Page 121 of In the Pursuit of Haven
“Stop joking!”Is he?His hypnotizing gaze never looked more sincere. My stomach tightened and I was half afraid, half drawn to his threats.
Behind his back, I saw a wave of red hair. Had Ruth dyed her hair back to its original color? I peered around Jessie and realized it was the woman from the Witch Museum. Her boyfriend was also with her.
I nudged Jessie. “Is that…?”
He stiffened when he caught sight of them too. “Yeah.”
Jessie had thought they were Shepherds, and I was firmly on his side after what had happened at the gift shop. If they were working with Jude, they all deserved Oscars. Ruth’s father hadn’t broken character once.
The collection plate came around and Jessie dug out a ten-dollar bill and put it in. He glanced back at the couple behind us while we passed on the plate. Their presence made hunting for Relics a little more difficult, and I was torn between trying to find a way to work around them or do as Jessie suggested, and workwiththem.
I had no idea if they’d try to stop us from getting to this treasure or not.
The priest offered another prayer and then communion was next. Jessie’s hand unexpectedly went to mine.
I jumped, feeling the warmth of his rough palm. The world of ladies with tall hats, Shepherds hiding in the shadows, treasures and intrigue melted away as my every sense focused on him. He’d been putting his all into winning me back since he’d moved into the lighthouse, and judging by the quickening of my pulse at his every touch, it was working.
Bride’s Rock? Hearing his voice guiding me through that tunnel? Finally being a team? Feeling his warmth through the rain? Eating his cooking?
All of that had made me fall irresistibly and helplessly back into his spell.
What happened to protecting my heart from his? What happened to running first before he could abandon me due to his rough upbringing? Each challenge we faced had the power to tear me apart, but at the moment?
His eyes were tender on mine. He squeezed my hand, perhaps it was to give us strength during our wait, but his eyes showed something more.
He knew something special was happening between us here.
And before I knew it, the priest was thanking us for our participation. Everyone stood to disperse. And we sat, our gazes locked.
I worked my mouth. “We should probably…”
“… cause that distraction?” he finished for me.
I smiled. My hands went to his bicep. The muscles from a life of activity on the sea flexed under my fingers as I tried to guide his attention back to the treasure. “The pew is just across the way,” I said.
Jessie knew exactly where that shadow had been cast, considering he’d hardly moved his eyes from it during the whole service until his focus had shifted to me. “Keep an eye out for that creepy couple,” he whispered.
Glancing around, I didn’t see our friends anywhere. Were we wrong about them? “We’re in the clear,” I said, though I didn’t quite trust it. “Maybe we should come back when there are less peop—”
Too late; Jessie had swaggered away. He knelt down and ran his fingers over the pew. I scrambled to my feet and followed him, doing my best to cover him with my legs and backpack. “Oh yes, yes,” I said in a conversational voice, “there is definitely a crack down there.” It was the best I could come up with on the fly, and I kept up my mundane side of the conversation, “We’ll have to tell the pries—”
“You need some help?” a bubbly voice called over to us.
Twisting, I saw it was the redhead. I’d been afraid of this, but Jessie wasn’t, apparently. “Yeah,” he said with an impatient look at her. “Cover us.”
The redhead’s eyes widened, then shrugging, she turned to her boyfriend and did her best to create a perimeter.Well, actions really do speak louder than words.
I knelt next to Jessie, my surprise making me breathless. “Help me figure this out,” Jessie whispered to me. My hands ran over the intricate carving against the wood, joining Jessie’s.
Aware we were in the middle of a crowd, I did my best to explain away our strange behavior. “Wow! This hymnbook is stuck under the pew!”
The wood was polished and smooth as I felt over it for any catch. Jessie worked beside me. I felt something strange give underneath the tips of my fingers. I pushed even harder, and with that simple act of faith, heard a mechanism inside the pew spring out to reveal a secret compartment.
We’d truly found something!
I gaped as Jessie pulled out a gaudy golden cross. He passed the Relic off to me while he worked on getting the tiny compartment closed again.
The edges on the cross were jagged and unusual, and there was a capital “I” running down the front of it. On the back was the sign of a curly, windy serpent.
