For the moment, he followed behind her and got off the ship. Ronan could hear Jude and Wolf exclaiming from another room. He let the sound of the voices reel Ronan in.
“There you are!” Jude waved him over to a display with a giant treasure chest. “You gotta see this!”
Silver coins spilled out of it and nearly covered the table it sat on. Ronan wanted to run his hand through the coins, but the chest and its booty were behind protective glass, probably bulletproof.
“The chest is cool, but come see this.” Jude waved Ronan over to him. He stood in front of a display with silver coins partially embedded in Lucite. You were able to touch the part of the coin that wasn’t embedded. “They let you touch the treasure!” Jude’s dark eyes were blown wide open.
“Holy shit!” Ronan slid his finger over the coin slot closest to him. He could feel the insignia stamped into the coin and found himself wondering if Black Sam Bellamy himself had touched it.
“The gold is this way.” Jude grabbed Ronan’s elbow and tugged him toward the next display, which glittered with gold ingots.
“This is amazing.” Ronan moved on to a display of solid gold bars and wished he could touch the gold, hold it in his hands and feel the weight of the items in his hand. What must it have been like to have found these treasures? His stomach buzzed withanticipation. Only a few of the gold trinkets would set his family for life. He wouldn’t have to worry about putting money away for Ezra and Everly’s college education. They could go on cruises every year and eat prime rib and lobster every night.
Everly’s laughter from across the room grabbed Ronan’s attention. She, Wolf, and Aurora were looking at an exhibit together. Ten and Cope stood nearby laughing at whatever Wolf had just said. The treasure in this room was incredible, beautiful, and worth a king’s ransom, but the men who’d gathered it, who thought it assured their futures, died horribly. What had those men thought of when the ship struck the sandbar? When the masts cracked and tumbled down? When they were battling the rough waves to get to shore?
Ronan’s blood ran cold at the thought of never seeing his family again thanks to the items in this room. Thanks to a man who was so blinded by love that he sailed into a nor’easter thinking the love he carried for Maria was stronger than Mother Nature at her worst.
In Ronan’s case, all that glittered definitely wasnotgold. His husband. Their kids. Friends. Those were the things that glittered in Ronan’s life. He wouldn’t trade his family for anything and certainlynotfor any of the items in the treasure room.
Captain Sam Bellamy, with his gold-laden ship, may have thought he had the world on a string, but all the treasure in the world couldn’t save his life or reunite him with Maria.
Ronan met Ten’s eyes from across the room and knew in that moment he was the richest man in the museum. He might only have fifty bucks in his pocket, but he had Tennyson, Everly, and Ezra. Their love was priceless.
6
Tennyson
Ten, his book forgotten in his lap, stared out the window as theWelcome to Wellfleetsign flashed by the window.Finally.When they’d left the pirate museum, Fitz had said it was only a forty-five minute ride to the rental house, but there had been an accident on the opposite side of Route 6, which had slowed traffic to a crawl on both sides. There had been a brief stop to pick up the grocery order, but now, ninety minutes later, they were almost at the beach house.
Fog, thick and swirling, had begun to roll in off the yet unseen ocean, giving the road an ominous look to it. No one else mentioned it, so Ten kept his mouth shut. He didn’t feel any danger surrounding the van, so it was best to let this sleeping dog lie.
“Turn right on Rockwell Avenue,” Ronan said, from the navigator’s chair. “It’s the last house.”
“I don’t see any houses. There’s so much fog. How do I know if I’ve gone too far?” Fitz asked, sounding a bit restless.
“You’ll get a real up-close and personal view of the Atlantic Ocean.” Ronan pointed. “This is it. Number 136.”
“There are only eight houses on the entire street. How the hell can this house be 136?” Fitz pulled into the driveway and shut off the engine.
“No clue. That’s one for the theologians.” Ronan snickered.
“Listen up, guys,” Fitz began. “I want the kids to stay put, while we unload the luggage and groceries.”
“My butt is asleep from sitting here for hours, Daddy,” Aurora whined from the last row.
“Mine too,” Everly agreed.
Ten didn’t need his gift to know everyone was exhausted. The simple fact that no one laughed over Aurora’s sleeping butt was a clue in itself.
“Give us ten minutes,” Fitz said, sounding tired. He hopped out of the van, followed by Ronan, who opened the sliding door.
“I’ll stay with the kids,” Ten said, as Jude, Cope, and Jace got out. He’d seen pictures of the house from the Airbnb website, but it looked much different now. Colonial in design, the house was faced in stone with five windows on the second floor. On the left was a great room, which had obviously been added to the house well after it was constructed in 1720. Ten knew there were six bedrooms, all of which were on the second floor. Only three had en suite bathrooms. The other three bedrooms had to share a single bathroom, which he knew would complicate matters with Everly and Aurora spending more time in front of a mirror than any eight year olds should.
“This will only take a minute.” Ronan dashed to the front door of the large, grey colonial house, and fiddled with the lock mechanism. Seconds later the door was open and Fitzgibbon, laden with grocery bags rushed inside.
“Dad?” Everly asked, as she unbuckled her seat belt. She took the seat beside Ten.
“It’s only gonna be a few more minutes.” Ten snapped, which wasn’t like himself at all.
