Rough Waters by Maggie Toussaint

Author:Maggie Toussaint [Toussaint, Maggie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, mystery, contemporary
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Published: 2014-10-19T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 35

The sounds of the seaside café faded as Rock gazed at the water. A picture-perfect day. A beautiful woman. A belly full of seafood. His frustration over not finding Palamiri mellowed. This could be his life, he daydreamed. He could live here, and be with Jeanie. He could live without a cloud of debt hanging over his head.

He considered driving to North Carolina and giving Lyle the journal. But if he gave the journal to his investor, he forfeited all hopes of finding the Clarissa.

He and Tarpley had searched the sound repeatedly but had found no other evidence of a shipwreck. The ship wasn’t anywhere near the coins. His only hope of finding the Clarissa was to read between the lines of what his ancestor had written in that journal.

He’d wanted to find the ship. To have his name in treasure hunting magazines. To be famous in that elite circle of underwater explorers.

Now that he’d met Jeanie, and after experiencing the physical and financial cost of treasure hunting, his pursuit of fame seemed shallow. What good was fame if you had no one to enjoy it with? In the last few months, he’d realized how alone he was. His parents and grandparents were dead. He had no wife, no kids.

He had guard dogs.

A different prize glittered on the horizon. One with soft curves and a ready-made family. Could he navigate the uncharted waters of their mutual troubles and come out the victor?

The slip of a waitress in a skimpy neon yellow T-shirt and khaki shorts cleared the empty plates on one arm and asked about dessert. Rock glanced across the waterfront table at Jeanie’s radiant face. “You want dessert?”

Jeanie nodded. “I recommend we split the peach cobbler à la mode.”

Rock nodded to the waitress. “One cobbler, two spoons.”

“What’s next?” Jeanie asked, leaning across the café table, the sun kissing her spiky pink hair, her delicate face, her full lips. She’d rolled up her sleeves and unbuttoned a bit to fit in more with the seaside locale. The shadow of cleavage that appeared when she reached for her glass of water kept catching his eye.

He lifted his gaze. “I need to find out what Palamiri knows.”

“Good luck. He doesn’t return your calls.”

“True. But I can take you home to Mossy Bog and come back to stake out the hotel. I’ll run into him tonight, you can bet on it.”

“Nope. We’re sticking together. No one’s called with a flower order and the kids are with Mom, so I’m footloose.”

Jeanie all but vibrated with energy. Her excitement warmed him more than the sun, giving him hope she might forgive him. “You’re enjoying this.”

“Must have been those girl detective books I read as a kid, and the cop shows I love to watch on TV. I feel like a superhero, a Super Jeanie. If the flower business flames out, I might ask Sloan Harding if he’s hiring.”

Alarms sounded in Rock’s head. “Harding? Who’s he?”

“Has a security firm in Atlanta. He moved here, married my realtor friend Roxie, and now they’re expecting a baby.

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