Because he frightened her in too many ways?
Excuse me. I think Ill get a beer, she murmured, slipping past him, but she intended a smooth exit. She stepped a little too quickly and a little too close. She felt the tension in his muscles, then nearly careened sideways into him.
Excuse me, she murmured again, afraid she was blushing. She hurried away and walked right past the cooler, then remembered she had said she was going for a beer. She quickly secured one, then went to stand by her brothers side.
Sandy and Brad were telling stories about diving the Great Barrier Reef. She had to admit that shed never been.
Amanda, however, could agree with them on the beauty of the dive.
Such a long flight, though, Sandy said.
Oh, it was really a lovely jaunt for me, Amanda gushed. We went with some of Fathers associates, sailed for months and saw zillions of islands, and then went on to Australia. The week in Fiji was my favorite, I think. Though Tahiti was fabulous, too. We had such a darling little place there. While the yacht was being cleaned, we had charming and very private rooms right on the beach. The sunrises were exquisite, the sunsets even more so.
Hey, all we have to do is step out of our tents tomorrow morning for the same effect, Keith said, arriving with a large plate of grilled fish. There are some fantastic sunrises right here. He offered Amanda a broad smile. Flirtatious? Or intended to take some of the sting out of his reminder that their own home offered a world-class beauty.
Oh, yes, this area is fabulous, as well. Amanda smiled meaningfully at Beth. Especially when you really cant go anywhere else.
Beth smiled back, all the while envisioning dumping the ice in the cooler over the womans head.
Soups on! Matt announced cheerfully.
There were a few camp chairs, and Matt had spread blankets out on the sand. A looped palm offered a few seats perfectly created by nature, and with her plate filled with fish and potato salad, Beth found herself claiming the tree as a chair. Hank took the seat next to her, but when Amanda called to him, begging him to get her something to drink, he left, and she found herself being joined by Keith. She wondered if he was seeking her out on purpose. And then she wondered why. She didnt have a lack of confidence, it was just thatwell, Amanda Mason was there, and she was the far better flirt, on top of being an undeniably alluring woman.
So you work for a yacht club? Keith asked.
Yes. She waved a hand in the air. I work for it. They belong to it.
He laughed. Are you supposed to be the poor little rich girl or something?
She shook her head, looking at him. I like working there. Its fun. She hesitated, wondering why she kept feeling compelled to explain things to him. My brother is a member, so if I werent working there, Id have all his privileges. Working there pays well, and I get free dockage, which Ben uses, since employees get that perk and members dont, and he owns a boat and I dont. I see some of the most luxurious and beautiful yachts in the world. And meet some of the nicest people. Mostly.
Mostly? He offered her a slow, wry smile.
Mostly, she repeated, refusing to say more. Had the tension in her relationship with Amanda been so evident to a stranger?
Its always interesting when you get around boats, he said. Some people are as rich as Croesus and youd never know it, theyre just so down to earth. Some are as poor as church mice, putting everything they have into staying on the water. And theyre just as nice. But dont ever kid yourself. The sea can breed demons.
She looked up at him, startled, but he was rising, looking toward the group that had drawn around the fire.
Had he been warning her about something?
Maybe himself?
The light had faded in earnest. No more deep blues, purples, streaks of gold or any other color. Night had come.
In the far distance, a faint glow could be seen, coming from the lights along the heavily populated coast of south Florida. But on the island, there was nothing except for the glow from the fire. Around them, the foliage of the inner island had become blanketed in shadows.
The wind stirred, creating a rustle.
The girls want to hear some ghost stories, Lee called out to Keith.
I said pirate stories, Amber said, laughing.
Pirates would be ghosts, by now, Ben told his daughter, amused.
Most of the time, Keith said, moving toward the fire. Except that there are modern-day pirates. All over the world.
Too real, Amanda protested with a shiver. Of course, she was still clad in nothing but the skinny bathing suit. Sure, they were on a semitropical island. But the sea breezes at night could be cool.
Keith noticed her discomfort. He slipped off his shirt and draped it around her shoulders. She flashed him a beautiful smile. He smiled back.
It was a simple gesture of courtesy, but it made Beth lower her head, wondering how she could allow someone like Amanda to irritate her so much.
Okay, so we want an old-fashioned pirate ghost story, right? Keith asked. He didnt remain behind Amanda but strode toward the center of the group, closer to the fire. He hunkered down by the flames, forcing Beth to wonder if he was aware that the flames added a haunting quality to his classic features.
Ill tell you the tale of the Sea Star and La Doña. Both were proud ships with billowing white sails! But one was English, and the other sailed under the flag of Spain. The Sea Star sailed from London in the year of our Lord 1725. Her captain was a fierce man, loyal to the core to the king. England and Spain were hardly on the best of terms, and Jonathan Pierce, the captain, was eager to seize a Spanish ship full of gold from the New World.
Captain Pierce, however, wasnt sailing alone. Along with his crew, he was carrying a party of nobility. One of them was the Lady Marianne Howe, daughter of the governor of one of the small islands, and he was unaware that a year earlier, her ship had run aground on coral shoals and shed been saved by a handsome young Spaniard, Alonzo Jimenez. Of course, under the circumstances, despite the fact that the young Spaniard and his crew had simply returned the Englishmen and women he had rescued to the governor in Virginiaasking no ransom, no reward, and ignoring the hostilities between the countriesthere could be no happy ending for Marianne and Alonzo. Not only was he a Spaniard, but an untitled one, at that.
Still, Marianne had managed to keep in contact with him, smuggling out love letters. She was ready to cast aside her title, her fortune and her family, all for Alonzo. He had arranged to hide his ship here, around the curve of Calliope Key
Calliope Key? Kim interrupted. Where we are now?
Of course. What good would a ghost story be if it werent about this island? Keith asked, smiling slightly.
His voice was perfect for the tale, Beth thought. It was a rich, deep voice. She had to admit that she was as seduced as the others.
Oh, right, Amber murmured.
Beth looked at her niece with a certain amusement. Amber wasand always had beencapable of sitting through the scariest horror movie. Now, however, her eyes were very wide.
Keith Hensonwhatever he was really up tohad a talent for storytelling. With the strange fire glow on his face and the deep, intense rasp of his voice, he held them all enthralled.
Go on, Ben said, his profound interest surprising Beth.
Well, the young lovers never intended harm toward anyone. Marianne was a strong swimmer. She simply meant to get close enough to her lovers ship to escape into the sea, then find refuge on the island until he could come to her. With any luck, the Sea Star would have been long gone before anyone noticed she wasnt aboard.
But while Marianne was conducting her daring escape into the sea, Captain Pierce was sending spies out in his small boats to get the lay of the landwell, the sea. Just as Marianne was reaching shore, news reached Pierce about the Spaniard hiding past the reefs. He manned his guns. Meanwhile, Alonzo had taken a boat to shorethis shore, right here, where our fire now burns. Just as he and Marianne met, the first cannons exploded. It was a fierce battle, and Alonzo was brokenhearted, watching his friends lead the fightand die. His ship, La Doña, was sunk. Many of his men tried to swim to shore but were cut down by the English before they could reach landfall. Marianne was desperate that her lover not be caught, but Alonzo was brave to a fault. When Captain Pierce came ashore, following the Spanish crew, he prepared to fight. Their swords clashed so hotly that sparks flew. Then Captain Pierce was unarmed. He had lost the fight. Alonzo, however, refused to deliver the coup de grâce. He stepped back, and said that all he wanted was a small boat for himself and Marianne. Captain Pierce showed no gratitude for the fact that his life had been spared. His men came upon them, and he ordered that Alonzo should hang. Marianne was hysterical, heartbroken, and ashamed that her countryman could behave with so little honor. As Alonzo was dragged away, Pierce assured her that she would forget their enemy, and that he would be her new lover and her husband. Marianne wiped away her tears and approached him, and no doubt Captain Pierce assumed she was ready to accept his offer. But she reached into his belt and drew his pistol. She shot him dead, but too late to save her lover, for even as the shot rang out, Alonzo swung from the hangmans rope, crying out her name and his loveright before his neck snapped. Marianne, desperate in her grief, turned the gun on herself.
And as that shot went off, the Sea Star suddenly moveddrifting out to sea. The Englishmen on the island, stunned and frozen by what had occurred before their eyes, moved too slowly. They raced for their longboats and made to sea. But neither they nor the Sea Star were ever seen again. Sometimes, they say, at night, the ship can be seen, riding the wind and the waves, only to disappear into the clouds or over the horizon.
Oh Sandy breathed.
And what about Marianne, Alonzo and Captain Pierce? Amber asked.
They haunt the island, of course, Keith said. At night, when you hear whispering in the breeze, when the palm fronds move, when the wind moanswhat you hear is their voices as they roam the island for eternity.
Oh, jeez, Kim groaned.
Oh Amber breathed.
Keith looked at Ben apologetically, afraid that his story had been too effective.
Youre not scared, are you? Kim demanded.
Of course not, Amber protested. She laughed, but it was a brittle sound. Dont be silly. Sandy, youre not scared, are you?
About staying on a haunted island? Sandy asked. No. I mean, the tents are all pretty close together on the beach when you think about it, right? Of course, I do wish Brad and I were one of the groups in the middle.
Im sure were just fine, Amanda said.
I think it will be fun, Brad teased. Sandys going to be all cuddly tonight, I assure you.
Oh, my God! Amber exclaimed.
What? Ben demanded.
Dadwe might have found one of them today. One of the ghosts!
Its just a story, Keith said. You asked for a ghost story and
No, no, there was a skull. At leastwe thought it was a skull, Amber said.
Ben groaned loudly. Girls, one of you stubbed a toe on a conch shell. There was no skull. Enough with the scary talk, okay? he said firmly.
Beth kept her mouth shut, wincing. And not because Ben was annoyed, but because she was suddenly more frightened than ever herself. The girls had just let everyone know they had seen a skull.
And someone here, someone sharing the island with them, had taken that skull for reasons of their own. Reasons that couldnt be ignored.
Its easy to imagine things out here, Matt said easily. I promise you, there are no ghosts here.
But lots of ghost stories supposedly have some truth to them. There were shipwrecks all around here. Ill bet the story is true, and that the ghosts whispered it in your ear, Amber said.
Okay, thats a scary thought! Sandy said, shivering.
Its getting better and better for me, girls. Please, go on, Brad said, laughing, but also trying to ease the fear the girls seemed to feel.
Were in the Bermuda Triangle, too, arent we? Amanda asked, rising. Luckily, I dont have a superstitious bone in my body. She stretched, and Keiths shirt fell from her shoulders. She reached down languidly to pick it up and slowly walkedor sashayedover to Keith to return it. Besides, she said softly, there are a lot of handsome, well-muscled men around here to protect us if we need it. Well, good night, all.
Her cousins and father rose to join her, saying their thank-yous as they rose.
The group began to break up, everyone laughing, promising to see each other in the morning.
As they returned to their tents, Beth was silent.
Aunt Beth, are you afraid of ghosts? Amber asked.
No, she assured her niece.
Then what are you afraid of? Amber persisted.
Beth glanced self-consciously over at Ben. The living, she said softly.
Her brother sighed, shaking his head. Just like good old Captain Pierce, I carry a gun. And I wont let anyone close enough to use it against me, he assured her.
A few minutes later they had all retired, Ben and Beth to their one-bedroom tents and the girls to the large two-bedroom Ben had recently purchased for his daughter. None of them were more than ten feet apart, with the girls situated between the adults.
Amber and Kim kept a light on, and Beth found herself hoping their supply of batteries would be sufficient. She could hear the girls giggling, probably inventing ghost stories. She told herself that people were simply susceptible to the dark, to shadows, whispers on the breeze, and the dark intent of a tale told by firelight.
But she was uneasy herself. She reminded herself that she had been uneasy long before Keiths ghost story.
Its just a story, hed said. A good story, told on the spur of the moment.
And it hadnt scared her. Not a sillyeven sadghost story.
Yetshe was scared.
Despite her unease, she eventually drifted off to sleep. Her dreams were disjointed, snatches of conversation, visions that seemed to dance before her, never really taking shape until she saw, in her minds eye, a beautiful young girl in eighteenth-century dress, a handsome Spaniard and a sea captain, sword in hand.
The sea captainarresting, exciting, masculinetook on the appearance of someone familiarKeith Henson.
Sadly, even in her dream, the beautiful young girl looked like Amanda.
She tossed and turned as the dream unfolded, more like a play with the director continually calling, Cut! than a real dream.