“That’s what the photo shoot was for today. Getting ads out is my responsibility.”
“What’s the deal with all the pirate trappings in town?” Pepper glanced around the Smuggler’s Cove, making eye contact with a stuffed parrot. “On the surface Everland plays up the romance factor, it’s like such a…such a…”
“Sweet, safe community?” Elizabeth raised a brow. “Maybe even boring?”
“Not in a bad way though.Cuteboring.” Pepper made a face. “Sorry, I suffer from foot-in-mouth disease. There isn’t a cure.”
“That’s all right.” Elizabeth’s grin revealed a deep-set dimple. “You aren’t the first to describe us that way, and you won’t be the last. But looks around here can be deceiving. Many of the so-called respectable locals have pirate blood flowing through their veins. Our coastline used to crawl with them. The nearby islands provided safe havens, and the riverways provided the perfect hiding places for treasure.”
“Interesting.” Pepper sat back, fiddling with a napkin. “And all news to me.” This town had been nothing but a means to an end; she’d never spent time wondering about its people or history.
Elizabeth cocked her head, taking her measure. “How long have you been here?”
“Two days.” Strange. It felt like a lifetime.
“My goodness, brand new.” Elizabeth exclaimed. “All right then. Will? Kate? Who wants to tell her our story?”
Kate’s hand shot up fastest. “Three hundred years ago Cap’n Redbeard was the mostest feared pirate on the seven seas.” She sounded as if she recited a tale that she’d heard a thousand times. “He plundered ships, took gold, and left no prisoners.”
“And then—” Will interrupted.
“Hey!” Kate brandished her spoon like a natural. Maybe Elizabeth was right and they did all have pirate blood.
“He hid his treasure where no one can find it,” Will said.
“Here.” Kate jabbed a finger on the table. “In Everland.”
“The General says Redbeard paddled up the river and buried it under a full moon.”
“But no one knows where ’zactly. Redbeard told only two people about the secret spot.” The girl held up fingers for emphasis. “His first and second mates.”
“Then English soldiers caught him.”
“He got shot—”
“Stabbed—”
“And his head…” Kate made a neck-slashing gesture that left little to the imagination. “Stuck on a spike on Four Skull Island as a warning to others.”
Pepper’s head spun and ears rang. These kids definitely didn’t know the meaning of inside voices.
“The first mate founded Everland. The second mate, Hogg Jaw. As far as we know, neither of the men ever told a soul about the location,” Elizabeth interjected.
“Or if they did, they chopped out their tongues.” Will shoveled in another scoop of ice cream, relishing the bloody tale’s more gory aspects. “Each town says they have the missing treasure. The General’s been hunting it for how long?”
Kate shrugged, scratching the side of her nose. “Long as Mama has been alive.”
“Yeah, like eighty years.”
“Hey, now! That’s enough of all that.” Elizabeth squeezed the slice of lemon into her sweet tea. “They don’t realize that I stopped counting at twenty-nine,” she said with a wink. “Twenty-nine was a good year.”
“Isn’t that when you had us?” Kate asked.
“That’s right.” Elizabeth’s smile was one of a woman who enjoyed everything her life had to offer.
The sight turned Pepper a pale green. Aspirational pangs were the worst, the art of comparing herself to other women and coming up lacking. It triggered nothing but paralysis, and she was stuck quite enough, thanks very much. She huffed a sigh. Instead of letting icky jealousy eat her up, she’d channel her energy into more productive areas, like demolishing the delicious-smelling “Landlubbers” pizza—mushrooms, peppers, and black olives—that the wenched-up waitress brought to the table.
Pepper opened the box and handed slices to the kids. Elizabeth suggested they’d wash down well with wine, and they quickly discovered a shared love of Zinfandel. When at long last the check came, her insides were full to the brim and not by what was truly excellent pizza, even by New York standards. How nice to hang out with someone who didn’t require anything from her but easy conversation. Elizabeth didn’t need money, favors, advice, or coddling. She just wanted to dish about the latest celebrity divorce scandal and the last juicy book she’d read.
