“Thank you for turning me into a queen,” Everly said with a big smile.
“Oh, honey, you were a queen long before today. Don’t you ever forget that.”
“Mama June has never been more proud of you,” Everly said, softly. “She says you need to stop grieving and start living again.”
Anita set a hand against her heart. “That sounds like something Mama would say.”
“Thank you for everything!” Everly hopped off her chair and into Ten’s arms. “I’ve never seen you look so beautiful, Dad.”
“You think aqua is my color?” Ten batted his eyelashes.
“Definitely! We need to get you a sparkly scarf.” She grabbed Ten’s hand and pulled him toward another booth selling all sorts of accessories in all the glittering colors of the rainbow.
Ten let Everly pull him along down the street. After everything that happened two nights ago with seeing the wreck of theWhydahand watching the sailors drown, Ten thought it would take him and Everly weeks to recover from the trauma.
Turned out, all they needed were a couple of fairy god queens, a bit of sparkle and some eye shadow.
13
Ronan
On the way back from Provincetown, Blake Chambers called to say he would arrive at the beach house around half past ten and would have some relics of theWhydahshipwreck with him. Ronan was thrilled with the news. They still had a little more than a week to go on this trip and he wanted to focus on fun in the sun, not three hundred year old pirate ghosts and their lost loves.
Jude and Fitz had made BLTs for dinner with crispy French fries. That night’s movie wasFinding Nemo,as it was vociferously voted for by Ezra and Lizzie. Ronan watched as the kids’ eyes grew heavy toward the end of the movie. He was hoping they could get all the kids to bed, with the exception of Everly, before Chambers arrived. He assumed it would be easier to attract the spirits of Maria and Sam if there weren’t a bunch of rowdy kids on the beach.
“Okay, everyone, time for bed,” Cope announced when the movie ended.
“I’m not going to bed, Daddy,” Wolf said. “I’m staying with Everly to keep her safe from Sam Bellamy’s ghost.”
“Me too,” Aurora quickly agreed.
“We’ll take the little ones to bed, so you all can talk.” Ten scooped up Ezra and Cope did the same with Lizbet.
“Do you remember when we first got our bird feeder and you three were upset because the birds never stayed to eat?” Ronan asked.
“You said we were being too loud,” Wolf grumped.
“Exactly,” Ronan said. “If you come to the beach with us, you need to sit quietly, so the spirits feel safe to approach us. Do the two of you think you can do that?” He looked between Wolf and Aurora.
“Yes, Uncle Ronan. Nothing means more to me than Everly and I’ll behave if it helps keep her safe.”
Ronan couldn’t help but be impressed by Wolf’s loyalty to Everly. “What about you, Aurora?”
“I’ll be quiet too. I saw how upset Everly was the night she saw the vision of the shipwreck. I want to support my best friend.”
“Just as important is to stay quiet when Everly starts speaking to the spirits, if they come. You might not be able to see or hear what’s happening. I promise we’ll explain it to you later.” Ronan knew the kids would do anything they could to help Everly, but there was going to be some level of excitement when things started to happen. So far as Ronan knew, neither Wolf, nor Aurora had ever seen a spirit before.
As Ronan was about to ask if the kids had any questions, the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it. It’s gotta be Chambers.”
When Ronan opened the door, he was surprised to see Blake Chambers wasn’t alone.
“Hey, Ronan, this is my son, Jax. He’s worked closely with me on the Whydah wreck for the last thirty years.”
“Nice to meet you, Jax. Please come in.” Ronan stood back as father and son walked into the house. He noticed Blake was carrying a locking pouch, the kind used for night drops at the bank.
“I’ll go get Ten and Cope,” Jace said. “They need to be here for this.” Giving Fitzgibbon’s hand a squeeze, he headed for the stairs.
“My father told me that you’ve met Maria Hallet.” Jax sat across from Everly and wore a curious look on his face. “I’m not so sure I believe that.”
