who I really was, including Jax.

  Then again, sometimes I wondered if I even knew the answer to that question. Who was I really? Rayne always made it sound like he was protecting me because I was something special, but after I had a chance to really think about it, I realized I was basically the illegitimate love-child resulting from some secret affair the Ambassador had with an Earth woman.

  I had to wonder…was Rayne really protecting me like he believ
ed he was, or was he sent to protect the Ambassador’s dirty little secret? Just thinking about it made me want to cringe.

  “There’s no big mystery,” I said to Jax, trying to sound relaxed. “I’m just a nobody who’s dating Rayne Stevens, and Rayne happens to be best friends with a guy who turned out to be a criminal. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and got caught in the middle of it, that’s all.”

  “Right,” Jax said sarcastically, “that makes perfect sense. Just in the wrong place…at the wrong time…”

  I wasn’t sure why I had bothered giving Jax an explanation in the first place. He was obviously not as dumb as he looked…or acted.

  “Fine, Jax,” I said. “You figured it out…I have a secret. But just so we’re clear, you should know that you’re probably the last person I’d ever consider telling.”

  “Good,” he answered. “Because you should know…there’s nothing I love more than a challenge.”

  I tried my best to ignore his remark. There weren’t many people I’d come across in my life that I couldn’t get along with—in fact, I could probably count them on less than one hand—but Jax was the newest exception to that list.

  “Can we please just get back to the real reason for this call?” I said. “Don’t you have any friends with border clearance; ones that wouldn’t mind doing you a small favor by running across the border to make a quick phone call to the Ambassador without asking any questions about the details?”

  “It’s possible I have a few of those I could call,” Jax offered. “So, why don’t you go grab your things, and we can see who we can get a hold of on our way back to the city?”

  “The city? What are you talking about?” I started to say, but then I felt someone’s presence right behind me, causing me to whirl around.

  “Surprise,” Jax said with a devilish grin, standing right behind me like he’d been spying on me for who knew how long.