Page 311 of The Romance Adventure

When we part, I remember where we are. “Oh, great. This will be on the Coconut Wireless before long.”

“What? The two of us kissing on Main Street? That’s nothing new.”

But this feels new, or like a renewal, and no matter what happens, we’ll keep moving forward. Taking my hand in his, Ryan and I start walking. It’s only when we reach the peninsula that I realize we’ve been talking the whole time without a particular direction in mind and that’s because we’re going to stay here. Ryan is going to retire—quit a winner, as he said. Everyone will think he’s insane for not taking the money, but he wants a life more than cash. I plan to decline the job offer in Montgomery because I have ice cream to serve, a boy to raise, and a man to love.

The wind blows out here on what Ryan calls Ponto Fim. It’s McGregor territory with Chip’s mausoleum on the point and reminds me of the treasure hunt.

“Any progress?” I ask.

He knows what I’m referring to without my needing to specify. He tells me about revealing the message on the blank paper with rum and applied with the plume end of the pen.

“Chip never ceases to amaze me. Clever guy. Mysterious.”

“And with perfect timing. Looks like we’re going to get a beautiful late summer sunset.” Deep orange and crimson washes the sky in vibrant hues.

He recites the old sailing expression, “Red sky at night, sailors delight. Red sky in morning, sailors take warning.” Ryan goes still.

We both look toward the west.

“No doubt, Magnus, Royal, and CJ are turning the island over, looking for the rare red piece of coral. I hope that it wasn’t disturbed when they were redoing the resort.”

“Do you think he would’ve hidden two of the missing stones there, though?”

Ryan tips his head from side to side. “Not likely, so what if it’s somewhere else?”

“CJ is always talking about what we don’t know. Until recently, we didn’t know about the contents of the journal, the sketch of the Pirate Defense League symbol, and the numbers on it.”

“Another safe deposit box or a code to a safe?” I ask, referring to where Lally and Magnus found the box containing the diamond.

He shakes his head. “Royal has searched them all and safe deposit boxes require a key.”

“We also know about Captain J.”

“And let’s not forget the piece of the map and the old map of the area painted on the wall of the Sip & Scoop.” Ryan sighs.

“I’d say we’ve made some progress, but how does it all fit together?” I lace my hand into his.

“I’m not sure, but I know it does.”

We’re quiet for a moment as the sun burns like liquid fire melting into the horizon.

“Chip and my grandmother used to come out here every night to watch the sunset.”

“That’s so sweet.”

“But I guess it isn’t the most romantic place for us to hang out, considering he’s buried right over there.” Ryan points to the mausoleum.

“It’s nice that you can visit him, but tragic that you don’t know what happened to your grandmother.” Uncle Eddie brings flowers to Aunt Martina’s grave every week, and even though she’s gone to heaven, we all agree it helps him to feel connected to her still.

Ryan kisses my hand. “I can’t imagine how much Chip must’ve missed her.”

“Was there an investigation?” I ask carefully, wondering if that’s a lead we can follow.

Ryan straightens a little as if questioning why that hadn’t occurred to him. “I’m not sure. Magnus probably knows.”

“Maybe we could find out something useful.” After a beat, I add, “This must’ve been their special spot since he was buried here.” Getting to my feet, I say, “Since we’re out here, let’s go pay our respects.”

The mausoleum isn’t readily visible from the point unless you know what you’re looking for. The long mass of land gradually drops toward sea level and Chip cleverly had the stone mausoleum constructed to look like the front of a ship jutting toward the water.