Don't Tempt Me (37 page)

"Well, this time you'll have to."

"Like hell I do. First we're going to find the powder horn."

"You mean pray Carl finds it. I'm not diving anymore. Not with the media accusing me of stealing it."

"Carl's calling off the search."

"Oh great." She sank to the bed beside him. "I'm totally screwed now."

"No you're not. We're going to find the powder horn together, then we're going to shove all those accusations down everyone's throats."

"If Carl and his team of archeologists can't find it, what makes you think we can?"

"Because you told me yourself your father was one of the best treasure hunters in the world, that using a metal detector isn't just skill, it's a talent. I'm willing to bet you inherited some of that talent."

"Maybe I did, but the powder horn isn't made of metal."

"No ..." He smiled. "But the pearl pendant inside it is on a gold chain."

Hope stirred, but she held it back. "What if the necklace isn't there?"

"It is."

"How can you state that like it's fact!" Exasperation drove her off the bed and she went to stand before the windows.

"It's there," he insisted. She heard him come up behind her. "I've been thinking about this all the way down here. Captain Kingsley doesn't want some team of strangers to find it. It's too personal. He wants us to find it, because we're family. We're part of him and Marguerite. It was meant to play out this way."

She turned to search his eyes, hope and resolve battling within her. "I don't believe in ghosts."

"Yes you do." He smiled down at her. "That day when we went diving together, you felt Jack. Admit it."

She looked away. "I felt something. But ..."

"What?"

Beyond the windows, moonlight danced hypnotically on the dark water. "I haven't felt anything since. Whatever was trapped on the ship left once the excavation started."

"Or escaped to go after the powder horn."

She looked at him sharply since she'd thought the same thing. "What are you saying?"

"We might not know where the horn is, but I'll bet you anything Jack does. All we have to do is reach out to him. Let him guide us. But you have to have faith."

"Faith in what? Ghosts?"

"Faith in ... everything." He took her hands and squeezed them. "Faith that the love Jack and Marguerite shared is so strong, they won't go on to whatever awaits us after life unless they can go together. Faith that I love you enough, that I won't go on in this world without you. Faith that we can find the horn and clear your name."

"If Carl is gone, and I suddenly 'find' the horn, everyone will think I stole it and that I'm only turning it over to save my neck."

"They won't, I assure you. If it were just you and me and my sisters, maybe, but no one in their right mind is going to accuse Oliver Chancellor, of the Galveston banking Chancellors, or Scott Lawrence, world-renowned author, of helping you cover up attempted theft."

She stared at him in surprise. "You'd risk their reputations for a necklace? Does it mean so much to you?"

"Jesus, Jackie, don't you get it? This isn't just about the necklace. It's about you, too. You're part of me now, and part of my family, so of course we'll do whatever it takes to help you. I know your own family let you down at every turn, but I'm asking you to believe that we won't do that. If you can't believe in all of us, at least believe in me. You and I are meant to be together." He cupped her head and stared into her eyes. "At some point in your life, you have to believe in something. I'm asking you to start by believing in me."

"But that's just it Adrian, I do believe in you. That's easy. It's life I don't trust." She freed one hand to touch his face. "I love you so very much. I can't stand the thought of hurting you just by being around you."

"You hurt me by not being around me." He took her into his arms, making her heart clench. "I'm not letting you go or giving up. Especially since I have a plan for how we can fight back." He loosened his arms. "As soon as we find the powder horn, we're going to hire a publicist, and give the media a story that will put everything they've printed so far in the shade. By the time we're done, people will know the whole truth, not just the ugly parts. That's going to take guts on your part, though." He caressed her face. "I'm asking you to have the courage to fight for us. And to marry me no matter what people think."

"Courage, I can handle. Because you're wrong. I'm not a gutless coward."

"Then you'll try?"

If only she could be sure she wouldn't hurt Adrian and the others. "I'll make you a deal. I'll go back to Pearl Island and we'll look for the powder horn. If we find it --- if ---I'll face the media and ..." She took a deep breath. "Yes, I'll marry you." He started to speak and she placed a finger over his lips. "But if we don't ... you'll let me go."

"Deal," he said without hesitation, and kissed her palm. "Because we will find it."

"I wish I had your faith." She wrapped her arms about his waist and held on tight.

"Well, we'll have the rest of our lives to work on that." He kissed the top of her head. "For now, though, let's get some sleep. We'll head back for Pearl Island as soon as it's light."

Chapter 27

When they arrived at Pearl Island, Adrian had Jackie pull her truck around to his house rather than stop at the inn. He carried her gear inside and called Rory to find out where Carl was. "Even though he said we're welcome to search, I'd prefer to do it without him looking over our shoulders."

"Actually, Carl's gone," Rory said. "He left this morning."

"Well, he certainly cleared out fast."

"Faster than he expected, apparently, since his gear is still here. He and Aunt Viv had a big spat," Rory explained. "She
headed back
for New York first thing this morning. The minute he heard, he took off after her."

"What about his team of divers?"

"When they heard Carl was gone, they went back to their hotel in town."

"Perfect," Adrian said. "We'll have the cove to ourselves."

"What are you going to do?"

"Jackie and I are going after the powder horn."

"You brought her back with you?" Rory's voice rose with excitement.

"I did." He smiled at his sister's enthusiasm.

"Great! But do you really think you can find it?"

"What's this?" He laughed. "Doubt from the Sunshine Girl?"

"Never. When are you going down?"

He looked up as Jackie came out of the bedroom in her wet suit. "Just as soon as I change." Hanging up, he gave Jackie a quick kiss. "Give me two seconds."

She nodded and waited as he changed into his suit, her stomach rolling as she thought about how much rested on finding the horn ---not just her future, but the hopes and dreams of Adrian's whole family. Taking a calming breath, she prayed she wouldn't let them down.

When they arrived at the beach, she saw Rory standing on the dock with Lauren perched on her hip and Chance shading them with a golf umbrella. Allison and Scott were also there, fanning themselves with brochures from the inn. They brightened when they saw her and waved.

"What are they doing out here?" she asked. "Don't they know it's too hot this time of year to stand around in the sun?"

"Hey, gang," Adrian called as they stepped onto the dock, not looking the least surprised to see them. "I take it y'all are the cheering section."

"And help, if you want it," Scott answered. "I've got my scuba gear in my car."

"Jackie?" Adrian turned to her.

"Tomorrow I may take you up on that," she said. "Today I have a theory I want to check out. If it proves true, we'll have a defined search area to start with, so maybe, hopefully, we won't be faced with sweeping the whole cove."

"What's your theory?" Adrian asked.

"The day Carl fired Danny, the jerk they interviewed on the news, I overheard them talking. Danny had been operating the dredge without the screen on. If he was clumsy, he could have sucked up any number of artifacts, including coins and other metal objects, and blown them outside the area Carl had set."

"Could the dredge have picked up something as big as the powder horn?" Scott asked.

"Absolutely," she answered. "And that's really our only hope. I want to sweep in an arch around the area I think Danny was working that day, and see if I can pick up a trail to follow. I'm guessing on a lot of this, but maybe we'll get lucky."

"Sounds like a plan." Adrian nodded.

She shook her head at him. "You did hear the words 'theory,' 'guess,' and 'lucky,' right?"

"Faith, Jackie." He winked at her. "Faith."

As Scott and Allison helped them gear up, a dolphin lifted his head out of the water and chattered at Jackie. "Hey, Chico," she greeted him.

"Friend of yours?" Adrian asked as Lauren clapped her hands in delight.

"Sort of," she laughed. "For some reason, he singled me out as his personal playmate, and follows me around every time I dive."

"A man with discerning taste," Adrian said.

"Just don't let him steal anything from you. His favorite game is keep away, and he's really good at it."

Chico flipped water at her.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," she told him, then looked at the sun. "We'll stay down for one hour, come up for two, then go back down. Which means we only have time for two dives today."

"There's always tomorrow," Adrian told her.

Trying to not think of the odds against success, she nodded. "You ready?"

"I am if you are." He pulled his mask into place.

"Wait!" Rory stepped forward and hugged her brother, then startled Jackie by hugging her, too. "Good luck. We'll be up at the inn, where it's cool, but we're all pulling for you, okay?"

Allison hugged Jackie next. "We know you'll do it."

Adrian hid a smile at Jackie's stunned reaction. The woman clearly needed more experience with affection, and he meant to see she got it. "Let's do it," he said, and stepped off into the water.

She jumped in after him and they headed for the wreck site. A murky haze persisted even at the lower depths, due to all the recent activity, but he could still make out the ship in the beam of his light. He followed Jackie as she swam over the main deck. She started to swim past the aft hatch that led to the officers' quarters, but he tapped her shoulder.

When she turned, he signaled that he wanted to see inside the ship. Descending into the passageway was like entering an underwater tunnel. He swung his light back and forth, taking in the louvered doors to the officers' cabins. As they slipped through the door at the end, he stared about in wonder. Carl had shown them some of the pictures they'd taken, but nothing matched seeing it in person, actually being inside Captain Kingsley's cabin, even with it stripped bare.

She motioned toward the windows at the back. The team had removed all the broken glass to make diving in the area safer. Jackie's dolphin friend, Chico, appeared on the other side, swimming in eager circles. When they swam through the opening, the dolphin came right up to Jackie and shook his nose in her face, then turned and flipped off to the right in a burst of speed, as if saying, "Chase me, chase me."

She glanced back at him, rolling her eyes at the animal's antics. He nodded in agreement, the closest they could come to sharing a laugh underwater. Turning back to the task at hand, he saw that the team had excavated a wide trench leading outward from the ship.

Jackie turned on her metal detector, then motioned with her arm, showing the pattern she planned to search, starting to the left of the ship and moving clockwise. He moved into position above her and held both their lights while she began a painfully slow pattern. She'd put her depth setting on shallow for the first sweep. If they didn't find any metal, they'd do it again with a deeper setting. If that didn't work, they'd sweep a wider arch one depth setting at a time.

At the end of their first dive, they'd barely covered any distance. As they swam back to the surface, he understood why Carl and Jackie had resisted trying such a daunting task. They broke the surface near the pier, and climbed up the ladder.

"Any luck?" Allison called from the veranda.

"Not yet," he shouted back. He helped Jackie shed her tank. "That's quite a sight."

"It really is." She pinched her nose and blew to pop her ears. "One dive down, ten jillion to go."

"Or maybe we'll find it on the next one," he countered.

Using the water hose next to the storage bins, they cleaned off their gear and went to the inn to visit with the others and wait for their two hours to pass. When it had, he looked around and realized Jackie had disappeared. He found her standing on the veranda, staring at the cove.

"You snuck away from me," he said, leaning on the post beside her.

"Just enjoying the quiet." She smiled at him, but he saw lines of strain about her eyes. "It seems weird, though, looking out at the cove and not seeing my ship. Or Carl and his divers."

Adrian glanced that way, then back at her. "I guess I'm more used to it. The guests from the inn tend to spend most of their time in town when the ship isn't here." He studied her. "So what's the real reason you're out here?"