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“Totally,” Kim agreed.
“She does it awfully well,” Beth murmured, watching the woman.
While Amanda was greeting Ben, Hank looked over her head and saw Beth and the girls. He offered a real smile. “Hey there.”
“Hi, Hank,” Beth called.
“Hey, you remember our cousin Gerald, right?” Amanda said.
“Absolutely.” By then the two men had walked over to her. Hank gave her a kiss on the cheek and greeted the two girls. Gerald took her hand. “Small world, huh?”
“Not really, considering how close we are to home,” she told him.
“True,” he said with a laugh, then turned to the girls. “Amber, if you get any taller, you’ll be giving me a run for the money. And…don’t tell me, it’s…Kimmy, right?”
“Kim,” the girl corrected.
“Kim,” he agreed. She blushed slightly. He was nice, not condescending, and it was apparently appreciated.
“Fish all right for everyone?” Keith called out. “We’ve got hot dogs and hamburger patties, as well, for any landlubbers.”
“I’d love a hot dog,” Kim called out, hurrying toward the barbecue. A pleasant aroma was already beginning to emanate from the portable cooker. Amber followed her friend, leaving Beth behind with the other adults.
“Beth, how nice to see you here,” Amanda said. She walked over, perfect smile in place. “You have the weekend off?” she asked politely, as if surprised.
“Hello, Amanda. Yes, I have the weekend off.”
Amanda looked disapproving. “I would have thought they really needed you, what with the tourists and all. I suppose the club really does run itself. Still, I’m surprised the commodore didn’t want your lovely face around.”
“I’m sure he can manage on his own for a few days,” Beth said sweetly. “Have you met Sandy and Brad?”
“Briefly,” Amanda said, turning.
It was enough for Beth.
She escaped.
To get anywhere, though, she had to pass the barbecue, since the three men had their tents set up in the other direction, and if she made a point of going around the barbecue, she would be heading inland, into the dense foliage, rather than along the sand.
She had nearly made it past when Amber caught her arm. “Aunt Beth, come see. Everything looks perfect!”
She smiled weakly as Keith expertly flipped a fillet, then shook a mixture of seasonings onto it.
“That looks great,” Amber told him, though her enthusiasm sounded forced.
“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather have a hot dog, like Kim?” He laughed at her grateful expression and put another hot dog on the grill.
“You guys are ready for all occasions,” Beth murmured. She was wedged between her niece and Keith Henson. They were almost touching. Almost. Not quite.
“Well, it’s not that I can’t—we can’t—rough it, but a few conveniences are nice,” he said. He looked at her. The sun was slipping lower toward the horizon, and in the deepening shadows, his eyes seemed darker than ever. She felt as if he was staring at her with the same suspicion she felt for him.
“We have two-bedroom tents!” Amber said.
“I’m not really sure you could call them bedrooms,” Beth murmured.
“Well, I only have a one-bedroom tent,” Keith said. “But it’s still a convenience when it rains. What I really like is just to sleep on the sand and stare up at the stars.”
“Yeah, that’s cool,” Amber agreed.
“I think your dad wants you in the tent tonight,” Beth said, once again afraid her words sounded sharper than she’d intended.
She saw Keith’s lips tighten as he tried to hide a smile. Yes, she was definitely on edge, and it was showing.
“Amber?” Ben called, and she scampered off, Kim following in her wake.
“So, have you got padlocks on those tents?” Keith asked.
She flushed, but stared defiantly back at him. “You’re strangers,” she said, feeling that no other explanation was needed.
The smile he had been hiding turned into a deep grin that brought out his dimples once again. “So are Brad and Sandy.”
“They’re not three guys.”
“Are you sure we’re not going to poison the fish?” he asked.
“I hadn’t thought of it,” she admitted, but stared at him with a grim smile. “Maybe I should have.”
“Ouch. That’s a challenge. I can take a bite of yours first, if you want.”
“I’ll live dangerously.”
He looked out across the sand, then at her. “Do you come here often?”
“Yes. Well, usually. Not this year. This is the first time this year.” She didn’t know why she was stumbling around to explain. She didn’t owe him any explanations. She kept talking anyway. “We spent our vacation in the Bahamas this year. This used to be the last weekend of summer vacation. Now, the girls have already been back at school for a few weeks. And for Christmas, we all went to Denver. Even though it’s so close, this is the first time we’ve been out here this year. And you?”
“I’ve dived the area dozens of times,” he said, turning his attention to the fish once again. “But there was never really any reason to stop at the island.”
“I thought Lee was the one who knew the area,” she reminded him sharply.
He smiled. “Lee knows it best. But I have been here before. Just not to this island.”
“So why now?” she demanded.
He arched a brow. He was answering slowly, she thought. Too slowly. “Well…” He laughed. “Because it’s here, I guess.”
“So you’re really here for the diving? Not the fishing?”
“Obviously we’ve been fishing.” He smiled and nodded toward the grill.
“But you’re mainly here to dive.”
“Has it suddenly become illegal?” he queried, laughter in his eyes again.
“Of course not.”
“I love diving here,” he told her, and she felt that he was being totally honest at that moment. Actually, she couldn’t think of anything he’d said that hadn’t sounded honest. Was she being ridiculously suspicious? Even if she had seen a skull, Ben was right. There was no reason to suspect that a man appearing then would have anything to do with a skull that had been on the beach for days, maybe longer. So why was she so suspicious?
Because he frightened her in too many ways?
“Excuse me. I think I’ll get a beer,” she murmured, slipping past him, but she intended a smooth exit. She stepped a little too quickly and a little too close. She felt the tension in his muscles, then nearly careened sideways into him.
“Excuse me,” she murmured again, afraid she was blushing. She hurried away and walked right past the cooler, then remembered she had said she was going for a beer. She quickly secured one, then went to stand by her brother’s side.
Sandy and Brad were telling stories about diving the Great Barrier Reef. She had to admit that she’d never been.
Amanda, however, could agree with them on the beauty of the dive.
“Such a long flight, though,” Sandy said.
“Oh, it was really a lovely jaunt for me,” Amanda gushed. “We went with some of Father’s associates, sailed for months and saw zillions of islands, and then went on to Australia. The week in Fiji was my favorite, I think. Though Tahiti was fabulous, too. We had such a darling little place there. While the yacht was being cleaned, we had charming and very private rooms right on the beach. The sunrises were exquisite, the sunsets even more so.”
“Hey, all we have to do is step out of our tents tomorrow morning for the same effect,” Keith said, arriving with a large plate of grilled fish. “There are some fantastic sunrises right here.” He offered Amanda a broad smile. Flirtatious? Or intended to take some of the sting out of his reminder that their own home offered a world-class beauty.
“Oh, yes, this area is fabulous, as well.” Amanda smiled meaningfully at Beth. “Especially when you really can’t go anywhere else.”
Beth smiled back, all the while envisioning dumping the ice in the cooler over the woman’s head.
“Soup’s on!” Matt announced cheerfully.
There were a few camp chairs, and Matt had spread blankets out on the sand. A looped palm offered a few seats perfectly created by nature, and with her plate filled with fish and potato salad, Beth found herself claiming the tree as a chair. Hank took the seat next to her, but when Amanda called to him, begging him to get her something to drink, he left, and she found herself being joined by Keith. She wondered if he was seeking her out on purpose. And then she wondered why. She didn’t have a lack of confidence, it was just that…well, Amanda Mason was there, and she was the far better flirt, on top of being an undeniably alluring woman.
“So you work for a yacht club?” Keith asked.
“Yes.” She waved a hand in the air. “I work for it. They belong to it.”
He laughed. “Are you supposed to be the poor little rich girl or something?”
She shook her head, looking at him. “I like working there. It’s fun.” She hesitated, wondering why she kept feeling compelled to explain things to him. “My brother is a member, so if I weren’t working there, I’d have all his privileges. Working there pays well, and I get free dockage, which Ben uses, since employees get that perk and members don’t, and he owns a boat and I don’t. I see some of the most luxurious and beautiful yachts in the world. And meet some of the nicest people. Mostly.”
“Mostly?” He offered her a slow, wry smile.
“Mostly,” she repeated, refusing to say more. Had the tension in her relationship with Amanda been so evident to a stranger?
“It’s always interesting when you get around boats,” he said. “Some people are as rich as Croesus and you’d never know it, they’re just so down to earth. Some are as poor as church mice, putting everything they have into staying on the water. And they’re just as nice. But don’t ever kid yourself. The sea can breed demons.”
She looked up at him, startled, but he was rising, looking toward the group that had drawn around the fire.
Had he been warning her about something?
Maybe himself?
The light had faded in earnest. No more deep blues, purples, streaks of gold or any other color. Night had come.
In the far distance, a faint glow could be seen, coming from the lights along the heavily populated coast of south Florida. But on the island, there was nothing except for the glow from the fire. Around them, the foliage of the inner island had become blanketed in shadows.
The wind stirred, creating a rustle.
“The girls want to hear some ghost stories,” Lee called out to Keith.
“I said pirate stories,” Amber said, laughing.
“Pirates would be ghosts, by now,” Ben told his daughter, amused.
“Most of the time,” Keith said, moving toward the fire. “Except that there are modern-day pirates. All over the world.”
“Too real,” Amanda protested with a shiver. Of course, she was still clad in nothing but the skinny bathing suit. Sure, they were on a semitropical island. But the sea breezes at night could be cool.
Keith noticed her discomfort. He slipped off his shirt and draped it around her shoulders. She flashed him a beautiful smile. He smiled back.
It was a simple gesture of courtesy, but it made Beth lower her head, wondering how she could allow someone like Amanda to irritate her so much.
“Okay, so we want an old-fashioned pirate ghost story, right?” Keith asked. He didn’t remain behind Amanda but strode toward the center of the group, closer to the fire. He hunkered down by the flames, forcing Beth to wonder if he was aware that the flames added a haunting quality to his classic features.
“I’ll tell you the tale of the Sea Star and La Doña. Both were proud ships with billowing white sails! But one was English, and the other sailed under the flag of Spain. The Sea Star sailed from London in the year of our Lord 1725. Her captain was a fierce man, loyal to the core to the king. England and Spain were hardly on the best of terms, and Jonathan Pierce, the captain, was eager to seize a Spanish ship full of gold from the New World.
“Captain Pierce, however, wasn’t sailing alone. Along with his crew, he was carrying a party of nobility. One of them was the Lady Marianne Howe, daughter of the governor of one of the small islands, and he was unaware that a year earlier, her ship had run aground on coral shoals and she’d been saved by a handsome young Spaniard, Alonzo Jimenez. Of course, under the circumstances, despite the fact that the young Spaniard and his crew had simply returned the Englishmen and women he had rescued to the governor in Virginia—asking no ransom, no reward, and ignoring the hostilities between the countries—there could be no happy ending for Marianne and Alonzo. Not only was he a Spaniard, but an untitled one, at that.
“Still, Marianne had managed to keep in contact with him, smuggling out love letters. She was ready to cast aside her title, her fortune and her family, all for Alonzo. He had arranged to hide his ship here, around the curve of Calliope Key—”
“Calliope Key?” Kim interrupted. “Where we are now?”
“Of course. What good would a ghost story be if it weren’t about this island?” Keith asked, smiling slightly.
His voice was perfect for the tale, Beth thought. It was a rich, deep voice. She had to admit that she was as seduced as the others.
“Oh, right,” Amber murmured.
Beth looked at her niece with a certain amusement. Amber was—and always had been—capable of sitting through the scariest horror movie. Now, however, her eyes were very wide.
Keith Henson—whatever he was really up to—had a talent for storytelling. With the strange fire glow on his face and the deep, intense rasp of his voice, he held them all enthralled.
“Go on,” Ben said, his profound interest surprising Beth.
“Well, the young lovers never intended harm toward anyone. Marianne was a strong swimmer. She simply meant to get close enough to her lover’s ship to escape into the sea, then find refuge on the island until he could come to her. With any luck, the Sea Star would have been long gone before anyone noticed she wasn’t aboard.
“But while Marianne was conducting her daring escape into the sea, Captain Pierce was sending spies out in his small boats to get the lay of the land—well, the sea. Just as Marianne was reaching shore, news reached Pierce about the Spaniard hiding past the reefs. He manned his guns. Meanwhile, Alonzo had taken a boat to shore…this shore, right here, where our fire now burns. Just as he and Marianne met, the first cannons exploded. It was a fierce battle, and Alonzo was brokenhearted, watching his friends lead the fight…and die. His ship, La Doña, was sunk. Many of his men tried to swim to shore but were cut down by the English before they could reach landfall. Marianne was desperate that her lover not be caught, but Alonzo was brave to a fault. When Captain Pierce came ashore, following the Spanish crew, he prepared to fight. Their swords clashed so hotly that sparks flew. Then Captain Pierce was unarmed. He had lost the fight. Alonzo, however, refused to deliver the coup de grâce. He stepped back, and said that all he wanted was a small boat for himself and Marianne. Captain Pierce showed no gratitude for the fact that his life had been spared. His men came upon them, and he ordered that Alonzo should hang. Marianne was hysterical, heartbroken, and ashamed that her countryman could behave with so little honor. As Alonzo was dragged away, Pierce assured her that she would forget their enemy, and that he would be her new lover and her husband. Marianne wiped away her tears and approached him, and no doubt Captain Pierce assumed she was ready to accept his offer. But she reached into his belt and drew his pistol. She shot him dead, but too late to save her lover, for even as the shot rang out, Alonzo swung from the hangman’s rope, crying out her name and his love—right before his neck snapped. Marianne, desperate in her grief, turned the gun on herself.
“And as that shot went off, the Sea Star suddenly moved…drifting out to sea. The Englishmen on the island, stunned and frozen by what had occurred before their eyes, moved too slowly. They raced for their longboats and made to sea. But neither they nor the Sea Star were ever seen again. Sometimes, they say, at night, the ship can be seen, riding the wind and the waves, only to disappear into the clouds or over the horizon.”
