While she slipped into a pair of shorts, she told herself she was doing the right thing for both of them. She was saving herself a broken heart. And she was freeing him to live the life he was truly meant to live. Even if he didn’t know it. Becausesheknewhim.
If you love something, set it free.Right?
Yes.This is right!she mentally railed.
So why did it feel so wrong?
Chapter 35
Two weeks later…
And I thought underwater excavation was tedious, Wolf thought wearily as he waved his metal detector over the sand like he’d been doing for the last two weeks.
They’d searched the entire island and had come up with the usual culprits, some lost coins, some metal fishing gear, and two antique glass bottles with metal caps. But they’d found nothing of real import until they’d stumbled upon the campground.
Or…at least that’s what Alex was calling it.
In the center of the island, in a small circular area, they’d unearthed a trove of items that dated back to the seventeenth century. A bone-handled dagger, a copper sundial, a small brass bell used to summon servants, and thepièce de résistance…two metal buttons stamped with the captain of theSanta Cristina’sfamily crest.
Bartolome Vargas had survived the wreck of the grand galleon and had been on the island. By the looks of the other items they’d found—an old trash pit filled with fish bones and a circle of stones that appeared to have been a fire ring at one point—so had some of his crew.
At first, the Deep Six guys and gals had celebrated the news as if they’d found the treasure itself. But after days of meticulously searching the campsite and the area around it, they’d failed to locate the mother lode.
As had happened when they’d come to the end of excavating theSanta Cristina’swater-logged remains, disappointment and dejection were setting in. And even though it was barely past noon, LT sighed and said, “I think we’ve officially done all we can at this site. Let’s pack up and head back to the house for lunch.”
“On guard!” Bran lifted his metal detector like a sword and challenged Doc.
Bran used humor to deflect during more serious moments, and usually LT didn’t seem to mind. But their former commanding officer was having none of it today. “Yo, Brando. Let’s keep the dumbfuckery to a minimum.”
Bran lowered his metal detector. “Don’t get your knickers in a knot, LT. It only makes you walk funny.”
LT frowned. “You know, sometimes you remind me of a pizza burn on the roof of the world’s mouth.”
“You have a right to your opinion.” Bran sniffed. “And I have a right to ignore it.”
“Let’sallstop screwin’ around and get back to the house,” Wolf grumbled. “I’m hungry and I’m tired of wavin’ this damned thing around.” He indicated his metal detector.
Bran frowned at him. “Youhavebeen a little ray of absolute darkness ever since you got back from Key West. I mean, I get things were bad there. But is there something you’re not telling us?”
“You think I’ve been a little ray of absolute darkness?” Wolf shot back. “Well let me be the first to tell you, nothin’ would brighten up my day like your absence from it.”
Bran sucked in a dramatic breath and faked insult by pressing a hand to his chest.
“Gentlemen, please,” LT interrupted. “We’re all tired and hungry and disappointed. Let’s go eat and start talkin’ next steps.”
“I think the next step is ground penetrating sonar.” This from Alex. Even though they’d been working in the shade of forest all morning, she still wore zinc oxide over her freckled nose. A big glob of sand was stuck to one side of the white goo.
Mason wiped it off before putting a hugely muscled arm around Alex’s waist and pulling her close to whisper something in her ear that made her beam up at him.
Two things to understand about Mason McCarthy. One, before Alex he hadn’t exactly been the touchy-feely sort. And two, he rarely spoke. Except to Alex.
Wolf could feeltheir affection spilling into the clearing. And he washappyfor Mason. He truly was. The guy had suffered a terrible divorce and had sworn off women completely until Alex convinced him otherwise. But if Wolf was being honest, he was also jealous.
Mason wasn’t able to shake Alex once she set her sights on him, and I can’t even get Chrissy to spend more than one night with me. For shit’s sake!
To make matters worse, he hadn’t seen Chrissy in two weeks. Since they were no longer diving down on the wreck, there was no reason for her to bring her customers out to Wayfarer Island.
Chrissy had called the satellite phone twice. The first time to pass on the good news that the doctors had awakened Winston from his medically induced coma. And the second time to let them know Winston had been taken off the ventilator and was looking to make a full recovery. But neither of those times had Wolf been the one to answer the phone.
