“That feeling I told you about, of being cold and wet? Now I know what it meant.”
Blake took her hand, uncoiled her fingers, and laced his with hers. He squeezed gently. “How did you and your mother get off the ship?”
Alicia sorted through the newly found memories. “It seemed hours that we waited while they ran up and down the stairs, stripping the ship bare. They never came as low as we were, but we didn’t move until the ship fell silent. We’d thought they’d left. But then we heard voices and movement again so we stayed longer. Only when we were both shaking from the cold and it had been another long while since we’d heard anything, did we move. We waded through the water—it had gotten much deeper since we’d been below—and made our way up the decks.”
“Had they gone?”
“Yes. She told me not to look, to keep my head high, but I couldn’t miss the blood, Blake, it was everywhere. We were stepping over dead bodies and severed limbs and slipping on the blood.” Alicia pressed a hand to her mouth, breathed deeply until she knew she could continue without throwing up.
“She screamed for Sam and my father. The one blessing was that we didn’t see my father that night. I’m not sure either of us could have taken that.”
“Is that when you left the ship?”
“She was thinking of how best to do that when something exploded. I remember a searing pain, like my face was on fire, and then I was falling.” Alicia had to take a steadying breath. “I saw her as I fell; she was hurt as well. Her nightgown was torn and there was blood on it. Her eyes filled with horror and she screamed my name.” Alicia looked down at her hands. “That’s all I remember before waking up in your father’s house. She must have taken me from the ship and swum us to shore. She was hurt. I don’t know how she managed to get us to shore.”
Blake said nothing, simply drew her back against his chest. His lips pressed to her head, his arms held her closely. Safely.
“He should have never done it,” Alicia said, her heart squeezing. “If he hadn’t, they’d still be alive.”
“Who shouldn’t have done what?” he asked.
“My father. If we’d stayed in London, none of this would’ve happened.”
It was strange how the memories came after six years of being lost, but Alicia could see her old home in London, could remember the words and the tones from the line of people who’d tried to talk her father out of selling his home and most of his possessions for the sake of an adventure.
“He thought it would be such fun for me and Sam to see more of the world, to be able to come back with such grand stories.” She scoffed. “I think it was he who yearned for those things, but we weren’t sad to leave London either. Especially Sam. She loved the ship. I remember wanting to play with her, but all she was interested in was being at the helm.”
“You remember your sister?”
Alicia nodded, felt the flicker of excitement through the despair.
“When I went to the plantation where Sam had been, I remembered her hair being brown. Now I remember the rest. And I’m sure the Samantha that Captain talked about is her. Didn’t he say she was building boats with her husband? That sounds exactly like something Sam would do.”
“Sam?”
“Her pet name. Only my mother called her Samantha.” She pressed a hand to her heart. “I miss my mother. I miss her so much, which sounds stupid because until a few hours ago, I didn’t even remember her.”
Blake eased Alicia away, looked her in the eye. “Doesn’t change who she was, Alicia.”
“It’s Alicia Fine, by the way.”
He smiled, kissed her hand. “Either name you go by doesn’t change who you are. And you’ve every right to miss your mother.”
She sniffled. “I know, and yet I feel that I’m disrespecting Anna at the same time. Blake, your mother was wonderful to me. I loved her, I truly did.”
“And knowing her, I’m sure she felt the same. Likely tickled to have had a daughter for a while.”
“I know I should be happy I was blessed with two sets of parents, but I feel cheated. They’re both lost to me, and unlike Jacob and Anna, I never was given the chance to say good-bye or the opportunity to give my real parents the burial they deserved.”
Blake leaned forward, pressed a kiss to her cheek. “We can do something for them in Port Royal. We can have a service, you can make some fancy markers out of steel. They won’t be nameless anymore, I promise you that.”
Love for Blake surged through her.
“They’d be proud of you, Alicia. Just as I know my parents were.”
Tears filled fast, blurred her vision. “Thank you. And I know they were proud of you as well.”
“I’m not sure I believe that, but I’d like to think so.” He took her hand, pressed a kiss into her palm. “So, now what?” he asked.
Alicia took a deep breath. “Let’s go find my sister.”
“We’re almost there,” Blake said.
Alicia had been at the bow all morning, watching the horizon. St. Kitts had begun as a speck in the distance, and now, as they approached, she could see houses and businesses, people moving about, and ships in the harbor.
“The sand is so white. Even from here it’s sparkling.”
Blake put his arm around her shoulder. “You can’t possibly be thinking about the color of the sand at a time like this.”
She turned her face to his, forced a smile.
“I was so sure Captain was sending us to the right Samantha, but now the doubts are crowding my head. What if it isn’t her? What if it is and she isn’t here? Maybe she’s left. I don’t think I can take much more, Blake. My stomach is in my throat. I just want to see my sister. A delay now would be torture.”
“If she’s not here, we’ll keep looking until we find her.”
Alicia wrapped her arms around Blake, drew in his scent and his strength. He’d been her rock yesterday. With memories swirling in her head, both the good and the bad, he’d been the constant she’d needed. His presence had allowed her to go into the past, to revisit her newly remembered life and all the emotions that went along with it, knowing that when she resurfaced, he’d be there to hold her, to wipe her tears.
They hadn’t made love, nor had they talked, but Alicia knew what was in her heart. Staying within the circle of his arms, she pulled back to look at him. His eyes squinted against the glare of the sun, but in them she saw all she needed. He was a good man, an honest and fair man. She placed her hands on his freshly shaved cheeks and felt the heat from the sun on his face. Her heart did a quick jump when the words formed, but she let them come.
“I love you, Blake.”
His hands clutched on her back. Since she wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or a bad one, she kept talking.
“I didn’t expect this and I’m not saying this with any expectations. But you’ve given me something I’ve never had. Because of you, I feel beautiful. Because of you I’m going to find my sister.” She pressed a kiss to his lips, lingered when he took it over and turned a simple kiss into a sensual banquet that heated every part of her.
“You’ve no idea,” he murmured, pressing his forehead to hers, “how much hearing you say that means to me.”
“Really?”
“A man would be foolish not to want you to love him.” He smiled, kissed her again. “I’m no fool.”
She laughed. “No, you aren’t. You’re handsome and stubborn”—she giggled when he scowled at that—“and a wonderful man. Whatever happens, Blake, I’ve no regrets.”
His eyes took on an edge of steel. “I should hope not or it’ll make the next twenty years damn uncomfortable.”
Her stomach, already jittery, quivered. “W-what?”
His smile came slow and sure. “I love you, Alicia, and as you’ve already admitted to feeling the same, then I think we have a better beginning than most.”
Blake watched Alicia, felt rather smug about the fact that she couldn’t seem to find any words.
“Blake, man, surely you can do better than that,” Vincent said as he strolled closer. “After all, it isn’t every day a woman is proposed to.”
Blake sighed, bowed his head. When he’d come to the conclusion last night that he wanted Alicia as his wife, he hadn’t envisioned Nate and Vincent around when he asked her.
“Much as it pains me to say it, Vincent’s right, Blake,” Nate said. “A woman should be wooed and have all sorts of fancy words bestowed upon her. Alicia, darling, if you allow me, I could do so much better than this pathetic display.”
Alicia giggled, and Blake turned to his friends—though that distinction didn’t apply at the moment—while keeping an arm across Alicia’s back.
“Don’t you two have work to do?”
“I don’t, do you?” Vincent asked Nate.
Nate shrugged. “Can’t think of anything.”
Neither man moved. They simply stood there expectantly, arms crossed and smiles on their faces as though they had every right to witness this moment.
“We’re approaching port, I know there’s work to be done,” Blake reminded them.
“We’ve gotten as close as we can. The anchor’s been dropped.” Vincent grinned at Nate. “The man’s been too distracted to notice we’ve arrived at our destination.”
“Well, Alicia
is
quite a distraction. I know she’s turned my attention a time or two.”
Blake hissed. “I’ll shoot them, one day I’ll shoot them,” he vowed.
“They love you, Blake.”
“It’s what’s kept them alive,” he muttered, then he deliberately pushed them from his mind.
“Alicia, you’re brave and strong and loyal. You say what’s on your mind, and you fight for what’s in your heart. I admire you.” His voice lowered. “I want you in my bed, on my ship, and in my life. Will you marry me?”
Alicia’s eyes filled with tears as surely as her heart filled with love. They’d found each other through a twist of fate, and she was thrilled that good had come from tragedy. That Jacob would finally have his wish. She and Blake would go home and run the shop together. Nothing could be more perfect.
“I’d be honored to be your wife,” she agreed before Blake swept her off her feet and kissed her soundly.
When he set her down again and she was able to hear through the desire that filled her head, she heard Nate’s applause and Vincent’s cheers. Her soon-to-be husband received pats on the back before she was once again swept off the deck.
“That’s my wife,” Blake warned when Nate deliberately held her a little longer.
“Not yet, she’s not. And if she has any sense, she’ll change her mind and come to see I’d be the better choice.” Still, after a kiss on the cheek, Nate set her down. “I’m happy for you, darling,” he whispered into her ear, for no other reason than he knew it would irritate Blake.
“Thank you,” she said, taking in the three men around her. She loved them all, she realized.
A movement caught her eye and she saw Lewis watching them. It was like a cold splash down her back and she shuddered.
“What is it?” Blake asked, taking her hand.
“I don’t like him,” she said and was further disconcerted when Lewis kept staring. Usually when she caught him looking, he immediately pretended to be doing something else. It unsettled her that he was no longer hiding the fact that he was watching her.
“You don’t have to worry about him, sunshine. He’s been dismissed of his duties. He won’t be coming back with us.”
“Good,” she acknowledged and turned to the beach that beckoned off the starboard side. Though the uneasy feeling remained between her shoulders, she tried her best to ignore it. After all, she thought, hands digging into the gunwale as her eyes raked the beach where her sister might even now be walking, she had more important things to think about.
“There it is,” Alicia whispered. She stopped dead, her shoes sinking into the sand. Her heart thudded louder than the hammering coming from the shell of the boat being built. Wood of different lengths was spread about the sand and the various tools were lined up neatly within easy reach of the man who was hard at work.
It hadn’t taken more than two people to find someone who knew where Sam and Luke’s ship building was located. If those people’s excessive chatter was any indication, the whole island was proud as parents to have them there. Now, here they were, at the far end of the harbor where there was much less activity, watching a man with golden hair hammer a board over the skeleton of the hull.
“Do you suppose that’s Luke?” Alicia asked.
From behind, Blake wrapped his arms around her. His chuckle filled her ear. “You’re not going to find out waiting back here, are you?”
Alicia inhaled deeply. The air was rich with a mixture of salty sea and freshly cut wood. The humidity was heavy, and Alicia was glad she’d pulled her hair back into a simple braid as it allowed the breeze from the water to cool her heated neck. She dried her hands on her skirt.
“All right, then. Let’s find out.” Blake moved in beside her and she clasped his hand.
The man must have been used to being watched because he didn’t stop his work when Alicia and Blake stepped up. He did, however, cast them a glance before taking another curved board and setting it into place. Over the thudding of the hammer, Alicia studied this stranger. His hair was long and grazed his shoulders. Though he wore a shirt, it was unbuttoned and revealed both golden skin and at least six gold chains around his neck. Combined with the black patch over his left eye and a cut of mustache over his lip, Alicia was certain she was looking at Luke Bradley. If anyone ever looked like a pirate, to her eye it was this man.
“Luke Bradley?” she asked when he’d finished with the plank.
He lowered the hammer, looked at her a little closer this time.
“Maybe,” he answered, stepping to the front of his ship and kneeling. He angled his head, checked his lines. Satisfied it looked good, he went for another board.
“I’m looking for Samantha Fine. I mean, Bradley, I guess.” Alicia fidgeted when he dropped the hammer and it sank silently into the blanched sand.
His right eye narrowed. “Why?”
“I’d rather tell her myself,” Alicia answered. “It’s a long story.”
“She’s come from Port Royal to find her,” Blake added.
He turned his attention to Blake. “And who in blazes are you?”
Blake raised his chin. “Blake Merritt.”