She was right, but the fact she hadn’t said an outright no gave him hope.When he’d come here, he hadn’t thought past getting closure on why she’d ghosted him all those years ago.Now he’d spent time with her, all he wanted to do was hold her in his arms again.They had both changed, but he saw the glimmer of the Dot he knew underneath her protective coating.
Could they make it work?The teaching hadn’t been as fulfilling as he had hoped, and while the museum was a worldwide leader for shipwreck research, he missed being on the ocean.
There were enough undiscovered wrecks along Western Australia’s coast that he could use Retribution Bay as a base, if he could find someone to pay him for his work.
And that was the hard part.
Though there was the publisher who had asked about him writing his memoir.He had plenty of journals to draw the information from, but any income probably wouldn’t be enough to fund his work.
He’d sort out the details later.Right now he just wanted to make it work with Dot.“The point is I still feel something for you, Dot.We work so well together, we understand each other.Don’t you want to discover what we could be like together?”
Dot shook her head, still not looking at him.“I can’t go through the heartbreak again.”
This time he couldn’t ignore the pain in her voice.Gently he touched her shoulder and turned her, pulling her into his arms.“I’m so sorry, Dot.”
She froze against him for a moment before she melted into him, her arms coming around his waist.
Relief and a sense of rightness filled him as he rubbed her back.She fit perfectly in his arms, her head resting against his shoulder.
This was right.This was home.
He closed his eyes, trying to imprint the feeling of her in his arms into his memory.His chest tightened.He couldn’t let her go.Not this time.Not now he understood what a colossal mistake he’d made.“We’ll make it work, somehow.”
She pushed away, dashing tears from her eyes, shaking her head and stepping as far away from him as she could in the small space.“We don’t know each other.Not anymore.”
He sat on a chair and patted the seat of the chair next to him.“We’ve got about five hours to start changing that.”The sun had gone down and the glow of last light made Dot look like an angel.He searched for a topic that wouldn’t get her offside before realising she could take almost anything he said the wrong way.He might as well start at the beginning.“When did you move back to Retribution Bay?”
***
Dot stared at Oliver, reining in the instinct to snap and snarl at him, to tell him to mind his own business.He seemed genuine and a deeper part of her yearned for the easy conversation they’d always had.If she was brutally honest with herself, their breakup was partially her fault as well.She’d reacted defensively, had shut him out, rather than discussing her feelings like a rational adult.She’d had to protect herself, and she hadn’t known any other way.
But over the years she’d seen too many couples have issues because of their lack of communication, because one party believed the other shouldknowhow they were feeling, rather than expressing it in words.
She didn’t want to be one of those people, even when she knew how much his leaving was going to hurt her again.“Let me get changed first.”
She took her time in the small cabin.While she removed her bathers she considered what she wanted to tell him.Did he really understand why his decision had destroyed her?
Finally, when she couldn’t delay any longer, she joined him on deck and sat next to him.His heat radiated from him, taking some chill from the air.“I took the job in the southern suburbs,” she said.“I worked hard for five years and was promoted to First-Class Constable.From there I worked in major crimes for a while and applied for the sergeant promotion when a job became available up here.”She shrugged.“I got it, though Martin will tell you it was because they were trying to fill a quota, not because of my efforts.”
Oliver scowled.“Martin sounds like an idiot.Who is he?”
“One of my team.He wanted to be in charge of the station.”He didn’t know about the things she’d done in Perth, which had made her more than worthy of the promotion.
“What about Nhiari?”
“She got the job in Carnarvon first and moved here a few years later.She wasn’t interested in being in charge.”Nhiari just wanted to make a difference.Before Oliver could ask another question, she said, “What about you?What was the expedition to Papua New Guinea like?”
“Life changing.”He met her gaze.“It helped me get through our breakup, because it distracted me during the days.”His smile was sad, and she longed to ask him about his nights, but she was afraid of what the answer might be.
“I eventually settled on angry righteousness, and the wreck was stunning, a nineteenth century pirate ship with so much still preserved.It had sunk into the mud, which protected it.”He shook his head.“I’ve never seen so much gold and treasure in my life.The rich red of the rubies, and the clarity of the diamonds.It was worth a mind-boggling amount in today’s money.”His hand clasped the necklace around his neck.
“Did it all go to the national museum?”
“We were each allowed to keep a small piece.”He held out the ring to show her.“It’s my good luck charm.”
“Is that a real emerald?”
He nodded.“I’ve never had it assessed, because I don’t want to know its dollar value.It reminds me how fortunate I’ve been.”He smiled.“Did you follow the expedition?”
