Page 68 of The Cottage on Pelican Bay

She lifted a defiant chin. “And I consider it ours. We found it together and it’s a mystery that we should solve together.”

“Need I remind you that you’re leaving next week?”

No, he didn’t have to remind her of that, but she also wanted to believe that nothing happened by chance. Not even their meeting nearly three years ago. What were the odds that just months after her breakup with Maurice such a man as Saint would enter her life the way he had? They’d both acted out of the norm that night by hooking up, thinking they would never see each other again.

Then they had. Two and a half years later when neither had resumed their relationships with their exes or someone else, and when the sexual chemistry between them was just as powerful as before. Now, one month shy of their night in his hotel room hitting the three-year mark, they were in an affair, although that hadn’t been their original plan.

Zara couldn’t help but latch on to her mother’s words in that letter...

“My hope is that you have found someone to love and who truly loves you in return. Never give up on love. If you find it, then fight for it like your life depends on it.”

But how could you fight for love if the person whom you loved didn’t love you in return? She wondered if her mother regretted settling for a loveless marriage. Had there been someone out there she would have preferred marrying other than her father?

Meeting Saint’s gaze, she said, “I have no problem extending my time here if I need to. However, the first thing we should do is to see if the map is authentic and then go from there. In the meantime, we need to agree that the map will be our secret, and we won’t tell anyone else about it.”

He hesitated a moment before saying, “Okay, it will be our secret.”

Levi gazed across the table at Margie. She had called him that morning saying she had good news to tell him, so he had invited her to breakfast. Over the past weeks they had been spending time together, either by inviting each other to dinner or lunch. She liked Chip. His dog, who usually wasn’t all that friendly to strangers, immediately liked her. Levi knew why. Margie was a likable person.

She had arrived early that morning to help him cook breakfast. It wasn’t the first time she’d been in his kitchen, but it was the first time she’d felt comfortable enough to move around in it like it was hers. He had talked to his best friend, Preston Crane, about his budding romance with Margie, and Preston was happy for him and encouraging.

Preston had said what Levi had always known. Lydia would not have wanted him to live his life alone. She would have wanted him to meet someone and share a good life with that person. Could Margie be the one? He liked her a lot, and he appreciated her company. If he was honest with himself, he would admit to feeling more for Margie than just friendship. However, he was patiently waiting for her to want the same thing.

“So, what is this good news you want to tell me, Margie?”

She was beaming and he thought now what he always did. She was beautiful. “It’s about Bellamy.”

“What about your daughter?”

“She’s decided to move to Catalina Cove.”

Levi couldn’t help but smile. He knew how worried Margie had been about her daughter since her cheating husband had asked for a divorce. “That’s good news.”

“I think so, too. She’s discovering it’s too uncomfortable for her to remain living in Syracuse. She and Sam have the same friends and those mutual friends are beginning to bicker among themselves over who their allegiance should be with. Of course, the women are siding with Bellamy because of what Sam did. However, the husbands, who are mostly Sam’s frat brothers, feel their wives shouldn’t take sides and should accept the new woman in Sam’s life since she’s his choice.”

Margie paused. “I know it’s disheartening for Bellamy because when she married Sam his frat brothers considered her as their sister. I know she is hurting in knowing they would easily accept Sam’s treatment of her for the sake of brotherhood.”

After taking a sip of coffee, Margie added, “Bellamy feels she needs a fresh start, and Catalina Cove would be ideal. She’s contacted the hospital here and has an interview next week. It just so happens they have an opening in their cardiology department.”

“Well, I am happy for her and looking forward to meeting her.”

Margie smiled over at him. “And I’m looking forward to you meeting her as well.”

Saint leaned back in the chair at his office desk, thinking of everything that had transpired after he and Zara had found that map and then retrieved the whiskey bottle. However, from the markings it had, it was actually a rum bottle. Over coffee they had used her laptop to research who they could seek out for authentication. Luckily, he had recalled the name of the person Vaughn had used at the Historical Society to verify the authenticity of their great-great-great-grandmother’s marriage license that had been found last year. He recalled Vaughn saying that Stuart Bauer had been the epitome of discreetness. Nothing would be revealed until he and Zara wanted it to.

He still found it hard to believe that Zara thought the map belonged to the both of them, when it was rightfully hers. Whether she knew it or not, to include him showed the degree of trust she had in him. If that map proved to be authentic, she knew he would not take advantage of her in any way. He doubted she knew just how much he appreciated that trust.

He glanced at his watch. He would be meeting Zara for lunch to give her an update about the meeting he’d had with Bauer first thing that morning. The man couldn’t be definite, but he suspected the map was authentic due to the paper it was written on. Of course, he would have to do a thorough investigation to verify the handwriting to see if it was indeed LaFitte’s. Another reason Bauer was excited about the finding was due to the rum bottle, one known to have been produced in the early eighteen hundreds, in and around the coastal region near Galveston Island and the Caribbean. If authentic, that find alone was worth millions.

Saint’s thoughts were interrupted by the buzzer on his desk. Clicking on, he said, “Yes, Mrs. Dorsett?”

“Jade and Kia have arrived for their meeting with you.”

“Please send them in.”

He had met with the Lacroix twins a few weeks ago. At least that was who he thought of them as, although their last names weren’t Lacroix. However, there was no doubt they were Reid’s granddaughters. They favored their father, Julius, who’d been Reid’s son, and since Julius favored Reid, you could see a strong family resemblance. But then, he would admit on some days he thought they looked a lot like their biological mother, Vashti Alcindor Grisham, as well.

Since his last meeting with them they’d made the rounds, cross-training on various positions within the company. From the feedback he’d received, both young ladies had great personalities and were eager to learn and had caught on quickly. The meeting today would be a recap of what they thought of the company that one day would be theirs.

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