

### CELESTIAL BREEZE

### By

### LEIGH CAROL ALEXANDER

### Copyright 2013 by Leigh Carol Alexander

### Smashwords Edition

### This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

### Dedicated to

### Jennifer Dempsey and Ron Shepherd

### With thanks for all your help

### Scott Balinson

### Michael McClory

### And a very big thanks to

### Rolfe DeGroot

### whose nautical assistance was invaluable

### Cover by Book Cover Art

PROLOGUE

Jake straddled the pulpit of the ship's bow. The foresail rope in one callused hand was all that kept him aloft as he inspected his crew scraping the barnacles from the Avenger's hull.

They had sailed in two nights ago and beached her the next morning when the tide went out so that they could remove them and make the necessary repairs to their ship...his ship. This crew seemed to need more encouragement to work than his past crews, but most of them were still young and they would either learn or die quickly--there were no other options at sea. This was his first trip to this island since it happened; and he knew it would be his last.

He surveyed it now and saw some of the crew coming back with water and food. They would make many more such trips to get enough rations for the fifty-three members of his crew. He'd lost eighteen men so far on this voyage; the young ones. He let out a long breath and looked towards the ocean. How many men had he seen sent to the bottom over the years? The answer to that question came easily...too many. A good Captain always knows how many men he has working under him, and what they're thinking. The latter was the most important, after all, pirates are not known for their loyalty. They praised the spoils of their labour, and the kill, and a good Captain had to balance the killing with the rewards, not enough either way and he would have a mutiny on his hands.

He swung his leg back and strode over to inspect the main mast Callan had been working on. She was holding strong this one, but the mainsail was in need of replacing again. It had already been repaired more than once. Perhaps the next ship would have one for the taking.

Jake ran his hand over the spot on the mast where Edward's sword had nearly beheaded him, and with his left hand he rubbed his neck. ' _Damn him'_ , he thought. He looked again at the ocean, scanning the horizon for Edward's ship but there was nothing. Not yet. He didn't like being this vulnerable, not at this juncture, but it was necessary. The repairs to the ship had taken too long already and if Edward caught up with him now he would have no escape. Jake had two men on watch, one in the crow's nest and the other at the stern, but the glare seemed extra strong today and Jake remained vigilant in his watch for Edward as well. Only a few hours left till sunset and then the tide would come back in and they could set sail.

If Jake had his way he would never come ashore. Most of his crew had abandoned him at their last port for this very reason. No explanation, just gone. Jake knew it was the three months at sea, only stopping at these small desolate islands occasionally for fresh water and food. The crews needed more. They wanted to spend their money on women, drink and meat. He understood their needs, but without Marianna it meant nothing to him.

He scanned the horizon and felt a warm breeze start up and remain steady. If Edward wasn't close before, he would be soon.

He commanded his men to hurry with their tasks. Time was running out and they had to be finished before sunset so that they could return to the sea – and safety. It would have normally taken a week for repairs, but Jake didn't have a week.

That little weasel Jeremiah was on Edward's ship now. The only thing in Jake's favour was that Jeremiah was not a very good sailor and he would only know the general vicinity of this island; but Jeremiah knew the way in, and that was dangerous knowledge...dangerous for Jake.

Jake stared out over the water and remembered his first time on a ship; he was only ten. He had stowed away on the Marquis, a frigate out of Scotland heading to the Caribbean with merchandise to sell to the settlers. He'd had no other choice.

He hadn't started out to be a pirate, but there he found a kind of family and acceptance. He had been impressionable at that age and again wondered how life would have turned out if his father had lived.

This island wasn't well known to many. It lay on the verge of evil waters so the old tars said, and most sailors were far too superstitious to venture out into this section of the ocean. That was good for Jake; it meant he had the island all to himself.

He went back to the bow, his men were taking too long to ready the ship and he scolded them like schoolboys, which wasn't too far from some of their ages. Jake knew that they were taking their time because they were eager to stay on dry land for as long as possible. He understood their needs to stay more than he understood his own to get back onto the ocean. He only knew if he was able, he would stay at sea forever. The only time he had ever considered putting in at port was to see Marianna. She worked at the Bayalea Tavern on Virgin Gorda. Marianna was a strong-willed redhead with a left hook that could drop even the sturdiest of sailors. He had fallen for her hard, but so had Edward, although, Marianna only had eyes for Jake. This didn't sit well with Edward.

The last time Jake docked his ship there had been a year ago. He had planned to take Marianna away with him, to make a new life together and give up pirating forever, but it was too late. It so happened that Edward had made her that same offer months earlier and when she declined his invitation he hit her.

Stubbert, the owner of the Bayalea Tavern, told him that Edward had hit her so hard that he had broken her neck. He said she had died very quickly. In Edward's twisted mind he blamed Jake for Marianna's death and set out to find him. Jake blamed himself as well and set out with his own agenda. Edward had gotten the best of him twice now; and with Jake's ship in such dire need of repair, if he caught up with him now chances were that the outcome would not be in his favour. However, all he needed to do was to kill Edward and he would have his revenge.

Jake looked back to the horizon again and thought he saw a glint to the northeast. He ran to the helm and snatched the telescope that lay beside it. He peered through the lens and saw a ship far off in the distance, but it was coming closer. It had to be Edward's ship, _The_ _Marietta_.

Jake put up his hand to check the wind; it was still blowing well and directly at him. Edward would be here very soon.

Jake ran to the helm and rang the bell. It pealed wildly and everyone scrambled back on board. The men farther in immediately dropped their provisions and raced back to the _Avenger_.

"READY THE CANNONS!" He ordered and half the crew quickly and efficiently loaded the cannons. For whatever good it will do, he thought.

They were trapped here. He thought of sending his men into the interior of the island to hide, and wait in ambush, but Edward would send his own men, all cutthroats, and all more experienced than his own crew would ever have the chance to be. The tide would be coming in soon, bringing Edward with it. He looked at their faces, so young, looking to him for strength, but he had none to give them. He knew that most of them would die, as he would. Edward's crew was twice Jake's. That was when Jake did something no other pirate captain had ever done. He gave his men a choice. They could stay with him and fight or they could hide on the island and join Edward's crew should he win. They all stayed.

Jake looked out to see Edward's ship coming closer. He touched the sword on his right hip with his left hand and caressed the hilt. He had made this sword himself at his own forge on the island's interior. His own secret place. His father had taught him well in the few short years they had been together. He carved his name, Jake, into the handle; for that was his only name now, his pirate name. His previous life had been taken away from him in much the same manner his father had been taken away. Jake now clasped his hand around his sword and raised it to the sky with a loud cry, and his men echoed, their cries even louder, for as young as they were they would follow their Captain, even to their death.

Edward had gone around Jake's ship and out of cannon range, without wasting any of his artillery. The _Marietta_ came alongside, beaching her in the process, and his men swarmed the _Avenger_ with a skill that came from years of boarding and looting dozens of ships. Jake killed more than his share of Edward's men, but it was Edward he wanted, and it was Edward he saw standing at the bow of _The_ _Marietta_ watching the slaughter.

Jake fought hard and it cut at his soul to watch his men fall one by one until he was the only one left.

It was clear that Edward had ordered his men to leave Jake unharmed. When the battle was over Edward strode across the plank and boarded the _Avenger_. Jake still had his cutlass in hand and his body tensed as he saw Edward come aboard, his hand gripped the sword tightly and he aimed it at Edward. He was dressed in a dirty white shirt and torn blue pants; his hair was long and matted, the same as his beard. Jake could smell him even before he boarded. Edward did not fit the image of a pirate Captain, but then again, neither did Jake. Although Jake's dark hair was long, he always kept it back, tied with a piece of Marianna's scarf. He was clean shaven and his clothing was always clean. He felt a Captain should be an example to his men, not a disgrace. Edward was a disgrace. He now drew his sword and touched the tip of it to Jake's.

"So we fight!" he spat.

"Aye, I suppose we do." Jake spat back, his Scottish brogue accentuating every syllable.

Edward ordered Jake onto the island and Jake had no option but to go. He placed his sword back into his scabbard, knowing that Edward would not kill him yet. He stepped gingerly over the bodies of his crew, bloodied and still, and descended down the rope on the port side of the ship and waded ashore, for the tide was now coming in.

He walked past Jeremiah, who was now on the beach, his sword bloody from the fight. Jake glared at him and Jeremiah turned his eyes away. Jake knew that there was shame in those eyes. Edward followed a short distance behind. Some of Edward's men had gone ashore first to make sure Jake didn't try to run off, but Edward seemed sure that he wouldn't. He caught up to Jake quickly and both drew their swords.

"Do you want to tell me where you've put my treasure now, or do you want me to cut that information out of ya piece by piece?" he smiled, exposing his yellowed and rotted teeth.

"Find it," Jake replied quietly with a sly grin.

"Oh, I will. The boys tell me it's not on yer ship, so I'm thinking it must be on this island of yorn," he waved his sword towards the island's interior. "Either way, we'll find it."

"Will ya now?" Jake smiled, his lip curling up. His smile would have been dazzling had he not lost his left front tooth and incisor in one of his raids a couple of years back.

Edward started first as he brought his sword up to Jake's with a loud clang of steel on steel. Jake countered and stepped back. The crew of the _Marietta_ looked on silently as Jake was getting the best of Edward.

"Yer no a very good swordsman, Edward. Should ya no hae had a few lessons?" he mocked, and saw Edward's eyes flare.

"Don't try my patience, boy, many's a man who's died at the end of my blade." He struck his blows harder at Jake, who was smiling.

"Aye? This blade?" Jake's cutlass clanged off of Edward's hard, sending him slightly off balance.

Edward roared and flew at Jake, edging him back towards the trees.

"Yeh seem a wee bit upset, Eddie. Do yeh no like teh lose?" He was still smiling but there was a fire in Jake's eyes now and he struck harder, the clash of steel echoed over the island.

"I WILL NEVER LOSE TO YOU!" he screamed.

"She never liked ya Edward. Ya were too old. Ya weren't even clean enough to be her pet," Jake wanted to incite him and Edward's reaction to his words was like pouring oil onto a fire, his sword hit Jake's so hard it was knocked out of his hand and he fell backwards onto the sand. Edward rushed at him, stood over him and placed the tip of his sword on Jake's chest.

"Where is my gold? Tell me and I may let you live," he growled.

"You'll no find ma treasure, it's long gone...just like Marianna." Jake looked Edward straight in the eyes and saw what he could only assume was madness. It was the last thing he saw as Edward plunged the sword straight through his heart.

CHAPTER 1

The doors to the emergency room slammed open. Alex could hear them as they hit the walls and then bounced back, scraping alongside his stretcher, but all he could manage to concentrate on was the intense pain in his chest. God, it felt like someone had skewered him. He was only twenty-eight years old, much too young for a heart attack, yet this was his fifth episode in the past three months, each one had been progressively more intense and yet none of them had even come close to this one.

"You're gonna be all right, Alex," Howie tried to reassure him.

Alex looked over at his friend and tried to smile in acknowledgement but the oxygen mask covered most of his face. He could do no more than blink in reply. He stared up, watching the lights on the ceiling whiz past and silently praying to God that this wasn't the end. He wished now that he'd seen a doctor after that first episode in January; January first, to be exact. It was just a slight stabbing pain in his chest, and it didn't last very long. He'd figured it was just one of the symptoms of quitting smoking.

He'd tried everything to quit over the past year, the patch, nicotine gum, he'd even gone cold turkey. His last ditch effort was hypnosis and it had been quite painless. He had been hypnotised at a party on New Year's Eve. Apparently he had been the hit of the evening, although he didn't remember any of it. He hadn't experienced any of the usual symptoms, like the foul mood and those god-awful cravings that he had with his other attempts.

The second episode was about two weeks later, he remembered because it was Howie's birthday and they were having lunch at Phillipe's, a seafood restaurant on the pier. He'd excused himself when it started and sat in one of the washroom stalls until the feeling passed, which it did. He'd thought that one had just been indigestion, and attributed the heartburn to the subsequent episodes, as well. But he'd only had a few incidents, nothing major, and there were no other symptoms of a heart attack to go along with it. He hadn't experienced any tingling or numbness in his arm, no dizziness, nothing to suggest it was anything more than heartburn. Still, he should have had it checked out; maybe now it was too late. Come to think of it, he seemed to have an 'episode' every couple of weeks or so.

He tried to recall his earlier experiences. Each episode had occurred when he was relaxed, calm, and off work. This one however, had happened at his desk. He had been sitting in his chair looking out over Lake Ontario when it hit. He remembered seeing the first sailboat of the season glide by and the pain started. It couldn't be from smoking withdrawal or from lunch, it was ten in the morning and it felt like he'd been stabbed.

Alex lay in the examination room for a long time before Howie was allowed to come in and see him. The doctor had hooked him up to a heart monitor, taken his blood pressure and tried to get a family history from him while a nurse took most of his blood. He didn't want to admit how scared and alone he felt. His family was still in Saskatchewan and Howie was the closest thing to family he had out here in Toronto. If Howie hadn't come in to chat he may very well have been lying dead on his office floor at this very moment instead of in a hospital bed, alive. There was a small tap on the door and Howie poked his head in.

"Hi, how ya feelin'?" He closed the door quietly behind him and sat in the green plastic chair beside the bed. Howie's normal GQ appearance was now gone. He carried his blue pinstripe suit jacket over his arm and the first two buttons of his shirt were undone. His tie was now hanging out of his pants pocket. His short blond hair was all mussed, probably from running his hands through it so much, Alex thought. Though he tried his best to cover it up, Alex could see how worried Howie was, and somehow he didn't feel so alone or scared anymore.

"Better," he replied, which was the truth. The pain was gone now and he hadn't needed the oxygen mask any longer. Alex tried to sit up but Howie stood up quickly and placed one hand on his shoulder to stop him. Alex lay back down.

"You just lay there till the doctor tells you to get up," he chided.

Alex smiled, "Okay." He saw the worry on his friend's face, "sorry I scared you like that."

"Don't worry about it. I'm just glad I was there."

"Me too, thanks." Alex dropped his head down and stared at the hand with the intravenous. He felt badly that he had intruded on Howie in this way, but that was silly, wasn't it? He would have done the very same thing if the situation had been reversed.

"You know, I've always thought that the IV was the worst part of the whole 'being sick' thing," Howie pointed at Alex's hand.

"Hmmph, I don't even remember it going in," he raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders. There was a knock at the door and a small Asian man entered. Dr. Nguyen asked Howie to step outside for a moment while he talked to his patient. Howie obliged and Alex waited for the bad news.

Alex stepped out of the room in the emergency ward where he had been and found Howie waiting for him over at the nurses' station. From Alex's angle though, it looked like he was trying to chat them up more than he was waiting. He walked over and slapped Howie on the back.

"Come on, we're outta here," he rushed past Howie.

Howie turned in disbelief. "What? Already? Are you okay? Why are they letting you out? I thought you were having a heart attack?"

"Whoa, slow down. Doctor says I'm fine, I'll tell you on the way back to work."

"Oh, I don't think so, pal, you're going home, boss's orders. Come on, my car's right outside." They started to walk towards the exit when Howie turned to Alex, "do you need a wheelchair, cause I can get you one, no problem?"

Alex laughed, "no, I'm okay to walk to the car. Let's just get out of here."

They drove out of Toronto and towards Alex's apartment in Mississauga. Howie waited until they were on the highway before asking about the diagnosis.

"So? You gonna tell me?" he started.

Alex sighed and continued looking out the window as he spoke, "he told me I just had a panic attack. Said there was nothing wrong with my heart and he gave me a prescription for some pills." Alex was still in a state of disbelief at his diagnosis. He hadn't been under any stress lately and he would never have described himself as panicky. Sure, work sucked, but he wasn't upset about it, half the population hated their jobs. He was young, had a nice apartment, made enough money, and did his job well. Okay, maybe that was an overstatement, he did his job. Selling insurance hadn't exactly been the first thing on his list of careers. Actually, there was no list. When he finished high school he had no idea what he wanted to do with his life so he just flipped the pages in the college catalogue and stuck his finger in the middle. It landed on insurance. He didn't hate it, but in the back of his mind he always felt that there was something else he was destined for. Unfortunately, Destiny and he hadn't met yet, but he did meet Howie in that class; and Howie was the one who convinced him to apply with him to Omega Insurance in Toronto after graduation. As luck would have it, they were both hired.

"A panic attack can do that?" Howie asked incredulously.

"Apparently he also said I should take some time off, go on a vacation. Like I could afford that," he added.

Howie looked thoughtful for a moment and then turned to Alex, "did I tell you I broke up with Treena?"

Alex turned in shock. "What? When did this happen? I thought you two were getting married?"

"Last week. We'd been fighting a lot lately and just decided to call the whole thing off," he answered matter-of-factly.

"I can't believe it, are you okay? And why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I'm fine, so is Treena, it was mutual. I was just waiting for the right time to tell you," he kept looking straight ahead.

"So, you figured after my 'near death' experience would be a good time?"

"Get bent, you just told me you weren't dying. Do you want to hear the rest of this or not?"

"Okay, what?"

"Well, you remember that trip I won for selling all that insurance in our area?"

"You mean the one where you were named one of the top five sellers in the company? Yeah," Alex nodded his head, Howie was always modest.

"Treena was supposed to be going with me, but since we're no longer a couple... hows about I take you?"

"You mean that schooner cruise out of the British Virgin Islands? Really? Oh, man, that would be awesome. Yeah, I'd love to go. But that's next week, right?" He replied excitedly.

"Actually, it's this Sunday. You've got a passport, right?"

"Yeah, oh, wait a minute. That's for like a five-day cruise on the ocean, isn't it?"

"Yeah, so?"

"I've never been on a boat before, what if I get seasick?"

"Please...on a full stomach you rode every coaster at Wonderland twice and didn't puke. I hardly think a little boat cruise is gonna make you hurl," he laughed.

Alex smiled back, "I suppose not. Okay, I'm in."

"We'll call Ron and let him know what's up. He's not gonna give you a hassle about taking time off after today, especially since the doctor specifically told you to go on vacation."

"Probably not, I can just use one of my weeks now and that'll still leave me, hmm, let's see." Alex scratched his head and looked up at the roof of the car. "Oh, yeah, one." he smiled at Howie.

"Very funny." They pulled up to Alex's apartment complex and he got out and thanked Howie for everything.

"You're welcome. I'll call you tonight with all the details about the trip. We leave Sunday, so start packing," he waved and drove off.

Sunday didn't leave him much time since it was already Thursday. Alex turned and unlocked the door to his apartment building, hoping that this cruise would help, but he had a strange feeling about it. It was nothing he could quite put his finger on, maybe it was just nerves. Oh, well, at least he wasn't craving a cigarette.

CHAPTER 2

Peter sat in one of the red folding camp chairs at the bow of the ship and waited as Celeste checked on their dinner. It was after seven p.m. and dark, but the lights on the _Celestial Breeze_ illuminated the deck nicely. There was a warm breeze tonight and the ship swayed gently with the waves. Peter loved it out here on the ocean. It was so peaceful. In the distance he could hear the faint sound of music from the clubhouse at the marina. He was too old for that sort of nightlife anymore; Sandra and Alonzo had taken the launch and gone dancing. Ah, to be young again, he thought, although technically, fifty-three was not ancient, but he felt it more and more these days. The wineglass started to slip from his hand and he barely managed to hold onto it. It was actually a plastic cup, no glass on deck. He put it back into the cup holder in the chair and clenched and opened his fist a few times. It felt better now.

At the bow of the ship there was a small rustling of feathers. Pelican had raised her head to see what Peter was doing and he shushed her to go back to sleep. Pelican was a small brown pelican that somehow ended up on their ship last year just after Christmas. The brown pelican is endangered and this one was alone. At first Celeste and Peter thought that she was just catching a ride, but she stayed. They knew enough not to feed her; and they never encouraged her to stay, but she did anyway. They had never named her; instead they just called her Pelican. She had been entertaining most of their guests by the simple task of diving into the ocean for her food. She followed the ship on each of its cruises and nestled at the bow each evening. She didn't have her adult plumage yet and was still mostly a dark brown, but her head was starting to turn white. Celeste had checked the Internet about pelicans and found out that this meant she was probably nearing her third year. Whatever the reason, Pelican didn't seem interested in leaving. In fact, she seemed to be quite at home on board the _Celestial Breeze_.

Celeste came up from below with their dinner of fresh grouper with a side of rice and mixed vegetables Alonzo had left for them. Peter had caught the fish earlier today. One of his favourite things about being at sea was the chance to catch his own dinner. It was always a surprise. He watched as Celeste walked towards him and he couldn't help but think how lucky he had been to have a friend like her. He had met her when she was fourteen. Her parents had signed her up for sailing lessons and Peter had been her instructor. She was a quick learner and was soon learning on much larger boats. She had turned into a fine young woman. He wished she could find a fine young man, but Celeste seemed to be very picky about the men she dated, and with good reason he mused. At the tender age of twenty-one Celeste had won the lottery; the sole winning ticket of thirty-six million dollars. She'd used part of it to buy this schooner, the _Celestial Breeze_. It had taken a full year for them to build it and even longer for her to get her licence as Captain. Peter had his licence long ago and Celeste asked him to come with her to the British Virgin Islands to set up her business. Schooner cruises of the Caribbean, January to March. Peter had been the Captain the first two years until Celeste had the experience, but now she was Captain and she knew her ship well. Each year they would cruise the Caribbean, and just before hurricane season they would sail through the Panama Canal and up to British Columbia to see her folks on Vancouver Island. Maggie and Stan had always wanted to live on Vancouver Island and Celeste bought them a home there with some of her winnings.

Celeste was now twenty-seven years old and had sailed almost all the way around the world, taking Peter with her. Celeste's sister Sandra and her husband Alonzo had also gone along for the ride. Sandra was two years younger than Celeste but she had married her high school sweetheart, Alonzo Mathias, right after college. Sandra was now the Hostess on the _Celestial Breeze_ and her husband Alonzo was the chef, a far cry from the banker he had wanted to be, but he had a flair for food, and he did all of Celeste's accounting to keep his hand in.

Celeste had always been a pretty child, but now she was a stunning woman. Her long legs gave her the appearance of being much taller than five foot eight; and her once long dark hair was now cut short. The girl was officially gone. Peter had been the one who cut her hair that day at sea. She ordered him to cut it so that none of it would hit her in the eyes and he had done as she requested. Peter was definitely no hairdresser and he insisted that she get it done properly when they got back to port, which she did, six weeks later. It wasn't unusual for them to be at sea that long. Celeste loved the ocean, but Peter always thought that it wasn't just her love for the sea; it was as though she was looking for something. He hoped he'd be around long enough to see her find it.

Celeste handed him his plate and sat in the adjoining camp chair. Even in the dark, with only the deck lights, she was stunning. Never one for make-up, she didn't need it. Her skin was beautifully tanned from the Caribbean sun, and make-up, he decided, would only take away from her beauty. She should have a man by now, not some old, bald sailor as a friend, he thought.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Celeste asked through a mouthful of fish and rice.

"Like what?" He put a forkful of fish into his mouth and looked out over the starboard rail and started to chew.

"You're giving me that 'she needs a man' look again," she chided.

"I was not." Peter looked her in the eye and then at the deck, "okay, okay, I was. But is there anything wrong with me wanting to see you happy, Celeste?"

"Ug, I've told you a thousand times, I AM happy." She took her cup from the cup holder in the chair and took a small sip of the iced tea it contained.

"How about that Jeff fellow, the one who runs the deep sea fishing outfit? He seems like a nice guy. Good looking too, from what the women tell me."

"What women? You're always here with me," she joked.

"I get around when you're not watchin'."

Celeste snickered, "okay," she replied in mocking disbelief.

"Seriously now, what about him?" He took another forkful of fish.

Celeste just shrugged and continued to eat.

"What does that mean?" He imitated her shrug.

"It means..."

"What?"

"All right, it means I think he's creepy."

"Why would you say that? Anytime I've talked to him he's been very pleasant, and I've never seen him be rude to you. I got the impression that he quite liked you."

"Yeah, I got that impression, too. But...I don't know to describe it." She put her plate down on her lap and leaned forward. "Have you ever met someone you just take an instant dislike to?"

Peter sat back and thought, "Yeah, I guess so, why?"

"Well, that's what I get from Jeff. For whatever reason, I just can't stand him. Now, can we drop it?"

"Okay, okay," Peter decided that it would be better left alone and they continued with their meals in silence

Celeste understood Peter's wish for her to find a nice man to settle down with, Hell, she'd like to find someone, too. The nights at sea were lonely. Peter was great company, but not the kind she longed for. It was a longing that seemed to come from somewhere deep inside. Not just a longing, but a need that had gone unfulfilled for longer than this life, she thought. That longing was made even more acute each time she saw how happy her sister and Alonzo were. Married for almost four years and they were still like newlyweds. And where was she? Sailing around the world looking for...what? Okay, just say it, Celeste; you're looking for a pirate. _Damn_ , she thought. _That_ is _what I'm looking for, ever since I was nine years old_. She shook her head and tried not to look at Peter. He always seemed to know what she was thinking, and this was embarrassing enough to tell herself.

Celeste had been at the library that hot summer day in July, she remembered it well. Her family didn't have much money, and certainly none for air conditioning, so her mother had taken her and her sister to the air-conditioned library in their hometown of Port Dover, Ontario. Sandra was just seven and her mother had spent the time reading to her, so Celeste was left on her own to pick out a book. She had chosen one about pirates. Not a children's book either, a real grown-up book. It told of their deeds and ships, when they died, all their vital statistics. She decided to look for more books about them and pulled out six or seven. She had them placed before her, all open. She liked the pictures the best, but there was one picture that stood out above all the others for her, a pirate by the name of Jake, no known last name. The photo was of an actual painting done by an unknown person in 1794. She stared at the picture for a long time before finally turning the page, but no matter how many pages she turned she always came back to that picture. Her first crush, she assumed, but that first crush had lasted to this very day. It was that crush that led her to learn how to sail. She had begged her parents to get her lessons, but they had no money. She did as many odd jobs as she could until, at fourteen, she finally had enough saved for those precious lessons. She had loved sailing immediately, as she had always assumed she would, but there was something missing. Him. Even now, when she was at the helm, she imagined Jake at her side, just like on the cover of some Harlequin Romance novel.

Jake was not a very well-known pirate, short career span she supposed, but she had read that he was known to have travelled the waters in and around the area now known as the Virgin Islands. Jake led her here. Celeste had been to most of the islands in the Caribbean and each stop gave her more information about the pirate that she longed to know. She even managed to find out a little about him from each of the local archives, but most of what they had from 1795 was about another pirate, Edward Stockton. He was caught and hanged around the same time for piracy, and there was a picture. An ugly man, she thought, and somewhere deep inside she also thought...smelly.

Maybe she should stop fantasizing about pirates and concentrate on real live men. Jeff was a good looking man, and she could understand Peter wanting to see her happy, but deep down she knew Jeff was not the person he appeared to be. She had taken an instant dislike to him the moment they had been introduced, and there was something else there as well...fear.

Peter cleaned off his plate and stood up, "well, Celeste, I guess we'd better get busy."

"You're right," she replied and stood up, plate in hand and Peter took it from her.

"My turn to do dishes tonight," he said

"You're right, again. I guess I should start getting the state rooms in order for our guests tomorrow," she stretched and yawned. "One last cruise and then we can relax."

"Yeah, a boatload of insurance salesmen. This should be out best cruise ever," he mocked and Celeste laughed.

"Stop it, it'll be fine," she was still smiling as Peter made his way to the steps leading to the galley below.

"God, I hope they don't talk shop for five days, I may have to throw myself overboard."

"If they talk about work for five days then I haven't done my job. We'll just have to try harder to get their minds off of the office," she was still giggling as she watched Peter disappear down the steps.

Celeste turned and looked at the lights from the shore, and then turned towards the ocean looking for Polaris, the northern star. She was always awed by the fact that sailors used that star to find home, no matter where they were, she sighed, if only it was that easy.

CHAPTER 3

Sam Halliwell placed his new black suitcase carefully on the bed. This set wasn't as nice as the old one but Libby had taken them with her when she left last year. He unzipped the case and opened it up to remove the rest of the nesting bags. Only one bag each on this trip. He craned his neck to look at Brent's door across the hall. It was closed as usual. Sam could only hope that his son was actually packing as he had been instructed. He had certainly been a handful since his mother left. Sam rubbed his face and sat on the bed, still cradling his face. When he looked up he stared directly into the mirror on top of the dresser. _No wonder she left you_ , he thought, _you're pathetic_. _You're short, fat and bald. What woman in her right mind would want you?_

Sam shook his head, trying to get those negative thoughts out of his mind. That wasn't what the counsellor would call 'constructive'. He and Brent had been going to counselling for the last month, on and off, ever since the police brought Brent home. Sam knew now that they should have started it long ago, but he'd been so wrapped up in his own despair that he never once stopped to think about what Brent was going through. It helped Sam get through the days by throwing himself into his work, a tactic that worked well for him, but left Brent without anyone to talk to. Thirteen was a tough enough age on its own, but one parent gone and the other never around had to be hell. Therefore, Brent had gone out looking for friendship with boys of questionable character. This had resulted in Brent being grounded for the last two months as well. That incident at Christmas had only been the tip of the iceberg and Brent was now on the verge of getting a criminal record. The police advised Sam that they wouldn't be so lenient the next time they had to bring him home.

Sam stood up and opened the dresser and began to pack. This trip to the British Virgin Islands might help to get them back on track, but Brent was very reluctant to go. He didn't want to go on a trip with a bunch of stupid Insurance Salesmen. Truth be told, Sam was a little reluctant himself. He had no idea how to entertain Brent for five days, and the trip would most surely be all adults. The schooner would be pretty close quarters and they hadn't spent that much time together in what felt like forever.

Sam had worked so hard to forget Libby that his sales had tripled. The Head Office had given him this trip for being number one in sales in Canada. The irony of winning this trip wasn't lost on him, the job that took him away from his son, albeit voluntarily, was now giving him the opportunity to get to know him again. Maybe it was a sign, not that he really believed in signs, but maybe there really was such a thing as fate. Whatever it was, good or bad, he had to get to know Brent again, but it would take more than five days at sea.

"I'm done."

Sam turned to see Brent in the doorway. "Did you pack everything on the list?"

"Yeah," he replied rather curtly.

"Okay, bring it down to the front door and I'll put it in the car."

"Whatever..." his voice trailed off as he returned to his room and Sam hoped that he would do as he was asked.

Sam zipped the suitcase shut and placed it by his bedroom door. They would be leaving at four o'clock tomorrow morning so everything would have to be ready before they went to bed. He sighed and set his alarm for three a.m. Sam had no idea what to expect on this trip but he hoped it would be a new start.

CHAPTER 4

Melissa Pelletier threw her red Samsonite onto the bed. If she was only allowed to bring one suitcase it would be the biggest one she could find. She'd had to borrow this from her mother. Thankfully, Mom wasn't travelling anywhere this week. Ever since she'd retired Melissa hadn't seen much of her, just the postcards and a few snapshots via e-mail from all over. At least they had been able to keep in touch. Melissa's Dad had passed away a few years ago and her Mother had joined a lot of clubs to keep herself busy. She was happy that her Mother had been able to get on with her life, but she certainly did miss having her around to talk to every so often. Dianna filled that void nicely.

Best friends since grade nine they were still inseparable. Her mother said that they complemented each other, what one lacked the other more than made up for.

She looked at the clock by her bed. Dianna should be here any minute. There was no one else on this planet she would rather go on this cruise with than Dianna. This was gonna be a blast. She had thought of asking Scott, but then good sense got the better of her and she politely broke up with him. She got the impression that he was only interested in her as someone to fill in time with until someone better came along. Maybe that's because she was doing the same thing with him. He was smart, funny and not bad looking, but there was nothing else, no spark. He had told her once that his best friend had asked him what was so special about her and he had replied 'nothing, I just like her'. He was trying to give her a compliment but it only made her think about their relationship. She wanted to be with someone who thought that she _was_ special, and someday she would find him. Until then she would just relax and have fun, cause everybody says that you'll only find that special guy when you're not looking for him.

Melissa was almost finished packing when she heard her door open and Dianna called out to her.

"Mel, it's only me."

"I'm in the bedroom."

Dianna appeared at the bedroom door in seconds, looking windblown and out of breath. Melissa laughed at her.

"What did you do? The stairs again?"

"Yeah, burn off a couple more calories before the bikini goes on...aren't you done yet? We have to leave in like twenty minutes -- move it!"

Melissa threw the rest of her clothing into the case and snapped it shut.

"There. Done. Let's go."

"I don't know how you can do everything last minute and make it look so easy. I started packing last week and I still need to pick up a couple of things.

"What could you possibly have to pick up? I gave you a list almost two weeks ago." She hoisted her case from the bed and started for the front door.

"Yeah, yeah, I've been busy." She shrugged and looked away.

Melissa looked at Dianna and saw the red rimmed eyes. She placed an arm around her shoulder and gave her a hug.

"Get over him, Lady Di, he's a jerk," she said quietly, "and you deserve better."

"I know," she rested her head on Melissa's shoulder. Dianna quickly stood up straight and snatched her suitcase from the front door. "Let's go."

"In a minute, I just have to make sure everything's turned off, flushed and...away. Sit down."

"Okay, okay. Hey, did I ever thank you for inviting me, by the way?" She called out.

"Every day since I asked you." Melissa called back from the bathroom.

"I still can't believe you won this trip, this is so awesome."

Melissa re-entered the room, "well, that's me, awesome."

"Shut up!" she squealed and laughed.

Melissa plopped down on the couch next to Dianna. "Okay, ground rules."

Dianna groaned, "Lord, not this again."

"Yes, this again. One...you WILL have fun. Two...you can have first choice of any cute single guys."

"Right...like there's gonna be any hot insurance agents our age."

"Okay, okay, so you've got me there, but you never know who you'll meet on the plane, and we have a couple of days at the hotel after the cruise..."

"Good point..." Dianna agreed,

"Three...forget the past events of this year."

"Easier said than done...but for you I'll give it my best, thanks." Dianna gave Melissa a hug and sat back. "Okay, now for you."

"What about me?" Melissa looked puzzled.

"You have some ground rules of your own."

"I won the trip, I don't need any rules."

"Yes, you do. One...have fun. Two...if you do meet any cute guys, try to control that motor mouth of yours."

"Hey..." she said feigning offence.

Dianna laughed loudly, "You know exactly what I mean, missy, every time you get nervous or drink too much you start talking a mile a minute and the guys go running."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'll try to keep a zipper on it, okay? What's number three?"

"Who said there's a third?"

"Cool, I only have two rules," she sang, "and you have three."

Melissa got up from the couch dragging Dianna behind her. "Come one, let's get off this island so we can go see some more."

"Thanks, Mel, for everything."

"You're welcome." They took their suitcases and Melissa locked her door behind her. She followed as Dianna started towards the stairwell.

"Hey, get back here, we're taking the elevator."

CHAPTER 5

"Jenny...where are my new shorts?" John hollered from the bedroom.

"They're in the suitcase; I told you I packed everything already." She hollered back from the bathroom.

"No, they're not," he yelled back.

Jenny Dempsey walked into the bedroom and opened the navy suitcase on the floor and pulled out three new pairs of shorts from the bag and waved them in front of him.

"Oh, well, I thought this was my bag," he replied, sheepishly pointing to the twin on the bed.

"You mean the one with the women's bathing suit in it?" She asked smugly, arms crossed.

"Yes," he replied, holding up the suit in front of him, "it's my colour, don't you think?"

Jenny gave a snort of laughter, "you're an ass".

"That's why you love me," he replied and kissed her on the forehead.

"Are you going to be like this throughout our whole retirement? Cause if you are I can go back to work right now!" She joked.

"Probably, but I don't think you'll go back to work, so I'll call your bluff."

"Ass." She replied, still laughing, and gave him a hug. "Put my bathing suit back in the case and bring it downstairs." She turned and walked towards the doorway.

"Love you." he called after her.

"Love you, too, ass." And she disappeared into the hallway.

John closed the suitcase and picked up the other one to take out to the car. They would be leaving very early in the morning and it would be a long trip from Vancouver to the British Virgin Islands. He still couldn't believe his luck at winning this trip. He'd been retired exactly one month when his boss had called and told him he'd won.

He had the fourth highest sales for the year in all of Canada. That in itself had been a feat, but it had been a fabulous last year. It seemed that everyone wanted to buy insurance from him last year. It didn't hurt that a couple of the guys in the office had to go on medical leave for a while, and he picked up their business.

Whatever way it happened, they were starting their retirement years off with a bang. Jenny still had a few more years to go, but in the long run, they really wouldn't have had much more money coming in if she had stayed. He really didn't have much of a problem talking her into it either. Both of their children were now finished college, and out of the house...now it was their time. He smiled as he remembered how excited she had been when he told her about the trip. And since they had won this one, they could still afford to go somewhere else in the fall. There looked to be a lot of travelling in their future.

He placed the suitcases in the trunk of his car and slammed it shut. They'd never been sailing before and he hoped his stomach was up to the ordeal. Sure, he'd been on the ferry a lot, but that was different, wasn't it? Thank God for Jenny, she'd known exactly what he'd been thinking and loaded his bag with gravol and some special little thing you put behind your ear. A man couldn't get any luckier than to have her by his side for all these years.

"Hey, I forgot to put this in the suitcase, can you open it up for me." Jenny sauntered out to the car and held up a short emerald green satin nightie.

John grinned, "I don't think you should put that in the bag just yet." He took her by the arm and led her back into the house.

CHAPTER 6

Patrice Miller finished packing the suitcase in total silence. Bill had left the entire job to her, as usual. _He wins a trip, I do the work_ , she thought. She'd arranged the passports, the flights, hell; she'd even bought all of his clothes for the trip. Every time she'd try to show him what she bought he just grunted. Well, he never complained about what she bought, at least that was something. Of course, it would be nice to get some sort of a reaction. In their twenty years of marriage they hadn't really fought, and to all outward appearances they were a happy couple. She couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something missing.

She'd finally gotten up the courage to ask Bill to go for counselling, but he'd nixed that idea and said they could sort things out on their own. She knew he wasn't cheating on her, and she had no desire to cheat on him, but there was a problem and she couldn't figure out what it was.

She was happy enough, but Bill did have a tendency to nit-pick about a lot of things. Sure, that was annoying, but nothing major. She shook her head and finished packing the suitcases, leaving them by the bedroom door for Bill to take down; at least he would do that.

Patrice placed her clothing for the next morning on the chair next to the window. Bill could pick out his own clothes. She checked the time on the clock and found it was almost five. She'd have to get dinner started. The kids, three girls ages sixteen, thirteen and ten, would be staying with her sister this week and Bill was dropping them off now.

Patrice was just starting to get dinner ready when Bill returned from her sister Cindy's.

"Hey, why don't we eat out tonight?" he suggested.

This threw Patrice a little off guard, Bill never suggested going out. She tilted her head and smiled at him, maybe he really was trying to change.

"Okay."

Bill put his arms around her and gave her a quick hug. That was the most affectionate he'd been in a while. He turned away and she grabbed his arm and pulled him back, kissing him lovingly and he kissed her back; but that was where it ended.

"Come on, we'd better get going before all the tables are taken."

"Sure," was all she could think of saying. She put the pans back in the cupboard and sighed. Forty-two was too young to stop feeling passion. She still had hers, but Bill seemed to have lost his somewhere along the line. He was only three years older than she was, but wasn't it the men who usually complained about the women losing their lustful natures first?

This trip would be a second honeymoon, he had said, but what's the point in having a second honeymoon without passion? She leaned against the counter and stared after him as he disappeared into the living room.

"You comin'?" he called.

"Sure," she replied, more to herself than to him, and followed.

CHAPTER 7

"Right foot first. That's it. Welcome on board the _Celestial Breeze_." Peter took Patrice Miller's hand and helped her board the ship from the gangplank. The Millers were supposed to be the last to arrive; Peter had been expecting a Howard and Treena Winters much earlier, but so far they hadn't shown up. It was nearly four o'clock and most of the incoming planes had already landed. He wasn't worried yet. Everyone was supposed to check in by five and they could have just decided to do some last minute shopping before they boarded. They wouldn't be the first people who were late and they probably wouldn't be the last, no pun intended.

"Thank you." Patrice smiled widely and stepped on board, followed by her husband.

Peter extended his hand but Bill declined the help. "You must be the Millers?"

"Yup, that's us. I'm Bill and this is Patrice." He now extended his hand to shake Peter's, who happily accommodated.

"You have a beautiful ship." Patrice offered to Peter.

"Thank you, but I'm only the First Mate. Let me introduce you to the Captain...Celeste," Peter waved her over.

Celeste excused herself from the two young women she was speaking with and joined Peter and the Millers.

"Celeste is our Captain. This is Bill and Patrice." He left off their last names. He and Celeste always knew their passengers' names well in advance. It was only a matter of putting faces on them now. Celeste shook each of their hands and welcomed them on board, much as Peter had just done.

"Is this your first time on a ship like this?" She asked casually. Her questions were more to gauge their nausea quotient rather than idle chit-chat.

"It's our first time on a ship this big, but we've been sailing many times on our friend's boats." Patrice replied. "Look, I've got my sailing pants on." She added and pointed to her tartan capris.

"I really wish you'd leave those things at home." Bill mocked.

"Hey, you wear the shirt and I wear the pants."

"I'll say," He joked.

"Oh, ha ha, Bill." She had been referring to his Hawaiian shirt, a thing he never vacationed without no matter where they went; he even wore it on their last ski trip to Banff.

"Sandra, come and say hello to the Millers," Celeste called to her sister who had just emerged from the galley below with a plate of hors d'oeuvres. She passed the plate off to her husband Alonzo who was busy mixing drinks in the parlour, the seating area just in front of the helm. It was quite large and had comfortable padded benches and a sailing awning to shade the passengers from the hot Caribbean sun. It also housed a small refrigerator and sink area just large enough to store some cold drinks for the voyage. It was pretty hot out today but none of the passengers had ventured in. Typical, she thought, everyone wanted to get as much sun as they could the first day. At least the sun would be setting in a couple of hours and it would cool down; they shouldn't get too sunburned the first day. Patrice looked quite pale and Celeste hoped that she had remembered her sunscreen; if not, there was always a good supply on board. Bill, on the other hand, looked as though he would tan quite quickly; his skin already had a hint of brown in it. Alonzo set the tray down and continued filling the glasses with rum punch to serve the others on deck.

Sandra introduced herself with a little bow and then escorted them to their cabin below. Peter took their bags and they followed obediently as they disappeared down the steps that led to the cabins.

Celeste turned to join the others. This was one of her favourite parts of the trip, other than the sailing, naturally; she loved to talk to new people and find out where they were from and what they did. Of course, she already knew what they all did. They all sold insurance. She thought that they would be a dull lot but had been pleasantly surprised to find out how adventurous they all seemed to be. Some had been sailing before, like the Millers, but others, like the Dempseys, were first timers. She had just begun talking to the two women, Melissa Pelletier and Dianna Clark, when she had been summoned over by Peter. She'd best get back to them quickly before poor Alonzo had to make a run for it. Melissa, the tall blonde, seemed to have her eyes on him. She was about four rum punches in at this point, but at least she'd kept her hands off, unlike previous passengers. Alonzo had gone through this before, not often, but enough to know how to get away gracefully. He was off to the other guests by the time Celeste had joined the women.

"Well, ladies, what were we talking about?" Celeste began.

They turned quickly, giggling. "Oh, nothing." Melissa began.

Celeste raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Okay, okay, we were looking at his butt," Melissa whispered "but don't worry, we know he's married to your sister. We were just looking, nothing more." She giggled again, quietly.

"Honest, we'll be good." Dianna added.

Celeste wondered how the two of these girls had ever become friends; they were so completely different. Melissa was the insurance agent and Diana was a waitress in a bar. While Melissa was tall, thin and blond, Dianna was short, dark-haired and a quite curvy. She also had her long bangs coloured a bright pink. And as far as personality went, well, Celeste had only spent a short time with them, but Melissa could talk a blue streak, while Dianna seemed happy to just listen. They say opposites attract and this certainly appeared to be a classic case. The one thing she could see that they had in common was the amount of make-up they wore, especially Dianna. Her eyes were ringed with black and Celeste smiled inwardly; if all that mascara was waterproof then Dianna would have no need for sunglasses on this trip.

"Have you ladies been introduced to our other guests?" Celeste asked.

"Actually, no. Sandra seemed pretty busy, she was gonna introduce us but then that other couple arrived." Melissa advised.

"Well, then, let's go and meet the Dempseys." Celeste placed her hand gently on Dianna's back and guided them to the other side of the ship where John and Jenny were sitting on a couple of camp chairs, both with their cups being refilled with punch by Alonzo. Celeste introduced the couple to the women, and John, very gentlemanly, stood to greet them. He had told Celeste earlier that they had just retired at the end of February, something he reiterated now to Melissa and Dianna. Alonzo refilled the ladies' cups and returned to the parlour to get the hors d'oeuvres. "So, which of you two gals won the trip?" Jenny asked.

"That would be Melissa, here," Dianna advised, "there aren't many who can say no to her when she wants to sell them something."

"Thank you," Melissa nodded and curtsied, and she and Dianna broke out in giggles again.

"Did you know about the contest?" John asked.

"No, can you believe they didn't tell anyone about it? What a shocker, I go into work one morning and they're telling me I won a trip to the BVI and I'm like, what's the BVI? and they tell me it's the British Virgin Islands, course my boyfriend had just dumped me, so it looked really good on him, you know. That's why I brought Dianna with me, she's my best friend and she was available, too..."

"Deep breath, Mel," Jenny interrupted, and everyone started laughing.

"Sorry, I have a tendency to talk a lot when I'm drinking, just stop me when you need air," she laughed with them.

Celeste turned to see if Sandra had returned but she was still downstairs. She hadn't seen much of her sister this past week. She and Alonzo were either in their cabin or on shore. It was almost like they were avoiding her, but that was silly. She turned to see her other two passengers at the bow of the ship.

Celeste called to Sam Halliwell and his thirteen year-old son, Brent, to join them. Brent seemed to be more interested in his MP3 player than in the ship and sat rather sullenly on one of the deck chairs, the brim of his cap pulled down almost completely over his eyes as though he were trying to avoid all of his surroundings. Sam came over and was introduced to everyone, but Brent stayed where he was, merely nodding.

"I'm sorry about that," Sam started, "he hasn't been quite the same since his mother left us last year." He adjusted his glasses, which had slid part way down his nose from sweat. "I was kind of hoping this trip would get us back on track, as it were." He decided to leave out the part about the cops bringing Brent home that night. It was only a few Christmas lights, but the Officer told him that the other two boys he was with were bad news. Sam had never ever heard their names before and it made him realize that he hadn't been spending nearly enough time with his only child.

"Well, they all go through that in their teenage years. Where do you think we got all this grey hair from?" John pointed at himself and Jenny.

"Hey, speak for yourself." Jenny replied hotly.

"Don't get so snarky, yours was there last week," he mocked.

Jenny just sneered at him, but she couldn't control herself and started laughing. "At least yours is white, it looks distinguished. Mine just looked old." She added.

John bent over and kissed the top of her head, "I love you no matter what colour your hair is, and it has been very many colours."

"Oh, stop it." And she laughed again and slapped his arm.

They talked and laughed and everyone seemed to be getting on splendidly. There was a lot of talk about work, but Dianna seemed to get them all off of that topic in a hurry by reminding them that 'work brought them here but it wasn't the purpose of the trip'. After that they all started to talk about other things and Celeste could see them all starting to relax. Alonzo's quick refills on their cups probably didn't hurt matters either.

Bill and Patrice had finished unpacking and now joined the rest of the group. Celeste had been quite pleased to learn that they were using this trip as a second honeymoon, and had Alonzo break out the champagne and the good glasses. Although she frowned on glass on deck, they were docked and this was a special occasion.

"Hey, check it out." Jenny pointed to the pelican circling the ship. Everyone except Brent looked up to see it.

The pelican circled the ship three times and then landed rather clumsily near the bow...and Brent. Her face hit the deck and Brent's shoes. He jumped up from the chair and stumbled away from her.

"Don't worry, that's just Pelican. She likes to follow us around." Peter called out from the parlour.

"Is she your pet? Can we feed her?" Dianna asked.

"No, nobody feeds her. She's wild. We really don't know why she likes our ship, but she follows us on all our voyages." Celeste looked over to Brent, pointed to the spot he had just been sitting in and added, "That's where she likes to sleep at night," but Brent didn't answer, he just kept staring at the large bird, and Celeste wasn't sure if he was afraid of her or fascinated by her.

"Wow, I can't believe you have your own pelican," Dianna replied, "that is so cool."

Celeste informed them all about Pelican; that they could watch her, but that was all, and they all seemed to understand. It appeared that everyone was getting along quite nicely now and she left them to attend to other matters.

"That's almost everyone now." Celeste came over from the other guests and stood next to Peter.

"Yup, just two more. They'd better get here soon. I checked the airport and their plane landed about four hours ago. Don't know where they could've gotten to?" He looked towards the end of the dock to a row of taxis and then across the street to the many small booths selling every souvenir imaginable.

"Maybe you should check the airport again, have them paged?" she followed Peter's gaze to the taxis.

"Morning Celeste, Peter." Jeff called up from the dock.

Celeste and Peter both looked down at Jeff who was standing at the bottom of the gangplank. Celeste knew that he was looking for an invitation to come aboard, but she had never invited him before so why break with tradition.

"Morning, Jeff." Peter called back while Celeste just nodded and gave a small wave.

"Gettin' ready to set sail?" he asked.

"Tomorrow." Peter replied. "Just getting them all on board and settled right now."

"Celeste." Jeff called to get her attention.

"Yeah."

"Maybe we can go for a drink when you get back? Or dinner? Whaddya say?"

Celeste felt extremely uncomfortable. He'd asked her out a few times already and she'd had excuses at the ready. This invitation shouldn't have been unexpected but it caught her off guard and she could not think of a good excuse. She knew it was time to stop with the excuses and tell him once and for all that she didn't want to go out with him. The only problem was that she was almost afraid to go and speak with him face-to-face. She screwed up what courage she could muster and descended the gangplank to speak with him as privately as she could. At the bottom Jeff held out his hand for her to take but she just waved it away with a forced smile. The thought of Jeff Gallway touching her made her skin crawl. She rubbed her arm and felt the goose bumps starting to rise.

"How you doin' today, Celeste." Jeff gave her a big smile. He wore a grey t-shirt that Celeste wasn't entirely sure hadn't started off as white. His shorts were nothing more than a pair of cut-off denim jeans and they had streaks of black oil on both hips. He obviously used his clothing as oil rags, she thought. His hair was greasy. Celeste imagined that he also ran those grease-covered hands through his hair. At least it was cut short. Jeff was an attractive man, under the dirt. Celeste had seen him clean, at least for his clientele, and she had to admit that he was a good-looking guy. He was tall, blond, blue-eyed and handsome, just what every woman wanted, but Jeff had another side to him. Celeste had seen his temper on more than one occasion when he thought no one else was watching. It was just little things like throwing ropes or punching doors. It was true that Celeste had never given Jeff much of a chance; he could very well be as nice a guy as Peter had suggested. But she felt that there was something more to Jeff, something unpleasant. Fortunately, Jeff was almost always out on those fishing charters he ran, and Celeste always anchored offshore. He did seem to manage to find her whenever she was in town, and sometimes it felt like he was following her. She always tried to keep her distance but she had an unnatural curiosity about him as well, as if by keeping track of him she would be safe. She had seen him leave from port many times in his big fishing boat with Willy and not return for days. Whenever he did take out a charter they all appeared to have had a good time. His clientele all looked normal, some were families, some were all men, but all looked like normal tourists. She knew he didn't take tourists out every day, and as far as she knew he wasn't rich. He couldn't be making much money. Then again, she never told anyone that she had money, either. As far as anyone knew she was just the Captain of the _Celestial Breeze_ , nothing more. She trusted Peter, Sandra and Alonzo completely and knew that they would never mention her luck to anyone. After she had won the money there were men with marriage proposals, investments and scams to try and bilk her out of it. She hadn't been able to leave fast enough. Down here she was just another sailor; another sailor who had to tell another sailor that she didn't want to go out with him. _Well, here goes_ , she thought.

"Hi, Jeff, I'm good," she started.

"So, how about dinner one night after you get back? I know this is your last run of the season. How about Saturday?" he smiled again revealing his straight, slightly yellowed teeth.

"Jeff, I'm very flattered, but I'm afraid I'm just not interested in you...that way." She gave another weak smile and watched his smile fade and then change into a scowl.

"Oh, I see, too good for me, are ya?" He spat out the words.

"No, Jeff, that's not it at all, I..."

"Don't bother with yer excuses, Celeste, I'm not stupid."

Celeste backed up one step, the fear in her was starting to swell, and she backed one foot onto the gangplank.

"Jeff," she tried.

"I'll leave ya to yer friends." He sneered and with two fingers of his right hand he tipped a salute at Peter, turned on his heels and left her standing shocked and motionless by her ship. Celeste could hear him muttering to himself all the way down the dock as he went towards the street. A feeling of relief washed over her but left another feeling in its wake, one of apprehension. She sprinted back up the gangplank to the safety of her ship.

CHAPTER 8

"How could you lose the directions to the ship?" Alex fidgeted with the handle to his suitcase and finally got it to extend.

"I didn't lose them; they're just blurred from the coffee YOU spilled on them back in the airport. Come on, the guy said it's just down here, Captains name is Lester, mon." Howie mimicked the old guy's Jamaican accent.

"You know, we wouldn't be this late if you hadn't packed that stupid coffee creamer in the baggies,"

"Hey, you know I can't live without that stuff and I like different flavours in the morning. The bottle would have been too bulky, we only get one bag and everything had to fit. And the only baggies I had left were the little snack sized ones."

Right...and by the way, thanks for the strip search. I was kinda hopin' the next time I was naked there'd be a woman involved," he quipped.

"There was." Howie snapped back.

Alex grimaced, "that was a woman?" and then shuddered at the memory of the large 'person' with the moustache that had so recently invaded his personal space.

Howie just smiled as they continued down the long wooden dock until they finally saw their destination, the _Celestial Breeze_. About halfway to the ship they passed a dirty looking man, muttering to himself. Alex heard the words bitch and a slew of curse words followed. As the man passed, Alex felt a chill that seemed to have emanated from his toes and bolted all the way up his spine. The man turned and glowered at them as he passed. The next voice Alex heard was Howie's, telling him to hurry up.

Alex ran down the dock and past Howie, reaching the bow of the boat first. He stopped short and Howie almost bumped into him. Alex looked up at the tall masts on the ship in a kind of awe. Howie stopped beside him and followed Alex's gaze. The ship had to be over one hundred feet long, with three tall masts that seemed to reach almost all the way to the sun, their sails not yet unfurled. She sat quietly by the dock, gently buoyed by the ocean waves. At first, Alex felt peaceful, and then there was a slight jab in his chest. He shook himself back to reality and rubbed his fist over the pain. It subsided. He would not allow this to happen to him again. If it was only psychological, then he would overcome it.

"You okay, Alex?" Howie asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, let's get on board." He turned and pulled his suitcase up the gangplank to where Peter was waiting for them.

Peter welcomed them on board and advised them 'right foot first'. It was a superstition at sea that when you step on board a ship you should use your right foot first; otherwise the cruise would be cursed. There were a lot of ways to curse a sea voyage, Peter mused, but this was really the only superstition he clung onto; more out of habit than fear. His father had always insisted on it during his sailing lessons and those lessons stuck like glue.

Sandra came up to greet them almost immediately after Peter had introduced himself and brought them over to meet Celeste, who was speaking with the Dempseys at the moment.

"And this is our Captain, gentlemen, Celeste Herman." Sandra tapped Celeste on the shoulder and she turned around. Howie was the first to stick out his hand and shook Celeste's quite vigorously.

"Well, welcome aboard Mr. Winters. May I call you Howard? We're quite informal here."

"Actually, Howie, yeah, sure," he laughed.

"What's so funny?" She asked.

"Nothing, just...the guy at the end of the dock told us the Captain's name was Lester. You sure don't look like a Lester."

Celeste laughed in return, "I should hope not. That's just his accent; my name comes out See Lester, Man, instead of Celeste Herman. You can call me Celeste." They both laughed again.

"Yeah, and this is my friend." He pulled Alex up beside him, who up until this point had been somewhat mesmerized by the rigging.

Alex felt the tug on his shoulder and turned to see Howie speaking with the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He couldn't describe what he felt at that moment. It was as though he had known her forever. He could actually feel something in his heart 'click' into place. He stumbled up to her and tried to introduce himself with as much grace as he could muster as he reached out his hand to hers.

"Hi, I'm..." _Oh, dear God, what in the hell is my name_ , he thought.

Celeste put out her hand. "You must be Treena." She took his hand in hers and Alex felt his body quiver ever so slightly at her touch. Her eyes remained fixed on his for what seemed to Alex like an eternity and a microsecond all in one.

"This is Alex Cole, my last minute replacement, Treena couldn't make it," Howie interrupted. He turned and gave Alex his 'what are you, stupid? and don't embarrass me' look before returning his attention to Celeste.

"Why don't you take them to their cabin, Sandra, get them settled in." She then turned to Howie and Alex. "And when you're settled come back up on deck and we'll go through our rules and let you know our destinations."

Celeste tried to sound as relaxed as she could, but it wasn't easy. Something about Alex Cole had her on edge. No, that wasn't the right word. When she'd touched his hand she'd felt her body quiver, almost melt. She couldn't explain it but at that moment she'd wanted to fall into his arms and never leave them again. That was so unlike her. She'd never experienced love at first sight before, and surely this wasn't it. Was it? Perhaps it was just those mesmerising blue eyes. She put her hand up to her face, she knew she must be blushing, felt the heat rising in her cheeks. There was no possibility of a romance, anyway, not on a five-day cruise. He'd be gone in less than a week and she'd never see him again. If anything, she'd only be a one-night stand for him, five if she was lucky. _STOP IT CELESTE_ , she chided herself and tried to stop thinking about him, but the butterflies that now filled her stomach were determined to be a constant reminder. She needed to find something else to keep her mind occupied and returned to her other guests.

Pelican sat at the bow in her usual spot. The guests had come up and had inundated Celeste with more questions about the bird and she had answered them as best she could, but no matter what the conversation, her mind kept returning to Alex Cole.

Sandra swung open the door to the cabin that Alex and Howie would be sharing and left them to it. They were both a little dismayed to find that they would be sharing a double bed. Alex hadn't really thought about it before but he should have assumed that space would be limited. On closer inspection he discovered that the cabin was actually quite luxurious considering the space requirements. There was a private washroom. He supposed that it was called a head, with a shower, and even a small writing desk. A skylight and a dorade let in quite a bit of light and air. If he'd been here with a woman instead of Howie it would be quite cosy. His mind immediately went to Celeste, not that it had actually left her. How was he going to get through the next five days? She had such an immediate effect on him, but she didn't seem to react to him at all. Well, he was only here for five days and then he would never see her again. He felt the heartache of loss at this thought and suddenly this cruise didn't seem like such a good idea. He rubbed his chest.

"Are you okay?" Howie asked concerned.

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Alex went back to unpacking his suitcase.

"Did you bring your pills?"

"Yeah, I've got them." Alex reached into his bag and took out a small bottle of pills and shook them for his friend. He hated lying to Howie, but after he had the prescription filled he read the printout the pharmacist had given him about the side effects. They seemed worse than the actual panic attacks. When he got home he flushed the pills and re-filled the bottle with tic-tacs. After all, they would only be gone for a few days and if past history was anything to go on then he wouldn't have another attack for another week, he could hold out. The tic-tacs would make Howie feel better anyway. Alex thought it was a wonder that he hadn't been top salesman; it seemed he could talk himself into anything.

They finished unpacking and changed into clothing that hadn't been on the airport's interrogation room floor, before returning to the deck. Alex had never changed his clothes as quickly in his life, he couldn't wait to get back up there to see Celeste.

The meeting on deck had gone quite quickly. They had gone over their travel schedule and the rules of the ship. Alex couldn't take his eyes off of Celeste as she had been giving her instructions. He actually heard most of what she had said, but his mind kept wandering off and he could only hope that he didn't have some idiotic, love-starved look on his face. He didn't have to worry, though; Celeste hadn't even so much as glanced at him the whole time.

They were told that they had to make their own arrangements for dinner tonight and Peter had given them the names of some very nice restaurants in town. The taxis were waiting at the end of the dock to take them. Howie was already on the move. He had asked both Melissa and Dianna to join them for dinner. Alex felt a set-up coming and asked the others to join them as well. Bill and Patrice declined as they wanted to have a romantic dinner alone, and the others opted for a quieter restaurant than the one that Howie had picked out. So here he was, stuck on a date with two women he had no interest in. Truth be told, he didn't think Howie had any interest in them either. His break up with Treena must have been much harder than he was letting on. They had been together for six years. Treena was a beauty, tall, blonde, and very sweet. She was the nicest person Alex had met and she seemed to adore Howie. Alex hadn't been able to ask him exactly what happened between them, but he would have to find time to do it on this trip. Howie was a very private person; he didn't like to share his personal life in front of strangers, so the plane ride was the wrong place. Maybe he'd have a chance when they stopped at one of those deserted islands Celeste was talking about.

Alex looked up from his drink and noticed that Melissa was trying to talk to him. It was so loud in here that he could barely hear her, but it sounded something like, 'let's get out of here'. He looked over at Howie who seemed to be engrossed in conversation with Dianna. She certainly was a far cry from Treena, but who was he to judge. If Howie wanted to move on then he'd have to let him. Alex would just have to make sure that he wasn't going to get dragged along. Occasionally he would catch a glimpse of Melissa talking, she was always talking, jeez, didn't she ever shut up? He just tried to nod and every once in a while put his hand to his ear and then point up and shrug, trying to let her know that the music was too loud for him to hear, but she just kept on talking anyway. It wasn't so bad, since he had an excuse not to listen to her he could think about Celeste. His mind had conjured up so many different scenarios with her now he decided it was getting ridiculous. The only way out of his would be to get to know her. Maybe she would turn out to be completely dull, or stupid, or mean or...no, she wouldn't be any of those things. She would be perfect and she would reject him, and that thought scared him more than anything.

The waitress came over and delivered more drinks to their table. This seemed to settle the issue of whether or not they would be leaving. Howie pulled out his wallet and gave her a big tip. Dianna snaked her arms even tighter around Howie's. They seemed to be pretty chummy but Alex thought that there was no way he was going to be giving up his cabin tonight, or any other night. Howie would just have to find a room elsewhere.

Alex thought about that, he wasn't a prude, but Howie just wasn't a player. Howie was the relationship guy, and Alex was the one-night stand guy. Alex couldn't even remember the last real relationship he'd had. The longest he'd ever managed to date anyone was three months, and that was in college. He'd always chalked it up to not being able to find the right girl. Celeste seemed to be the right woman. Maybe he'd chance it. If she got to know him then maybe she'd like him. He took a sip of the margarita, put it back on the table and checked his watch. It was almost eleven. He tugged on Howie's shirt and motioned that they should get back to the ship. Howie looked at his watch and nodded.

They had no trouble getting a taxi back and Peter was on deck waiting for them. Howie and Dianna were arm in arm while Melissa kept trying to put her arm around Alex. He kept shying away from her, trying not to be impolite, but she just wasn't getting the message. Dianna may not be Howie's type but if there was a choice to be made it would definitely have to be the quiet one, not that Dianna was quiet, but in comparison to Melissa she was almost mute. He wondered if she had the pink hair as some sort of visual way of being heard over Melissa.

Howie and Dianna were the first on board and Alex decided to be gentlemanly and stepped aside to allow Melissa to go ahead of him. He walked up the gangplank behind her and when they were almost at the top she stumbled and fell backwards into his arms. She turned her head to look into his face and Alex immediately felt uncomfortable. He quickly pushed her back up and Peter took her hand to help her on board. As soon as Alex looked up he saw Celeste watching him, her arms folded in front of her. She had been standing to the right of Peter and now turned and disappeared down into the cabin area. Alex let out a small sigh, closed his eyes and shook his head. He wasn't off to a good start.

CHAPTER 9

Willy finished his task of stowing the fishing rods down below and returned to the deck to see if Cap'n Jeff needed him for anything else. The sun was hot this morning and the sweat had already started to bead on his dark brown skin. Willy took off his shirt, revealing well-toned muscles and well healed scars that stretched across the length and width of his back. Jeff had insisted that he be called Cap'n Jeff in front of the passengers. Willy thought it was stupid but if that's what he wanted it was okay with him. Willy had quickly learned that it was best to do whatever Jeff wanted. He'd seen that temper, and Jeff was very unpredictable. His papa had been the same way. Willy had always been long and lanky and more than a bit uncoordinated; he'd broken more than his share. His papa had been more than strict and the strap marks on his back were the proof. His mama had never intervened, she'd had five others kids to look after. He left home at fifteen and never looked back.

Jeff had been in a foul mood since yesterday morning, ever since he had talked to the brunette, and Willy hoped that he would be much more congenial today. He saw Jeff on the dock checking the scuba tanks. He let out a deep breath and settled himself on the fact that they were going hunting again. He had liked it at first, but now it was just getting monotonous. They always went to the same place and looked in the same spots, over and over. Of course with a record like his there weren't many people around who were willing to give him a job and Cap'n Jeff had been real nice to him...at first. Willy could be a hard worker when the situation called for it, but his record for petty thefts kept him from working at any of the hotels, or anywhere else tourists might go. That left him with the grunt work. It was dirty and the people he worked with usually had criminal records of their own and he'd really wanted to stay away from that life. He didn't really care what people thought of him, but he found himself increasingly tempted to go back to his old solitary ways. Luckily he had found Jeff Gallway. Working for Cap'n Jeff had been great. He liked fishing and he even liked helping the tourists to bait their lines and help them to haul in the fish they caught. Twice they even caught Marlins, he loved that the most. The fight between man and fish and sometimes he'd get to take over to help tire the fish out but in the end he just helped to get the fish in the boat. It was the tourist business that interested him; but it was Jeff's extracurricular activities that kept him in this job. Or rather it was his fear of what Jeff would do to him if he ever tried to leave this job.

He watched Jeff on the dock. Whenever the brunette was around he was usually in a good mood, but she was around yesterday and he'd been mean and surly all day. Willy knew the moment he saw Celeste that she would never be interested in Jeff. She was too decent, and that was a big character flaw in any woman where Jeff was concerned, and him for that matter. He didn't see the attraction in a woman who didn't want you, but Jeff always seemed to want what he couldn't have. Willy didn't know if it was a game or an obsession with Jeff, but the only two things he ever talked about were Celeste and treasure. Both, he thought, were just things that Jeff wanted to have, and both, it seemed, were just out of his reach.

Willy slowly descended the gangplank, slipping his t-shirt back on as he went, and quietly walked up behind Jeff. Whenever Jeff was in a bad mood he would snap at him about anything. He thought he had better test the waters before diving into a conversation and getting his head bitten off.

"Morning, Jeff, we goin' out today?" he ventured cautiously.

Jeff grunted his agreement and moved the tank he was checking with the others. They clanged together and Willy saw that he had at least twelve of them lined up on the dock. That meant that they would be going out for a few days. He wished Jeff had never found that island. It wasn't on any of the maps, although there were probably many people who had gone past it without even wondering who it belonged to. There were so many islands out here, some of them made up of no more than rocks. This one was sort of off the beaten track, it was just north. Well out of the shipping lanes. The island wasn't big enough for any other ships to bother stopping. It was also completely surrounded by a reef, which would prevent even the smaller ships from getting in. He couldn't believe that Jeff had actually found a way into that island; he had been almost psychic in his ability to navigate through that hole in the reef. They had gone diving in the little inlet and that's where Jeff had found the cannonball.

He was convinced that there had been pirates in the area, and if there were pirates, there would be treasure. He probably wasn't wrong, Willy thought, and this would be exactly the type of island they would bury treasure on. They started searching the island, looking for clues, but they had found nothing so they started digging up places that Jeff thought he would bury treasure if he were a pirate. That proved to be a bust as well. He'd dug for days and come up with nothing more than an aching back for his trouble. The island itself wasn't more than the length and width of about three football fields but it felt a lot larger on the end of a shovel. The island was covered in palm trees and other vegetation, and there was a fresh water spring with a small pool in the middle of it, which was a blessing, especially during the 'digging days'. It also had banana trees, coconut and date palms, so they hadn't had to return to the _Clarissa_ for food or water. That fact alone had encouraged Jeff to stay for a while. He'd discovered this island in January, and after a couple of months of digging Jeff had decided that maybe the treasure had sunk to the bottom of the sea, like the cannonball. He'd been scouring the ocean floor all around the island and digging up areas that he thought looked like something had been buried underneath. It was the middle of April and they had still found only bits and pieces of a ship. Willy thought it was more likely that a ship had hit the reef during a storm and broken up, and not necessarily a pirate ship. He was more willing to believe pirates and treasure five months ago than he was now, but Jeff still believed and Jeff was still paying his wages, so he'd keep looking.

"You gonna move that stuff on board or are you just gonna stand there staring at 'em all day?" he snapped. Jeff's voice seemed to break the trance he had been in and he reached down for one of the tanks.

"Oh, yeah." he took the tanks, two by two, and stored them on board the _Clarissa_.

"After you're done there you can go into town and get some supplies. I left a list on the table." His voice was still angry and Willy decided he'd better do it quick to avoid any further unprovoked wrath.

"How long will we be goin' for this time?" he asked.

"Week," was the curt response.

"Okay." Willy turned his back on Jeff and continued to load the tanks onto the ship. He cursed Jeff silently, careful not to let him hear for fear of retribution. He wasn't sure why he should fear Jeff, after all, he was bigger than Jeff, younger and stronger even; but he was also more of a follower than a fighter and nowhere near as psychotic. It was that unpredictability that kept him from doing anything.

A week would be a long time to put up with that mood. They usually only went for three or four days, max, alternating between sand and sea in their searches. He wondered if Jeff knew more than he was telling. He'd had his suspicions. Jeff had gone into the island's interior about a month ago and come out a lot happier than when he went in and he'd been acting strangely ever since, even for him.

Willy went down to the galley and grabbed the list from the table; not an easy task. Willy spent most of his time cleaning up the messes Jeff made. He was getting more and more disorganised lately. If left up to Jeff, this boat would be uninhabitable. As it was now, it was barely fit for passengers. When He had come to work for Jeff last season the boat was immaculate, so was Jeff, and the fishing tours were booked solid. Whatever had happened to Jeff lately had affected his business. The tours were few and far between. Willy had tried his best to please the customers, but their displeasure was more because of Jeff than anything he had done.

He turned to the list. No food, it only consisted of items they would need for their excavations. He looked down the list and shook his head, more rope. They already had enough rope to go around that island twice. At the bottom of the list he noted that he was supposed to go to an address in the old section of the island and pick up a package. He'd been to that address before. The packages that came out of that house were always expensive and very dangerous. He crammed the list in his pocket and took the money underneath it. There was an extra envelope and the address of that house was printed on it. Willy walked down the dock and waved to Jeff as he passed; Jeff didn't wave but gave him a sneer instead. He felt the thick envelope in the pocket of his khaki shorts, whatever Jeff was buying would not be good, but hopefully it wouldn't get him killed.

Jeff finished up the air tanks and watched Willy take them on board the ship. He went over to the ropes that tied his ship to the dock and retied them. They didn't need to be redone but he was too worked up and menial tasks like this sometimes calmed him. It didn't seem to be working too well today, however, because his mind had never left Celeste's words and he was still angry about them. How dare she say he wasn't good enough for her? He was damn good enough for any woman, he was good looking, all the women had told him that, and didn't he always catch the eyes of the women who came on board his ship with their husbands and boyfriends? They were always flirting with him, but he'd never bothered with them, at least not anymore, not after he'd met Celeste. He'd met her a couple of years ago at one of the marina parties. She was beautiful and she had spoken so nicely to him. She didn't have to flirt like those whores that came on board. She wasn't an easy lay. She would be worth the effort, a fine prize. He imagined the faces of all those men at the dance who had tried to win her, but she would have none of them. Wouldn't they be jealous to find out that it was he, Jeff Gallway, local Charter Entrepreneur, who had won her heart? A small smile started but was quickly and abruptly quelled as he once again recalled her words, they echoed in his head with all the reverberations of a hangover, 'I just don't feel that way about you', she had said. She had just unceremoniously lumped him in with all those other buffoons from the marina. She hadn't even bothered to try to get to know him even after he gave her all those chances. Whenever she was in town didn't he try to help her with her packages? And hadn't he always made sure he was nearby in case she needed his help? He had spent most of his days following her around town just in case she needed him, wasn't that something to be appreciated? Stupid bitch, she didn't realise how good she could have had it with him. Jeff held the end of the rope and twisted it hard in his hands. She would have to be made aware of her mistake, that was a guaranteed promise. However, if she were to properly apologize to him then maybe, just maybe, he would consider letting her be his girl. The smile tried to creep back onto his face and this time he let it, but there was no smile behind his cold blue eyes. He threw the rope to the dock and strode up the gangplank. Celeste would be gone on her sail for five days and when she got back he would make sure that she knew what she was throwing away. She would be leaving here at the end of April, that didn't give him much time to plan, but the package Willy would bring back would be enough.

Jeff hadn't planned on the package being for Celeste, it was for his island, but the island could wait. The island had waited this long for him to come and get its spoils. He knew where they were now. Finally. He couldn't explain how he knew, just like he couldn't explain how he knew where that hole in the reef had been. That small cave on the island had been well hidden, though, and he had literally stumbled upon it. It looked like solid rock, and most of it was, but about three feet up there was a large hole covered by flowering vines. He had tripped over one of the many plants on the island and when he tried to steady himself on the rock his hand slipped right through it. The rest of the opening wasn't as solid as he had thought. It was neatly stacked with smaller boulders and rocks and once they were removed it was easy for him to get inside, and what he found there gave him a new-found enthusiasm for his quest. He now knew where he had to look. The opening to the cave was large enough for him to crawl into and the interior was high enough to stand up in. The markings on the interior looked as though someone had chipped away at it to make it bigger. It was just large enough to store what it had to. Although he found no real treasure in the cave, and he had dug all around it, he'd found enough to tell him that there was treasure on this island. If he could find that treasure this week he'd be rich and famous, and how could Celeste not want to be with him then?

He had checked with the land registry office and it seemed that no one owned this small piece of land, so any treasure on it would be all his. He'd also checked to see which pirates had been in the area, but there was well over four hundred years of piracy to check and he had no way of knowing which pirate or which ship belonged to these items. It didn't matter anyway, this pirate's treasure was sure to get him at least one further treasure...Celeste. But he needed a way to make sure that she wouldn't leave for home before he could get his treasure and return to her. He didn't have to think long before an idea flew right over his head and landed on the end of the dock. Jeff picked up the net that lay beside the ropes. He had been making sure it was sturdy enough for a different purpose, but this one would do just as well.

CHAPTER 10

Breakfast would be served sharply at seven thirty and Alonzo had been up since five-thirty getting everything ready for their guests. He didn't usually get up until almost six but he wanted Sandra to sleep in this morning, so he had to get up earlier to do her morning chores as well. He was just entering the galley when he heard the sound of footsteps on the deck above him. He looked up and sighed. _That would be Celeste, she never sleeps_ , he thought. Something had been bothering her last night but he wasn't sure he should ask her about it. That was usually Sandra's job and he would leave it to her, but Sandra hadn't been feeling well lately and her mind was occupied with other things. Fortunately there hadn't been any morning sickness, just a feeling of being unwell. He thought it was funny that food actually made her feel better. There was a lot he didn't know about pregnancy, and so much he didn't know about babies. The only thing he knew was that he didn't want to raise a baby on a ship. They both knew that their cruising days were over and Alonzo had found a job back in Canada, in Vancouver with an investment firm. He would be starting there in three weeks. He went over to the dining area, took out the long white tablecloth and started to set the table for breakfast. He and Sandra had many talks about how to tell Celeste. They knew she would understand, but they hated to leave her alone. Certainly she had Peter, but they still felt like they were abandoning her. Celeste adored Peter but she needed to be around people her own age. Like Peter, both Sandra and Alonzo hoped that she would meet someone nice but at the rate she was going she seemed to be destined to be alone. If only it had been the same for Celeste as it had for him and Sandra. They had met in high school and it was love at first sight. They knew that they would be together forever so it was easy to give in to their parents' wishes and finish college before getting married. They planned on telling her about the baby and his new job after this last cruise, sort of giving her the good news with the bad. They already had their flight booked and they had even gone to the trouble of trying to find replacements, but there weren't too many people who only wanted to work four months of the year.

Alonzo finished setting the table and admired his handiwork for a few seconds before returning to the galley to start getting breakfast set up. This morning would be a quick breakfast because they had to be out of port by nine. He took out the muffins and croissants and put them in baskets to take out to the dining area, he then placed the cinnamon buns into the oven. He loved the smell of fresh baked cinnamon buns in the morning, and always made them from scratch; they would still be warm when his guests sat down to breakfast.

Alonzo got out the fruit from the reefer and started to wash and slice it for his fruit plate. He was certainly going to miss working here; this had really been their first home. He had always liked Celeste and there had never been anyone more deserving to win the money...and she had been very generous to her family. She had given her parents their new home on Vancouver Island and two million dollars for the upkeep, and she gave her sister and him one million dollars each. He had been amazed at her generosity, he could understand giving her sister the money, but to give him that amount as well showed him exactly what she thought of him. She was truly his sister and he wouldn't want to hurt her for the world. That money was still invested and growing each day, he knew that he and Sandra would have no worries about money in their future. Their only worry right now was how to best tell Celeste.

Alonzo finished with his breakfast preparations and checked his watch, it was 6:45, time to put the large coffee urn on, that should wake most of them up, however some of the late night partiers may require a little more encouragement. He heard more footsteps up on deck that he recognised as Peter's, and the footsteps coming down the hall belonged to Sandra. She had a slight shuffle when she walked, and he had heard her mother on more than one occasion yelling at her to pick up her feet. He promised to wake her at six-fifteen but he'd let her sleep in on purpose, and besides, it didn't matter, everything was done. He turned on the small coffee maker attached to the counter so that Sandra could have her coffee. He was fine with orange juice, but Sandra couldn't function without her coffee in the morning. Since she found out she was pregnant two weeks ago she had cut herself down to one cup per day, and this was it. He wished that she could have slept a little longer since she hadn't been able to take a nap during the day, but she was the hostess and she was required to be up before the guests.

Sandra shuffled into the galley, still mostly asleep, her long brown hair still wet from her shower, and went directly to the coffee pot. The coffee was just starting to drip through and it smelled wonderful. She grabbed a muffin from the basket and started to pick it apart, she was absolutely famished this morning, and a little queasy, but that would pass soon enough. She leaned over the small island where Alonzo was just finishing his clean-up and puckered up for a kiss. Alonzo complied, cupped her chin in his hand and kissed her lovingly on the lips. Oh, how she loved those lips. After all these years he was still the love of her life.

"Thanks for letting me sleep in. Is there anything I can help with before I go on deck?" She popped a large chunk of blueberry muffin in her mouth and turned to see if the coffee was ready yet.

"It's all done. Just finish your breakfast and for heaven's sake sit down." He brought over a stool for her to sit on and she accepted it grudgingly.

"I don't have to sit down all the time, you know, I'm not gonna break." That wasn't the only reason she didn't want to sit down. She was wearing a pair of green striped Bermuda shorts, they were really ugly but she was almost three months along now and all of her other clothes were too snug. These were on the verge of sausage casings themselves, and when she sat down she had to undo the top button and a little of the zipper. It seemed to have happened almost overnight and she would be stuck with this wardrobe for the next few days anyway. She would have loved to be able to borrow something from Celeste. Celeste was about three inches taller than she was and one size up. That would be all it would take, but then she'd have to tell her that she was pregnant. She rubbed her stomach and pulled the shorts away from it, but it only helped ease the discomfort for a few seconds. She sighed, maybe she'd just have to tell Celeste she was getting fat, cause she sure wouldn't be able to wear these for five more days. The only problem with that would be that Celeste wouldn't believe her. Sandra had been naturally thin all her life, unlike Celeste who had to watch everything she ate. She stared sleepily as Alonzo poured her coffee, putting the cream and sugar in the cup first, just the way she liked it. His hair was just below his collar now, black and very curly. She wondered if their baby would have his smoky dark eyes or her green ones, and if the baby's chin would be strong like his or small like hers. Would the baby have her freckles? She loved her husband dearly but hoped that the baby did not have his Roman nose. His name may be German from his father but his looks were mostly Greek from his mother's side.

"Your coffee, madam." He placed the mug in front of her and she smiled.

"You're too good to me, you know that?"

"Yes I am. Now finish eating and get out there. I think I hear people starting to come in."

"Yes, sir," she saluted and crammed half of the muffin in her mouth and started chewing, stopping only briefly to give him a big smile.

"That's disgusting." He laughed as she covered her mouth to keep the rest of the muffin from falling out from her own laughter.

Sandra finished her muffin and coffee quickly and started towards the dining room but Alonzo caught her by the left hand and pulled her close to him. He kissed her long and passionately before placing the baskets of muffins and cinnamon buns in her hands and pushed her gently towards the dining room. That kiss alone would keep her going for the whole day.

Peter had been up about six a.m. but he hadn't gone on deck until closer to seven. Alonzo was right, something was bothering Celeste. She was usually closed mouthed about her problems, trying to handle them all by herself, but she would let him know when she was ready. He found her astern, still watching the sunrise.

"You'll go blind staring at that, you know."

Celeste turned around and smiled. "I wasn't staring at the sun, I do know better than that." She quipped. "You want some coffee?" She went over to the pot in the seating area in front of the helm and refilled her cup before getting out another one for Peter.

"Thanks, so why are you up so early?" he started.

"Couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd come up and do some of my pre-sail prep early." She answered distractedly.

"In the dark?" Peter's grip on his cup slipped and it fell to the deck. "Aaah, look what I've done." He picked up a small towel that had been hanging to dry by the coffee pot and tried to soak up the coffee.

"Here, let me do that. You've been awfully spilly lately, what's up?" She took the towel from Peter's hand and felt it trembling. He pulled it back quickly.

"Nothing, just waking up, I guess." He tried to laugh it off but she was right. He had been dropping a lot of things lately and he was always tired. She still had that worried look on her face and he tried to change the subject.

"We'd best get downstairs for breakfast, they'll be waiting for their Captain."

"I suppose." Celeste went over and put the towel into the small sink beside the coffee maker along with the two cups and they went down for breakfast.

It was just after seven and everyone was seated at the Captain's table. Well, almost everyone, Howie and Alex were the last ones to arrive and Celeste noted that Melissa had saved the seat beside her for Alex. Well, that settled that, although she couldn't help but notice that Alex looked a bit uncomfortable with the whole situation.

Sandra took her pitcher around and filled up their glasses with orange juice and Alonzo followed with the coffee. Celeste tried to get her thoughts in order. She had to keep her mind on all of her passengers and the voyage. They spent quite a bit of time at sea on her cruises, much more than any of the other schooner cruises, and there would be no shopping excursions. They sailed and stopped at small out-of-the-way islands, all but deserted save for the few who sailed these waters often and knew their locations. She attracted a lot more avid sailors as well but every once in a while she would have a group like this, mostly non-sailors, although the talk at breakfast had informed her that none of them had been on a boat like hers before. The President of Omega Insurance, Stanley Towser, an athletic sixty year old with the gift of gab, had been one of her passengers last year and he had enjoyed himself so much that he booked her ship as a special treat for some of his hardest workers. He was such a nice man that she couldn't turn him down. Her schedule was already fully booked and this was supposed to be the week she got ready to head for home in Vancouver, but she had acquiesced, after all, one more week wouldn't hurt.

The talk at breakfast had been all about the sailing, everyone was noticeably excited and they were filled with questions about learning to sail, that was when Peter took over the conversation. He let them know that if any of them wanted sailing lessons he would be happy to show them 'the ropes' so-to-speak. Celeste smiled, he loved using that line and everyone always groaned when they heard it. The only one who seemed less than enthused about the trip was Brent, who sat immediately on Celeste's left. He just sat at the table staring at his plate. His father had made him take off the earphones at the table and he did so grudgingly. She tried to engage him in conversation but he mostly grunted or shrugged his shoulders to her questions. She hoped that once they were on their way he would loosen up. _And speaking of loosening up_ , she thought, _I'd better get up there and get started._

Everyone finished up quickly leaving the dishes to Alonzo and Sandra who made quick work of clearing the table and putting it away. They were up on deck in no time and helping Celeste and Peter to ready the ship for sail. The passengers all took positions around the rail in anticipation of their voyage. Celeste loved this part, the excitement was always high at this point and she knew that it would be even higher still once the engine was turned off and the sails unfurled. The first time the sails caught the wind still gave her a rush.

"Ready Peter?" She called.

"Aye, aye, Captain," he called back. "Cast-off." Peter yelled to the three men on the dock. They took the ropes from the bollards and threw them to Peter, Sandra, and Alonzo, who caught them with the precision of a ballet dancer catching his prima donna. The engine purred to life and there was a slight rumble as the propeller sliced its way through the water. The ship slowly backed away from the dock and Celeste could already feel the breeze. She inhaled it deeply, like the scent of a long lost lover, and they headed out to sea.

CHAPTER 11

Alex stood at the starboard railing, as near as he could to Celeste at the helm, as they motored out past the breakwater and onto the ocean. He needed to be near her, watch over her. He was feeling great this morning, maybe that doctor was right, just needed a vacation...or maybe it was just being near Celeste. Howie was on the port side of the ship near the bow with Dianna and Melissa. He had an arm around each of them. Alex smiled wanly and hoped that this was just a reaction to his break up with Treena. Those two chicks were weird. Melissa had saved him a seat this morning, which meant she expected him to sit with her at every meal, and probably hang out with her on deck. He didn't want to be rude and waited until breakfast was over before telling her politely to back off. He knew that the longer he waited the harder it would be, although they had only just met and she should understand. She was probably only interested in a shipboard romance at any rate. However, they weren't on an ocean liner and he would be near her most of the time, there was literally no place to hide. She had taken the news well and said she understood, but she still continued to hover around him. Fortunately Howie had picked up on his aversion to Melissa and he tried to distract her as best he could after breakfast.

Alex tried to watch Celeste from the corner of his eye, she was quite the woman. He liked her confidence and she really seemed to know what she was doing, although they hadn't actually gotten out to sea yet. He looked towards the horizon and felt the wind in his face. They were supposed to sail all day to some deserted island where they would just be in time to go ashore and have dinner. It wasn't actually deserted, although no one lived on it. It was too small for habitation but it was supposed to have a great beach and tomorrow they would all go snorkelling before they set sail in the afternoon for another full day's sailing and another island. On that leg of their voyage they would be sailing all night. He hadn't known quite what to expect from this trip and Howie hadn't given him any details. It was probably Treena that knew all the details, Howie just liked to go along for the ride. He said it would take all the fun out of it if he knew what he'd be doing ahead of time. Celeste had gone over their schedule; there would be nothing but sailing, snorkelling, outdoor feasts, bonfires on the beach and relaxation. It all sounded so perfect. He saw Melissa and Dianna's faces drop slightly when they found out there would be no shopping excursions, but as for the rest of the group they all seemed pretty enthusiastic.

When they were past the breakwater and well out into the ocean Alex heard the engines stop and felt the ship slow. Peter, Sandra and Alonzo appeared out of nowhere and took hold of the ropes for the sails. He heard Celeste yelling out her orders. The cook, the waitress and the WalMart greeter had somehow transformed into a sharp, precision crew, perfectly in sync with each other and Alex marvelled at the symmetry they shared. Peter had told the passengers that when the sails first filled with wind there would be a slight pull and they might stumble, so if they wanted to be on deck for it they should hold onto something for support.

"One hand for the ship and one hand for yourself," he had called out.

Celeste had suggested that since none of them were sailors that maybe they should be in the seating area for the first time the sails went up. Looking around now, Alex smiled, no one was sitting down. Everyone was on deck in anticipation of the sails being unfurled for the first time. Howie had let go of the girls and they were all hanging onto the side of the ship. Jenny and John Dempsey were near the bow, next to Sam and Brent Halliwell. Alex had seen Brent go into the parlour, which was actually how Celeste had referred to their on deck seating area, to wait but his father had dragged him back out to the bow. Brent seemed so disinterested in this whole trip. Alex felt sorry for his father; they didn't appear to be connecting at all. Bill and Patrice Miller, on the other hand, appeared to be connecting quite well. They were on the starboard side of the bow, holding hands and the side at the same time.

Celeste gave the signal and the mainsail was unfurled. The wind caught it immediately and Alex felt the ship pull into it. He also felt a slight pull in his chest and rubbed at it absently. The foresail, the one at the bow of the ship, was unfurled and caught the wind; they were pulled along faster now. The pain in his chest didn't get any worse, it stayed steady. It didn't really hurt anyway, so he would just have to get his mind on something else. The mizzensail, the one nearest to him and Celeste, was unfurled and must have caught a different wind than the other two sails were using because now they were flying across the ocean. The feeling was indescribable, his mind completely unaware that there were any other people here but him. He stared hypnotically as the horizon came closer, yet never moved. He closed his eyes and felt the wind on his face, amazing, the wind coming from two directions. The wind was pushing the sails from behind him, but here again was the wind in his face. He opened his eyes again and stared at the horizon, the pain in his chest now growing, but he paid no attention to it. He was somehow entranced by the horizon, that vast expanse of nothing but ocean. He felt his heart beating faster and faster but his mind did not somehow seem to be associated with his body anymore, and still he couldn't look away. He was vaguely aware that his breathing had become laboured, the pain in his chest stabbing at him, it came in waves this time, until he could no longer stand. He dropped to his knees, one hand on his heart and one hand on the railing and then...darkness.

Celeste was the first to see Alex collapse, how could she not, he had been standing almost beside her the whole time. She had also noticed that her mood from this morning had improved ever since Melissa had joined Howie and left Alex alone. She had been sneaking glances at him the entire time they were motoring out, and she thought he had been doing the same to her. At first she thought that he had just lost his balance, but then she saw him put his hand to his chest. She yelled for Peter, who was at the mizzenmast, to take over the helm and she rushed out to help him. The others had heard her call for Peter and now came over to help as well. Howie almost knocked over Dianna in his rush to get to Alex's side but Celeste got there first. Alex had fallen face down on the deck and she gently rolled him over towards her. He looked as though he were asleep and she moved his dark hair out of his eyes and stroked the side of his face with the back of her hand before she remembered that he wasn't asleep and that he was in need of medical attention. She quickly moved her hand from his face and placed two fingers on his neck to feel for a pulse and found one, it was strong.

"He's not breathing," she looked up at Howie for information and then quickly remembered her CPR, tilted his head back and gave him two of her own breaths. She repeated this process and checked for a pulse in between, but thankfully his heart was still beating. She bent down to give him another breath when his eyes opened and locked on hers.

"Marianna," he whispered, and then he reached up and pulled her down and kissed her.

Celeste felt the passion in his kiss and was momentarily helpless to stop it, until it sank in that he had called her by a different name and then she pulled back quickly.

"Marianna, you're here," he sat up quickly, leaning his elbow on his one bent knee, and stroked Celeste's hair with his left hand.

Once again, Celeste was momentarily at a loss to stop him from touching her. Part of her wanted it and part of her knew that he was probably delusional and thinking of another woman. She took his hand from her face and moved it away from her. He looked momentarily confused.

"Marianna, it's me, Jake, don't ye recognise me?"

He tried to touch her again but she backed away and stood up, confusion seemed to be contagious, she thought. Celeste looked over at Howie for help but he looked about as confused as everyone else on deck did at that moment.

"Alex," Howie ventured, "are you all right?" He knelt down and put a hand on Alex's shoulder to try to get his attention away from Celeste. "And what's with the Scottish accent?"

Jake looked at the hand on his shoulder and then severely at the man attached to it.

"I'd take that hand off of ma shoulder, if I were you." Jake glared at him.

Howie was taken aback, but did as he was told.

"Whoa, Alex, lighten up, I was just asking if you were all right."

Jake stood up and looked around the ship at all the different faces and then abruptly put his hand to his chest, bewildered.

"Am I dead?" he asked Celeste, but Howie answered.

"No, you're not dead, Alex, but cut it out, you're acting freaky, did you hit your head?"

"Why are you callin' me Alex, tha's no my name." He stared at Howie.

"Beg pardon, and what is your name, then." He asked sarcastically, after all, this was Alex Cole, his best friend since college. Straight as an arrow Alex. Never once had this man ever given anyone any reason to mistrust him. He had never lied, never stolen, never cheated; basically, he never got into any kind of trouble. Even when he was breaking up with women he told them the truth, which actually worked out a lot better for him than the lies some of the other guys had told their soon-to-be ex -girlfriends. But now, this whole personality change was very strange and so completely out of character for him.

"You can call me Jake, but I don't remember hearin' your name, sailor." Jake eyed him up and down. "And what manner of clothing would you be wearin'?" Jake then took his gaze to the rest of the people on deck. "All of ya." He looked down at himself and tugged at the white t-shirt with the face of Homer Simpson emblazoned on the front. "And wha' the hell am I wearin'?"

It was clear to him that he wasn't on his ship anymore, but precisely where he was seemed to be too much for him at the moment. He felt dizzy but he would not give into it and look weak in front of Marianna. He looked around, he was at sea, and that was always good. These people didn't seem to be threatening and they had no weapons that he could see. His left hand quickly went to his right hip searching for his sword, but it seemed that he, too, was unarmed. He felt naked without his cutlass, but he'd fought unarmed before and won. There were far too many women on board for this to be a pirate ship, so he would probably be safe, at least from them. And she was here, his Marianna, alive. She looked different, but it was her. Her long red hair was now short and dark, but it wasn't her looks that drew him to her. It was her soul. He wondered if he looked different, too.

"Alex," Howie started and Jake glared at him, "I mean, Jake...why don't you come down to the cabin and rest for a while?"

"I'm no tired. Besides, I think I'll stay up here wi' Marianna." Jake gazed at her. Once they had looked into each other's eyes and known each other's secrets, now he only saw confusion. Perhaps whatever spell had been cast over him was still cast over her. He would have to help her break it, as he had broken his own. And if he were dead, he must be in Heaven, because he was with Marianna, at sea.

Celeste had been somewhat in shock after Alex had said the name Jake. Her mouth hung slightly open and she was aware of her pulse quickening. Had he somehow found out about her secret love? It would be impossible, she had never written anything down about him. She just had that one picture, but it was safely squirreled away in a locked box in her safe, not even her sister Sandra knew about Jake. And the Scottish accent thing was weird, she didn't know if Jake was Scottish or what nationality he was, although she did find out that the name Jake was a nickname for the Scottish name Iain. It could be just coincidence, a very strange one, but why did he keep calling her Marianna?

"Celeste!" Sandra shook her by the shoulder and rousted her out of her trance.

"What?" She turned quickly and almost shouted at her sister.

"Peter wants to know if we should turn the ship around?"

"Why?" Jake asked.

Celeste paused and stumbled over her answer. "Yes, I think we should."

"Yer no turning this ship around fer me." Jake responded adamantly.

"But you may have had a heart attack; we need to get you to a doctor." Celeste argued, but was quickly interrupted by Howie.

"No, it wasn't a heart attack; it was just a panic attack. He's had them before but the doctor said the best thing for him was a vacation. I think we should continue." Howie turned to Jake. "How do you feel?"

"I'm aw right." Jake continued to stare at Celeste.

"Are you sure?" She looked at Jake, puzzled. "You're fine? Right?" She confirmed.

"Aye, I feel great." and he smiled with such calm and conviction that Celeste felt a great relief and let out a long held breath.

"Good, good. Sandi, let Peter know that we're okay to keep going, I'll be back to take over in a few minutes. Howie, why don't you take Jake down below so he can rest?" The name Jake had flowed out of her mouth so easily, she wasn't sure if it was because she wanted him to be Jake or because he was? Celeste turned to the rest of the passengers who were still nearby ready to help.

"He's fine; you can all go back to whatever you want to do now." Celeste motioned to Howie to take Alex downstairs to their cabin who nodded in agreement. The passengers dispersed quickly and Howie tried to take Alex by the elbow and guide him down to their cabin.

"I really don't need teh lie down, thank ya anyhow." He put up a hand to stop Howie from coming near him, and Howie backed up a little. "Marianna, why don't ye take me to the Captain, so I can have a word wi' im."

Celeste smiled. "I AM the Captain of this ship, so if you need a word, it will be with me. And my name is Celeste, not Marianna." She spoke forcefully.

Jake just tilted his head and smiled. "So, you're a Captain, now, are ye? Long way from bein' a servin' wench in that tavern in Bermuda."

Celeste froze, how could he have known about Bermuda, did he also know that the picture, her picture, of Jake had been from Bermuda? More coincidence she thought, she was reading more into this than there was. He obviously liked her, at which she couldn't help but smile, and he was just doing this as a way of getting her attention, which was kind of creepy. If he was keeping it up this long then he probably wasn't going to admit it was all a ruse, but he _had_ stopped breathing, that much was certain, and he had been unconscious. She had rubbed his chest hard with her knuckle, the way she had been taught, and there had been no reaction. He definitely wasn't faking that part of it. His friend Howie would probably be in on it. Jake...no...Alex had probably done similar stunts to all types of women, maybe that's why Melissa wasn't around him anymore, maybe she was onto his games? But why would he want to pretend to be the reincarnation of some pirate that he couldn't possibly know she had been in love with since childhood. Howie said that Alex had been his last minute replacement; he wouldn't have had time to find out anything about her in that short time. Unless...they knew about her money and this was all a scam? No, that's stupid; Mr. Towser had told her this was to be a surprise for his employees. No one knew about the contest, he wanted his genuinely exceptional employees to profit and he didn't announce the trips until February. He said that keeping the contest a secret might make them all up their ante a little for the following year. And Howie, well, he looked not only perplexed by Alex's little stunt, but also a little scared. No, she didn't think it was a scam to get her money, but whatever it was, and whoever he was, Jake or Alex, she would have to keep a close eye on him and see if she could find out all of _his_ secrets.

"I've never been a serving wench in Bermuda," she replied softly but firmly.

"Ach, no, yer right, I'm sorry, ye've always hated that word, haven't ye? Servin' Lass." He smiled at her rather mischievously and she found herself wanting to smile in spite of his rather odd behaviour. Celeste did her best to hold back the smile.

"I have to get back to my ship, why don't you spend some time with your friend Howie and get acclimated to the ship." She pointed over his shoulder to where Howie was standing behind him, a mixture of worry and confusion on his face with no attempt to hide it.

"Wha?" Jake looked behind him. "Wi' him?" he turned back to Celeste. "No offence but he doesna' seem much o' a sailor to be tellin' me how tae run a ship."

"Maybe not, but he can definitely show you your quarters and where you can lay down." Celeste tried to stress the last part so that maybe he would get the hint and rest, although she didn't think it would help much.

"I really don't need tae lie down, I'll look around yer ship myself, though, if it please ya." Jake took her hand in his and placed a kiss softly on her fingers before leaving her on his tour of the ship with Howie in full pursuit.

CHAPTER 12

Howie followed Jake; he seemed to be checking the ship but Howie wasn't sure of anything right now. He saw him tug on the ropes, look up at the sails and walk purposefully around the deck, all but ignoring the other passengers. He was even hanging over the sides of the ship at one point, although what he was looking for was beyond him. Jake strode quickly on deck and it was hard for Howie to keep up. Jake finally stopped astern near Celeste and quickly turned, and Howie had to make a quick stop or bump into him.

"Why are you followin' me?" He had wanted to speak with Marianna alone.

"Al...Jake? Do you think I could speak with you in private for a minute?" Howie asked. He needed to get him alone.

"Aye. I suppose, and where would ya be thinking we'd have privacy?" He held his arms open to the ship.

"How about in our cabin?" He ventured.

Jake's eyes opened wide in surprise. "Our cabin? Do you expect me ta believe that I share quarters wi' you?" He looked somewhat annoyed at this prospect.

"Why is that so bad?" Howie retorted.

"I'm a Captain, and Captains don't share quarters." He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Howie.

Howie was momentarily at a loss for words, but he knew for sure that he was no longer talking to Alex, for all intents and purposes, Alex was gone, and this Jake person was here instead.

"Fine, I'll move out, now can we go to YOUR cabin and talk?"

"Aye. Lead the way."

Celeste looked to Peter for help. She hadn't understood any of the conversation that had just taken place. For one thing, where did Howie think he was going to sleep? Peter just shrugged his shoulders; he looked just as confused as Celeste felt. She would have to get to the bottom of this and tonight would be the easiest time. After they had anchored and had dinner there would be plenty of time to speak with both Jake and Howie about what was going on, and to tell them to knock it off. Celeste just sighed and shook her head; this was supposed to be the boring cruise.

They got as far as the stairwell leading to the cabins below and Jake stopped Howie before he had a chance to take a step down.

"Where can I get some proper clothin'?" He demanded.

"Uh, in your cabin, I'll show you." Howie started down the steps and Jake followed. Howie was in a state of utter confusion, but suddenly and idea occurred to him. Maybe Alex had either forgotten to take his pills or he had taken too many? Maybe it was the pills that were doing this to him? That must be it, because he certainly didn't appear to have a head injury, he was too alert.

"Cabin number two is ours, uh, I mean yours." Howie walked past cabins three and four towards the bow of the ship and opened the door on the right.

Jake had been following him silently the whole way; he seemed to be amazed at the ship's interior, running his hand along the walls and marvelling at the light fixtures. Howie had to admit that this ship was pretty impressive. Everything seemed to be top of the line. The owner of this ship had not scrimped on detail. There were highly polished wooden floors throughout and the brass fixtures and portholes absolutely gleamed.

Howie opened the door to their cabin and allowed Alex to enter first. Jake stood in the doorway for a moment before entering. He looked like he'd just been beamed aboard the mothership. Howie came in behind him and immediately went over to Alex's toiletry bag; he knew that's where he kept the pills. He found them easily and read the label to see how many he was supposed to take a day and found out he was to take one in the morning and one at bedtime. He turned to find Alex staring at himself in the mirror, checking his hair, or so he thought, at this point Howie thought he looked quite dazed. He was slowly running his fingers through his hair, and then his hands slipped down to his cheeks momentarily before he started to rub his eyes. He then moved them down and rubbed one of them over his mouth before quickly stopping. In the mirror, Howie could see the startled look in Jake's eyes. Jake opened his mouth and started to rub one finger over his top front teeth. He let out a small 'huh?' and plopped down on the bed, the stunned look still on his face.

Howie checked the label again to see how many pills there were, by his count Alex should have taken at least seven of them by now. He opened them up and found that they were all accounted for but two. He scooped the pills, save one, back into the bottle and sat on the bed beside Alex.

"Here. Take this." He handed him the small pill and got up to get him some water to wash it down with.

Jake popped it into his mouth and crunched it. "Minty. Wha' is it?"

Howie turned from the sink. "You're not supposed to chew it," paused and stared "What do you mean 'minty'?" He opened the pills and spilled the contents into his hand and now recognised them for what they were.

"Tic tacs. Alex!" He yelled and turned angrily towards Alex.

Jake stood quickly and if Howie had any doubts that this was not Alex anymore they were quickly banished. Before he could even get another step towards the bed, Jake had him by the throat and he was pinned with his back against the door, the tips of his toes barely touching the floor. He felt his windpipe closing and saw raw anger in the eyes of the man in front of him, the man who was no longer Alex Cole. He put his hands up in surrender, the tic tacs now spilling in a cascade of clicks as each one hit the wooden floor. Jake spun him around, still gripping him by the throat, and threw him onto the bed. His eyes blazing, a look that Howie had never before seen on Alex.

"You will never raise yer voice or yer hand tae me again, do yeh understand that." He didn't yell, but his voice was low and forceful.

Howie put his hand to his neck and coughed, sputtering for air. He could do no more than nod. Jake removed his hand, the deep red colour started to drain from Howie's face and he found his breath. Jake was still glaring at him.

"Who are you?" he sputtered.

"I've told ya who I am," was his curt reply. Jake picked up the tic tacs from the floor and ate a few before putting the rest in the small bottle. "These are good, what are they?"

Jake's mood had changed. _Obviously he's decided that I'm no threat_ , Howie thought. "Tic tacs, they're candy. I know you told me your name is Jake, but who are you? And why are you here?"

"And why should I tell you anythin'?" Jake still had his back to Howie.

"I just need to understand. Up until about a half hour ago you were my best friend, Alex. Now...I don't know who you are." Howie sat up and Jake turned to face him.

"I need ta change these clothes, where can I find some new ones?" he asked.

"I think they're still in the suitcase." Howie picked up Alex's suitcase and placed it on the bed. He opened it up and stood back while Jake rummaged through it and finally picked out a pair of jeans and a white, long-sleeved shirt. He changed quickly in front of Howie and put the running shoes back on.

"Are there no boots?"

"No." he replied quietly.

"Well, I guess these'll do. They're actually no bad."

"Will you tell me what you're doing here?" Howie asked, his thoughts were that Alex was having some sort of split personality disorder.

"Awright, then. Sit down." Jake ordered and Howie did as he was told. "I have no idea what I'm doin' here or why."

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"Dyin'." Jake looked stonily at him.

"Dying?" Howie's face dropped, the pieces were all starting to fall into place, at least most of them. "What year is this?" He asked cautiously.

"I have no idea what year this is. I don't recognise anythin', why don't you tell me?"

"What year did you die?" Maybe he'd try another route.

"It was the year 1795, if ye must know."

"Where did you die?" Howie was nervous, excited and scared all at the same time.

"On an island in the Caribbean."

"How did you die?"

"Aye, it was a fine battle...." Jake proceeded to tell Howie the last hours of his life. He told him about Marianna and about Edward, and Howie sat fascinated at the tales. Jake hadn't wanted to talk at first, but a few well-placed questions here and there and he opened up to him. Howie treated him like he would one of his clients; you had to earn their trust. He used to have Alex's and now he would have to earn Jake's. That would be a much harder task. After listening to Jake speak he knew that the man trusted no one...no one except Marianna.

Almost two hours had passed before they had finished talking. Jake was now aware that this was the year 2012 and that was all Howie got to tell him. There was a small knock on the door and Sandra called out to see if everything, and every _one,_ was all right. Howie came out of 1795 long enough to let her know that they were fine and Sandra told them that lunch would be served on deck in ten minutes.

Howie sat still on the bed, dumbfounded. There was no way on this earth that Alex could have made up such a story. The only explanation he could possibly have was that he was now experiencing a past life, but how?...and why now? Maybe it had something to do with being at sea? But everything Howie had heard about past life experiences was merely a retelling of that life, not a continuation, yet here was Jake, picking up where he left off. And Celeste...Jake was convinced that she was Marianna, and maybe she was, reincarnated; somehow that all seemed to fit. He'd seen how Alex had reacted to her when they first met. He couldn't even remember his own name...or was it 'which name'? He had never seen Alex react to any woman that way. He'd always said that he'd know the right one when she came along. He'd gotten the feeling that Celeste felt the same way towards Alex at the time. She only glanced at him when he'd come aboard, but she stared hard at Alex, and she did seem a little ticked when they'd come back from dinner with Dianna and Melissa. This was getting to be way too much to process. Howie felt as if his brain was about to implode.

"Well, let's go eat, shall we?" Jake got up from the bed and slapped Howie on the back. It was enough to jostle him out of his trance and he followed Jake out of the cabin and up to the deck. They joined the others on deck and waited while Alonzo served their meals. Most of the passengers ate their lunch in the salon, but Jake took his meal to the bow and ate there, alone. Howie wanted to join him, but he knew that Jake would be trying to figure out his place here. Alex would probably be back before long, and if not, then he'd get him to a good psychiatrist when they got back to Toronto. He wondered what Jake's reaction would be to an airplane?

CHAPTER 13

Jake stayed at his spot by the railing near Marianna for a good twenty minutes after he had finished his lunch. It was really quite tasty. The man who had served it to him looked fit and able enough to be a sailor and Jake didn't think he should be wasted as a cook, but he did make a fine piece o' chicken. Jake hadn't had vegetables in quite a while and devoured them quickly along with the rice. Sandra ventured towards Jake and took his plate after a while. Jake thanked her and bade her give his respects to the cook. She smiled and returned to the parlour, trying to stifle a giggle.

Marianna was still at the helm. He was still feeling a little confused about his when and where, but as long as Marianna was here everything would be fine. This ship was so different from the schooners he had sailed on, everything seemed so shiny. His own ship had been clean, but this one was immaculate. There were no sword marks or chunks of mast missing, and Jake thought that this ship must be quite new to the sea. The _Celestial Breeze_ was only a few feet smaller than his own schooner, _the Avenger_ , and he surmised that they must have more time to do regular maintenance than his own crew had. Jake scanned the deck. There were no pirates on this ship, he found no evidence of weapons and there were no cannon ports, yet it didn't seem to be a merchant vessel either. There were only a few of people on board and they seemed to just be out for a sail, and their attire was puzzling, even his own had been disturbing; but he felt better now in this shirt and a pair of long pants. The shoes were strange looking, certainly nothing like leather, but they were very comfortable and gripped the deck tightly, still he would rather have had his boots. Everyone was wearing short pants, even the women. He wasn't completely at ease with seeing everyone's bare legs; even his own men had made sure that their clothing, though tattered and frayed at the edges, had covered most of 'em. Then there was Marianna, she had the good sense to cover herself. She was wearing a dark green shirt tied at the waist and a pair of pants made from beige cloth that stopped about mid-calf; but her shirt was completely unbuttoned and showed her white undershirt. He couldn't help but wonder what she would look like in those short pants?

Everything was very strange, and this big fella, the one who claimed to be his friend, a man he had never met before, seemed vaguely familiar. As a matter of fact, everyone on board did, which was why he hadn't tried to take over the ship immediately. Still, the urge to fight was strong, but he had to be smart. These weren't pirates. There would be no need for killing here. He would have time to figure out what was happening to him. The last thing he remembered was Edward, the feeling of the sword slicing into his chest. He rubbed at the spot, but there was no pain now. And Marianna, why did she look different?

Marianna had said it was her ship and he would never take anything away from her, but Marianna had always been on land. She'd been born in Bermuda and had never been at sea. He knew he should have taken her with him when she asked, but women were not allowed on pirate ships, the crew would never have stood for it. Besides, it wasn't a place he wanted her to be. He didn't want her to see him as a pirate, a killer, a thief.

Jake needed to find out what was going on here and this big fella may well have his answers. The big fella had been mostly silent while listening to Jake tell him about his life as a pirate, and then that woman had come and told him lunch was ready. He'd no chance to speak with him about the here and now other than the year. That had shocked him most of all. He'd been dead over two hundred years and now he was supposed to be another man. He'd heard stories about people in the Orient who believed that you came back again, but he hadn't believed it. He'd always thought that when you die, you die, but if it were true...that would mean that he and Marianna would have another chance to be together. A chance he wouldn't throw away. And if this was a second chance he must have done something to deserve it, if not in his past life then maybe in this one. Jake stared at the sea as if it would be able to provide him with those elusive answers. He wondered if this were the only other life that he'd had? He only remembered being Jake, not this Alex person. Maybe these were the only two he had? He needed more information about Alex and about the people on this ship. He looked over at Celeste, his Marianna. She didn't know him, and apparently had just met this Alex person. He'd have to woo her all over again. It had been easy the first time; they'd both fallen for each other immediately. This time may be a bit more difficult, but for Marianna, or Celeste, he would do anything and sacrifice everything. He would find a way, but it would be as himself, Jake, and not as Alex. He saw the big fella coming over to him with two drinks in his hand; maybe he could get some answers of his own.

"What did ye say yer name was, again?" Jake asked.

"Howie." He frowned and shook his head as he handed Jake an iced tea. Jake took it and swigged it back quickly.

"Well, Howie, what exactly are we all dayin' on this ship, and where are we headin'?" Jake turned from the railing and stood with his arms crossed in front of him, leaning slightly on the railing and his legs hip width apart.

"Well, Jake, we're on a schooner cruise and we're heading to an island for dinner and a bonfire." If he could just jar his memory, bring him back to the present, so to speak, maybe Alex would return and he could stop all this.

"What island?"

Howie was momentarily taken aback; he'd never heard the name of it. "Actually, I have no idea, you'd have to ask the Captain, she knows."

Jake looked out to sea and sniffed at the air. "We're in the Caribbean, aye?"

"Aye, I mean, yes." Good, at least he remembered where they were.

"Come wi' me." He commanded and turned swiftly to make his way over to John and Jenny Dempsey, who were now standing near the stern of the ship watching its wake.

"Hey Alex, how're you feeling?" Jenny turned to ask, and the crushed ice in her tea swished in the plastic cup.

"Call me Jake, if ye don't mind madam." And he bowed to her. "And what might yer names be?" he finished. Howie just shrugged.

"This is Jenny and her husband John." Howie didn't feel there was a need for last names since 'Jake' hadn't given his.

"Please ta meet ya, John, Jenny." He took John's hand and shook it firmly.

"Whoa, nice to meet you, too...Jake," John replied with a smile.

"Wha's that in yer drink, Jenny?"

"It's just ice tea. There's a pitcher of it in the parlour." And she pointed to the sitting area in front of Celeste.

"Ice? How did ye get ice?" he asked incredulously. Howie had neglected to put ice in Jake's drink, assuming that it would cause too many questions, and he'd been right.

"It's in the freezer, I guess," and she smiled, trying to hold back a laugh.

"What's a freezer?" he asked her.

"Okay, why don't we go over and I'll show you and then you can sit down for a while." Howie answered instead.

"No, you can show me later." He started to walk away a few feet and then stopped to quietly ask Howie a question.

"What's wrang wi' Jenny's hair?"

"What do you mean?"

"The colour, tha's no right, I mean, I've seen red hair before but that looks almost purple."

Howie laughed, "she's dyed it, made it a different colour. She was probably getting some grey in it." He saw Jake's confusion at this as he continued to stare at Jenny. Jake cocked his head to one side, maybe trying to see it from different angles.

"And she did this on purpose yeh say?"

"Afraid so," and he tried to suppress a smile.

"Awright," and he turned quickly and was off towards the bow where Sam and Brent were now standing.

Howie tried to keep up as Jake, he may as well call him that cause it sure wasn't Alex anymore, strode easily to the bow. Howie was having a little trouble adjusting to the motion of the ship and even though it was fairly smooth sailing, he was still a little wobbly and had to take his steps more carefully than if he were walking on land. Now he knew what they meant by getting your sea legs. He'd noticed that the others were having the same problems, not the crew naturally, but Alex had been having the same trouble as he was this morning and now he appeared to be completely at ease with the motion of the ship. Howie was even more convinced about his theory of reincarnation.

Howie caught up to Jake just after he had made his introductions and was shaking Sam's hand. Brent was pointedly staring at the ocean, trying to ignore everyone, but Jake would have none of that, and he saw Jake spin Brent around and grab his hand to shake. Brent looked rather shocked and his father looked rather ashamed that his son hadn't voluntarily turned around to greet Jake.

"How old are ya, boy?" Jake inquired, but received only stony silence.

"He's thirteen." Sam answered and Jake gave Sam a sideways glance and returned his gaze to the boy.

"I said, how old are ya, boy." Still silence and Sam gave Brent a nudge on the shoulder.

"Thirteen." He answered quietly and Jake smirked.

"Aye? I'd been at sea three years by that age." Jake turned to walk away, stopped and turned back to Brent. "Brent, you need to get some pants that fit ya, I lost more than one sailor to the sea from ill-fittin' clothes...and the ladies really dinna need ta see yer underthings." And he turned and walked away.

Howie snickered along with Sam as Brent scowled and looked down at his baggy denim shorts. They did indeed hang down below his underwear line and Howie had seen him constantly tugging at them to keep them up. But, that was just the style the kids wore today and there was no way a thirteen-year-old was going to listen about clothing from anyone over sixteen.

He followed Jake along to the next two in line, Melissa and Dianna; they were standing at the starboard railing near the bow. This should be interesting. Only this morning Alex had told Melissa that he wasn't interested in her and now he was going to re-introduce himself to her. She might take it as a sign that he wanted to start over, although she really didn't seem that upset about this morning's events. Melissa was actually quite a smart woman, little yakky, but she was far from the giggling schoolgirl she resembled. The white short-shorts and neon orange bikini top she was wearing today certainly made her look younger, and she had her long blond hair pulled back into a ponytail which she had looped through the catch at the back of her ball cap. She was twenty-seven years old and looked about twenty-one. But she could talk sense and nonsense at the flip of a switch, and adjust her conversation to suit whomever she was speaking with. Howie thought that she would be the one to stay away from, whereas Dianna would be no more than a welcome distraction for him on this trip. He'd only split up with Treena a short time ago and he was still in love with her, pretty much. He didn't intend to sleep with Dianna, he knew that's what Alex had been worried about, and he hoped that he had put those fears to rest last night. He just wanted to have some fun on this trip and try not to think about Treena, and Dianna had provided that for him. She just wanted to have fun on this trip too. Dianna had also just broken up with her boyfriend and told him she wasn't looking for anything more than someone to hang out and commiserate with. That was why Melissa had brought her on the trip; she was trying to cheer her friend up, an admirable quality.

Howie held onto the side of the ship and followed Jake towards the two women starboard. They each had a plastic cup half-filled with beer and were leaning over the railing talking when Jake walked up behind them.

"Ladies." They both turned around and smiled.

"How you feeling?" Melissa asked.

"Never better." Jake replied and they both giggled.

"I gotta say, Alex, I love the accent," she added.

"What accent? I must tell ya you're the one wi an accent, and the name's Jake, ladies, and you are?" He gave them a broad smile and a small bow.

Once again, Howie made the introductions, much to the giggles of the women.

"Dianna," Jake took his finger and rubbed the liner from underneath her eye, "have ye anymore boot black?" he rubbed the black on his finger underneath his own left eye.

"I...yeah," she was temporarily speechless and merely stared in surprise.

"It really helps keep the glare o' the sun from yer eyes."

"So do sunglasses," Howie interrupted.

"Glasses? No, I dinna need glasses, just some o' that boot black if ye please, Dianna."

"Yeah, I'll get it for you later." She smiled incredulously at Melissa.

"Aye, thank ye." Jake didn't stay to speak with them very long. He walked a short distance away before asking Howie about them.

"Are they whores?" he asked matter-of-factly.

Howie couldn't contain it any longer and burst out in laughter, he had to hold onto the rail to stop himself from falling over. He managed to stop long enough to let out a small 'no' before leaning over the rail to try and keep himself upright.

"Wha's so funnay?"

Howie pulled himself together and took a deep breath.

"No, they're not."

"Then why are they dressed like that? And all that paint on their faces?"

"Jake, I'm sorry to tell you that nowadays that's just the way some women like to look." He put his hand on Jake's shoulder and this time Jake did not object, maybe that was progress. But the look of confusion stayed with Jake and he looked at Celeste.

"Thankfully no all women," was his only reply.

Jake was off again, this time to the parlour where Bill and Patrice were relaxing and drinking beer on the sofa, which was merely an L-shaped built-in padded bench. Jake sat down beside them and Howie book-ended the couple as he made the introductions.

"Tell me, Bill, why would ya be wearing a woman's shirt?"

Bill was caught off guard, "It's _my_ shirt, I got it in Hawaii."

"Hawaii, eh, where's that, then?"

"Big island in the Pacific Ocean." He replied sarcastically with a smile on his face.

"Oh, aye, I've been there, ye've ta be careful, though, lots o' those islands have cannibals, yeh were lucky. Though I don't know how lucky ya were tae get away wi' that shirt." Jake leaned his elbows onto his knees and pointed at Bill's shirt and Patrice burst out laughing, most of the beer she had in her mouth now on her husband and herself.

"Are ye all right there, Patrice, yer no chokin' are ye?" He raised his hand to pat her on the back.

Patrice put up her hand to stop everyone from doing the same, the coughing was starting to subside now, but her face was still quite red from laughter.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she managed to sputter.

"So, Patrice, are yeh a MacDonald?"

"Yes, I am, how did you know that?" both Patrice and Bill's eyes opened wide at Jake's question.

"Ye're wearing the MacDonald Huntin' Tartan." He pointed at her tartan capris.

"You're right. How did you know it was the Hunting Tartan? Are you a MacDonald?" she asked.

Jake stood up; his question session with the Miller's was now over.

The Millers had thought Jake was pretty funny, up until he had asked about Patrice's pants, and she asked Howie how he would know that, but Howie had no answers for her. Not one person on board seemed to take Alex's apparent personality switch seriously, and he now found out why. Apparently Dianna had come down to her cabin, which was next to theirs and had overheard part of their conversation. The only part she heard was that Alex now thought he was a pirate and had spread the news to the other passengers. The only ones who didn't know yet were Celeste and Alonzo, and Patrice was careful to keep her voice down so that Celeste didn't hear it from her, but that would probably change very shortly. Howie did his best to convince Bill and Patrice that Alex was not playing a game, but he didn't need them thinking his friend was crazy, although it certainly did seem like an easy jump given that Alex had been diagnosed with panic attacks. Patrice asked what she could do to help. Patrice Miller had been a nurse for almost twenty years and she said she'd give him a quick once over to see if he did have a concussion, although she emphasised that she was not a doctor. Howie thanked her profusely but knew that it wasn't a concussion that had him acting this way. He wasn't quite ready to tell anyone about his theory. He returned to Jake, who was now behind them hovering near the helm, and Celeste. Jake hadn't spoken to her, but stood astern, leaning against the rail, just watching, that same stance, arms crossed and legs hip width apart.

Peter came up from below and stood beside Celeste. He nodded at Jake with a smile. It seemed a given to Howie that Peter now knew as well and it wouldn't be long before Celeste knew. Jake nodded back but there was only the slightest hint of a smile on his face.

"And who are you?" he asked.

"Peter Eggers, and you must be Jake?" he put out his hand and Jake shook it hard.

Jake felt the man's hand crumple in his own and quickly eased up on his grip.

"That's quite a grip you've got there." Peter tried not to show how much pain Jake's handshake had caused.

"Aye. And what do you do on this ship, Peter?"

"I'm the co-captain. I'll be sailing the ship at night so Celeste can get her rest." He put his hand on Celeste's shoulder.

Jake didn't like the man touching his woman, but there didn't seem to be anything untoward in it, so he let it go.

"Ye've got a fine ship here, Marianna, what's her name?"

"Celeste. My name is Celeste," She corrected. "and this is the _Celestial Breeze_."

"Aye, sorry, Celeste. The _Celestial Breeze_ , eh? I like that, it's a fine name."

"Glad you approve." She smiled and then exchanged a sly smile with Peter.

"I've been watchin ya sail, ya do a fine job o' it."

"Thank you." She replied cautiously and kept her eyes forward.

"What flag is that yer flying? I don't recognise it." Jake was staring directly above him at the red and white flag.

Celeste looked at Howie quizzically, and Howie just shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.

"Which flag?" Celeste asked.

"The one flying from yer gaff on the mizzenmast. The red and white one." He pointed.

"That would be the Canadian flag, you know, your home country?" Howie replied, trying to jog his memory. "And what's a gaff?"

"I have no home country. And the gaff is that big piece o' wood holding the mizzen." He answered matter-of-factly.

"What's a mizzen?"

"That sail. Have ya no been on a ship before?" Jake asked and pointed to the sail above him.

"No." He replied.

"Well, you sound like you know your way around a ship, Jake." Peter interjected.

Jake didn't hesitate. "I've sailed these oceans for near twenty years, I know every part of ma ship and I'll know every part o' this one very shortly."

Howie felt a little sick to his stomach and it had nothing to do with the motion of the ship. He now realised what had been nagging at him. The only time in his twelve year friendship with Alex that he had ever heard him speak with a Scottish accent was at the New Year's Eve Party, when that third rate Magician had hypnotised him, and that was the exact phrase he'd used 'I've sailed these oceans for near twenty years'. Alex had an appointment booked with a professional Hypnotist on the fourth to try and help him quit smoking, but he thought this might be fun and maybe he could save a couple of hundred bucks. Howie searched his mind, what did that guy say to him? Oh, yeah, he told him to go back to a time when he didn't smoke. That's when the Scottish accent had come out. He thought it was just funny at the time, or that Alex was just goofing around, and he'd forgotten about it because Alex had actually stopped smoking right after that session.

Howie saw the look on both Peter and Celeste's faces, they looked impressed that he knew what to call those things on the ship, but that last line about sailing for twenty years and having his own ship had them all stymied. Alex, the real Alex, didn't know the first thing about ships or the ocean. He'd grown up in Saskatchewan, and there wasn't a lake anywhere near his hometown. Even when he moved here to Toronto he'd never been on Lake Ontario, he hadn't even been on the ferry to Toronto Island. The closest thing to a ship that Alex Cole had come in contact with was the one they turned into a restaurant down at the pier, and even that wasn't a sailboat. Hell, he didn't even know how to swim very well.

Howie knew what he had to do, he had to talk to Celeste and let her know what was going on, but in private. Right now she was busy sailing the ship, but tonight he would have the opportunity. He just wanted to make sure she understood the entire scope of the situation before Jake told her himself. He didn't want her to think Alex was some kind of 'nut job'. No, he would need to think of the proper words. If Jake and Marianna had been reincarnated as Alex and Celeste, then it would be up to him to pave the way for them. The way Jake had spoken about Marianna had reminded Howie of the way he had felt about Treena. He wanted these two people to be together again, to have the life together that they should have had back then. That was him, Howie Winters, born romantic. He liked to think that that kind of eternal love existed. Maybe he just hadn't found the right woman. He thought he'd found the same kind of love with Treena until three weeks ago when he found her with another man. She'd been seeing that guy, a package delivery driver, for almost six months. Howie had felt so hurt and betrayed he couldn't even speak with her about it. She had called so many times and he had never answered. Finally, she stopped calling. Howie had been unable to tell Alex what had happened. He wasn't even sure himself.

Whatever he did or didn't believe, one thing was certain; he would have to watch Jake closely. It wasn't every day you saw a pirate in the 21st Century, and from what he had read about pirates, they were unpredictable...and deadly.

CHAPTER 14

The rest of the afternoon went by quickly. Peter was out on deck showing the passengers who wanted to learn about sailing the various parts of the ship and what they were called. Jake stayed with Celeste, and Howie watched and listened as they easily chatted about the ship and he learned about her new life. Howie was still fairly freaked about Jake, and especially his temper. A real pirate wouldn't be afraid or reluctant to kill. He knew Alex would never hurt anyone, but Jake was another story altogether. However, after watching him with the passengers Howie managed to relax. This pirate wasn't interested in being a pirate anymore. He genuinely appeared to be trying to fit in. He was over with Peter helping to adjust the sails, something about the direction of the wind, and Alonzo was manning the third sail.

Jake was given the task of the foresail while Peter manned the mainsail. Jake had watched him; he wasn't as able bodied as he would have liked everyone to believe. His hands were starting to lose their strength, he'd felt that when they'd shaken hands. He'd seen a few sailors get it, the old tars, they'd always said that the sea just got into yer bones and gnarled 'em. He didn't think that Peter should be holding the rope for such a big sail and offered to do it himself, but Peter would have none of it. He wouldn't even let Jake man the foresail until he'd drilled him on the procedure and was satisfied with his answers. Jake had put up with his questions good naturedly; he knew that Peter needed to know that he was capable of such a task. After all it was Celeste's ship that he was protecting. He now knew that Peter was more like a father figure to her and he was no threat, and that Alonzo fellow, the cook, he was married to Celeste's sister, Sandra. They looked pretty happy together, so there was no need to worry about him either. Celeste, herself, had reluctantly told him that she did not have a man. He saw her blush at his questions and stopped, he didn't want to embarrass her. He knew as much as he needed to know right now. Jake thought that Alonzo looked almost relieved that Jake had taken over the gybe from Sandra, although from what he'd seen of the girl she was quite able bodied and more than capable. In his mind there could only be one reason that her husband would not want her doing such strenuous work and that would be if she were with child. She didn't look to be in 'that way' but it may yet be early, and there might be another reason. Whatever it was it didn't matter, Jake was sailing again, and he really didn't care if he were Captain or crew on this voyage.

Celeste gave the word and the three of them started to pull on the ropes and move the booms. She was busy watching Jake to make sure he was doing it properly, at least that's what she told herself...and Sandra, when she got caught looking. Jake appeared to be every inch a sailor. His white shirt reminded her of the pirate captains she had seen in movies, but it was only a plain white shirt, nothing special. The top three buttons were undone, showing just a hint of his chest and her mind started to wander, but just a little, gybing was not an easy task and she would have to focus.

Sandra stood beside Celeste and watched the passengers, making sure they were out of the way of the mainboom. She watched Celeste from the corner of her eye; her sister was never any good at hiding her feelings. She'd known from the first time that man had stepped on board that Celeste had liked him. She couldn't stop looking at him whenever he was around; even now she was staring at him. Probably got him half undressed, she thought.

Celeste was still semi-lost in thought but was quickly snapped back to reality when the mainsail let loose. Jake and Alonzo had their sails secured, but Peter's rope was now flailing in the wind, the mainsail lufting wildly and Peter had been knocked onto the deck. He was just getting up when Alonzo rushed to help him get out of the way as the mainboom sailed over their heads. Jake dashed to the mainboom and steadied it; there was no hint of imbalance in his stride, even though the ship was now at quite an angle.

John and Jenny stayed in the parlour with Bill and Patrice, but Sam and Brent were out on deck and were now moving down closer to the parlour to get out of the way. Howie was crouched down to avoid being hit by the boom, even though he was on the other side of the ship and the boom wouldn't be coming near him. Alonzo hastened over to the rope and secured it quickly while Peter still sat on the deck, ashamed by the incident. With the final rope secured the ship was once again sailing smoothly through the water.

Celeste sent Sandra to find out if Peter was hurt and she returned to let her know that he was fine, just very embarrassed. He was up on his feet now and trying to help Alonzo with some of the other rigging. She told Sandra to take over the helm and went out to the deck to see Peter herself.

"Peter, what happened? Are you all right?" She tried to put her arm around him but he shook her off.

"I'm fine," he barked, "just lost my grip and the wind caught it." he stomped off and, she assumed, down to his quarters.

Celeste looked to Alonzo for answers, but he just shook his head and shrugged. Something was going on with Peter, but she knew better than to ask him outright, although she thought she knew what it was. He'd tell her in his own time. Right now she turned her attention to Jake.

"Thanks for your help; you caught that boom just in time."

"Don't be gi'in me too much credit, it had already slowed down, I just stopped it from goin' any further. I dinna think I cudda stopped it at full speed." his smile dazzled her, and she thought she felt a blush. She tried to look away quickly and pretended to be checking out the sails. Jake followed her gaze up the main mast.

"What are yeh lookin' at?" he asked.

Not wanting to admit she'd been blushing she came up with something so lame she surprised even herself. "Just looking at the halyard to make sure it's okay." Of course, it was okay, it was always okay, it was designed that way.

"If yeh like I'll go and hae a wee look." Jake was off before she could answer him. He took hold of the ropes for the boson's chair and used them to climb up to the top of the mast. Celeste looked up in amazement, as did the rest of the crew and passengers.

"Hey," she called, "get down from there."

"Aye, soon enough, I'm just havin' a look around."

Celeste saw that all of the passengers were now concentrating their attentions on Jake atop the mast, even Brent, who so far hadn't been interested in anything.

"Well get down before you fall off, my insurance doesn't cover that." She tried to make light of it, an insurance joke for an insurance salesman, but he just waved to her and continued to stay atop the mast.

Celeste had heard the passengers talking about Jake's 'episode' and Sandra had told her that he thought he was a pirate now. If she had heard that this had happened to someone else on some other ship she never would have believed it, and she couldn't even explain to herself why she believed it could possibly be true. Maybe it was just the name Jake that had her rattled, but there was no denying that this was not the same man who had come on board yesterday. He was no sailor, yet today he named every part of the ship, trimmed the sail flawlessly, and he'd just climbed that mast like a monkey on steroids, like it was 'old hat'. There was more to this than she understood. His friend Howie must have some of the answers, but they could wait until they anchored. She turned from Jake and made her way back to the helm, he couldn't hang up there all day.

Brent came starboard to the mainmast from which Jake was now hanging. This psycho actually did think he was a pirate. He looked up and shaded his eyes with his left hand; his right was in his pocket switching the tunes on his MP3. The MP3 was the only thing he was actually grateful for on this voyage, so far it had been boring, just like he knew it would be, but his dad had made him come. There was nothing to do here with all these old people. There was no t.v., no computers, he'd wanted to bring his gameboy but he was grounded from that too. It wasn't fair, he'd only taken a couple of those stupid lights and just cause the police brought him home his dad freaked. He'd been housebound for a month straight; even now he was barely allowed to go out. He had to sneak around to be with his friends just because his dad didn't like them. His dad was never home anyway, so it wasn't too hard to meet them. Sure, sometimes they got into trouble, but at least they listened to him. They were his real friends; they understood him, not like his dad. He still didn't see why he couldn't just stay with his mother this week. He knew she wanted him to stay with her even though he hadn't talked to her since she left, but that was his dad's fault. She left because of him, and it was his dad who wouldn't let him see her. Now he was stuck on this stupid boat with him. The stupid cabins were so small you couldn't sit in them for long and the food sucked. This crazoid on the pole was the only interesting thing to happen so far. The old guy who'd fallen had tried to talk to him, wanted to give him sailing lessons, but sailing was lame. This whole trip was lame and he wished he was back home with his friends.

Brent finally found a tune he liked on his MP3 and took his hand out of his pocket. The sun was bright and right behind the psycho so that he had to use both hands to shade his eyes. He stretched up and tried not to look directly into the sun, but it was difficult so he backed up. He had almost put his foot down when he felt his pants drop, his right heel got snagged in the crotch area and he stumbled backwards. When he tried to correct himself he stumbled even more and his left leg banged against the side of the ship and he felt himself leaning too far over. His hands had automatically reached out to grab something, but he found nothing but air as he felt himself falling over the side of the deck. He hit the water hard and went under, his pants still around his ankles, restricting his leg movements and he couldn't kick to get back up. The waves from the ship's wake were forcing him down and he tried to use his arms as best he could to get up for air. Each time he managed to get a gulp of air he was drawn back under. He was starting to panic. His lungs were burning and he knew he needed to get to the surface quickly, but whenever he got above water he couldn't keep himself there. The waves were too strong for him; he needed to get his pants off so that he could use his legs to help keep him above water.

Jake heard the splash and a cry of 'man overboard'. He saw Sam at the Starboard railing pointing to the spot where someone had gone in and calling for Brent. Before anyone could do anything Jake steadied himself between the mast and the gaff and dove into the sea, narrowly missing the side of the ship by a mere foot as he did so. He was a strong swimmer and the waves were no problem for him, he'd done this many times before, the trick was not breathing. He swam as hard as he could towards the area where he had seen them pointing but he didn't see anyone. He had gone in only a few seconds after the boy so he should be close. He scanned the ocean all around him and finally saw a hand come up to his left about twenty feet away. He swam over quickly but the hand didn't come up again. Jake dove under and saw Brent struggling, he grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and pulled as hard as he could until they both broke the surface.

Celeste called for Peter and Alonzo to help her lower the sails. Peter had heard the 'man overboard' and raced back up to the deck. The sails were lowered faster than Celeste had ever seen them and the ship slowed immediately. Alonzo and Celeste lowered the launch, which was stowed astern, into the water and climbed down the ladder attached to the stern. Alonzo started the outboard quickly, but they had to rely on Peter and Sam to let them know where Brent and Jake were. Sam hadn't taken his eyes off of them. Peter had the binoculars and was scanning the area Sam had been pointing to. He directed Celeste and Alonzo right to last spot that Sam had seen Brent. Alonzo spotted them first and called out to let them know they had been found. Jake was treading water when they got there and he had Brent safely under one arm. They were both fine. Celeste helped Brent aboard first. He had finally managed to get his pants off and was embarrassed to be sitting in the boat in his underwear, especially in front of Celeste; his pants and MP3 player were now slowly making their way to the bottom of the sea. Alonzo held out his hand for Jake, but he climbed into the launch under his own power. Where Brent looked spent, Jake only looked a little winded. Celeste was relieved to see that Brent wasn't hurt. He was fortunate not to have hit his head on anything when he fell in. She was even more relieved to see that Jake wasn't hurt. She'd have to yell at him later. Diving from a mast was one of the stupidest things you could do on a ship, and there were a lot of stupid things you could do on a ship.

They were back at the _Celestial Breeze_ quickly and Brent was obviously still quite shaken from his ordeal. Jake helped him up the ladder and his father Sam was at the top to help him on board. Sam grabbed Brent and squeezed him hard; the tears in his eyes were flowing. Jake came on board next and Sam loosened up his grip on Brent long enough to shake Jake's hand and thank him for saving his son's life. Sandra had blankets ready for both of them. She placed a blanket around Brent and his father took him downstairs to their cabin. Jake refused his, instead taking his shirt off and tying it around the taffrail to dry. Howie immediately grabbed Jake by the arm and dragged him over to the bow of the ship, out of earshot of the other passengers.

"What the hell did you think you were doing diving off the boat like that? You could have landed on a shark or something?" Howie's face was white and he glared at Jake, more out of fear than anger.

"What are yeh goin' on about? I wasna gonna land on a shark, are ya quite well? I was trying ta get that boy; I should think that was quite obvious." He answered back loudly.

"I don't care who you are, or who you think you are, but Alex Cole has been my best friend for twelve years and I don't appreciate you taking those kinds of risks with his body." He stood nose to nose with Jake, looking him straight in the eye.

"Calm yersel', do yeh really think I'm looking tae die?" He was much calmer now. "I thank yeh fer yer words, Howie, but I've no wish tae die, no again, yeh don't hae tae worry." He gave Howie a couple of pats on the shoulder and then went to the bow to dry off in the warm Caribbean breeze. Unsure of what to say or do next, Howie just stood beside him and stared out at the ocean.

Celeste left the helm to Peter with orders to get the sails back up and took one last look at Jake before going below to check on Brent and Sam. Howie seemed to be blasting him for that stunt, so maybe she'd try not to be so hard on him. Diving off of that mast had to be one of the stupidest things she had ever seen, and the bravest. She really wanted to be angry with him, but it was hard. If it hadn't been for Jake getting to him as quickly as he had, Brent may have drowned. She shook her head and smiled, maybe having a pirate on board could be a good thing...especially if he keeps his shirt off.

CHAPTER 15

Celeste knocked on Sam and Brent's door and Sam opened it to let her in. Brent had changed into some dry clothes and was now sitting on the bed, wrapped in a dry blanket. He had stopped shaking but Celeste could see that he was still quite upset from his ordeal.

"How are you feeling?" Celeste knelt down in front of Brent, who just stared at her and shivered.

"I'm okay, I guess." He finally answered.

"If it hadn't been for Jake..." Sam choked on his words and then let out a short but loud breath. Celeste could see the tears pooling, ready to slide down his cheek, but he wiped them away quickly.

"It's all right, now, Sam." she soothed, and then turned her attention to Brent.

"Can you tell me what happened?" She asked. Celeste knew it had nothing to do with Peter's accident, but Peter thought otherwise. He was already beating himself up over letting the line go. She would feel negligent to everyone concerned if she didn't find out what had really happened. Brent sat still on the bed, unable or unwilling to tell her. Finally, Sam spoke up.

"He tripped over his pants." Sam looked ashamed and hung his head.

"How?" she asked.

Sam placed both hands over his face and started to rub away the tears. "I saw it happening and I couldn't stop it. Jake tried to tell us before but I didn't ..." he started to cry, and dropped his head into his hands to cover his face. Celeste quickly went over and put her arm around Sam, rubbing his back consolingly.

"Oh, Sam, I'm sure it wasn't your fault, tell me what happened," she tried again.

A tiny voice whispered, "it was an accident...my pants fell down when I was looking up at the guy on the mast and, I just tripped over them, I couldn't get my balance." Brent offered his explanation and looked over at his father. "It wasn't your fault, Dad."

Sam looked up at his son, "But I should have been able to grab you,"

"I'm okay now Dad, you don't have to worry about me, anymore."

She heard a harshness in his voice that surprised her, and Celeste got the impression that he wasn't just talking about this moment in time.

"I think I'm gonna go back up on deck." He stood and dropped the blanket back onto the bed.

"No, Brent, I think you should stay down here for a while." Sam tried to insist but it sounded more like pleading.

"I don't want to stay in here; I want to go back up on deck." His voice was louder, and slightly more disrespectful.

"All right, but if you want to go up on deck then you're wearing this lifejacket." Sam held out the lifejacket, his voice was stern, this time, and Brent seemed to know that his father meant business.

"Fine." Brent grabbed the lifejacket and went out the door and Celeste noticed that he was now wearing his bathing trunks, tied tightly at the waist.

"Are you okay, Sam?" Celeste asked.

"Yeah, I just don't know what to do with him anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"He's just been so hard to talk to since his mother left us last year."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"He keeps thinking that she's coming back for him, that she wants him to live with her. I've tried to tell him that she's not coming back for him, but he blames me for her leaving." Sam dropped his head and gave a short laugh. "She took the dog, you know? Took the dog and left her son," he paused, "that's why he thinks she's coming back for him, because she took his dog. It wasn't bad enough she left him, but she took his dog." Sam hung his head and cried and Celeste put her arms around him for comfort, but she could find no words.

When Brent came back up on deck he was immediately escorted to the parlour by Peter, and the passengers slowly made their way over to him to find out exactly what had happened; all but Jake and Howie who were still near the bow talking. Brent knew that he had to thank Jake for what he'd done, saving his life and all. The lady with the red hair, Jenny, had told him about Jake diving off of the mast into the water and swimming out to get him. He was a real life hero, not like his Dad who was downstairs crying. He felt a little bad about that, but his dad shouldn't worry so much, it was embarrassing. A man has to be tough; he learned that from his friends. His Dad wasn't tough, but Jake...he was tough, he was a real man. Jake wasn't afraid to dive into the ocean from that mast. His father probably wouldn't even have jumped in after him. As soon as he finished answering their questions, he thought, he would go over and speak with Jake. He was a little nervous about speaking with him, but then, most people were nervous about speaking with their heroes.

Celeste came up on deck about half an hour later and she brought Sam, Sandra and Alonzo with her and had everyone meet in the parlour. As soon as Brent saw his father come in he got up and made his way over to Jake, lifejacket securely in place. He was careful to stay near the middle of the ship this time. Howie saw the look on Brent's face when he arrived; he looked a little scared and a little nervous with just a touch of embarrassment thrown in for good measure. He thought it would be best to let them talk alone. Brent probably wanted to thank Jake for saving his life, and best to do that in private. He decided to join the others and when he started astern Howie saw that everyone had gathered together in the parlour. He decided that now would probably be the best time to let everyone know what was going on. His first clue in that reasoning was Celeste waving him over. He'd been thinking about how best to explain his theory and decided to start at the beginning. He entered the parlour and Celeste immediately asked him what was going on with Alex, or Jake, or whatever he was calling himself and Howie had her join the others and explained everything. When he had finished there was a long silence before anyone spoke.

"And you expect us to believe that he's actually a reincarnated pirate?" Bill was the first to speak up.

"That's the only explanation I can come up with." Howie replied.

"You sure he didn't just hit his head, or something?" Dianna asked.

"I'm sure, and I'm sure he didn't hit it on New Year's Eve either."

"And you're sure he's not just playing some kind of game?" Peter interjected from the helm.

"Positive, that's not like Alex, I told you, he's the most honest person you'll ever meet."

"Well I kind of like the idea of reincarnation. Can you imagine? It would be like immortality without the tedium. Different lives, different adventures, I think you're right Howie." Jenny added excitedly.

"Oh, come on, a pirate? That's just a little too farfetched for me." Bill retorted.

"No, it's not, he doesn't think he's Napoleon or Elvis for God's sake, he's some obscure seventeenth century pirate."

"Eighteenth century," John corrected

"What? Oh, right eighteenth century," her voice grew louder again, "some obscure eighteenth century pirate that no one's heard of and I'm sorry, but I spoke with him yesterday and that man knew nothing about sailing...today he knows everything. And what about that dive from the mast, did anyone else see that? He looked like he'd been doing that his whole life. Howie here says he's known him for twelve years, have you ever seen him dive before?" Jenny's voice was louder now and Howie thought that she was now challenging the others to come up with alternate explanations.

Celeste shifted uncomfortably on one foot, Jake was definitely not obscure but she didn't want to let them know that just yet.

"I didn't even think he could swim." Howie replied honestly.

"So we're just supposed to believe that he's a pirate?" Bill asked.

"I think I believe it." Patrice looked at her husband stubbornly.

"What? Are you out of your mind?" Bill glared at her.

"Why? Because I don't go along with everything you say? I have my own thoughts and ideas, you know, and if I want to believe that he's a pirate then I'll believe that he's a pirate." Patrice got up and stormed off in the direction of the stairs to her cabin and disappeared down the steps. Bill looked bewildered at first, but then scowled and followed after her. The others weren't sure where to look.

"I kind of believe it, too." Melissa finally added. "I mean, we all went out last night and I don't see anything of Alex there."

"Like what?" John asked.

"Well, I don't know if I can put my finger on it exactly, but, just the way he carries himself today, he's so much more confident, like he has a purpose now. He didn't seem like that yesterday, and I read people pretty well. And he told me this morning that he wasn't interested in me as anything more than a friend on this cruise, which was cool with me, that was pretty honest, I mean, we're from different provinces and probably never see each other again, but most guys would think, 'hey, why not just go for it', but he turned me down flat." Melissa didn't even stop to catch her breath.

"Come to think of it," Dianna added, "last night he was doing everything with his right hand, but today, he seems to be left-handed. I was watching him eat lunch and he used his left hand for the fork."

"I hadn't noticed that before, but you're right, Alex is right-handed, and Jake took the drink with his left hand." Howie interjected. They all seemed to be straining to remember whether they had seen Alex use his right or left hand.

Peter was still a little sceptical. He'd need a lot more time and information from this Jake person before he believed him. He was a good sailor though, knew a lot of the old terminology, and he had to admit that some of the little things that Jake did made him appear as though he had been sailing for years. And Melissa was right, he had an air of confidence about him, the air of someone in command, someone used to giving the orders instead of taking them. Still, he had an uneasy feeling about the whole situation and he'd be very glad when this cruise was over.

"I have to admit, he appears to be what he says he is. I mean, why would anyone pretend to be someone they're not? I mean, someone who's been completely normal his whole life, like Howie said he's been." Sandra looked to her husband for confirmation, but her merely squeezed her shoulder and remained neutral. "What do you think Celeste?"

Celeste wanted to believe it; reincarnation would be preferable to crazy. "I think I'm going to reserve judgment at this point." She answered instead.

Everyone was quiet now, and all of them were staring at Jake. Celeste clapped her hands together and tried to get everyone back to having some fun.

"Listen, it's been a heck of an afternoon so far, why don't we just enjoy the rest of the cruise, we've only got a couple of more hours till we reach the island and we can all talk over dinner, whaddya say?" Celeste looked around, everyone seemed happy with that plan and Celeste took over the helm from Peter. Sandra and Alonzo went back down to the galley to finish up some of the preparations for dinner while John and Jenny stayed in the parlour with Melissa and Dianna. They were discussing their theories on reincarnation and Howie decided to join them. He looked over to Jake, who was busy with Brent at the moment; they were both looking up at the rigging and it appeared that Jake was explaining the fundamentals. Brent was finally getting that sailing lesson.

CHAPTER 16

Alonzo did not believe in ghosts and goblins. He did not believe in fairy tale romances. He did not believe in God and the Devil. He did not believe in reincarnation. And he did not believe in Jake. Alonzo did believe that Alex Cole was crazy, or that he was after Celeste's money. Either way, Alex Cole would have to be watched very carefully.

Most of Alonzo's time was spent below deck, preparing the meals, but his new agenda would have him spend more time on deck. More time near 'Jake'. If he wanted to be called Jake, then Alonzo would concede. He would even pretend to go along with it, especially after that stunt he pulled diving from the mast this afternoon. Jake seemed to have most of the passengers fooled, even Sandra was a believer. Alonzo could tell that Peter was waiting to see what Celeste thought, so that left it up to him to expose the truth about 'Jake'. He was definitely up for a little detective work.

Jake had been spending the afternoon with Brent, showing him this and that. They were currently standing at the bow, getting a Pirate's view of the ocean, no doubt. Alonzo decided to bring them over some iced tea in hopes of overhearing their conversation. Jake thanked him for the drink, and Brent parroted him. Alonzo had a third cup for himself and stood by the rail portside. He was close enough to make out some of the things they were talking about, but he had always found it harder to listen when you weren't directly looking at the person. They were talking about names.

"Well, I hate my name," Brent was in the middle of some conversation.

"Then why don't ye change it. Tha's what I did." Jake replied.

"You mean from Alex?"

"Nah, from my birth name."

"What was it?"

"I'd rather no say." Alonzo heard an abruptness in Jake's tone.

"Why not, it was a long time ago, does it matter?"

There was an long pause and Alonzo tried to shift his gaze towards the bow, he saw Jake staring out to sea, before he quickly returned his own gaze back so as not to be noticed staring.

"Ah suppose it's no matter now," he began; ma name was Percival Iain MacDonald."

"Percival? No wonder you changed it." Alonzo heard a snicker and almost had to suppress his own laughter.

"Careful, lad, it's still ma name."

"Sorry." Jake's tone was harsh and Brent answered so quickly that Alonzo knew there had been a very stern look to go along with it.

"So, how did you pick Jake? Or did the pirates pick it for you?"

A laugh. "No, lad, ma faither used te call me Jake. I had te change ma name, and it's the only way I cud still feel close te him."

"What do ya mean?"

"He died when I was a bit younger than you, that's when I went te sea."

A softness in his voice now, Alonzo had to struggle to hear him.

"You went to sea when you were thirteen?"

"Nah, I was ten, and on board a pirate ship when I was eleven."

Another long pause. Alonzo could see Sandra coming up towards him, but he wasn't finished eavesdropping yet. Ah, yes, cornered by Bill. He watched as she returned below deck. That would buy him a little more time, but he'd have to find out more from another source. Maybe Howie would know; he'd spoken to Jake below decks. Or maybe Diana could tell him something, she'd apparently been listening to most of it.

"Did you always want to be a pirate, Jake?"

"Nah, if ma faither hadna been killed I wudda bin a blacksmith just like he was."

"Killed?"

"Aye."

"How?"

"It doesna matter now."

Another silence between them.

"Yer lucky te have yer faither wi' ya."

"Yeah," he sounded unsure, "and I have lots of really good friends, too," happier now.

"Aye, yer lucky, so long as yer friends are no pirates, eh, lad?" a slap on the back and a chuckle.

"What's wrong with pirates? You seemed to have turned out okay."

"Aye? Eighteen years o' friends ye canna trust; watchin' yer back aw the time; stealin', killin', watchin' those ye call friends kill each other o'er rum, or women."

His voice was harsh. Alonzo ventured a glance. Jake's arms were taught as his hands clenched the bow in anger, his face stiff against the wind as he looked to the sky.

"No, lad, I didna turn out okay."

"But you seem real nice."

"Do I? Well, then lad, ye've no idea what a pirate really is." His voice was menacing now, maybe just as a scare tactic, who knew?

Alonzo didn't know what a pirate really was, either. Maybe it was time to find out.

Sandra had finally made her way back to Alonzo to inform him it was time to get dinner packed for the island. He had wanted to stay and listen longer, the talk was very informative, but Sandra insisted and pulled him away from the rail. It may have been paranoia, but as Sandra pulled him away, from the corner of his eye he saw Jake turn and watch him go. It was a look that told him he had been caught and it was quite unsettling.

CHAPTER 17

The _Celestial Breeze_ anchored in a small cove at its island destination shortly before five. It was a beautiful little island, not much bigger than a couple of football fields, with a white sand beach, the cove was perfect for swimming and snorkelling, and just deep enough for the ship. The passengers were transported in the launch to the island but John, Jenny, Melissa, Dianna and Howie all decided they would rather snorkel over. Alonzo had their towels and clothing waiting for them when they arrived. Brent had enough of the water today and grudgingly went in the launch with his Dad. He had tried to be the last one, so that he could go with Jake, but Jake just glared at him and Brent did as he was told. Alonzo and Sandra had taken the second launch with the lobsters, crabs and other assorted items over and Alonzo began to get the fire pit ready for the shellfish, while Sandra unpacked the rest of their gear and set up the dining area. Celeste was the last to go ashore and Jake with her.

They hadn't really spoken since the incident with Brent, only briefly when they were waiting for Peter to come back for them. It was obvious to Celeste that Jake was now Brent's new-found hero and he hadn't let him alone for the rest of the afternoon. Jake was still somewhat amazed at the outboard motor on the launch and was asking Peter all about it, Peter even let him steer, which turned out to be a bad idea. Instead of going to shore Jake decided to see exactly how it worked and took them all over the cove. He made a few quick turns that almost landed them in the water. Peter took the rudder back from Jake and they finally landed safely. Jake jumped out of the boat into the water and took Celeste's hand, but to her surprise he scooped her up in his arms and carried her to shore. His eyes never left hers and she felt the heat rising in her, the beat of her heart quickened just below hummingbird status. In that few moments all her senses kicked into overdrive, she saw the need of her in his eyes; his scent, old and familiar; the warmth of his body calming her; she swore she could actually hear his heart beat and longed for a taste. She was in his arms for only a few seconds before he set her down in the sand and gave her a low sweeping bow. Celeste was surprised that so innocent a gesture had caused her such an emotional surge. She could do no more than exhale a small 'thank you' in return.

Jake had been very excited on board when they had arrived. He said he knew this island and now knew exactly where he was in the Caribbean. To her knowledge there were only a few ships that knew about this place and most of them were private owners, like her. She was really the only one who ever brought passengers here. There was a great curiosity to test his knowledge of the island, but she was well aware that the right answers would probably just confuse her more. Jake told her he would be right back and ran off into the trees. She turned to Howie, who was now standing beside her eating an apple.

"Where do you think he's going?" she asked him.

Howie watched the last spot where Jake had been at the tree line, took a bite of the apple and shrugged. "Probably goin' for a whiz." He turned to Celeste. "He really didn't care for the toilets on the ship. I had to stop him a couple of times from..." he stopped chewing as he watched Celeste raise her eyebrows in anticipation of his next words, "never mind." he finished, and plodded through the sand to the others.

"Somebody likes you." Sandra sang out as she approached Celeste.

"What? You're crazy." Celeste replied a little more nervously than she liked.

"And I think you like somebody, too." Sandra sang and smiled as though she knew all of Celeste's secrets.

"Now I know you're crazy. What is it with you lately? It's like you're on some kind of happy pill or something?" Celeste looked into the trees, waiting for Jake to return, but there was no movement.

"Oh, come on Celeste, everyone has seen the way he looks at you, and the way you look at him. The ship ain't that big."

"What, I'm just making sure he's okay, that's all."

"Really? Since the moment he set foot on the ship, cause that's when I first noticed it."

"You did not." She protested.

"Did so, and you were all pissy that night cause he went to dinner with those two girls and came back late. You waited on deck for them." Sandra was in full sister mode now.

"I was merely waiting to see if they got back safely, like I do with all my guests." Celeste was trying to rationalise what she'd done and then started to laugh. She could never keep a secret from Sandra; it was like she had a sixth sense or something when it came to Celeste.

"Just admit it, you like him, and why not. He's cute, he's got a job, he's single..." she sang.

"He's two people..." Celeste sang back.

"So what, everybody's got something wrong with them."

"And what's wrong with Alonzo?"

"Oh, well, he's perfect, I meant everyone else but him." She smiled slyly.

Celeste looked at her sister closely for the first time in a while. She was absolutely ecstatic, almost glowing, "all right, what's going on with you? You're way too happy for your own good. What's up?"

"Maybe I'm just happy, and full of life," she twirled in the sand.

Celeste paused for a moment and stared at her sister before she grabbed her by the shoulders, stunned by her last words. "Are you pregnant?" she gasped. The surprise she saw on Sandra's face answered her question.

Sandra hated to keep secrets from Celeste and now it was out. She hadn't meant to do it but Celeste always picked up on the little words she used. Whenever she thought she was being coy or manipulative with a word, Celeste could uncover its true meaning. Well, it was out now, may as well let her know. "Yes...but don't tell Alonzo I told you, we wanted to do it together."

"Oh my God, how long?" She grabbed Sandra and gave her a big hug.

"Three months, but I just found out three weeks ago." A small lie, she'd known for two months.

"Go get Alonzo and you can both tell me now." She ordered and Sandra ran back through the sand to get Alonzo.

Celeste knew what was coming next, she was so happy for her sister and brother-in-law, but they would be leaving her ship. She knew that they would want a proper home for their new family and that that was the only reason Sandra hadn't told her immediately. She and Sandra had always been close; why hadn't she noticed sooner? And those stupid shorts she was wearing, Sandra hated those things, that should have been a clue right there.

Alonzo and Sandra returned to Celeste and gave her their good news together, and Celeste forced the bad news out of them. Alonzo had a new job. They would be leaving too soon. They had only been on the ship once on its return trip from the Caribbean to B.C. and Sandra had not taken to it the way Celeste had. Five months of cruising these waters was enough for her, she had said. Together, Celeste and Peter were more than capable of sailing through the Panama Canal and up to British Columbia on their own, so it wouldn't be a hardship for her, but she would miss Sandra terribly next year, Alonzo, too. At least she would see her when they returned to Vancouver, and if she were lucky she'd be able to see the baby before they had to leave again.

Celeste took Sandra and Alonzo by the hands and led them over to Peter to let him in on the good news. He looked so happy and gave Sandra a big hug. Celeste thought she even saw his eyes welling up a bit.

"What's goin' on over here? Did I hear that someone's havin' a baby?" Patrice asked.

"Who's havin' a baby?" Jenny jumped in.

Pretty soon all the passengers knew about Sandra's news and there were hugs and kisses all round. From everyone except Jake, who still hadn't returned from the island's interior. Howie and Alonzo were just about to go look for him, but Peter advised them that there was no need; there was nothing on this island he could get hurt by, and to just give him a little more time before they went to look for him. Howie was not convinced and was adamant about looking for him. Peter put his hand on Howie's shoulder and asked him to wait.

He called loudly, "JAKE!" The sound echoed over the small island and Howie listened closely for a reply.

"AYE!" it was audible and Howie relaxed.

"See, he's fine." Peter replied.

"GET BACK HERE!" Howie screamed out.

"AYE AYE," was the answer and then all was quiet.

Jake emerged from the trees almost half an hour later carrying a bunch of bananas and a few mangoes for their feast. He was also now carrying a sword.

The sword was tied around his waist with a piece of rope and hung on his right hip in a dirty leather scabbard. Celeste was not the only one shocked by its appearance.

"Where the hell did you get that?" Howie asked, his eyes wide.

"It's mine, left it here a long time ago." He smiled secretively.

Even Bill was now looking unsure as to whether this was all real or not.

"Why?"

"I'm a pirate, I've got things stashed on all the wee islands roun' here."

"Where?" Howie asked.

"I'll no be tellin' ya that." He laughed.

"Any treasure?" Howie asked again hopefully.

"I'll no be tellin' ya that, either." He gave a big smile back.

"Can I see it?" he asked

"Aye, I suppose..." Jake slid the sword smoothly out of the scabbard with his left hand and raised it in the air. The blade was still in good shape and actually shone in the light of the setting sun. He deftly turned it around so that Howie could grasp it by the grip without injuring himself. "Be careful wi' that, it was razor sharp when I buried it here and I've no reason tae think it wouldn't still be."

Howie could see the dirt on Jake's hands and nails, and smudges of dirt on the leather scabbard at his waist. He'd dug it up from somewhere, and in this light, he would have to have known exactly where to dig, he hadn't been gone long and even in broad daylight the odds of finding that sword were astronomical.

"Whoa, is that a real sword." Brent asked Jake excitedly.

"Aye."

"That's an old one, all right. A cutlass if I'm not mistaken." Sam interrupted. He stood beside Howie and examined it, careful not to touch the edge, he ran his hand up the blade. "It's beautifully made. The basket looks like it's been through a war or two." He gently caressed the basket handle of the cutlass with the tips of his middle and index finger and felt the scars that were now embedded in the metal and the small burrs that edged them.

"Aye, thank ye, made it mysel'. Do ye know yer swords then Sam?"

"Not swords so much as epees, I fenced a little in college. You made this?"

"Aye. Learned the trade from ma faither."

Both passengers and crew had now formed a semi-circle in front of Jake and each had a turn holding the sword. The last one to try it was Brent, who was now clad in a pair of Alex's shorts. They were still a bit big on him, but he had them cinched with a belt that Jake had given him from Alex's suitcase. They were definitely not the preferred baggy blue denim shorts a thirteen-year-old would choose for himself, but he wore the beige cotton khaki's with pride because Jake had given them to him.

"Sweet, can you show me how to use it, Jake?"

"Aye, but I should think yer faither'd be the one tae teach ya that." Jake didn't want to get between this boy and his father.

"Okay." Brent handed the sword back to Jake without asking his father anything about a lesson, he didn't believe his Dad knew anything about swords, and he probably hadn't fenced in college, either. He was just making it all up to make himself look big in front of Jake. He would have bet that his mother would never have left Jake.

Sandra was standing beside Celeste and now turned to leave with the others, but before she left she whispered in Celeste's ear.

"I don't think he's crazy, but I'll think you are if you don't go for it." And she returned to the fire and lit the tiki torches around it.

Peter had been chatting with Alonzo near the fire when a sudden thought occurred to him.

"Celeste." he called out.

"Yeah," she turned and started to walk over to the fire, Peter met her half way.

"Alonzo and I were just talking and we've just realised something."

"What's that?" she asked.

"We haven't seen Pelican today. When did you see her last?"

Celeste hadn't thought about her all day, so much had happened. It was unusual for Pelican not to be around. She always followed the ship on these cruises. Right now she should be asleep at the bow. She hoped that there was nothing wrong; maybe she had finally decided to leave. She was almost a mature bird, perhaps instinct was starting to kick in.

"I saw her this morning, she flew off just before seven, like usual. You think she's okay?" There was concern in her voice and a slight feeling of fear. She hoped the bird was all right.

"I'm sure she's fine, probably just got fishing and forgot about us. I'm sure she'll be waiting when we get back." Peter put his arm around her shoulder; he had heard the concern in her voice and tried his best to comfort her. She didn't need to be worrying about the bird with everything else that had been going on this trip. He wished he had never mentioned it.

Celeste looked out to the ship; the sun was just setting behind it. There were no pelicans in the sky and the waters were calm, but somewhere out there she could feel a storm brewing. It was nothing she could put her finger on, just a feeling, but that feeling told her that soon she would be going on one hell of a ride.

CHAPTER 18

The fire on the beach was blazing and everyone was sitting around it on their camp chairs entranced by Jake's stories of his life as a pirate. There was only one among them who was still having any difficulty with it...Celeste. She had heard Howie's words and they had sunk in, and she believed in reincarnation, read about people who had experienced these past lives under hypnosis, and there was no denying that Jake was telling them true pirate tales. There had been nothing pretty about them; fortunately he had skated over some of his gorier fight scenes for Brent's sake. When Brent had asked him if he knew Blackbeard, Jake had told him that he did not, and his father explained that Blackbeard had been quite a few decades before Jake. But it didn't stop Jake from telling the tales and he launched into a few stories that he had heard about Blackbeard, Sam Bellamy and Bartholomew Roberts. They all seemed so real and accurate, and Jake knew this island, he'd found that sword, that had to be more than coincidence, didn't it? He knew how to sail, to swim, and she had to admit that he looked genuine wielding the cutlass. Yes, there was definitely more here than coincidence. The only part that Celeste was having trouble with was that someone could love her enough to find her after two hundred plus years, that and the fact that it was actually happening to _her_. Things like that happened to other people. She'd already won the lottery and was living the life she'd always dreamed, and she'd never thought that would happen. It was almost too much to believe that she could have true love as well. Just before dinner was ready Howie had related to her the story of how she had died, and about Edward and finally, how Jake himself had died. She had so many questions. Was this why she had felt so strongly about Alex when he first came aboard? And why, even when she first thought that he might have some mental problems, she still felt the same way? And is this why he feels so familiar? And why she feels so comfortable with him? Celeste gazed at Jake on the opposite side of the fire. He was up on his feet now, mimicking some sword fight, and everyone was in awe. He was a handsome man, strong, confident, but was that just the pirate, or was it Alex, too? She had to remember that they could very well be two different people. Howie had been extolling Alex's best qualities to her, like some kind of matchmaker, and she had to admit that Alex did sound like a decent guy. And what about her? Jake was in love with Marianna. What if she was less like Marianna than he expected, and after he got to know her he didn't love her anymore? Maybe they were both looking for the person they used to be. Jake looked over and caught her gaze. He stopped telling his story and said that it could wait for another night, much to the protestations of the passengers and crew, but they seemed to understand once they saw Jake come around the fire to where Celeste was sitting and offer her his hand. She took it and thought, _'what the hell, you have to start somewhere'_.

Jake led her to the beach and they walked along the shore in the moonlight. This island was small but the beach stretched for almost five hundred yards. The evening was perfect, the moon was full and bounced off of the water, illuminating their path, the soft warm breeze caressed them and Celeste felt happy, but a different kind of happy, she felt...complete. It was warm and she silently wished it were cooler so there would be an excuse to have Jake's arms around her.

Jake had wanted to spend some time alone with Celeste all evening, but he knew that she might need some time to adjust to the situation. He understood that she didn't know him anymore and he would have to start over, but that wouldn't be so bad, she seemed willing. He had managed to talk to her for almost an hour this afternoon, before the boy fell in, and it had been wonderful. He'd found out a little about her family and about this Canada where they all lived, and apparently where he now lived. It sounded perfect. He knew that she was still unsure that he was who he claimed to be, and that was all right, he would prove it to her. He knew exactly where he was now. He could take her to his island and show her, and she would believe him. He and Marianna had shared more than love, it had been beyond that, he was certain, and he would have it again with Celeste. It's only her name and her body that's changed not her soul. He wanted to put his arm around her, but it would be up to her. He smiled. The first time he had tried to put his arm around Marianna she had delivered a right hook to his cheek and told him that it would be up to her if and when he would be allowed to touch her again. He backed off and two minutes later she kissed him. He wouldn't make the same mistakes this time; he had learned his lesson, and not just about putting his arm around her. Marianna had wanted him to give up the sea for her, to give up being a pirate, to stay and make a life with her, have children; but he had chosen the sea, for a while. After a few months the ache in his chest was too great and when he finally decided that she was the only thing in his life that mattered it was too late. No, he would not let her go again, for anything.

"Why don't we sit fer a while." Jake took her hand and led her to a palm tree that had fallen near the edge where the beach met the trees. It was just around the bend from their bonfire and just out of sight of the rest of the group. Celeste sat down and Jake sat very close beside her and together they looked out at the ocean. The moon was low in the sky and the _Celestial Breeze_ was caught in its beam. Celeste shivered at the sight; it was all so romantic.

"Are ya cold?" Jake asked, "cause I could put ma arm around yeh, if yeh like?"

"I'm not cold." The words were out of her mouth before she had a chance to actually think, and she quickly added, "but you could put your arm around me anyway."

Jake smiled and placed his left arm around her shoulder. He stifled the urge to pull her close and kiss her. That would all come in time. He had already been lucky enough to kiss her once on this journey without getting his teeth rattled, and that would have to last him a while.

"You're still no sure about me, are yeh?"

"I'm not sure about anything right now." Celeste turned and looked up into his eyes. "I mean, how am I supposed to believe that two people from the past somehow ended up together, in the same place, now?

"I don't think we ended up here together, Celeste, I believe that we were looking for each other." Jake took her hand in his.

"Why would you think that?"

"Why else would you be drawn to the sea and I to land?" That's where we would be most likely ta find the other."

"But..."

"Shh," Jake placed a finger over her lips and then pointed to the North Star. "Have ya ever looked to Polaris and felt that ya weren't alone? That was our star, Celeste, yours and mine. Whenever I was at sea I could look to that star and know that you were with me."

"And I with you," she replied, her eyes riveted on the star.

"I came back for yeh, yeh know." Jake started.

"What?" was he talking about reincarnation, she wondered?

"Back then, I came back for yeh." He stared at the ocean, "I was just too late."

"Oh...you mean back in 1795?" she looked at him and he in return.

"Aye."

"Why did you leave?"

Jake wanted to stand up, to pace, to explain, but he pulled her closer instead. "Because I was stupid. I thought the only thing I had was the sea. And I was scared. I was scared of gi'in up the only life a've ever known. I knew how tae act wi' pirates and I didna know how tae act wi' decent folk." Jake stood quickly and just as quickly pivoted and bent down on one knee in front of Celeste and took her hand in his. "Please say ye'll forgive me. I didna know what I really wanted then, but I know now, it's you. Only you. I don't care about the sea, the land, the life, none o' it, only you. Please say ye'll forgive me."

He took her hand and kissed it and Celeste could feel the tears as they fell onto her hand. He was so passionate and contrite, Celeste felt her heart open up to him and she stroked his hair with her free hand. He looked up into her eyes and Celeste could see the tears running down his face. She wiped them away and held his chin in her hand.

"I forgive you." She felt them leave, all her doubts, her questions, her reservations. She bent down and kissed him lightly on the lips and then sat back. For a moment they just looked into each other's eyes and then Jake came closer and kissed her fully on the mouth. Celeste had never before felt such passion in a kiss and she was overcome, helpless to escape his embrace even if she had wanted to. When it was over Jake held her tight and she held him for what she wished could be forever. Jake was the first to let go, but he took both of her hands in his.

"Thank you, Celeste." Jake smiled widely.

Celeste thought that she had never seen a person so happy, had she been looking in a mirror she would have seen at least one other, the smile on her face was just as wide.

"I have something for yeh." Jake started,

"Oh?"

"But it's no here."

"Oh," she sounded surprised and a little disappointed.

Jake pulled her up and then had her sit back down on the sand with him, their backs against the tree that they had been on. He put his arm around her and she nestled her head into his body and put her arm around his waist. Jake put his other arm over hers and held her tight. She could hear his heart beating and felt the warmth of his body. His hand started to gently stroke her face as he began to speak.

"I have a story ta tell ya first. I meant ta tell ya back then, but, well, yeh know." he began.

"Okay." Celeste squeezed closer to Jake and placed her hand over his heart as he began his story.

"Ma faither was a blacksmith, and when he was young, afore he was married, he had the honour o' making a sword for one o' the Nobles. It was a thing o' beauty, inlaid gold in the grip, anyhow, there was a wee bit o' gold leftover from it and ma faither asked the Noble if he could hae it fer himself, ta make a weddin' ring fer his bride ta be. The Noble said 'aye, take it as payment'. Well, ma faither made ma mother a ring wi' it and inside he etched the words 'bithbhuan gradhaich'."

"Bi...what? she asked.

"Bee-booun graw-g-ich."

"What does it mean?" she asked intrigued.

"It's Gaelic for 'eternal love'," he gazed into her eyes.

Celeste felt him take a deep breath before he continued.

"Well, ma mother died two days after gi'in birth tae me, but afore she died she told ma faither tae make sure that he gave me that ring fer ma wife one day. I wore that ring on a string around ma neck fer years, but I had tae hide it so that it wuddna' be stolen or lost in a battle. After I left ya, that last time, I went ta ma island ta get it fer ya, but when I returned ye were, well, ye know."

Celeste looked up at him and saw fresh tears welling up in his eyes, she wiped them away and he smiled at her and kissed the top of her head before finishing his story.

"Anyway, I went back ta that island and hid the ring again. It's no far fray here, we could go and get it. I cud prove tae ya that I'm no lyin' and I cud finally gi' ya that ring."

Celeste sat up quickly and her eyes flew open. Had she heard him right?

"Are you asking me to marry you?" She blurted out. She could feel her heart racing.

"No at the moment," he replied calmly, "we'll go tae the island and when I get the ring I'll ask ya proper." He smiled slyly and kissed her gently on the lips.

Celeste stood up and started to pace, one hand on her head and the other on her hip. "No, this is too fast." She looked down at him still sitting in the sand. "It's too fast, isn't it?" she asked him, a look of bewilderment starting to spread across her face.

"It's bin almost three hundred years, I dinna think it's fast." He stood and took her by the shoulders to face him. "But if you think it is then I won't ask." He felt her crumple into his arms and he held her tight against him.

"I...I just have to think about this." She stammered.

"Aye, I understand. But what do ya say ta sailin' ta that island? It's no far."

"What? What island?"

"The one where I left the ring." He had her sit back down on the fallen tree and sat beside her. "Look, ya showed me yer map o' where we're ta go the morrow, if ya let me use yer sextant I can tell ya which way ta sail, it's just a wee bit north west o' here."

"But I can't do that. The passengers are expecting to go to the other island and I can't just veer off course for an island I don't even really know exists."

Jake rubbed his head and stood up. "Aye, ya still don't believe me."

Celeste stood up quickly and took his arm. "Yes, I do. But I have passengers to think about."

"Well, then, let's just ask them, shall we. See what they'd like tae dae." Jake knew that in most decisions it didn't matter what the crew thought, it was the Captain who decided; however, this was not his crew and he would not give them orders.

"Wait a minute, did you say northwest?"

"Aye."

"How far north-west? I hope you're not talking about going into the Bermuda Triangle...no one goes there. And it's really far."

"I know where Bermuda is, but wha's this triangle?" Jake looked puzzled.

"It's an area that no ships go to, strange things happen there and ships have gone missing."

"Aye, that's why I sail there, but it's no that far, only about a day's sail," he countered.

"Jake, I can't ...

Jake took her in his arms again. "Look, it's no far, why don't ya check it on yer map and ye'll see. There's no danger in it, I promise, a've sailed there many times."

"I don't know about this...how far is it, exactly?"

Jake rubbed his chin and stared out to sea, trying to calculate the distance. "If we set sail the morrow when the sun's high, and if the wind's blowing like today, and if we sail all night, then I think we cud get there by the time the sun sets the day after the morrow.

"That's a long way. I don't know how the passengers are gonna feel about that long a stretch. That's a lot to throw at landlubbers."

"As I said, why don't ya put it to a vote."

Celeste was intrigued at finding this island, and more than a little curious as to whether or not there really was a ring on it; but when she looked up into his eyes she knew that they would be setting sail for Jake's mysterious island.

CHAPTER 19

Sandra could see the change immediately when Celeste and Jake returned from their walk. They were still in semi-darkness because of the distance, but the moonlight was bright enough that she could make out their shapes. They were walking so close together there was no telling if they were even two people anymore. She had heard most of the passengers talking about them after they left as well. The general consensus was that they made a nice couple; she agreed. Jake was a good guy, after all he'd saved Brent's life, and he was certainly charismatic. The way he'd brought all of those stories to life right before their eyes was nothing short of astounding, and Celeste needed a strong man; she was a strong woman, always had been. Alonzo was still unsure about him though and that bothered Sandra. Alonzo had always been very protective of her and that protection spilled over to Celeste. She understood, being in such close quarters for so long had given them all a chance to bond and there was nothing they wouldn't do for each other. He'd been even more protective of her after she had won the money, saying that any men she met now would be after her money first. She glanced over at Alonzo, he and Peter were sitting a little further back from the fire and the passengers, they were whispering and watching for Celeste's return. Sandra had to stop them from following Celeste on her 'date' at least twice. The women understood and had tried their best to distract Alonzo and Peter from their mission, and Sam had tried his best to distract Brent from following them as well. They'd all finally given up and begrudgingly sat down. Sandra smiled and rubbed her stomach; if this child is a girl then Alonzo will be in for some very sleepless nights in her dating years.

Celeste and Jake had their arms wrapped around each other as they walked back to the fire and Sandra turned to see the reaction this would cause for Alonzo and Peter. She couldn't help but notice that their beach bash was turning into something that, more or less, resembled a middle school dance. The women were on one side of the fire and the men on the other. Alonzo and Peter, in the middle and back from the group, looked like the two chaperones. The two men stood as soon as Celeste and Jake neared, looked at each other and then back at Celeste and Jake. They were too far away and in the dark for Sandra to see their faces clearly, but they didn't seem too upset at a distance. Well, they sat back down, at least that was something, she thought. The rest of the passengers turned to see them walk up and there were a few 'whoohoos' from John and Melissa, plus a little applause. Celeste put her hand up to her face and turned away. Sandra couldn't see her face clearly but she knew that Celeste was blushing; she should have been glow-in-the-dark at this point.

"Aw right, that's enough," Jake scolded, "now everybody listen, we've somethin' ta ask yeh." He stood by the fire, framed by the moonlight with the ocean as his backdrop, commanding their attention, and their respect. He got both.

They listened patiently to his request and listened closely as he told them that there was something on that island that he had to retrieve, and then they listened to Celeste tell them where it was. There was a lot of murmuring after that. Peter was completely against taking this detour and was quite adamant about it. Jake had to actually draw him a map in the sand, away from where the others would see it of course, to try to ease his reservations, or fears.

Peter knew this area extremely well and had been shocked that Jake had drawn such an accurate map. He had drawn this island and a few of the surrounding ones. They weren't on any other maps, they were too small to be of any significance, definitely uncharted and you wouldn't even know they were there unless you'd sailed to them. They hadn't sailed past them either; the islands Jake had drawn were further north. After more discussion and questioning about the islands, even Peter was convinced about Jake's authenticity. In any event, if his sand map was correct, the island that Jake wanted to go to meant they'd be sailing all night, and it wouldn't take any longer to get there, give or take an hour. Their passengers would still be back on time.

Jake and Peter returned to the group and Celeste asked for their decisions.

"Well, I'm up for an adventure." Jenny shot out and looked across the fire to her husband for his response.

"Me, too." John added and reached over to slap her hand in a high five.

"I wanna go." Brent yelled and then looked warily at his dad for his decision, which he knew would be a 'no'.

"Guess I'm in, too." Sam called out, and smiled at his son, who, surprisingly to Sam, smiled back.

"We're in." Melissa and Dianna yelled simultaneously, and for once there was no giggling.

"Jake, I'll go wherever you want to take me." Howie stood beside him and put his arm on Jake's shoulder and this time Jake didn't shake it off, instead Jake placed his arm around Howie's shoulder as well.

"How about you two, what say yeh?" Jake looked to Bill and Patrice.

"Well, I'm up for it." Patrice answered and looked across the fire to where Bill was sitting with Sam and John.

Bill just shook his head. "What the hell, I'm in," he smiled at Patrice. She took her chair and crossed over to sit beside him, took his hand in hers and smiled back.

"Don't forget us, we're definitely in." Sandra interjected and then elbowed Peter in the ribs for his answer.

"Yeah, me too." He rubbed his ribcage and whispered to Sandra, "you might want to do something about those bony elbows. You almost punctured my lung." Sandra made another motion to jab Peter in the ribs and he jumped aside to dodge the assault, laughing. Alonzo merely nodded his okay.

"Okay, I guess that's everybody. I just want to let you all know that I'm not covered for this little detour. I'm not saying that anything will happen, but I have to let you know that..." Celeste began, but she hadn't finished her little speech before the passengers erupted into laughter. "What's so funny?" she asked.

Howie spoke up for the group. "It's okay, Celeste, I think we're all covered." and he started laughing again.

Celeste had to laugh herself; she had forgotten that they were all insurance agents. "Okay, but I still need..." again she was interrupted by Howie.

"A waiver of liability, no problem, I'll write one up and we'll all sign it, how's that?"

Celeste looked at the group and they were all nodding in agreement, and laughing.

"Anything you want, Celeste, cause there's no way any of us would miss going on a voyage with a real pirate to a real pirate's island. Now Jake, there will be treasure on this island of yours won't there?" Jenny asked jokingly.

"I canna promise yeh that, Jenny, but yeh won't be disappointed, shall we say." Jake replied.

"I haven't been so far."

"Good, then I'll need tae go back to the ship, I'll need a map and yer sextant to plot ma course." He looked to Celeste.

"I thought you were kidding about the sextant, Peter can plot it for you on the computer." Celeste offered.

"The wha?" Jake looked quizzically at her.

"Never mind, come on, we'll go back to the ship and I'll show you my sextant."

"Now that's a line I've never used before," Melissa called out, "I'm gonna have to remember that one." The group erupted into laughter and Celeste turned very red, even Jake was laughing.

"I quite like this crew, Celeste, they're a wee bit crude. I may fit into this century after all." He put his arm around her and they walked towards the launch. "By the way, what's the draft on yer ship?"

"Seven and a half feet, why?"

"That should do," he smiled and helped her into the launch.

"Do? Do what? What should do?" she asked nervously as she started the motor and set off towards the Celestial Breeze.

CHAPTER 20

The sun was setting and a spectacular array of orange, yellow and pink filled the sky. Most people would take the time to watch the sunset on a night like this, even if only for a few moments, but Jeff was not most people, and he was definitely not in the mood for sunsets. They had sailed most of the day to get here and he wanted to get anchored before it was completely dark. _The Clarissa_ had just pulled into one of the smaller coves that this island seemed to be full of. There were three that could effectively anchor a ship, and about four smaller ones. The cover of this particular cove appealed to Jeff, mainly because any ships that happened to pass by wouldn't spot his boat. The way the palm trees leaned over the water at both sides of the entrance made it appear that there was no anchorage here. Once past the entrance however, this little cove dog-legged to the left, almost as though someone had dug it out specifically for Jeff to hide here. He had found it while exploring the island that first week. _The Clarissa_ had just been able to squeeze between the shoals and the remaining trees concealed her nicely. Not that there was a lot of traffic in this part of the ocean, but occasionally a ship would pass and he didn't need them to think that there was a way into this island. He didn't need any would-be visitors interrupting his hunting. No one would put him off his schedule, and if by chance someone did try, he would take care of them quickly.

He wasn't opposed to killing, in fact, sometimes it was necessary to get what you want; and all he wanted in life was to go to sea. His mother had been adamant that he stay home with her and stopped him every way she could think of. She couldn't have her baby leave her, and every time he brought up the subject she started crying and telling him what a bad son he was for wanting to leave his poor old mother, all alone. He cringed at the memory. He had even tried to join the navy when he turned twenty-one, but she had effectively stopped that by showing up at his interview and telling them that he had mental problems and shouldn't be allowed to join. He had been humiliated in front of the interviewing officer and swore that he would move out immediately, but he stayed for another four years, four years of hell...and planning. He had managed to get his mother into a routine. Every night he would run her bath at seven and at eight she would come downstairs where she would have a cup of tea ready for him when he returned. During her bath time he would go to the store, or for a walk, but he always made sure he was out of the house for that hour, and she would always wave to him from the bathroom window as he walked down the street before stepping into the tub. All the neighbours could attest to it, it was something he had been doing for years, they would say. And that is exactly what they did say that day in April when he had come home from his walk and found his mother laying at the bottom of the stairs, her neck most definitely broken. He had seen his next-door neighbour in his yard just before he had opened the door, and ran out to have him call 911; his mother was hurt, maybe dead. His neighbour had told the police this very thing. It was a tragic accident, they said, but if the police had found those six marbles that Jeff had left on the second step from the top, they may very well have been calling it murder. He smiled to himself. He still had those six marbles and he kept them in the jar that held his mother's remains; the jar which sat in his cabin; the jar which proved what a good son he was to have loved his mother so much that he kept her ashes with him. If they only knew the real reason he kept it was so that his mother would know that he was doing everything she had never allowed him to do, and he made sure that he told her that every night. It gave him great pleasure to know that she was now under his control. Between the time that he had asked his neighbour to call 911 and the time his neighbour had come over to help, Jeff had picked up the marbles and put one in each pocket so that they wouldn't click together and give him away. He had to search quickly for the last two marbles but finally found them under her body just as his neighbour had come in. He had pretended to be hugging her and he started to cry, real tears, something he had been practising for a while. His neighbour had confirmed to the police and the insurance company that Jeff Gallway was a devoted son and had been completely devastated by his mother's death. The insurance company paid out the one million dollar insurance policy a few months and a million questions later and Jeff finally got to go to sea. It cost him almost half of his money for the boat and the rest he squirreled away in different places around it. He didn't trust banks and they would see none of his money.

Jeff heard Willy drop the anchor and soon they would eat and then sleep. They'd have to be up before dawn to get ready. It would be quite a hike to the other side of the island with their scuba equipment. The last time they had used the sea-doo, but Jeff had decided that that was a waste of gas, and they would need all the gas they could just to get back. He even had an extra gas tank installed on the boat for the explicit purpose of getting to and from the island without having to stop for gas at one of the other islands. That would raise too many questions about where he had been, and more importantly, what he had been up to. It was a long way to this island and it was costing him big, but it would be worth it when he found his treasure. He had blown through most of the money from the insurance policy buying this boat. He'd been down here for the past ten years and he'd run out of money about three years ago, right after he'd upgraded to this new boat. Since then he'd been taking out tourists on deep sea fishing trips to earn some extra cash. For an extra fee he'd take out some tourists who wouldn't come back, and sometimes they would come back with extra packages. It didn't matter to him what they did...murder, drugs, guns, if they paid him his fee he was more than happy to help out. He only took Willy on the real fishing trips and on his hunting expeditions. He didn't fully trust him yet, although he did have his possibilities. Willy never asked questions and he could be trusted to pick up the packages that he needed, but the real reason he didn't take him along was because he didn't want to have to split his fee. Willy was a hard worker and had a strong back, and best of all, when all of the treasure was finally on board _The Clarissa_ , no one would miss him if he didn't come back.

Jeff went down to the hold, weaving his way through the air tanks, he looked around distractedly and couldn't quite remember what he had come down for. There were enough tanks for three days' worth of hunting. They were held in place by a length of rope tied directly to the hull of the ship. One of the coils of rope had slipped from its berth atop an array of picks and shovels. He picked up one end of the rope in his hand and started to tie it into a slip knot and stared at the shovel lying flat on top of the other coils of rope. He undid the slip knot and now started to tie a bowline, he was still staring at the shovel but his mind was polluted with thoughts of Celeste. He'd have to make sure he was back before Celeste left for the season. She'd want to stay with him then. She was used to fine things and he'd be able to give them to her and in exchange she'd stay with him forever. _Sheepshank_. She was the reason he'd bought this new boat and used up most of his money. It had enough room for the two of them to live on comfortably. Until Celeste had come into the picture, he had been quite frugal with his funds, but now they were almost depleted. _Double bowline_. Jeff was patient, he'd learned that from mama, and he knew that he could wait until Celeste came around on her own, but it was more difficult only seeing her from January to May. The rest of the year he fantasised about the different ways he would take her, some of them violent, but she would like it...oh yes, she would like it.

"What's up?" Willy had been standing behind Jeff for a few minutes wondering what he was doing. He'd been staring at the tanks, almost in a trance, the rope in his hands now knotted tightly and Jeff was almost strangling it.

"What do you want?" He snapped viciously.

"Nothing, I just wondered if you were hungry?" Willy stepped back warily. Apparently the temper was back again. The trip had been pretty quiet and boring. He'd tried to talk to Jeff a couple of times but he just stared out at the sea, unresponsive. He'd given up and fished the whole way. Willy was wishing for the quiet again, that would be preferable over the temper.

"Yeah, let's eat." Jeff threw the rope at the shovel and walked calmly past Willy. Willy followed him to the galley where they threw together a few sandwiches and brought them up on deck to eat.

Jeff would only allow Willy to put on one light so as not to attract any attention. He couldn't understand Jeff's need for secrecy out here. Not once on any of these trips had he so much as spotted a ship in the distance, let alone close by; but you didn't argue with Jeff. The pelican in the large dog cage beside him rustled her feathers. Willy knew the bird belonged to the brunette, everyone in port knew that. He'd been out shopping when Jeff had thrown the net over it and brought it on board, although the why was another matter. Jeff had been kicking at the cage to stop the bird from making noise, but that only made it worse. She was quiet now, probably just because it was night. Willy had caught a few fish for her and fed her. She ate them greedily and he was only sorry that he hadn't caught more. He didn't know how many fish a day a pelican could eat...or should eat, but he knew that it would be up to him to feed her because there was no way Jeff would bother doing anything but harass the poor bird. If he could let it go he would, but then he'd have to face Jeff's wrath. He'd have to settle for feeding the bird, for now.

Willy ate his dinner of cold sandwiches and fruit juice and went to bed. Jeff would have him up early tomorrow slogging all those tanks over to the other side of the island. Jeff, himself, wouldn't go to bed for a few hours yet. He never slept much and Willy hated to imagine what he thought about up there by himself. If he could find another job he'd be out of here in a heartbeat. He'd thought about just quitting, but that would mean he'd go back to stealing and he was really trying to turn his life around this time. If he could just put in a little more time with Jeff then other employers, other _good employers_ would see that he was a good employee and he could get a new job; get a new life. But for now, he was screwed. He didn't believe Jeff was ever going to find any treasure on this island, but Jeff was willing to pay him to help find out. Jeff had promised him a share of what he found, which would be fine, if the Government didn't take it all and leave them with nothing. Sometimes they did, and sometimes all you got was a finder's fee. Very rarely did you ever get to keep the whole thing, but Jeff didn't seem the type that would be declaring his finds to anybody's government in any event. Willy climbed under the covers and tried to sleep, but something was nagging at him and he knew exactly what it was. It was Jeff. He was so much more agitated this trip than Willy had ever seen him. The rage wasn't really directed at him but he knew he'd be feeling the brunt of it for a while yet. There was something else, too; Jeff had started mumbling to himself more and more, actually arguing with himself at times. Then he'd just stare at something or off into the distance and Willy could see his hands strangling someone or something unknown. He could hear Jeff on deck, pacing back and forth, every so often he would swear out loud, it was fairly muffled but he could definitely make out the words bitch and that other word that his last girlfriend used to despise so much. He figured it must have something to do with the brunette. Maybe she finally told him to fuck off. If she did then she certainly had more balls than he did. Willy tried to imagine a scene where Celeste would tell Jeff what a psychopath he was and to get the hell away from her forever. He smiled at the thought, and then he thought about himself telling Jeff the same things. Then she'd give him a job on her boat and that would really piss Jeff off. He smiled even wider at this thought but in the back of his mind he knew that he would never do anything like that; he was just too afraid of Jeff to stand up to him. Whatever was wrong with Jeff Gallway it would come to a head soon enough and Willy hoped he would be far away when it did.

CHAPTER 21

Making passage had always been one of Peter's favourite times. He loved being out on the open ocean, no land in sight. It invigorated him, the feel of the wind, the mist of saltwater in his face and the smell of the sea; but the thing he loved more than any of those was the feeling of freedom each and every time he took the helm. He found it hard to pick just one word for what he was feeling; elation seemed to fit best, but it still didn't completely describe the emotion. Over his right shoulder the sun was just starting to rise. Why anyone would waste their morning sleeping when they could see this was beyond his reasoning skills. He knew that most of the passengers would be staying in their beds as long as possible this morning. He was used to the ocean waves, but not too many landlubbers were. They'd left yesterday afternoon and after about eight hours they had had enough. A couple of them were physically ill, some a little nauseous, and only two or three were just fine. They would be better this morning, but there was still at least another twelve hours of sailing ahead. Good thing they had lots of remedies on board.

Peter propped one knee against the wheel and massaged his hands. The pain and swelling were worse in the night air, especially at sea; and the pills he'd gotten weren't doing the trick anymore. He'd have to start taking the new prescription soon, maybe even today. It was much stronger than anything he'd taken so far. Each time he'd increased medications he'd had a bit of a reaction. Sometimes he'd just be groggy, but there were the occasional ones that gave him the 'trots' until his system got used to them. He'd been hoping to start these pills after they made it to Vancouver, but that was still at least a month and a half away.

He'd been able to keep his condition from Celeste for almost seven years now. It was easy in the beginning, just mild pain, but the last two years it had really escalated. Celeste had been so happy to get her ship, and Peter was the only one from whom she'd learn to sail it; he couldn't disappoint her, and the thought of sailing a ship like the _Celestial Breeze_ was something he didn't want to pass up. This would probably be the last time he ever sailed. It wasn't too bad in the beginning, but, as he was discovering, he should have started the medication a lot sooner.

He loved Celeste as though she were his own daughter. The thought of giving up sailing was painful, but not seeing Celeste would be even worse. How could he tell her about his condition? It had been so long, and she would be upset with him, wouldn't she? Of course she would! They had always been honest with each other and now here he was telling her the biggest lie of his life. Peter frowned, well, he actually hadn't told her a lie, but he'd lied by not telling her anything and that was just as bad.

The last two weeks had been agonising for Peter. He had been trying to come up with a plan so that Celeste wouldn't know about his arthritis until he had found a suitable replacement. He had hoped to make it back to Vancouver where he would have a couple of months to find one, but the Doctor told him that he really shouldn't sail. He thought the Doc was crazy, he could still sail, but the rope slipping from his hands had confirmed what Doctor Behruti had diagnosed. Peter had to give up the ship, so to speak.

There would have to be a new plan, and the only one he had been able to come up with on such short notice was to have Sandra and Alonzo sail back to Vancouver with Celeste. He had been sure they would do it and he had almost worked up the nerve to ask Alonzo when Celeste announced that Sandra was pregnant, and later Alonzo had told him the news about his new job. Now he had no idea what he was going to do. He couldn't leave Celeste 'high and dry' on this one. But he certainly couldn't risk being a liability to her on the voyage back. Perhaps it was just desperation that put the idea into his head, but this 'Jake' person might be just the ticket.

It was obvious that Jake knew how to sail the ship. Celeste had given all the passengers a turn at the helm, but Jake hadn't needed any instruction, even in the open waters. He was definitely a sailor, and Celeste seemed to like him. So what if he might be clinically insane. This reincarnation thing could still be a ruse, but to what purpose? Whichever it was, reincarnation or insanity, it did appear that Jake, or Alex, posed no danger to Celeste. And he would stay on board as a sort of chaperone, if you will. The only other thing that really and truly worried him was that if this was a past life, hopefully Jake would stay around long enough to get Celeste back home.

Peter heard familiar footsteps and Celeste appeared before him with two coffees in hand. He quickly returned his hands to the helm and winced as his knuckles rapped the wheel.

"Mornin'" Celeste offered the hot cup to Peter who wrapped both hands around it, eager for the heat it would provide to his aching fingers. "Would you look at that sunrise," she began, but her eyes were drawn away from the morning's spectacular and towards the deck.

Peter knew exactly who she was looking for. "He's in the hammock." Peter took a sip of coffee. The hammock he referred to was usually hanging from the stern when they were anchored. The launch would be lowered and the hammock hung in its place.

"Huh, oh...Peter, he shouldn't be in that thing while we're sailing." Celeste admonished in a loud whisper. She looked over Peter, but saw only the launch, still in its place.

"You tell him, he won't listen to me." Peter smiled as he watched Celeste trying to figure out where the hammock was. "He's got it strung up between the fore and main...said it feels more natural to sleep 'on deck'." Peter continued to sip coffee, alternating it so that there was always one hand on the helm and one being warmed by the cup.

"Well, it's my turn at helm, why don't you go get some sleep." She put both hands on Peters shoulders and shooed him out of the way so that she could take the wheel.

"Okay, okay, I'm goin'." He laughed, Celeste used to do this to him in the beginning. He would get so caught up in sailing that he would forget it was Celeste's ship and that she was supposed to be learning. She'd finally had enough one day and physically shoved him out of the way. But, this morning Peter suspected that she had other reasons for getting rid of him.

"I'd let him sleep for a while, he's only been resting for a couple of hours."

"I wasn't gonna wake him up," she sounded defensive, and a little guilty.

"Didn't say you were," he smiled back.

Peter gave Celeste their position and headings and retired to his quarters for a fitful few hours of sleep.

Celeste took the helm and kept an eye on the navigational instruments as well as the horizon, but one eye always stayed on Jake. Although she could only make out the top of his head, that was good enough. The other night had been wonderful, when they got back on the ship they had talked for hours and Jake had shown her how to use the sextant. Peter had tried on more than one occasion, but she'd never been that interested; why bother with that when you have a GPS? She had thought that it might just be a way to get her alone on the ship, but once there he was all work. He was still mapping out his route when everyone returned. Celeste was more than a little disappointed, but she really wasn't planning on sleeping with him. Not really...maybe. Well, it was best that everyone came back; it gave her a chance to really think things through, and over, and under...aagh, too much thinking! She hadn't slept more than six hours in the last forty-eight thanks to that man. Every time she managed to get him out of her thoughts she would hear his footsteps on deck and the process would start all over again. They didn't even have to be his footsteps, but she knew they were, just as she knew Peter's, Sandra's, and Alonzo's.

Jake was a real night owl. The only real alone time she had with him was when it was her turn at helm. Three hours of togetherness that she looked forward to, albeit in the middle of the night. Brent had pretty much monopolised Jake's day yesterday. That was understandable, but it concerned her; not because Jake wasn't with her, but because Brent wasn't with his father. She had seen the look on Sam's face when Brent preferred to spend time with Jake instead of him. She saw the look on Jake's face too. He looked uncomfortable taking a boy away from his father and more than once he had tried to get Sam involved in the sailing aspect with them. Unfortunately, the ocean waves got to Sam long before they got to Brent and he had retired early.

Alonzo had gone around to most of the guests and provided their choice of remedies for seasickness, so hopefully most of them would be up and about this morning.

Most of all she hoped Howie would be up early. He had been most instrumental in Jake's reintegration into the twenty-first century, and she had been most grateful to Howie for introducing Jake to the toothbrush. Although the two of them spent time together, Celeste knew that Howie was feeling quite left out of his friend's new circumstances, unsure exactly what, if anything, his place now was. He had confided in her late last night, after she had come back down to her cabin. He needed to talk to someone and she just couldn't say no. Jake didn't appear to need anyone, least of all a best friend; and as much as she wanted Jake's company she knew that she shouldn't be the only one he needed. And as much as she hated to admit it, Jake shouldn't _be_.

Alex liked her, she was sure of that, too. If he ever came back then that was the man she should be with—the man he is now, not the man he used to be. After all, she was no longer the woman she used to be.

Celeste knew what she must do, no matter how hard, and Howie would help her. Alex needed to come back. She could certainly afford the best hypnotist money could buy, but that wouldn't be till they returned. She'd have to put a call in to Colin, he knew absolutely everyone on the island that was worth knowing. He'd have no problem finding her a hypnotist, or at least a good psychiatrist.

For now, however, she would just enjoy the ride that was Jake. They'd go to his island and just enjoy the rest of the cruise. No pressure. And definitely no sex.

Out of the corner of her eye she thought she spotted movement from the hammock; but it just swayed back and forth from the motion of the ship. She went back to the navigational instruments and her coffee. When she looked back up Jake was walking towards her. He looked quite handsome in the sunrise. All the time spent on deck had turned his skin a glorious tan which made his blue eyes even more piercing. The breeze caught his shirt like a sail and it flowed behind him, anchored only, it seemed, by the shirtsleeves rolled up tight to the middle of his muscular forearms. Celeste felt the blood rise in her cheeks. This 'no sex' rule was going to be very difficult.

CHAPTER 22

Celeste needn't have worried about Jake being around her all day. He seemed very different this morning. He was quieter, more aloof, preferring to speak with everyone but her. She wasn't sure if he was doing this on purpose or if it was just his way, after all, she'd only known him a few days. He could have merely sensed her apprehension in his attentions and decided to give her some room to adjust to it all. If so, it was working. She wanted him to come and speak with her so much she actually ached. She and Peter had been taking three-hour shifts at the helm and she had just started hers. She could only sit and watch Jake as he gave all of his attention to the others, and hope for a smile if their eyes ever connected. After she had relieved Peter this morning around six, she had Jake all to herself for about an hour, until the others started to wake; after that his attention was garnered by almost everyone. It seemed he was the most popular passenger on this cruise. Then again, why shouldn't he be, he was an anomaly, and anomalies were always fascinating.

Jake had spent most of his morning in the parlour with Brent and Sam, they were knot-tying. Jake had shown them, from what she could see from a distance, almost every knot in the sailing handbook, and had explained in great detail what they were used for. Brent had found the keelhauling stories especially appealing, and Celeste had to admit that she also found them quite fascinating. She had been eavesdropping on their conversations while showing John and Jenny how to man the helm, but they had all been silently listening to Jake's stories in between their own lessons.

Celeste was promptly relieved at nine by Peter and she quickly excused herself and started to wander aimlessly around the ship, hoping Jake would notice that she was alone and come and speak with her, but he never did. He seemed to be engrossed in his teachings, and since she didn't want to barge in on them, she'd just have to find someone else to speak with. It was difficult because not everyone was on deck. The waves had been particularly choppy on this trip and some of the passengers were not feeling up to par today. Sandra and Alonzo had been busy tending to them, some since last night. Sandra herself was feeling a little unwell, and Alonzo finally put his foot down and made her go to bed around eleven, which she did grudgingly, right after she threw up. At least now Celeste had something to do...help Alonzo get lunch ready.

All she had to do was serve the food; at least she could do that. Alonzo wouldn't let her near the galley, and with good reason. As a cook, she was hopeless. Alonzo had tried time and again to teach her in the kitchen but to no avail. She was just not cut out for that line of work. Alonzo had often joked that it was a good thing she had looks and money, cause otherwise she'd never get a man...unless she hired a chef.

Celeste brought up the plates of seafood pasta with mixed vegetables. Lunch was always served on deck. This would at least give Celeste a chance to speak with Jake for a moment, but when she handed him his plate he merely took it, smiled at her and said 'thanks'. She had been hoping for more but the long look he gave her was enough for now.

After all the plates had been dispensed she ate her own meal in the parlour with Patrice. Bill was sitting on one of the deck chairs with his. There was a coldness between them, had been ever since that little argument they'd had yesterday. They didn't act like they were on a second honeymoon anymore. It was none of her business; she had enough to worry about on her own. Still, she tried to ask Patrice if they were okay and got nothing in response. Time to back off. If they were having problems then they didn't need a total stranger knowing about them.

Celeste finished her meal and relieved Peter for his lunch. She decided that when Jake was ready to speak with her again, he would, until then she would just concentrate on sailing; but when she took the wheel in her hand her eyes wandered to the people on deck. The Dempsey's were more like second-honeymooners than Bill and Patrice. John and Jenny were at the stern, arms around each other watching the ship's wake. Even Howie and Melissa looked more like a couple than she and Jake, and they were only standing at the port rail talking. _Damn relationships, they mess up a perfectly good life_. Celeste took a deep breath and smiled, the wind was warm and salty, the sky clear and a miraculous blue, her life was good. So why was it that every time she looked at Jake it felt empty? She felt a tap on her arm and realised that someone was saying her name.

"Celeste!"

She came out of her trance and found Brent standing beside her. "I'm sorry, what is it?"

"Jake said if I asked you'd let me steer the boat."

"Oh, he did, did he?" She looked over at Jake and he smiled and gave her a small salute. Celeste smiled back and nodded.

"Okay, stand here and take the wheel..."

Howie had been feeling a lot like Celeste, not that he needed attention from Jake, but he really missed Alex. He didn't know where he would fit in with Jake. He'd been no more than a tour guide since Jake showed up, explaining this and that, trying to get him to remember anything about his current life. This was supposed to be a 'buddy cruise', to take his mind off of Treena. Well, that part had worked anyway; he'd been so busy trying to get Alex back that he hadn't thought of her at all, until now. He felt a hand on his back and turned to see Melissa standing beside him.

"How you doin'?" she asked quietly.

"Okay. You?"

"I'm good, Dianna's still downstairs."

"Still throwing up, huh?"

"Yeah, I think it's just stomach lining now," she said matter-of-factly and stared out at the ocean.

Howie just laughed and Melissa gave him a sly smile.

"Alonzo gave her something a little stronger, I hope it takes."

"What if she throws that up?" Howie asked.

"Yeah, that won't be possible." She turned and gave him a half-smile.

"Why not...oh, never mind, I gotcha." And they both laughed. It had been a while since he felt like laughing and it was as though the knot in his stomach had completely unravelled.

"God, I love that girl, but she's got the worst luck."

"Really, how so?" he asked, trying to quell his laughter.

"Well, this for one." Melissa took a deep breath and tried to regain her composure as well. "You already know she just broke up with her boyfriend,"

"Yeah,"

"Well, he ended up dumping her on Valentine's Day."

"Ouch,"

"Tell me about it. That is Dianna Clark's luck. Whenever something bad happens to her, something even worse is around the corner. I brought her on this cruise to cheer her up, hoping her luck would change, but..." she shrugged her shoulders and gave a small smile.

Melissa left out the part about Dianna getting stood up on Valentine's Day by the louse and then finding him at 'their' restaurant with another girl. She had been so angry that she'd dumped their meals in their laps and broke the dishes on the floor. Bad luck. The louse, whose name was Barry, called the cops and had her charged with assault. Worse luck. Fortunately Melissa had her lawyer friend Stan work out a deal and within two weeks she had a peace bond. All she had to do was stay away from the creep and his new girlfriend for the next year and she'd have no criminal record. No problem there, she never wanted to see him again anyway, unfortunately, up until that point Barry had been the love of her life and it was still hard for her to get over the heartbreak, betrayal and humiliation which he'd heaped upon her. This voyage was certainly keeping her spirits up at least. She'd looked much happier than she had in a while.

"You're a good friend," Howie rubbed Melissa's arm.

"Well, she's a good friend." Melissa stepped back from his touch. "So how about you and 'Jake', over there? What's with you two?"

Howie was cognisant of the change of subject. "To be honest, I'm not really sure at the moment."

"How about before this trip?"

"Best of friends. Alex is a great guy; I've known him for almost twelve years.

"And now?"

"I don't know who that is, and he won't let me get close enough to find out. Every time I try to talk to him he leaves. The only real conversation I've had with him the last few days was right after we set sail; otherwise it's just been showing him the ship and answering the occasional question." Howie turned back to the ocean and Melissa followed suit.

"Hey, look over there, dolphins!" she pointed straight ahead at the three dolphins jumping out of the water but they disappeared quickly.

"Where'd they go?" Howie had just seen the last one jump before they had returned to the ocean.

"Back home, I guess." Melissa paused and took a deep breath. "So, do you have a girlfriend back home?" Why did she ask that? She knew he had just broken up with someone. Now he's going to think she's stupid.

"No," Howie's answer was curt.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to...I mean I know you just broke up..."

"You don't have to apologise, I just don't want to talk about that right now." He interrupted.

"Okay, we can change the..."

"How about you? Got a boyfriend?" He turned and looked her in the eye.

"No, not anymore." She stared back.

Howie was surprisingly relieved at that, although he knew that Dianna was single, he had never really bothered to inquire about Melissa.

"How so?"

"He made the mistake of telling me that he really liked me."

"And how is that a mistake?"

"Well, it's all in the way you say it, isn't it?"

"And how did he say it?"

"Kind of off-hand."

"Off-hand?"

"Yeah," Melissa puffed out her cheeks, blew out a puff of air and smiled, "well, he told me that his friend asked him what was 'so special' about me, and he said 'nothing, I just really like her."

"And that's bad?" Howie frowned at her, encouraging her to continue her explanation.

"Well, yeah. Do you really want someone who doesn't think you're special? I want a guy who thinks I'm his whole world, his be-all-end-all, like the sun really does shine out of my...well, you get the picture."

Howie tried to laugh quietly, but his upper body was visibly shaking. "I get it." He managed to reply.

"How about Alex?"

"What about him?"

"Does he have a girlfriend back home...Toronto, right?" She had never really asked Alex anything about himself that night they all went out for dinner. He seemed really distracted, so she had done most of the talking, hell, she'd done all of the talking.

"Yeah, and no, no girlfriend. Lots of takers though."

"He's a player, huh?" Melissa

Howie looked thoughtful for a few moments, "No, not a player, I mean a player would have nothing but one night stands, right?"

"Yeah, I suppose,"

"Well, he gets tons of dates, but he doesn't sleep with all of them." Howie gave a short laugh, "most of them don't even last the week."

"Just hasn't found that right girl yet?"

"No, but then he's really got to start expanding his dating pool."

"Whaddya mean?"

"The only women he ever seems to date are waitresses, and he has this ridiculous obsession with going to bars, taverns, anywhere you'd find a waitress, especially the ones by the water. Oh my God, do you know how many waterfront dives that man has taken me to?" he gave a loud laugh,

"Tell me," she was intrigued.

"Oh, no, I'm not getting into those stories." He hadn't been able to take his eyes off of Melissa. When she wasn't talking a mile a minute she was quite captivating.

"With what you're saying, I'm kind of surprised he didn't go for Dianna right away, her being a waitress and all."

"Yeah, so was I, but I guess he had eyes for Celeste." He turned and glanced over at her, she was standing behind Brent as he was at the helm, her hands at the ready in case he needed help, but he appeared to be doing just fine.

"Hmm," Melissa frowned and looked over the rail and straight down at the ocean as it raced by.

"What is it?"

"Oh, nothing really...I just remember stupid things, sometimes...little bits and pieces of information that get stuck in my brain."

"What's stuck in there now?" he smiled at her, expecting something quite inane to pop out of her mouth.

"Well, just after 'Jake' arrived," she began, he kept calling Celeste Marianna..."

"Yeah, I remember that,"

"Well, I just remember him saying something about her being a wench...now isn't that like a waitress?"

"Hmm, yeah, he called her a serving wench, I remember that now," Howie stared out at the sea, that was very interesting.

"Hmm," Melissa mimicked and stared out to sea as well.

Howie turned to Melissa, "Come on, let's see if we can find those dolphins again."

Bill stood alone on the starboard side of the ship near the foremast, one hand on the rigging to keep his balance, and just stared at the ocean, lost in thought, or so it would appear. The proper phrase was 'consumed by them'. He had done nothing but think about his relationship with Patrice for the past year. They had always gotten along well, but since he'd met Christa, all that had changed. Nothing had happened between them, but there was an attraction there that he couldn't avoid. She had started at Omega last February and he'd been fantasizing about her ever since. The flirting started off innocently enough, but about a month ago she told him that she'd like to take things further. It scared him a little, but intrigued him as well. He'd never cheated on Patrice, still hadn't, but the thoughts were there. He loved his children, but he wasn't sure if he loved Patrice anymore. They never talked unless it was about the children or money. They used to talk for hours, now there was nothing but silence between them. He supposed that it was mostly his fault. Ever since he met Christa he'd felt so guilty he couldn't even speak to Patrice about the littlest things anymore, let alone be with her. The last time they had made love he had been imagining Christa, that was months ago and he hadn't been able to touch her since. No doubt in his mind it was pure guilt he was feeling. The affair was definitely out. If he wanted Christa he would have to leave Patrice and his children...clean break; but he wasn't sure what he wanted, so he did nothing. Maybe it was just a mid-life crisis, but what scared him the most was, what if it wasn't? He'd been trying for the past few months to only think of Patrice, how they were when they were young, trying to get back those feelings, the ones Jake and Celeste were probably now experiencing.

Bill couldn't help but watch Jake today, looking for clues to find his own way back to Patrice, if there was one, but Jake proved to be no help. Jake hadn't really talked with Celeste much, but whenever she wasn't looking he was watching her. It was as though he had some sixth sense, just knew when he _could_ watch her. Maybe he didn't want to distract her from her duties, whatever it was; it was both interesting and curious to watch. He turned from the ocean and watched Jake again. He had sent the young boy over to Celeste, while Sam opted to sit in the parlour with Patrice. Bill suddenly felt very sorry for Sam. He'd watched as Sam tried many times to bond with Brent, but Brent always turned to Jake. Give Jake his credit though, he always tried to turn him back to his father, and now he was always including Sam in anything Brent asked to learn. Brent had gone from sullen, to congenial. Bill chuckled to himself, what a difference a dip in the ocean makes.

Bill hadn't realised that he had been staring directly at Jake, who now got up from his seat under the mainmast and strode over to him. It could only be his imagination, but Jake did not look too happy with him. He gripped the rigging tightly with his right hand, just in case he was about to be thrown overboard, although he didn't actually believe that would happen. He decided that he'd best start the conversation quickly...

"Jake."

"Aye, is there a reason ye've been watchin' me all mornin'?" Jake's voice was quiet and firm, demanding to be answered.

"Sorry, about that, I've just had a lot on my mind lately." He felt like a schoolboy having to explain to his teacher why he'd been passing notes in class.

"Such as?" Jake prodded.

Bill looked him in the eye for a few moments before breaking contact. Damn he could back a man down with that stare. Bill had always felt in control of things, and he'd been in more than one fight in his life and not just on the playground; but this man, he was one to watch out for. The one you just instinctively knew was a hundred times better than you were...the one with nothing to lose.

"Personal matters, nothing to do with you," Bill wished Jake would just turn and leave but he didn't.

"Aye, such as?" Jake stepped closer and gripped the rigging in his left hand.

They were almost nose to nose now and Bill was feeling extremely uncomfortable, he glanced over at Patrice in the parlour. She was happily talking away to Sam and he wondered if she had been watching him at all. He turned back to Jake and saw that Jake was also looking at Patrice, and when he turned back to Bill he was smiling.

"Aye, I see, woman trouble."

"Aye...I mean, yes...no...sort of," he turned back to the ocean. "I don't know." He was aware he was rambling and was helpless to stop it, but what the hell, this guy probably wouldn't remember anything he said when he got out of his trance anyway.

"I have noticed that the pair o' ya havna bin together much, why's that?" Jake stood on the other side of the rigging and appeared to speak more to the sea than to Bill.

Bill took a deep breath and adjusted his cap. He also stared at the ocean as he spoke. "How do you know when you've met the right woman? I mean, you seem to know positively that Celeste's the one for you." He turned to Jake, "How?"

Jake's gaze never wavered from the sea as he spoke. "I met Marianna in a tavern in Bermuda. She looked me straight in the eye and said 'what'll it be?' That was when I knew."

Bill turned to look at Patrice; she still wasn't paying any attention to him. Somewhere inside he thought that maybe she didn't love him anymore either, that would be easier all around.

"Why don't ye go and look her in the eye, see wha's there," Jake suggested.

Bill gave a forced smile, "yeah, maybe". Part of the problem was that he couldn't look Patrice in the eye anymore without that feeling of guilt rising up. He furrowed his brow and turned to Jake. "What about Celeste?"

"Wha?"

"Celeste. How do you know she's your Marianna?"

Jake just smiled. "It's all in the eyes, mate."

Jake put one hand on Bill's shoulder and gave it a pat as he passed and strode over to speak with Peter port side.

Peter had been watching the ocean fly by. The spray had been wonderfully cooling on his face. In the distance he'd seen dolphins but they were gone too quickly to show the others, not to worry, they'd be back, they always were.

"Hoe gaat het met je janden?"

Peter turned, surprised at the perfect Dutch that had come from Jake's lips. Even more surprised that he should be asking about his hands.

"Goed, je spreekt goed Nederlands." Peter replied. Was this just some bizarre coincidence that he could speak Dutch? And speak it so well? Surely you couldn't just pick that up on-line overnight.

"Aye, ik spreek verschillende talen, Een goed kaptein moet weten waar zijn bemanning het over heft...en wat ze aan het plannen zijn." Jake winked at him.

Yes, a good Captain would know the languages his crew spoke, and the Dutch have been sailing these waters for centuries. Peter was stunned. He had always thought pirates, true pirates, were stupid and vicious, killing for fun. Now, here was Jake, a Captain, who knew other languages, knew people, he was smart. Peter understood, it would take a smart man to be able to handle a ship full of unruly pirates; and in order to handle them you would have to know what they're thinking...and saying. This man should have been destined for a different life and Peter just had to ask,

"Why did you become a pirate, Jake?"

Long silence, "necessity."

"You were young, weren't you?" he prodded.

"Aye, ten." More silence. "Have ye told Celeste yet?" Jake nodded towards Peter's hands.

"No," he rubbed his hands, the knuckles were swollen and the fingers were harder to straighten, soon they would be gnarled and useless for the sea.

"Ye've got te tell her, soon. Ye'll be of no use te her on the seas."

Peter knew Jake was looking at him, but he could not bring himself to look back. Jake was right, maybe if he laid his cards on the table Jake would understand and help him.

"I will tell her, soon, I promise," his voice was a whisper and then in Dutch he asked Jake for the biggest favour he could. Would he sail with them to Vancouver? After much explanation of where Vancouver was and how they would get there Jake only shook his head.

"I may no be here then."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm no sure. I'm no sure why I'm here or for how long." Jake stared back at the sea before turning to Peter one last time, don't ye know, mate, ye canna depend on a pirate." Jake hastened to the steps to the cabins below and left Peter more worried than ever.

Patrice had been trying off and on to read her book, but it was almost impossible for her to concentrate on it. Bill was becoming distant again. She thought they had been off to a good start, second-honeymoon-wise, romantic dinner that first night, holding hands, but that had stopped abruptly. That was probably why she had snapped at him the other day. She wished she could take it back. Part of her was worried that she had done something to hurt him, and another part was angry that he wouldn't tell her what the problem was. She just couldn't seem to get up the courage to ask the questions and she certainly didn't have the courage to hear the answers, not right now anyway. She could only watch him, hoping that he would turn and give her a smile, come and sit with her, but he never did. She tried to go back to reading her book, but to no avail, she'd read this page at least ten times now. Patrice finally gave up, closed the book and placed it beside her on the sofa. As she looked around she noticed that everyone seemed to have someone to talk to except her. Fourteen people on a small boat and she was lonely. She spied the bar and decided that she may as well have a couple of drinks to tide her over. Alonzo had left a pitcher of rum punch in the small reefer and Patrice poured herself a large cup of it, drank half, refilled it and returned to the sofa. She was just about finished it when Sam came over and asked if she'd like a refill, which she gratefully accepted.

Sam turned out to be a very good conversationalist. He was interesting, funny, relaxed, and maybe it was just the alcohol, but he was kinda cute. They spent the rest of the afternoon in light conversation and Patrice thought that she had never laughed so much in her life. She finally stopped looking over to see if Bill was looking back.

CHAPTER 23

"Leave it alone, Jen," John whispered in her ear, but she wasn't paying any attention.

"Huh...yah..." Jenny turned and tried to watch as the waves folded into themselves in the wake, but the pull she felt to interfere was stronger than any undertow. She couldn't help but sneak a few quick glances back at them, Patrice in the parlour and Bill at the bow. It was so blatantly obvious that they were having problems, and they seemed to be so nice...at least separately. There really hadn't been too many conversations with them as a couple. Perhaps they were just at that awkward stage of their marriage, much like she and John had been at about their age. The 'mid-marriage crisis age', as she liked to call it. After the kids come along you become so busy with them that you seem to forget about each other. It's not that you fall out of love, exactly, but you have to get to know each other all over again. The priorities you had when you were young and unencumbered were very different from the priorities you have with children, work and a mortgage. Jenny knew all too well the arguments over money, John's late nights at work and the children's constant need for attention. The relationship sometimes gets lost, and the passion seems to be replaced more and more by an overwhelming need for sleep. Of course, not all couples end up like that. She and John had been lucky. On the verge of divorce at about the same age, they had decided that they still loved each other enough to go for counselling. It had really helped. With the counsellor's advice they started 'dating' again and that seemed to start them back on the right track.

"Stop looking at them, Jen...we hardly know them," John whispered again.

She could hear the agitation in his voice, "you're right", she whispered back, "but I just hate to see them so unhappy." The sound of Patrice's laughter interrupted her thoughts momentarily.

"She doesn't seem too unhappy to me," John nudged Jenny in the shoulder.

"Well, no, not right at this moment, but then she's not with Bill, now is she?" Patrice was still in the parlour with Sam. Another drink and they'd be helping her down the stairs to her cabin.

"Where is Bill, anyway?" John had turned, both elbows propping him up on the railing.

"He went down below a while ago." Jenny turned and leaned one arm on the rail beside him, and slid the other through his arms and around his waist.

"How do you do that?" he asked.

"Do what?"

"Always know where everyone and everything is? I swear, sometimes I think you're psychic."

"No, I've told you a million times, just very observant. I have to be with you...you lose everything and come running to me to find it for you."

"And I appreciate it," he kissed the top of her head and snickered.

There was a long pause and his mood turned somber, "you're going to interfere, aren't you?" he said calmly.

"Yup," she nodded.

John let out a deep sigh, "alright, just remember we're only here for a few days, go easy."

"What do you think I'm gonna do? An intervention?" she joked.

"I have no idea," he smiled and put his arm around her and gave her a squeeze.

"Look, I'll talk to Patrice, why don't you talk to Bill?"

"Oh, no, I am not going to get involved in that," he turned back to the wake, "Bill seems pretty close-mouthed to me, he's barely spoken to anyone on this trip other than that first day."

"Not true, I saw him talking to Jake just before he went down to his cabin, or wherever."

John just looked at her in silence for a moment, "sweetie, I like Jake, but you don't talk to Jake, Jake talks to you."

"That is not true, Brent's always off talking to Jake..."

"No," he interrupted, "Brent is always off 'listening' to Jake and those stories of his. There's no meaningful conversation there. And, I saw Jake go over to Bill, not the other way around."

"So, you've been watching Bill, have you?" she smirked,

"Nooo, I have not been watching Bill..." she was looking him straight in the eye and he couldn't turn away. "Okay," he relented, "I was watching Patrice and Sam and wondered why Bill wasn't there. Okay? You happy, now?" he asked with a light sarcastic tone.

"Yes, dear, very happy. I knew you cared." She put her hand behind his head and pulled her towards him, kissed his lips and stroked his cheek with her thumb. She gazed into his eyes for a few moments. "You know," she started, "it's nothing that can't wait an hour or so...wanna go down to the cabin?"

John grinned, "Why, Mrs. Dempsey, you are psychic!"

"Well, there they go again," Patrice mumbled under her breath, aware that her words were now starting to slur ever so slightly. Time to switch over to the bottled water.

"Pardon?" Sam asked.

Patrice merely gave a slight grin and nodded in John and Jenny's direction as they disappeared down the stairs.

"Ah, yes," Sam gave Patrice a rueful smile in return.

The lull in the conversation was awkward and Patrice wondered if Sam was thinking the same as she.

"I envy them," she began.

"Yeah," was Sam's only reply as he went to the bar and refilled his cup. "Do you want another one?" he offered.

"No," she waved him off, "I think I need water, lots of water."

Sam threw two bottles at her which landed with a soft thud, thud on the blue and white floral cushion beside her. Well, she thought, his aim is pretty good, and wished she could hold her liquor as well as he seemed to be doing.

Sam returned to the seat next to Patrice, but the silence continued. How could it be so awkward now when only a few moments ago they had been laughing like old friends about the stupidest things? Sam started the conversation again.

"That was supposed to be me," he began.

"What was?" she asked, although she knew the answer. It was the same answer she had.

"Them." He didn't look up as he talked, but stared down at the cup of punch in his hands, tipping it back and forth so that the rosy liquid would reach the lip, almost spilling out, and then back before finally coming to rest.

Patrice put her hand on his, "she was supposed to stay forever, wasn't she?"

Sam managed a weak smile, "yeah."

"I know how you feel." She was aware of her hand still on his and removed it.

"How would you know? You're still married."

He was looking at her now and she could see the sadness in his eyes. She had no control over her own speech and the word "barely" escaped her lips.

Sam was quiet for a moment, confusion played on his face, "but, I thought you two were on a second honeymoon?"

Patrice just smiled, "yeah, that's how it started out. I was hoping this would give us a chance to get back to the way things were, but Bill's still..." her voice trailed off and Sam finished the sentence for her

"Distant?"

"I suppose that's as good a word as any." She turned her face into the breeze, trying to knock out the cobwebs that were starting to fill her head, too much alcohol. She opened the bottle of water and drank almost half at once.

"Yeah, Libby was like that just before she left..." as soon as the words were out of his mouth he regretted them, "oh, no, not that it's the same with you two, I mean Libby was having an affair with some guy at work." _Shut up, Sam, you're not making it any better_ , he scolded himself, and the look of fear on Patrice's face told him exactly that. She looked like she had just been slapped.

"Excuse me," she stood, unbalanced from the rum she swayed and almost fell back onto the seat before finding her feet and starting for the stairs that led down to her cabin, "I have to..." her sentence once again left unfinished as she made her way to the stairs.

Drunk and at sea, however did Captain Jack Sparrow ever stay upright? It took everything she could muster not to fall. Thank God the hallways were narrow and she brushed off of them more than once. She stopped to regain her balance at Cabin no. 3. John and Jenny's cabin. What would she say to Bill? Should she confront him? Was he having an affair? No, he wouldn't. For one thing, he was a terrible liar and she could catch him each and every time. It used to be funny, always a little lie, like the night he was out with the guys and went to see strippers instead of bowling. It didn't seem so funny right now, though. Her mind kept returning to Sam's last words, 'an affair with some guy at work'. Was there someone at work Bill wanted? Was that why he was always working so late? To be with her?

Something drew her attention away from those thoughts, the sounds coming from the Dempsey's cabin. These walls weren't very soundproof. At first it was just quiet laughter, giggling, and then moaning. She envisioned Bill's hands on her body, the way it used to be. She placed the palm of her hand on her forehead and curled her fingers through her hair before sliding it down her face and massaging her neck. It was hot down here, or maybe it was just the alcohol. The moaning was increasing now, and she could make out their voices easily. She could hear Jenny shushing him to be quieter, and then a gasp before she, too, was moaning loudly. Patrice's hand had now moved down to her breast, her nipple was hard and a shiver ran through her. She suddenly felt like a voyeur, was that the right word when you just listened? Eavesdropping sounded far too innocent for what she was doing.

She hastened to her cabin and opened the door quickly closing it behind her. She leaned on the door before turning to see Bill sitting on the bed. The moaning from next door could be heard just as easily in here as in the hallway. Had Bill been listening, too? Of course he had, how could he not.

Patrice wanted to ask him if there was an affair, get it over with, but something in Bill's face made her stop. He stood and walked over to her, taking her hands in his. For the first time in a long time Bill looked her in the eye. He never said a word as he pulled her close and kissed her. Maybe it was the rum, but the passion she felt in that kiss was like the first time they had made love. Patrice let herself go.

CHAPTER 24

Sam and Brent leaned on the port railing near the bow watching the sea for the dolphins Melissa had told them about. A rare sight to some, Sam thought. No, not the dolphins, but he and Brent actually standing side by side and having a nice conversation. Brent had actually begun speaking with him again; of course, only because Jake was otherwise engaged today. Jake had taken over helm duty in the middle of the night and insisted, with Celeste's permission, that he be allowed to take them the rest of the way.

It bothered Sam a little that he was a sort of 'last resort', but the twinge of jealously quickly subsided and Sam decided to look at Jake as a catalyst instead of a substitution. It had been a long time since Brent had actually started a conversation with him. Most of their talks had been entirely one-sided. Even the lulls in their interactions were tolerable now, whereas before they had been excruciatingly awkward for Sam.

He glanced back to his son, still clad in the bright orange life vest, staring directly down at the water being sliced in two by the bow. Instinctively Sam reached out and put one arm around Brent's shoulders to keep him safe. Surprisingly, Brent allowed it. A small smile began on Sam's face; it was a start.

"Jake says you can tell how fast you're going by the size of the waves," Brent stated, eyes remaining fixed on the water.

"Really, and how fast are we going?" Sam leaned a little further over the side like Brent.

"About twelve or thirteen knots."

"Yeah, did he tell you what a knot is?"

"Yup, it's when you take a piece of wood and tie it to a rope and you throw it into the water, then you count how many knots in the rope get pulled in in twenty-eight seconds."

"Really? Fascinating."

"Yeah, and the knots have to be forty-seven feet three inches apart."

"Hmm." Sam looked up and covered his eyes against the sun. "Hey, isn't that a bird over there? Brent, over to the right. We must be near land, huh?"

"Oh, yeah, I see it."

"Wow, that's a lot bigger than a seagull."

"That's a Man-O-War."

"A Man-O-War?"

"Yeah, Jake says they're pirates, just like him."

"Well, we must be getting close to land if we're seeing them."

"Actually, Jake says that they can fly for miles and you can see them out in the middle of the ocean sometimes."

"I see Jake's really been giving you the lessons, hasn't he?"

"Yeah, he tells me lots of things. He's really smart."

"Hmm." Sam looked back at the bird sweeping by. "A Man-O-War, huh?"

"Yeah, but Peter says they're just frigging birds."

"I think he probably said Frigate Birds," Celeste replied from behind them.

Sam and Brent both turned and Sam gave her a sly smile, "you sure, cause they do look like big friggin' birds to me."

Celeste laughed and Brent just rolled his eyes and turned back to the waves.

"Yes, I'm sure. That's a Magnificent Frigate bird, and Jake's right, they fly a long way out to sea. You'd get lost trying to follow them to land." Celeste shaded her eyes and watched the bird fly off, its long black wings gliding on the air currents.

"You look disappointed that it's gone," Sam coaxed.

"No, I was just hoping it was Pelican."

"I thought she was supposed to follow us, that's what Alonzo said she did," Brent broke in.

Celeste arched her eyebrows and sighed, "yes, she always has. I'm hoping that maybe she just missed us when we left and she'll be waiting for us when we get back."

"I'm sure that's all it is," Sam replied and placed his hand reassuringly on her shoulder.

Celeste placed her arm around Sam's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Yeah, well, I'd better get back...Oh...look...dolphins!" Celeste pointed off the port side. They watched them for a few minutes before they again disappeared beneath the surface.

Jake came up behind them quickly, "If yer lookin' fer land, it's that way." He pointed beyond the bow and Brent managed to beat everyone there to see for himself. Jake took Celeste's arm from around Sam and led her over to the bow. The other passengers had also joined them to see their Pirate's Island.

"Here yeh go, lad," Jake handed Brent the binoculars.

Brent raised the binoculars to his eyes and squinted as best as he could to try and find Jake's island. He was positioned in the right direction, but there was nothing there. He didn't want to disappoint Jake, but there was simply nothing but water out there.

"I'm sorry, I just can't see it," he lamented.

"Stop lookin' at the water and look just a wee bit o'er it and ye'll see a wee bit o' palm, just there," Jake repositioned him.

Brent tried again. He fiddled with the lenses and it seemed to be clearer, but it was still just water. He blinked a few times and tried again, and this time, dead ahead, he thought he saw a tiny dot. A shiver ran up his spine at the same moment.

"I SEE IT, I SEE THE ISLAND!" he screamed.

"Where is it?" Sam came over and clapped one hand on Brent's shoulder.

"It's over there," he handed the binoculars to Sam; "you just have to move the lenses around to get it focussed." His excitement was contagious as Sam was swept up in the moment as well.

Jake smiled at the pair and left father and son alone, as it should be. It appeared the other passengers were thinking the same thing. Eager as they were to see this island, not one of them interrupted.

Jake returned to the helm and took over from Peter. There was only one way in and it was on the other side of the island, the calm side. He looked around at the other passengers and was glad that they were finally all up and about. Really, it was only a couple of them that had had a rough time. Dianna had been the worst and had stayed in her cabin refusing food for a full day. Whatever they had given her had been a miracle, because here she was, vertical. She still wasn't eating too much, but she was looking better, anyway.

That Howie fella, he was a good sailor. A bit clingy, but he seemed a good bloke. Funny, whenever Jake looked at him now, he felt that he should be paying more attention to him. In a way, Howie felt like his First Mate; and for some unknown reason he was feeling badly about not taking him more into his confidence. But he was Alex's friend, not Jake's, although Howie had tried to help him as much as possible. He had explained all of the new and strange items and machines to him, and with patience for all of his questions. He was a decent man, the type Marianna should have married. Towards the end Jake had tried to be that man, for her, but it was not meant to be. Piracy had a hold on him and he knew the only way out was death.

This reincarnation thing they were all talking about was very strange, but maybe he could make some sense out of it. Maybe he was being given a second chance, but for what? It couldn't all be about Marianna, could it? Howie wanted this Alex back, but Jake did not. Maybe part of the reason he didn't want Alex back was because there was some other purpose to all of this, a purpose that Alex couldn't handle. He knew that, as Jake, he would only be here a short time, and eventually Alex would return. But right now he'd been given the opportunity to see that Marianna had a good life, good friends and family. Perhaps that was her reward for an untimely and ugly death.

When she was at the helm he had never seen anyone happier. She was absolutely radiant. He smiled quietly and turned towards the sea. That had been his life, and now it was hers; apart from the killing, stealing and plundering, that is. He wondered if perhaps this little glimpse into the future was only to ease the remorse in his own afterlife. Certainly he had been beyond that when he had learned of her death. Sorrow, guilt, remorse, regret, anger, hatred, revenge...the list went on. He had felt them all. Still felt them, but his pain had eased upon seeing Marianna again. No, he must call her Celeste. She is no longer _his_ Marianna. She is a new woman, in a new life...and maybe, he thought, she deserves a new man.

Jake had thought long and hard about the other night. He had wanted to propose to her right then and there. Take her away and live forever at sea, like he should have done back then. He had heard them talking in their cabins--the passengers. They had said that this was not right— _he_ was not right. That was when he decided to sleep on deck. Down below there were too many voices and too many opinions about his being. He'd given the cabin back to Howie so he'd no longer have to stay with Peter. He had to figure this one out on his own.

He would give Celeste the ring, that much he would do, and if this Alex ever does come back then hopefully he will have more sense than Jake and marry her right then and there. Deep down he felt that as soon as Celeste had the ring that he would disappear. He would arrive at his island, but he would not leave it...as before. He rubbed at his chest.

The island was getting closer now and was easily seen with the naked eye. It was at least twice the size of the last island they had been on, and much more densely vegetated. The palm trees were lush and thick with coconuts. They sailed close to the island and then port and around. The passengers were lined up along the starboard side for a good look, while the crew and Jake made ready to take down the sails. They would now motor the rest of the way, a thing which still amazed Jake.

There was really no beach that they could see, the trees seemed to spring from the very ocean and there was no sign of land above the trees. It appeared to be completely flat but Jake had assured them it was not. As they motored around the island Jake pointed out the reef. It was easily seen and only about a metre below the surface. It was at least two or three metres wide and seemed to go all around the island. Brent had been amazed at the amount of brightly coloured fish, much more variety than the first island had provided.

The island held many coves and Jake pointed out to Celeste the one they would anchor in.

"So, how do we get in?" she asked.

"We'll hae tae go a wee bit farther and sail back. I'll hae tae check somethin' before yeh go in."

"What?"

"Dinna you mind, now, it's no much farther." He gave her a wink and put his arm around her shoulder. Celeste just eyed him and said 'okay'. He gave her a squeeze and pointed the way. She trusted him, he felt it in the way she spoke with him and even with his rather 'sketchy' directions, she followed them. No other Captain would put such trust in a relative stranger. Jake gave Celeste small salute and made for the bow of the ship.

"Hold up, here," he called from the bow after a few minutes.

Celeste cut the power and the boat glided to a stop.

"Drop yer anchor," Jake called back and Celeste did as ordered.

"Why are we anchoring here? I thought we were going into the island?" Jenny asked.

"Aye, we are, but I've tae check somethin' afore we go."

"What do you have to check?" John inquired. Jake was now surrounded by all of the passengers and crew.

"All right, I'm just checkin' tae see if the reef's still open here tae sail in." Jake took off his shirt and threw it to Howie, who caught it square in the face.

"Great, now I'm the towel boy," he grumbled, to which Jake only laughed.

Jake took hold of the ropes holding the foresail and dove off of the bow into the ocean.

"I really hope there's no sharks in there," Howie moaned, and leaned over the side to see Jake swimming safely towards the reef, no fins in sight.

Melissa put her arm around him, "don't worry, I'm sure it's safe. He seems to know what he's doing," she soothed.

"That's not the point," he said quietly. Howie watched with the rest of the passengers as Jake reached the reef and then dove under. He was under for what seemed like forever before finally surfacing and Howie exhaled the deep breath he had been holding. He hadn't realised that he hadn't breathed the whole time that Jake had been under water. He also hadn't realised that Melissa had been holding his hand the whole time, and only let go, somewhat embarrassed, when he finally did notice.

Jake swam back to the ship and climbed up the ladder astern. Howie threw him a towel.

"Thanks, towel boy." Jake smiled brashly at him, and Howie couldn't help but laugh.

That was all Alex, right there. That smile, that wit. He was definitely in there somewhere and Howie suddenly felt better about him coming out of this sooner rather than later. Maybe he was starting to come back now.

"And just what exactly were you looking for down there?" Celeste asked again.

Everyone had now gathered around Jake, who was sitting in the lounge, still drying off, and who the women were thankful to for not having put on his shirt yet. He laid the towel down on the deck and put his shirt on, but failed to button it. The men could see the disappointment in their ladies' eyes and John even snickered.

"All right, the first time I found this island it was completely surrounded by the reef, the one ye've all seen. Aye?" They all nodded in agreement. "Well, I really wanted tae get inta that island so I blew a big hole in the reef."

"With what?" Brent asked.

"Ma cannons, o' course. Anyway, I thought that by now the reef woulda closed up a bit."

"Has it?" Peter asked.

"No, it's bigger. A lot bigger than I ever made it."

"Is the reef dying because of what you did to it?" Dianna piped in.

"Dyin'? I dinna know about that, but the edges look like something bigger than cannons took 'em out."

"So, what does that mean?" Celeste sat down beside Jake and looked into his eyes.

"It means, that yer ship'll sail straight through wi' no problems," he replied and stood up quickly making straight for the bow. "Weigh anchor and we'll head in." he called out as he strode to the bow to give directions.

Celeste did as she was told and started the engines, but the thought that someone had been here after Jake gave her an uneasy feeling. She saw it in his eyes as well, he was wary of the island and what may be ahead.

The _Celestial Breeze_ weighed anchor and started its voyage back around the island, finally weighing anchor again in the only cove with a beach. The passengers were in awe of the beauty of this spot. The white sand beach and lush vegetation were all the things that a tropical paradise should be. Nowhere else on earth could be such a beautiful and restful place as this.

"Just another day in paradise, eh Jake?" Jenny slapped him on the shoulder just before she and John got into the launch with some of the other passengers and started for the island.

Jake just stared at the beach. He was quiet, almost brooding and his brow furrowed in thoughts long finished. This was no paradise. He remembered the slaughter of his men by Edward, right there on that beach...and his own death. He felt the pain in his chest and rubbed it. It would not go away. It had been steadily increasing the closer he got to this island, but nothing he couldn't handle. Phantom pain. It wasn't real. How he knew that was unclear, but he was certain it was true. His entire life was here at this island, he knew it. Whatever had to be done was to be done here. He would die here again, and be reborn?

There was something more to this island now. The reef had been blown to bits...but how recently. Why? And why now? Many questions needed to be answered but he would only find those answers on the island.

The rest of the passengers had gone ashore and Jake watched as Alonzo brought the launch back for the rest of them. Howie came up and put one arm around Jake.

"I know what you're thinking." He said quietly.

"Wha's that then?"

"That's where you died." Howie stared at the beach where the rest of the group had now set up their towels and began snorkelling.

"Aye."

"You sure you wanna go ashore?"

"Aye." He turned to Howie, "thanks."

"For what?" he asked rather perplexed that this man would thank him for anything.

"For being ma friend, no matter what," he replied solemnly.

Howie smiled and patted Jake on the back. He was shocked and relieved at the same time when Jake turned and hugged him, slapped him twice on the back and then strode over to the launch. Howie followed along with Celeste and they motored to shore.

Jeff had been watching the ship from the moment they were in sight. He had been very excited to learn that it was Celeste's ship, but all those pesky passengers would have to be disposed of. They had sailed right by his cove and never even knew he was there. He had a plan in mind for his Celeste. It was fate that was bringing them together. How else could she have found this island and the way in. She was here to apologise to him and he would forgive her. Everything was starting to take shape, earlier than planned, but that didn't matter. Soon they would be together.

Willy had spotted the ship first and informed Jeff. This would not be good. It was the brunette's ship; that would mean big trouble. Jeff was mumbling to himself more and more and now he was just out and out talking to himself – and it didn't sound sane. He had to make a stand; he'd go to Celeste and tell her about Jeff. She could take him off of this dot of Hell with her and they'd all be safe. But that was easier said than done, Jeff was definitely certifiable by this time and he had a lot of weapons at hand to stop any 'mutiny'. He didn't know what to do. Too much confusion, he couldn't think clearly anymore. He knew he wasn't very smart, that was one of the reasons he'd gotten into so much trouble with the law. He could be talked into almost anything, and stealing was a lot easier than school. He'd have to think about it and he didn't have much time to come up with a solution to this mess.

He was certain Jeff wouldn't do anything until tomorrow anyway. By the way he was talking to himself there were still a few details for him to figure out. Willy couldn't make out most of what Jeff was talking about, but it seemed that he wanted to get Celeste on board his ship and sail off with her. The others on Celeste's ship wouldn't let him get away with that, so that only meant one thing...Jeff would have to get rid of them. The only question was -- would he do it first or after he had taken Celeste? Whichever it was, it was becoming clear to him that he would have to get away from Jeff. He tried to think; he didn't really believe Jeff would hurt Celeste, he liked her. Maybe he wouldn't do anything. It might be that he'd just talk to her and...no, whatever it was it would be bad. He rubbed his temples hard with his fists trying to think of an answer, but he knew the only thing he could do was whatever Jeff told him to do.

CHAPTER 25

The remainder of the daylight hours yesterday had been spent snorkelling. Although there had been a steady breeze blowing giving them relief at sea from the heat, it was just plain hot now that they were anchored. The waters were cool and refreshing and everyone stayed in until they were called by Alonzo to come and feast.

Dianna was the most grateful for dry land again and her appetite had returned in full force. Alonzo had prepared steak and shrimp kabobs for the passengers to cook over the open fires and Dianna had devoured more than her share of them.

"Easy does it, Wolverine," Melissa taunted, "you're gonna gain that five pounds back you lost yesterday.

"At this point I don't care if I gain fifty," she managed to reply through a mouthful of food, and Alonzo handed her another skewer to roast.

Dianna finished off her fourth helping and Melissa couldn't help but laugh as she even tried to steal some of the steak from _her_ skewer. Melissa wasn't giving it up so easily, she jumped up and yelled "En garde" and Dianna scrambled to her feet. The two of them engaged in a mock duel over the last shrimp on Melissa's skewer, which in all the revelry flew directly into Howie's forehead and plopped onto his lap. Without skipping a beat he picked it up and ate it. Melissa and Dianna looked at Howie and then at each other and nodded once. They circled around until they were on each side of Howie, the tips of their skewers placed gently, yet menacingly, against his neck. Howie shifted his eyes, first to Melissa on his right and then to Dianna on his left and knew what he had to do. He removed two shrimps from his own skewer and carefully placed one shrimp on each of the skewers pointed at his throat. In unison the girls took the shrimp from the skewers, popped them in their mouths and returned to their seats. There was uproarious laughter from everyone...except Jake.

Jake had set himself apart from the group on this occasion, although he watched all they did. That little swordplay between the girls had only served to remind him of his own fate. Celeste had come over earlier with a skewer for each of them and he sat with her and talked, although not much. He had wanted to explain things to her but finally asked if they could just sit in silence. He could not yet bring himself to sit on the same beach that had seen his own demise and that of his crew. Where once had been death and blood, there was now life and rum. Although long washed away, he could still see the blood soaked into the sand where his crew had fallen, could still see the spot where he had fallen. He wondered what had become of his body back then. Had Edward bestowed more atrocities upon his corpse, or had he just left it to rot in the sun, to be washed away with the next storm to provide his burial? And what of his men, did they suffer the same fate? It was doubtful Edward would have cared. He would have torn _The Avenger_ to pieces before leaving, looking for gold. He smiled at the thought; Edward would never have found the gold no matter how hard he looked. It wasn't on the Avenger or _this_ island.

_The Avenger_ most likely lay at the bottom of this very cove, covered in more than two hundred years of sand, for Edward surely blew her apart before he set sail for darker waters.

Celeste was watching him, he could feel it, and when he turned to her she had such a look of concern on her face. He tried to smile, but it was false and she knew it; he could see it in her eyes. He opted for just holding her.

They sat on a blanket to the left of the group, near the edge of the trees, his arm around her shoulders and her head nestled warmly against his neck. Jake closed his eyes and inhaled her scent slowly. He loved the smell of her. Flowers, he knew, but not what kind. Marianna had loved flowers, especially oleander and gardenias, both of which grew wild on this island. He found himself wondering if Celeste loved the same ones. He stroked her cheek and kissed the top of her head. She raised her lips to his and he kissed them gently, for anything more than that would be unfair to her. She smiled up at him and he returned her smile, a real one this time, and held her tighter, but just for a moment. She seemed satisfied with this and snuggled closer.

He had insisted that everyone remain on the beach and not wander into the jungle. There was no chance of getting lost, the island wasn't that big and the only danger here two hundred years ago had been pirates...but a lot can change in two hundred years and Jake had an uneasy feeling about this place now. They would spend the night on the ship, but there would be no sleep for him tonight. Tonight he would stand guard.

Jake had always had a sort of sixth sense when it came to danger. Knowing who would mutiny and who he could and couldn't trust had saved him many times. Danger sailed on the wind and he could feel that wind now. He was being watched, he knew that as surely as he knew that Celeste was in danger. Imagination? No. He held her tighter. Whoever was watching was good, they made no noise, but he knew they were there, _he_ was there. Jake hadn't seen any ships anchored, but there were coves all around this island, some hidden. Early tomorrow, before the others awoke, he'd scout the island and find them. Dispatch them, one way or the other. He relaxed slightly, certain that nothing would happen tonight and returned one eye back to the crew, while the other remained trained on the jungle. The sword and scabbard had rarely left his hip from the moment it had been unearthed, now he would sleep with it.

He watched the crew, for that's what they were now, crew; he no longer saw them as passengers. The women were strong-minded and the men able bodied and capable of being taught. He trusted Howie more than any of them but couldn't articulate why. He could only presume that there were some memories leaking back in. Nothing visual, just feelings at this point. Howie would be his first mate should there be any trouble, he knew that he could rely on him.

He watched and assessed their strengths and weaknesses. He had been studying them since he came to being. That's what he called it now, not a rebirth or a reincarnation. After all, it was only his mind that had made the trip. This was a completely new body, free of scars, aches and the pain of bones that had not healed well. This body was strong and would serve him to whatever purpose was required. He returned his attentions to the crew.

To decide who would fight, and who would not, could be tricky. These people were not meant to be fighters, but they may have to learn to be.

Alonzo was cleaning up the food and dishes. He may be a cook, but his muscular arms and upper body were not from stirring soup. Yes, Alonzo would fight well, but he was unpredictable and with his wife expecting their first child he would want to stay close to protect her; therefore, should there be a need, Alonzo will be assigned to guard the ship. Peter was doing his best to assist Alonzo with the cleanup but, Jake noticed, with some difficulty. He's a capable sailor, but he has the 'twist'. Jake had seen many old sailors with that ailment. Their hands would get knotted and useless, unable to perform even the simplest of tasks aboard a ship. They were usually left at whatever port had been the closest. Peter was trying to hide it from everyone but soon that would be impossible. Peter would also have to stay on board.

The men and women had now separated into groups. Jake didn't understand this at all. Maybe it was just being at sea so long, but whenever his men had had the opportunity to associate with women, they took it. They'd had enough of their own company. In this case, the men had all gone down to the water's edge, their silhouettes like paper cut-outs against the moonlight shimmering on the ocean.

John was fit, but aged. Jake studied on it a bit and finally decided that John would be more than capable. Bill would be well suited for a battle, if he could only get his mind off his problems, he would need to focus. And then there was Sam. A decent man, soft and not at all built for battle, but he was a quick learner. He had immediately grasped everything Jake had taught him about sailing. Although Sam had told him that he had some experience with swords, Jake decided that Sam would stay on the ship as well and Brent must also stay on board. Brent was older than Jake had been when he had gone to sea. He seemed eager to live the life of a pirate but Jake knew that no boy should make that choice, no man either. Brent would argue, but he would do as he was ordered.

That left the women, half-mooned around the fire, talking non-stop, their voices and laughter echoing over each other. It was a given that Sandra and Celeste would stay on board, no harm must ever come to them. The others were the puzzlers. Dianna would be of no use on the ship, therefore she must be on the island, but in what capacity? She was a shy girl, nervous and unsure of her own abilities. She was not stupid however, and would definitely be of some use, perhaps as lookout. Dianna preferred to hide behind Melissa, a woman who seemed to have no fear at all. That would be very useful. Patrice was a nurse; she would come in quite handy, she would stay on board as well. Jenny was the easiest read. She spoke her mind and didn't back down. She would be most helpful on the island, but that didn't leave him with much to work with. He had to face it, none of these people were ready for a battle he himself wasn't even sure was coming. If something happened he would do as he had done in the past, take care of it himself; and if that meant he had to die again so that Marianna would be safe, then so be it. He settled his attentions back on Celeste. A warm breeze had picked up and sent a shiver through him.

Celeste raised her head and sat up. "Are you cold? Maybe we should move back to the fire?"

"I'm no cold," he pulled her close again.

"There's something bothering you, isn't there?" she ventured.

"Nah," his answer was short and held no conviction.

Celeste didn't want to let this moment go. It was late and Alonzo and Peter had everything stowed on the launch and were starting to take things back to the ship. The fire was still roaring and the women showed no signs of being tired. The men had returned to the fire and joined them in their conversations. Soon everyone would want to return to the ship. If she could find a way to stay on this island with Jake tonight, she would take it. He was more attentive this evening. It had to be her imagination running away with her this afternoon, although, he did seem distracted tonight and quieter. She wondered if he was having second thoughts about her. No, that was silly, he'd told her the other night how much he loved her, you can't fall out of love that quickly. It hit her out of the blue; she was in love with him, too. A rush of adrenaline surged through her and she shivered. At first she just assumed it was a crush, she'd felt something for him the moment he stepped on deck and then this whole 'Jake' business, well, that just clinched it. But who did she love? Jake or Alex? They both have amazing qualities; although she didn't really know Alex's except what Howie had told her about him. And if Jake leaves and Alex returns, would she love Alex...or miss Jake? She obviously couldn't have them both. It was all suddenly very confusing. She nestled in closer to Jake and felt the warmth of his arms around her. She felt safe here, but she could feel a tenseness in him, more like his arms were protecting her rather than holding her. Jake had really only opened up to her on that one evening, since then he hadn't really shared anything with her. Howie had told her the same thing. Apparently Alex was an open book, but Jake...he was definitely closed, hard to get to know. She wondered if that was the pirate in him, or the way he was brought up.

Jenny slowly made her way through the sand to the place where Jake and Celeste were sitting. She didn't want to interrupt but neither had spoken to the other in ages and perhaps now would be the best moment to ask. The others had wanted to ask but ever the most brazen it was up to her to carry it out. Melissa had urged the most and then the others had joined in. Very well, she would once again be the voice of the public. Why was it that when anyone wanted something done that they were too afraid to get for themselves she ended up being the one to do it? Nerves? No. It had always been that way. _If you want something done you have to do it yourself_ had always been the motto she lived by; and she had found out the hard way that sometimes you just need to pull up your socks and get it done.

They were sitting away from the crowd near one of the tiki torches Sandra and Peter had placed around the site. Howie had explained to her that this was the spot Jake had been killed by Edward. Everyone now understood why he hadn't joined them as he had on their first island feast; it was probably quite difficult to eat, drink and be merry on your grave. Jenny had noticed how much quieter, less animated and uncomfortable he was now. However, as she had learned in therapy, sometimes you just need to talk about something to others in order for it to have less control over you. It was worth a shot, anyway and the others had prodded her into taking that shot now.

"Hi Celeste, Jake."

"Hi Jenny, having a good time?" Celeste answered and Jake merely nodded.

He seemed a little distracted. She kneeled in front of them and decided to just ask.

"Jake," she started,

"Aye," he looked her in the eye.

"I was wondering...we were wondering,"

"Aye?"

"Well, Howie told us about Edward and the beach and...we were wondering if you'd tell us a little about...your life, maybe about Edward...Marianna?" she held her breath for a few moments and watched as he sat motionless. She saw Celeste gazing at him as well but it was uncertain if she were waiting for an answer or just unable to take her eyes off of him.

A warm breeze blew in at them from the ocean and Jake stood. "Aye, ye want a story...I'll tell ye a story."

Jenny jumped to her feet and ran back to the others.

Jake's deadpan expression slowly begat a slight grin. He admired the courage Jenny had just shown him. All those men in the group and it took a woman to ask; and if she could muster up the courage to ask then certainly he could muster up the courage to tell. He smiled widely now. Not so much had changed in all the years, stories were still required around a fire and he had to admit, this would be a good story. He only hoped he could keep his emotions in check while he was telling it.

"My name is Jake," he began quietly "or at least it is now. I was born Percival Ian MacDonald in a wee fishin' village called Fraserburgh in Scotland in 1761. I lived wi' ma faither, Andrew. Ma maither, Deoiridh, had died gi'in birth te me. When I was ten my faither was killed and I left to go te sea." He turned to Brent and smiled, "If he hadna died I'd never hae left."

"How did he die?" Brent asked.

Jake let out a short breath, "we were working in the stables and ma faither was shoeing the Sheriff's horse and showing me how tae dae it at the same time. He'd told me how the horse had been badly mistreated by the man and at that moment the Sheriff came in. He was furious wi' ma pa fer sayin' it. They argued and then the Sheriff picked up a hammer from the forge and swung it. Ma faither died in ma arms." There was a moment of silence and then Jake shook himself and returned to the story. "The Sheriff said he would tell the town that I had killed him, so I ran. I took the first ship to sea that I could find and I've never been back." He purposefully looked at Brent. "If ma faither hadna been killed ma life would have turned out much differently...much...better."

He turned back to the group and continued uninterrupted. "The ship I stowed away on was the _Marquis_ , a frigate on its way te Bermuda and when I was caught Captain Sterling decided te let me stay and work ma passage. By rights he shoulda had me thrown o'er the side. They offered te let me stay when we landed but as they were headin' back te Scotland I decided te find other work. The ship I finally found work on was the _Amazonia_ , a pirate ship, although I didna know it at the time. It's funny how ye seem te acclimate te yer surroundins. They became like family te me and their ways were just...the ways." Jake looked around and the others nodded, maybe they understood and maybe they didn't. He continued,

"I'd been sailin' wi' pirates for near ten years when I met Edward. He came on as a first mate on the _Carion_ and we'd taken an instant hate for one another. He wasn't smart enough te be Captain and he cudna get enough o' a follyin' te take o'er the ship. He left after about six months and I tell ye, we had more than one run-in in that time. He was a vicious man who pleasured in the murderin' more than the plunderin'."

He saw the stern looks on their faces and knew what they must be thinking.

"Now, I'll no lie te ye, I've killed my share o' men and then some. When ye steal for a livin' it's inevitable that ye turn te killin'. After all, there's men out there who'll kill te keep what they have. Unfortunately, after ye've killed once, it gets easier. Ye tell yersel' that it's you or them, and that's true enough, but it's your own fault that ye've put yersel in that position and it's bugger hard te get out o' it." Once again, he looked directly at Brent, who merely shifted his eyes down to his feet.

"I hadna heard o' Edward Stockton for many a year and when I was twenty-five I got ma own ship, a barque. I renamed her, the _Avenger_. Now, as ye probably know it's back luck te rename a ship, but when the English Navy's looking for ye, sometimes it's worse luck te keep it." Sandra passed him a bottle of water and he thanked her for it and took a sip.

"Now, the next time I ran into Edward Stockton, about two years later, he'd finally gotten his own ship as well, the _Marietta_. He'd also gotten a new name, 'Red Eddie'. His crew had given him the name because of all the blood he'd shed. He'd gotten meaner, if ye can believe it and that day we were fightin' o'er the same ship.

It was a frigate out o' Mexico carryin gold and jewels back te England. O' course I didna know about the gold, especially on a frigate, we'd just been lookin' te get food and water and anythin' else we could use, so it was quite a surprise when Jeremiah had found the treasure. He was a swab on ma ship, and one I never shoulda trusted. But I'll tell ye about him in time."

He scanned the group, not one of them had moved, and not one of them had taken their eyes from him.

"Well, Edward had sailed in by this time and boarded the frigate as well. He'd sailed from the east and ma cannons couldn'a get a shot at him. As soon as I saw his ship I knew there'd be no choice other than fight. Edward was a good swordsman, but he was reckless and easily enraged. That always gave me the edge o'er him. We fought long and hard but finally I'd sent him away wi' a taste o' ma blade for his troubles. I didna kill him that day, but I wished I had. We both lost a lot o' men that day and the frigate managed to escape wi' some of her treasure still intact."

"My men and I sailed south and deposited our find along the way. Ye canna put into port wi' a full load of stolen gold, now can ye. We eventually put into port in the Virgin Islands after that. Although I preferred to stay at sea ma men needed tendin' and rest after that battle, it was particularly bloody; and I needed replacements. Ma first mate Anders and I stopped at the Bayalea Tavern and that's where I met Marianna." He gazed at Celeste and smiled, she smiled back.

"She was serving food and drink and I fell in love wi' her immediately. She was a beauty, long red hair, all in ringlets, and eyes as green as the sea and lips the colour of a sailor's sunset. She was wearing a blue dress wi' a white apron smattered wi' ale and gravy and when she asked for ma order I couldna speak for fear that she was only a dream and would disappear. But she must have felt the same way for she was o'er at ma table the entire night and didna shoo me out the door like the others at closin'. We were alone in that Tavern the whole night, talkin'. I must tell ye, I'd never stayed in port as long in ma life. We were there fer three weeks. I tried te get her te come wi' me but she refused te live the life o' a pirate and would only be wi' me if I gave it up. I shoulda done it then and there, but I'd known no other life and I left. I'd been at sea for almost six weeks when I couldna stand it anymore, I went back and I found her wi' Edward."

There was a gasp from the group and they all looked at Celeste, who herself, looked shocked. "No, no, it's no like that." He corrected, "Edward was wi' Celeste in the Tavern and I'd been told by the others that he'd been harassin' her for almost two weeks now and she'd been trying everything te get rid o' him. Some o' the men who'd tried te step between em had found the end of Edward's sword instead. And Gentleman that I am, I confronted Edward and told him that she was my woman. We fought, naturally, it's what we did." Jake paused and took a drink. Each face was looking at him in anticipation, so he continued,

"Now, by this time, Edward was actin' strange. He'd no longer felt the need te bathe and he was talkin' te himsel' more and more, even while we were fightin'. I had Edward pinned and wudda killed him, but Marianna stopped me. She'd said she'd no have me kill for her, so I let him go. He went scurryin' back te his ship. I stayed another two weeks in port and decided that I'd do whatever Marianna wanted, but first I had to go on one more voyage. I didna tell her why I was goin', just that I'd be back. I wanted it te be a surprise for her; but when I came back she was dead."

Another gasp from the group, "Edward had waited for me te leave and had intended te take her wi' him, but when she fought him, he killed her." There were low gasps and moans from the group and most of the women were dabbing at their eyes.

"Old Stubbert, he was the owner of the Tavern, told me that when Edward tried to grab her arm to take he wi' him, she fought back and he slapped her so hard he broke her neck."

He felt the tears welling up in his own eyes, but when he looked at Celeste they stopped. Marianna wasn't dead, she was here and he was happy to have another chance.

"I'm sorry, Celeste," he started but she shook her head and motioned for him to go on.

"Well, after that I pursued Edward, and it was a good few years before I found him. He was a few hundred miles from this very spot and both our ships took some damage. He was still after that gold, talked about it as if it were yesterday it had happened. And Marianna, he talked as though I had killed her. His mind was given to demons by this time and his crew dreadful feared him."

"But in the fight he'd taken one o' my men wi' him...Jeremiah."

"O' course I didna know that Jeremiah was a spy for Edward. He'd been sitting in a tavern on one o' the islands just waiting for me the come looking for crew. He'd been trying te find ma spoils, but he never would."

"Unfortunately I had brought him here, and he knew the way in. I guess Jeremiah was convinced that all ma treasure was here on this island, and I guess you could say it was."

There was a rustling in the trees and Jake quickly swept his cutlass from its scabbard. All heads turned to the trees and listened intently, but there was no further noise other than the trade winds blowing through them. Jake's senses had been pricking at him off and on throughout the voyage, but they were unreliable. Like the ocean, the sense of danger came in waves. He turned back to his audience, cutlass still at the ready, and continued his story,

I had managed to cripple Edward's ship and we fled here to this island. It was the closest and safest at the time and it wasn't until we were here and making repairs that I realised Jeremiah hadn't been killed in battle. One of ma men told me he saw Jeremiah purposely get onto Edward's ship. That was when I knew that this would be the place I would have ma final battle wi' Edward. Him or me." Jake paused considerably.

"What happened?" Brent broke in, followed quickly by a loud shush from Sam.

Jake turned and smiled at Brent, "We fought. Right here." He spread his arms out to the beach, "and I died. Right there." He pointed to the area about ten feet behind Jenny and saw her shiver. "Aye," he nodded at her in agreement.

Jake clapped his hands together and then pointed at the group, "awright, you lot, I've told ye a story, now it's your turn. And I expect every one of ye to gie one." He winked at Brent, "aye, even you lad."

"But, what if we don't have a story?" Dianna asked.

"Then I'll be expecting a son, lass. Story or song, ye've got yer choices. Now, who's to be first?"

Peter volunteered a story from his days at sea; Dianna sang and all were impressed at how good she was. One by one they either sang or spun and Jake was well pleased with their choices. Their camp lasted well past midnight until they were finally worn out and quiet.

Peter broke the silence, "okay, everyone, we should probably be heading back to the ship now." Quiet protests followed but in the end they began to gather up their belongings.

Celeste watched as one by one the passengers almost dragged themselves away from the fire and over to the launches. It was obvious that everyone wanted to stay, especially Dianna who had asked earlier about sleeping on the island. Jake's resounding 'NO' had convinced her that she would definitely be staying on board. The last to leave were Alonzo, Jake and herself. They all helped extinguish the fire and motored back to the _Breeze_ , without incident.

CHAPTER 26

"THAT BITCH! THAT LYING SLUT!" The slurs continued the entire walk back to _The_ _Clarissa_ , mostly mumbling, but the occasional ones were quite loud. "How could she be with that slimy bastard? She turns me down and now she's with HIM?"

Jeff was fuming, his mind was in complete disarray and only able to focus on one thought...revenge. Celeste had cheated on him, and she must be punished, but that bastard she was with would DIE! A vicious growl started deep in his throat, rising furiously before being expelled in a loud grunt as his fist made contact with the nearest palm tree, leaving his knuckles cut, bleeding and swollen. The tree, however, appeared unharmed. His rage had subsided after the punch, temporarily allowing his brain to function again. He had to get back to his boat and start the preparations for Celeste's punishment.

The jungle was shrouded in darkness, even the full moon was of little use amongst the palms and Jeff had a slow and difficult journey back to the _Clarissa_. He had started out towards the beach where Celeste had anchored in the daylight and in his haste to see her he had neglected to bring a flashlight. It was better that he hadn't, he told himself, he wouldn't want to give his position away just yet. In the daylight it had taken him only about twenty minutes to arrive at the beach where she and her group were camped, but returning to his own ship in the dark was a much longer endeavour. It had taken him almost twice as long and a couple of detours before finding his way again. This was the first time he had ever been in this jungle at night and it was confusing. The vines and creepers he had managed to dodge in the daylight had become hazardous in the pitch of night and he had gotten tangled up more than once. Had he actually been capable of concentrating on his trek through the jungle, however, it wouldn't have taken nearly as long; but his mind was so jumbled and his hatred so engulfing that he was incapable of overcoming even the simplest task of moving the foliage out of his way in order to walk. The next time he went to see Celeste would be in the daylight, and he would be much better prepared.

His mind couldn't help but flash him images of Celeste and that man-whore she was with. He felt the anger rising again, and this time kicked at a fallen tree, injuring the toes on his right foot. He limped most of the way back. Trees – two, Jeff – zero.

Who the hell was that guy anyway? Jeff had positioned himself about ten feet back from tree line between Celeste with that piece of shit clinging to her, and the rest of the useless chattel from her ship. He could hear everything the scum-suckers around the fire were saying, but nothing from Celeste and her mongrel dog. Once, that dirt-bag had actually looked right at him, trying to stare him down. Jeff could feel those eyes burning into his brain. His pulse quickened and his adrenaline started to flow, but he dared not move and call attention to himself. He remained quiet and still and after a few moments the slime-eater turned away. A new wave of hatred filled him as the bastard kissed his woman and pulled her closer. Again, it took everything he had to remain still. He had wanted to run from the jungle and rip her away from him, but he was nothing if he wasn't patient. Mama had taught him that.

Jeff tripped over a rock and fell onto a pile of coconuts. His hands slipped over them and he hit his nose hard against one. He could feel the blood trickle down his lip and he licked at it before wiping it away with one dirty sleeve. He kicked the coconuts hard and succeeded in sending a couple of them flying about a foot away, and re-injuring his toes. The racket startled a couple of birds and they quickly flew away from the area squawking loudly. He would have screamed obscenities at the top of his lungs, but he didn't want to attract any more attention to the area and opted for a primal growling and an attempt to strangle one of the younger trees in the area with his bare hands. The tree shook wildly, but remained firmly rooted. Jeff loosed his grip on the tree and looked just to his left where he saw a solitary light... _The_ _Clarissa_. He kicked at another coconut with his left foot and limped as fast and carefully as he could to the ship.

His first instinct was to scream at Willy for having a light on...anyone could have seen it and known they were there; but without that light he may have been stuck wandering around even longer and tonight he needed to start a little project for Celeste's crew.

Willy was still awake and on deck talking to that stupid pelican when he'd finally arrived. He was always feeding that bird, or catching fish for it. At this moment he hadn't a clue as to why he had taken it in the first place; it was more trouble than it was worth. He stomped by Willy and immediately went down into the galley to get his supplies in order. He closed the curtains on the portholes and switched on the light over the dining table.

The table was cleared of any dishes and clutter with one sweep of his arm. Everything landed on the bench seat behind it and scattered to the floor from there. He retrieved his hot glue gun and soldering kit from the drawer beside the small stove and plugged them into the socket beside the table. From another drawer he took out an old pager he had stolen from one of the passengers a few trips ago. Underneath the sink was his tool box. He removed some yellow wire, duct tape and a small screwdriver set from the box and placed them beside the pager. Jeff shoved the dishes and paperwork off of the edge of the bench and sat down. Picking up the pager he checked to make sure it was working before he slowly started to disassemble it with one of the small screwdrivers. He placed the battery and the clock aside before throwing its housing on the floor with the rest of the debris. The soldering gun was ready now and he used it to attach one of the yellow wires to the battery terminal and the other one to the timer. He smiled as he thought about his end result.

One task complete, he took a flashlight from one of the drawers and went down into the hold to retrieve the yellow waterproof pelican case from one of the shelves; unceremoniously dumping its paper contents onto the floor. Jeff ventured a small laugh, but what came out was more like a low, intermittent hum. How fitting that one pelican would be responsible for bringing him Celeste and the other for destroying his enemies, he thought. Perhaps the bird was worth the trouble after all.

The bright yellow twelve inch square case was brought into the galley and gently placed onto the table beside the timer. Jeff returned to the cabinets and from the bottom cabinet by the doorway he carefully extracted the package Willy had picked up in town and brought it over to the table. He cut the string and gently peeled back the brown paper to expose the 8x8x6 inch chunk of Semtex inside. This pretty white piece of plasticine had cost him plenty. Old Manny had provided him with C4 in the past, but he was fresh out. Luckily he'd been able to get his hands on this from one of his European connections. It was supposed to be for the reef, or some other underwater obstruction, but now he couldn't think of a better use. He gently placed the Semtex into the pelican case and secured it with the duct tape.

The glue gun was ready and a small pool of the glue had hardened on the table attached by a spider strand of glue to the tip. The timer was almost ready to glue into place. He set the clock to the proper time, it was exactly 12:49 a.m., and then set the alarm for six p.m. His own watch was set in sync with the timer and then his own alarm set for one minute before six p.m. He would take Celeste and leave with her but he wanted to be sure he could watch the others die.

He would have to co-ordinate it well. He must be on his boat with her at 5:40 p.m. and on his way out to sea and when the others found out that she was with him they would follow. By the time they were all on board and ready to sail it would be too late...for them. But _HIM_. _He_ must be finished with before that. _His_ death must be personal. An unnatural rage repossessed him and an urge to kill so intense that his body spasmed as muscles tensed, hands clenched and an icy shiver ran up his spine, leaving him convinced about his duty...his destiny. Celeste must be saved from that evil son-of-a-bitch and he, Jeff, would be her hero. She may not see it at first, but she would understand soon enough, and he would give her time. She must be rescued from evil at any cost.

Another smile oozed from his lips as he thought about how to kill the filthy cur she was with. Yes, he would search for her, but he wouldn't find her; instead he would find...me!

His mind filled with the different ways he could kill that pig. He could always shoot him with the 9mm he had stored in his sock drawer, but that might be too quick. A game of cat and mouse on the island was appealing, but that would take too long. Jeff knew what he wanted to do, slit his throat, ear to ear, yes, that would be most satisfying of all...a thought occurred. That thief had a cutlass on his belt and thinks he's a pirate. Oh, the story he told them tonight, nothing but lies to confuse Celeste and keep the others in line. Jeff grabbed the flashlight and quickly returned to the hold and pulled up the pile of rope from the floor carefully moving aside the three boxes of dynamite to find his prize hidden underneath. One of the areas on the island that he had excavated had actually produced something. He removed the cutlass from its leather scabbard and held it up, running the beam of the flashlight along its blade. The sword may have looked dull and tarnished, but it was still sharp as cheddar, as his mother would say. Under normal circumstances he would have displayed the cutlass proudly in the living quarters of his boat, but the occasional passengers he was forced to carry would ask too many questions about its origin. Here in the hold it was safely out of sight of even the more intoxicated patrons who seemed to think that this boat was _their_ property for the day and liked to snoop. Jeff slid the cutlass back into its scabbard and returned to the galley. He had to finish the task at hand before the fun could truly begin. He placed the cutlass on the table and continued with his project.

The only thing left now was the detonator. Jeff took the flashlight from the table and went to his room. In the bottom drawer of his captain's bed he pulled out a shoe box. Inside were six small boxes filled with styrofoam. Nestled safely in the hollowed out forms were detonators, one per box. He picked one out and brought it up to the galley. Gently removing the three-inch, pencil thin aluminum cylinder from its styrofoam housing, Jeff deftly connected its leg wires to the yellow wires from the timer with his soldering gun. He gently inserted the end of the detonator into the semtex and hot glued the timer in place, using a little duct tape to ensure that nothing moved.

Jeff closed the case and a feeling of accomplishment washed over him. He ran his fingers over its lid and smiled. He liked yellow; it was his absolute favourite colour. Yellow always made him feel happy. Yellow wires, yellow case, he was quite pleased with himself. This would be the best explosion ever. All that was left to do now was the magnets for the lid, but that could wait till tomorrow morning. He would need to get some sleep, tomorrow would be a big day.

He drummed his fingers quickly over the top of the case and looked around to see if he had forgotten anything. Unplugging the glue gun and soldering iron his eyes quickly went back to the cutlass lying enticingly on the table. He couldn't resist picking it up one more time and going over that loser's death scene. If he wanted to be a pirate then he would die like one. The sword felt good in his hands, right somehow. It was heavier than he had expected but quickly became accustomed to the weight. His hand was swollen and he finally started to feel the pain, but pain would never get in his way when he wanted something. The cutlass was harder to grip with a swollen hand, but not impossible. His hand wasn't broken; a little ice would take care of that...later. He took his stance and squared off against the air just like in the movies and fairly danced across the room. With a wide sweep of his arm the cutlass sliced through the air and embedded in the wooden frame of the entryway.

"That was your neck, asshole!" his whispered roughly, and then giggled,

He grinned widely; he forgot about sleep and spent the rest of the night practising his swordsmanship.

CHAPTER 27

Alonzo poured himself another cup of coffee and picked up the telephone. It was peaceful now, everyone was asleep...everyone except Jake. He could hear his footsteps occasionally on deck. It was three in the morning and Alonzo had been awake since two. Sandra had fallen asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow and by the time he had finished putting things away it was almost one. He had tossed and turned, unable to get comfortable and unable to turn off his brain. It had been an evening full of fun and uneasiness for him. On the one hand, he was relieved that Celeste finally knew of their plans, but on the other hand, they were leaving her to the mercy of Jake. It was becoming more and more obvious that Celeste was growing quite fond of him. Up until today Jake had been quite animated, funny, knowledgeable, even talkative...to a point, but now he appeared remote and almost introverted in his withdrawal from the rest of the guests and Celeste. Could be he was prone to mood swings and that was never good. That would put him in about the same category as Gallway, that psycho with the fishing charter. Thankfully Celeste had never taken to him. He didn't like to interfere in her life until it was absolutely necessary, but it seemed that now it was absolutely necessary

He had been careful not to let the others, especially Peter, know of his suspicions about Jake. Peter was taking a rather kind view to the man and that confused Alonzo even more. Peter was usually just as suspicious of the men who tried to date Celeste. The two of them used to sit around and pick apart all of his flaws, but there had been no discussions about Jake other than, 'yes, he could be crazy, but he seems nice enough'. And Sandra, so trusting, would have set Celeste up with Jack-the-Ripper if he had dreamy eyes and a nice ass. Not that Celeste couldn't take care of herself, she was pretty headstrong, but something about this just didn't feel right.

Much to his shame, he had somewhat manipulated Brent into asking Jake more questions about himself. He hadn't gleaned much more than he had overheard them speaking about earlier, but he found out Jake's father's name and the town he was born in. Howie had provided a year that he had died. It wasn't much but Blythe could work miracles on much less information. Jenny had been the best; getting him to tell his whole story. He had enough for Blythe to get started.

Blythe Tanner was a private investigator in Kingston, Ontario, and a close personal friend of Alonzo's. He had contacts all over the world and his Investigation Firm was quite well known and used by Politicians and Celebrities alike. Blythe would have this information, at least on Alex, in no time. A quick phone call would have him on the trail of any, if any, information on Alex Cole and on his new persona Jake. He used his cell phone in the galley so he was relatively sure that no one would be able to hear him, still he whispered. He would have preferred to be up on deck for such a call, but Jake was always up there. On watch, he called it.

Blythe wasn't too happy about being woken up at three a.m., but for the large fee he would certainly be charging, he wasn't rude about it. He confirmed that the info on Alex would only take a few days, but the info on Jake from Scotland could take weeks, even months to track down. And although there are records that go back much further than 1795, the little town from that time may not exist anymore. However, he would try his best, which meant it was gonna cost. Alonzo whispered his good byes and would call him in a few days to see what progress had been made, but to fax anything to him at the usual place, that being Diego's Seafood Restaurant. He could pick it up when they returned. He placed the receiver back on the hook and heard a shuffling from behind him. He turned to see Sandra in housecoat and slippers, arms crossed and obviously very angry with him.

"How long have you been there?" he asked quietly. Alonzo knew the answer to that by the look on her face, but thought he'd chance it anyway.

"Long enough." She growled and crossed the distance between them in a heartbeat, which was pretty quick because his heart felt like it was racing a mile a minute. He absolutely hated when she was angry with him, and fortunately it didn't happen often, but this time he knew he was in for a fight.

"How dare you check up on him like that!" she whispered as loudly as she could, careful not to wake the others, but loud enough to get her point across that she was extremely upset with him.

"Well what am I supposed to do?" he whispered back, "just sit around and let him use her like that? We don't know him from Adam, he could have a history of mental illness for all we know, and you'd just let that happen to Celeste?"

Sandra let out a muffled scream and turned her back to him. He wanted to hold her, but she would probably just push him away. He saw her shoulders fall and she placed her hands to her face.

"No, you're probably right," she said softly.

Alonzo turned her to him and held her close; he could feel the tears on his shirt.

"I just wanted Celeste to have somebody, now that we're leaving. Is that so bad?"

He smiled, "no, that's not so bad. I'd like her to have somebody, too. I'm just not sure about this one."

"So what if your report comes back that he's okay?"

"Then I'll be happy for them." He took her chin in his hand and raised her face to his, "but what if it comes back negative?"

"Then we'll tell Celeste, together." Sandra put her arms around Alonzo's neck and kissed him. "Come on, let's go back to bed." She took his hand and started to lead him back to their quarters when they ran into Dianna.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realise anyone else was awake? I was going to go up on deck, but I smelled coffee and came this way."

"Right, yeah, I left the pot on, I'll go back..." Alonzo turned.

"No, no, don't bother," Dianna interrupted, "I'll turn the pot off for you."

"Thanks, how come you're up so late, anyway?" he asked.

"Oh, well, I slept so much the other day that I can't sleep now. My eyelids just popped open about half an hour ago and when that happens there is no way I'm getting back to sleep. Thought I'd come down and sneak a snack before going topside." Dianna pointed to the fridge. "Got anything good in there?"

"As a matter of fact I do. Help yourself. You'll find something to suit."

"Thanks, goodnight...night Sandra." She gave a little wave and watched them leave.

It was so peaceful aboard this ship, she was just starting to get used to the motion of the ship now. Jenny had given her something to put on her ear and that seemed to do the trick nicely, but just in case she was still taking wearing the patch Alonzo had given her. It was better than the other thing he had given her. The fridge was filled with all sorts of goodies. There were veggies, chicken, salads, anything a healthy eating person could dream of, but what she was in the mood for was...ah, yes, at the back, chocolate cake. Dianna sliced a large piece of cake and poured herself a cup of coffee to take up on deck, making sure to turn off the pot before she left.

This would be wonderful, cake, coffee and the warm night air. She'd made sure to put on her jeans and bring a sweater just in case, but the evening wasn't that cool so she probably wouldn't need it. She'd wanted to watch the stars through the telescope the previous evening, but the seasickness had squelched that idea. She started up the steps to the deck and heard footsteps. Drat, someone else was awake, oh, well, company then. She continued up, but when she reached the top she saw no one. She shook her head, apparently she was hearing things. It was dark, but there was enough moonlight and the deck lights were on. Over by the mast, a movement and a glint of steel, she froze.

Jake stepped from behind the mast, "what're you doin' up at this hour?" he asked quietly.

Dianna relaxed, only Jake. "Couldn't sleep, how about you?" She walked over to the mast and sat in one of the deck chairs, carefully placing her coffee on deck before digging into her cake. There was no need for formality around Jake, he wasn't interested in her, she could be herself.

"I'm on watch." He replied and pulled up a chair beside her.

"Wadch faa whaad?" she asked through a rather large mouthful of cake.

Jake smiled, "Pirates," was the answer.

Dianna swallowed her cake and laughed. "Okay." She looked around at the island and at the ocean. "So, when you were a pirate, when would you attack? At three in the morning?"

"All the time, didna matter. Ye have te know yer quarry, ye ken? Take em when ye know they'll be the most vulnerable, and if they've got nobody on watch at three in the morning, then that's when ye strike."

Something in his voice made Dianna shiver. She wasn't listening to a mad man; she was listening to a tactician. The cake had lost its flavour and she put it down beside the coffee.

"Are ye no gonna finish that?"

Dianna tilted her head and smiled, "no, you want it?"

"Aye, if ye're done wi' it." Jake picked it up from the plate and jammed it into his mouth, no fork involved.

Dianna laughed, "You want some coffee to wash that down with?" she handed him the cup.

"Aye. Thank ye." He drained the coffee in less than a minute.

Dianna got up and walked to the telescope behind the helm, and Jake followed. She was having a little trouble adjusting it and Jake offered to help. They spent the next two hours stargazing, with Jake describing the constellations to her and pointing out the stars that would lead him to his destinations. She learned about Polaris, the north star, and how to find it in the tail of the little dipper. The Southern Cross, which was the only way to point south, and other constellations that would only show up at certain times of the year in certain areas of the ocean. It was all too amazing the amount of knowledge this man possessed about the stars and sailing. Howie had told her that Alex had been his last minute replacement. No one could get all that information in such a short time; he was the real deal, all right.

Dianna heard more footsteps. She looked at her watch, almost 5:30, where had the time gone? Peter came up on deck and bid them a good morning before going into the parlour to make a fresh pot of coffee. The sun was just starting to rise. Dianna took a deep breath and stretched, this was going to be a glorious day. How wrong she was.

CHAPTER 28

"GET UP!" Jeff kicked the small cot in the hold that he allowed Willy to sleep on.

Willy felt his cot shake violently and heard Cap'n Jeff yelling at him...again. He snapped awake and grabbed his shirt from the floor.

"Don't bother with that, you're goin' swimmin." Jeff stormed out of the hold.

Willy stared after him for a moment and then got up. You can't argue with a crazy man. _At least he's gonna have me looking for stuff today_ , he thought. Maybe he's decided to give up on Celeste? He stretched his arms over his head and scratched his chest and then sat back down on his cot. There was no sense in putting it off, he changed into his green and orange swim trunks and went up into the living room of the boat.

The fishing boat Jeff owned really had been a beautiful thing at one point in its creation. He'd bought it second hand in Bermuda from a company that was going into receivership. The interior had been beautifully maintained; it had an L-shaped floral sofa, two chairs, an oak bar and a small eating area. Of course under Jeff's care and control it now resembled something more along the lines of a mountain shack. There were towels strewn about the floor, clothing, maps, receipts, and newspapers on every surface. The pillows that once adorned the sofa were now all around the room. He'd heard Jeff jumping around last night and apparently this was the result of his midnight romp. Unwilling to find out what he was doing, Willy decided to stay safely put in the hold, but the jumping and banging went on for most of the night. Willy started to tidy up as best he could, but it was a lost cause. The place would be in this same state tomorrow. He picked up one of the light blue pillows and found its contents peeking out. He looked closely at it and discovered it had been sliced through, probably with a knife. He picked up the others and found them in the same condition. Worry and panic started to fill him. If Jeff was starting to use knives on the furniture, how long would it be before he started using them on people? Was he practising? The main deck area with the fishing chair was at the stern of the boat and that was where he found Jeff. He was staring at the pelican, a knife in his hand. Willy felt his stomach clench and then ease as Jeff turned and started cutting rope instead. Willy relaxed a little and threw the fishing line in the water. He had a record catch yesterday and still had some in the bucket. He fed a few to the pelican now. She certainly was leaving a hell of a mess on deck and he had made sure to clean it up every time. Not that Jeff would notice. He didn't even notice his own stench so why should he notice all the bird shit on deck.

Willy had been locked up a few times, and on occasion, he'd been locked up with a loony or two. Why was hygiene always one of the first things to go after the mind?

"Do I have time to eat?" he asked.

"Yah," was the only response and it sounded more like a mumble, almost incoherent. If it weren't for the nod that accompanied it he'd have had to ask again. Not something he'd do however, since Jeff did NOT like to repeat himself.

Willy returned to the living room and retrieved some of the fruit that he'd bought earlier. He sliced up an apple and mango into a bowl and took one of the bottles of fruit juice from the small refrigerator at the bar. One thing was certain, if Willy didn't buy groceries there would be nothing on this ship to eat. Jeff rarely ate anymore, nothing more than a few handfuls of cereal every so often, and Willy was always cleaning them up. He had Cornflakes and Rice Krispies scattered everywhere with a few Cheerios thrown in for good measure. Nothing better than stepping on those in bare feet. He turned to see Jeff stomping by him on his way to his cabin, or the hold, or somewhere. Hard to tell anymore what was on his mind.

Willy decided to have his breakfast on deck and sat in the fishing chair at the rear of the boat beside pelican and watched the line. There wasn't much room back here with that bird, but at least she was quiet, and he'd much rather be out here with her than inside with Jeff. He stared out at the little patch of blue he could see at the end of the cove. Jeff had basically just plowed the boat in nose first. Still, it was all very peaceful this morning. Of course it would have been nice to actually see the sky instead of these trees, and the bugs were a lot to deal with. There was virtually no breeze inside this little green prison. He discovered that he was actually looking forward to getting out into the water where it was cool.

"You finished, yet?" Jeff yelled from inside.

"Yah, I'm ready." He took a deep breath and got up and looked at Pelican. "Sorry, girl, I gotta go."

"Stop talkin' to that fuckin bird and get yer gear," he growled.

Willy hastened down to the hold and returned with tank, mask and flippers. He stopped cold when he saw the bright yellow pelican case sitting on the fishing chair. He hated to place those explosives, but Jeff didn't like to go underwater. If it hadn't been for that fact alone, he would have no job, so he'd placed the explosives just as he'd been told.

"You don't really want to blow something up with them here, do you?"

"Damn right, I do."

"Like what? I thought you didn't want anyone to see us?"

"Doesn't matter if they see us. You're gonna place that case under her ship."

"You want to kill them? Why?" Willy's stomach was doing somersaults and the fruit was definitely going to be coming back up soon.

"No, just one."

"Celeste? NO, you..."

Jeff was next to him in a second, his hand on Willy's chest shoving him back hard against the ladder to the deck above. His head rang off one of the steel rungs sending a flurry of fireworks through his brain. The rungs of the ladder were jamming into his spine, he could feel the bruising already beginning, but above all that Willy could feel the cold steel against his neck, the jack knife Jeff carried was now right at his jugular. He hadn't even seen it in Jeff's hands a moment ago, but it must have been there all the same.

"Now you listen to me you little PUKE! You'll do what I tell you or I'll slice you into so much chum the fish won't even get a good taste!" The madness in his eyes was back, bloodshot and red-rimmed they shone with a hatred Willy had never before seen in any man's eyes.

"Yah, yah, okay, whatever you say, I'll do it." He heard the fear in his voice and Jeff must have heard it too. He relaxed his grip and went back to the pelican case as though nothing had transpired. Willy rubbed the back of his head; there was a trickle of blood on his fingers but nothing major. Jeff was smaller than he, but the strength he just demonstrated was far more than Willy had imagined he was capable of.

"Go now," he ordered.

"Now?" Willy was trying to think of some way to stall Jeff but nothing was coming to mind.

"NOW!" Jeff repeated and took one step towards Willy.

"Okay, okay, it's just that..."

"What?" he growled.

"They'll see me, the water's not that deep and you can see right to the bottom."

Jeff turned away and looked at the trees, scratching his head. "You're right," he said to the trees, "they'll see him." He turned back to Willy and grinned. His smile was sick and frightening. "I guess I'll just have to give 'em a diversion, won't I? Check your watch."

Willy did as ordered. "It's 7:32."

Jeff checked his own. "No, it's 7:36, fix it."

Again Willy obeyed.

"Now at exactly 16:00 hours I want you to take that case and stick it to the hull of that ship. You think you can handle that!" he barked.

Willy looked at his watch, lost. Jeff liked military time and he'd tried to learn it, really he had, but it still confused him.

"That's four o'clock, stupid. Now can you handle that?" he barked again.

"Yeah, yeah, I can." Four o'clock, that should give him enough time to warn them. He just had to get away.

Jeff moved the case off of the chair and placed it on the deck beside him. "Now, sit in that chair and don't move."

Willy hesitated, and then did as ordered. Jeff still had the knife on him, although he had now closed it up and returned it to his belt. Jeff pulled out two pairs of handcuffs and cuffed Willy's right wrist to the chair. He did the same to his left wrist.

"Hey, what are you doing?" He yanked on the cuffs but they just got tighter.

"I don't need you to be running off and warning anybody just yet, now do I?"

"No, but I wasn't gonna..."

"Never you mind," he slapped Willy twice on the cheek, "I'll be inside sleeping for a while. I've got a big day ahead of me and I didn't get much sleep last night. I'm gonna need all my strength." He picked up the pelican case and took it into the cabin with him.

Willy had managed to get handcuffs off before, but usually his hands were together. There was no way he would be able to get these ones off, and what if he did? Jeff seemed to have some kind of mind reading ability happening right now, and he was a light sleeper. He'd probably wake up and kill him before he got very far and considering he was planning on killing a whole boatload of people, one more wouldn't make a difference. He settled himself in the chair and decided he may as well stop struggling. There was nothing he could do until Jeff came back with the key.

CHAPTER 29

The morning was passing quickly, too quickly. Jake had wanted to be on the island early but Dianna had interrupted him. Did no one on this ship sleep? He had spent most of the night with the telescope scouring the island for signs of another ship or movement and waiting for them to go to sleep, but there had always been someone walking around. He couldn't blame Dianna for being awake so late. She'd spent so much time in bed the last day or so it was a wonder she could sleep at all. It was dawn before she finally left him, but everyone else had started to wake at that point. He decided that he may as well leave his fears, after all, they would only be here until tomorrow morning and then they would be on their way back to Treillis Bay.

He had seen no movement from the island, no lights, no noises other than the birds and bugs that inhabited this place. Was it just imagination and paranoia that made him feel danger when none was present? Or was it as yet undetected?

"When we going swimmin'? Brent called to Jake from the parlour.

Jake turned from the stern and laughed at Brent. He did not understand this obsession these people had with swimming. Certainly he enjoyed the cool waters on occasion, but their amazement at seeing the fish and coral under the ocean baffled him; fish weren't pretty, they were food. Just another thing he didn't quite understand in this century. Of course he had not objection whatsoever when the women wore their bikinis, especially Dianna. Melissa was far too skinny for his taste, but Dianna had all the right curves and a very ample bosom. He had yet to see Celeste take to the water and perhaps that was just because she was Captain. He remembered the days when he was only one of the crew. There had been a lot more fun then, not so much responsibility. A dip in the ocean when they were anchored was refreshing as a crewman, but to a Captain, a dip in the ocean meant he was shirking his duties. Maybe a morning of snorkelling, as they called it, would be fun.

"Aye, after a bit," he called back.

Bill and Patrice came up on deck in their swimsuits, towels and snorkelling gear at the ready. Patrice was quite a fetching figure in her bright green suit. Bill's swim trunks however were still in the Hawaiian theme and went almost to his knees. Jake smiled, they seemed to be getting along better. Of course after yesterday afternoon the entire ship knew how much better they were getting along. He hoped it would last. Sex was only a pleasant diversion from problems, but those problems didn't go away easily. He thought of his own difficulties in his relationship with Marianna. He wanted her to be at sea with him, and she wanted him to be on land and start a family. It was all too clear now, but then, it had been overwhelming. Had he known then the outcome he would surely have stayed with her.

Celeste came up on deck and Jake felt his chest swell at the sight of her. She was radiant this morning. She was wearing very short pink pants and one of those bikini tops that Melissa and Dianna wore. This one was white and fairly gleamed against her tanned skin, but there were no straps that went around her neck like the ones the other girls wore. Celeste was always covered and he knew she was in fine shape but she was far more spectacular than he had imagined. She filled out that bikini top with no trouble and he could see the slight indentations of muscle on her flat stomach. He felt himself heat up at the sight of her. He turned away quickly before anything else started to rise. Jake held onto the rigging by the bow, took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He was so confused yesterday and he knew that she was confused by him. He could see it in her eyes, felt it in the way her body tensed beside him. Today he felt no confusion, the fears of last night subsiding. There was nothing here to harm them now and he began to wonder if it were merely his own death on this island that had given him the heebie jeebies. He shot back to consciousness quickly. Where had that word come from? And what the hell did it mean? Heebie jeebies? More and more words had flooded his brain of late. In the beginning he hadn't known what Brent was talking about half the time, but now he began to understand what some of his words meant and he was beginning to understand what this meant. Alex was coming back. He would have to hurry. Celeste must have the ring before Alex returns and he doesn't remember anymore. Before lunch would be best. They would be eating on the beach today and he could take her to his secret spot while they were setting up.

He heard a splash and looked over to see Bill and Patrice swimming towards the beach.

"Come on Jake, let's go!" Brent called out.

He turned to see Brent standing beside Sam at the stern. He smiled and waved.

"You go ahead, I'll catch up wi' ye."

"Okay."

Jake stood and watched as Brent and Sam climbed down the ladder and followed the others to the beach. There were only a few of them left on board now and Howie came towards him with an odd piece of material in his hands which he now handed to Jake.

"Wha's that, then?" as he took the cloth and held it up by the elastic and as it unravelled it was obviously underwear? Shorts? He wasn't really sure.

"It's your bathing suit. I thought you might want to put it on to go swimming." Howie's face was hard for Jake to read. He looked serious but surely he did not mean for Jake to wear this ridiculous item. It was orange and blue with white stripes and must be have been made for a much fatter man than he.

Jake looked down at Howie's own bathing suit. It looked almost the same, but fortunately it was of a solid colour, red, and was not as oversized as this one.

"Eh, no, I'll no be usin' this the day." And he dropped it over the side of the ship.

Howie merely looked over the rail at the suit now floating on the ocean and turned to Jake. "Okay, then." His face tightened and he tried hard not to laugh and Jake could see the laughter about to erupt. Jake started to laugh first and then Howie's laughter burst through.

"I never did like that suit anyway. Bout time you got rid of it."

"Aye, some friend you are, lettin' me wear somethin' like tha'."

Howie laughed harder, "Oh, excuse me, but you really think anyone can talk you out of anything once you get your mind set on it?"

"Aye? Well, I see I havna' changed too much o'er the years."

Howie's laughter subsided quickly and his eyes turned downward.

Jake sensed what was wrong. Howie missed Alex. Perhaps he should spend some time with this man. If Alex thought of him as a friend then he should, too.

Jake slapped Howie on the shoulder. "Whaddya say we go for a swim, Howie?"

"Really? Yeah..." before he had a chance to finish his sentence Jake had his shoes and shirt off and had jumped off the bow, one hand on his sword, in a cannonball to the water. "Hey, wait for me. He flipped off his shoes and called out, "hey, Celeste, can you put our stuff in the boat?" before doing his own cannonball into the ocean.

Celeste looked over and sneered.

"Looks like you brought out the big guns for nothin', huh Sis?" Sandra opened the small reefer in the parlour and took out a bottle of water.

"Shut up," she chided.

"Now, correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that your sun tanning bathing suit. The one you only wear when there's no one around to see you in it cause it's too slutty?" She opened the water and smugly took a drink.

"Bite me." Celeste went to retrieve the clothing that Howie and Alex had dropped and put them in the launch with the rest of the shoes and towels to go over to the beach.

"You know, if you want to get his attention just go swimming with them." Sandra sat on the sofa in the lounge and Celeste retrieved her own bottle of water from the fridge and sat beside her.

"Aren't you supposed to be working?" Celeste took a drink and stared, dejected, at the bottle in her hand.

"I'm taking a baby break. Alonzo's gonna get the rest," she patted her stomach.

"Feel anything yet?" Celeste put her hand on Sandra's belly.

"Nope, not till about seventeen weeks the doctor said. Still got a ways to go."

Celeste could feel the tears welling up inside of her but she couldn't let Sandra see her cry. What was she going to do without them? She rubbed both of her eyes and let out a deep sigh.

"It's going to be okay, Lester," she paused and Celeste smiled at her use of the name Lester, "you're in love with him, aren't you?"

Celeste puffed out a small laugh "Which one?"

"Both of them, I think. And does it really matter, when you get right down to it he's the same guy, just with two different names. I don't think it's the personality you like; I think it's the person. You've been smitten ever since Alex stepped on board. Admit it."

Celeste curled up one side of her mouth. It was true. She'd felt something for Alex the second that she'd met him. A smile now replaced the sadness. She stood up and handed Sandra her water bottle.

"Where you goin'? she asked

"Swimming."

CHAPTER 30

Celeste shimmied out of her shorts and threw them in the launch with her shoes and towel. She climbed down the ladder at the stern. Any diving or jumping in this bathing suit and there would be absolutely nothing left to the imagination. It would all be right out there for everyone to see. She was quite glad now that she hadn't opted for the thong; after all, there were impressionable young minds around. She slid into the water, it was cool and the small waves that bounced off _The Breeze_ splashed her lips with the salty taste of the ocean. Common practice made her dive under and check for barnacles on the hull, just a few. She broke the surface and almost called to Sandra to throw her the scraper before she remembered the real purpose of her swim. She looked around and saw Jake and Howie almost half way to the beach. They were throwing something orange at each other and laughing. She almost hated to interrupt them, but she only had a couple of days left with Jake/Alex and Howie would have him forever after they left. She swam towards them and already she could feel the top of her suit beginning to slip down, so much for the front stroke. The breaststroke and side-stroke weren't much better. She neared the pair and decided that the backstroke would probably show off her best assets anyway and promptly rolled over. She knew it was working when the horseplay between Howie and Jake stopped abruptly as she went by. She kept her head back and watched the sky, a pitiful attempt to be coy but then, she had never been very good at this game. A few seconds later Jake grabbed her foot and simultaneously pulled himself to her and she to him. The water was shallow enough so that they could stand up and he pulled her closer.

Celeste felt his hands on the back of her bathing suit. He ran his fingers around the strap and the back of his hands skimmed against the sides of her breasts. She felt his knuckles on her nipples and a shiver ran down her spine before she realised that he was pulling her bathing suit top up, not down.

"I think ye got Howie's attention, too."

"Oh, my God," she threw her arms over her chest and ducked down till the water reached her nose, her face a bright red. She poked her head up to allow speech, "Did everybody see?" she groaned, "oh my God, I'm so embarrassed," she tried to turn away but Jake turned her back and hugged her tight.

"Don't you worry, we were the only ones; the others all had their heads in the water watching the fish."

"I never should have worn this stupid thing," she buried her head into his chest.

"A'm glad ye did." He lifted her face to his and kissed her.

Celeste threw her arms around him and they sank down till only their heads were above water.

Celeste heard the launch approaching and Sandra's voice yelling out, "Hey, you two, get a room!" leaving a trail of laughter to the beach.

The kiss stopped abruptly, and Jake laughed as well.

"It's no the right place anyhow, and I've got te get ma sword out o' the salt."

He waded to the beach and when he was waist deep he turned to her and extended his right hand for her to join him.

"Come on, A've somethin' te show ye."

Celeste felt a little better and waded towards him, her arms firmly around her bathing suit top. Jake grinned widely and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they exited the water. Once on shore he immediately left her and went to the launch to retrieve one of the towels and began drying off his sword.

Alonzo had already gathered wood for the bonfire and was now helping Sandra unload the launch. He walked past her with four folding chairs.

"Nice tits," he spoke loudly and kept on walking.

Celeste groaned and hung her head.

Sandra came up behind her with an armful of towels and clothing from the launch and threw a t-shirt at her.

"He's right, those puppies really float, what are you now a 'D' cup?" she, too, continued on without breaking her stride, her smile wide.

Celeste screwed up her face in annoyance and put on the t-shirt. She looked for Howie; he was back in the water with his own snorkelling gear now. At least I can save that awkward moment for later, she thought. She turned back to her sister,

"Sandra, did you...HEY!" she was hit square in the face by her black one-piece swimsuit as Sandra passed. Celeste caught it in her hand as it rebounded off her face, placed both fists on her hips and turned to glare at Sandra when her vision was completely obscured by the towel Sandra had thrown over her head. "You're not funny!" she yelled through the towel and stood for a moment listening to Sandra's laughter. Celeste pulled off the towel and ran her hand through her hair to push it back from her eyes. She smiled and shook her head. Sisters, do they ever grow up? It seemed that everyone was busy doing something, now seemed like as good a time as any to change. She spotted what looked like it could have been a path at one time a few yards down and made her way. The sand was hot and her feet were starting to burn when she heard a soft thud behind her.

"Missed!" Sandra yelled.

Celeste picked up her sandals and wiped off as much sand as she could before slipping them on. She tromped over to the edge of the jungle and carefully moved the large leaves aside. It was quite dense in here, she wouldn't have to go far to be out of sight. It wasn't too difficult to see, there was more than enough light filtering through the trees and many areas were quite well lit. It was cooler in here, as well. She shuffled about ten yards in before the ground was walkable. To the left about twenty more yards in she spotted a boulder almost seven feet high behind a curtain of creeper vines. There was an empty area just in front of it where she would be able to change without something poking her in areas that didn't need to be poked.

Celeste moved a couple of the vines to get a good look at the boulder. There were boulders much bigger than this on the other islands and wondered if perhaps these smaller ones just managed to travel further, or if there was an underwater volcano nearby that had spewed this one out. If there was one, there was more, probably what this island was made of. She ran her hand over its surface, it was rough, smooth, and part of it had been sheared off. Hmm. She slapped the boulder and decided that she'd best get changed. She listened intently to see if anyone had followed her in here. One show a day was all they were gonna get. It was quiet, safe to change. She pulled off her t-shirt and found that the simple act of putting her hands over her head had caused her boobs to pop out of her suit like a couple of beach balls popping up out of the water.

"Stupid thing," she unhooked the strap and peeled it off along with the bottoms in one sweeping motion and stood there feeling completely exposed. She threw the suit on the ground and picked up her one-piece trying to put it on as quickly as possible.

"CELESTE!" she heard Jake calling her. The rustle of the leaves as they were hacked away was getting closer. Should she call him to let him know she was okay and to stay back, or just hurry and put on the suit? Something inside her told her to leave the suit off and let him find her this way, but her brain told her this was the wrong place and time. And what if he didn't want to? She'd been exposed in the water and he hadn't done anything but dress her. The sounds from the jungle had stopped and she listened again, holding the suit against her, but covering nothing. Excitement flowed through her and she knew that he must be watching her. She called out his name, quietly, "Jake?" There was no answer. She stepped into her suit and put the t-shirt back on. Gathering up the rest of her clothing she managed to find her way back to the beach. It was much easier now that a wide swath had been cut from the beach to within three feet of the small clearing in which she had been changing. She felt dirty. Jake had seen her changing and he had done the honourable thing and not intruded. He had been nothing but gentlemanly this whole time and she had wanted nothing but to throw herself at him.

"He must think I'm a slut. What the hell is wrong with me?" she cried softly into Sandra's shoulder.

"Oh, it'll be alright, I'm sure he doesn't think you're a slut. You're just horny, that's all," Sandra hugged her tightly and snickered.

"Thanks a lot," she rubbed her eyes and sniffed.

"You know, I was starting to worry about you."

"Why? Cause I'm sitting here crying like an idiot?"

"No, because this is the first guy I have ever seen you this crazy about. I was starting to wonder if you even liked men."

Celeste clucked her tongue and glared at her.

"You know what I mean,"

Another tear slid down her cheek and she brushed it away. "Well, that's enough of that."

"Do you want to go back to the beach?"

"Where's Jake?"

"He's with Howie; they went back to the ship for something."

"Okay, do my eyes look red?" Celeste wiped her face for inspection.

"No, you look fine. It was only a trickle."

Celeste laughed, "hah, that's what Mom always says."

"I'm practising."

"Thanks," she gave Sandra a big hug and they walked hand in hand back to the beach where Alonzo had the fire going.

There were more people on the beach now, Melissa and Dianna had spread their towels and were now sunbathing upwind of the fire. The Dempseys and Millers were camped out with their chairs and drinks in the water about ten feet from the shoreline. They were laughing and watching Jake, Howie and Sam playing water volleyball. The ball, however, was Brent and he looked to be having the time of his life. Each of them would take turns heaving him out of the water and he would dive in and swim to his next launch pad.

"I thought you said Jake and Howie went back to the ship?"

"They did. They took the launch, though, so they must have been quick."

"You guys need any help? Where's Peter?"

"Right behind you, darlin', whaddya need?"

Celeste turned quickly. "Just wondered where you were, that's all," she put her arm around his shoulder and he put one arm around her waist.

"I was checking out the jungle. Thought I heard something rustlin' over there," he pointed to the far right side of the beach. "Just birds, though. Saw a huge Macaw, beautiful bright blue with some red on the tips of his wings, just gorgeous. Say, you two need any help with lunch?"

Sandra handed them each a bottle of water, "Nah, I think we're good," she turned her head "Lonz, we don't need any help, do we?"

"Nothin' left to do, go sit by the water; I won't be starting lunch for another half hour yet. As for me, I plan on joining the volleyball game out there." He peeled off his shirt and ran down to the water.

"Just look at him go. He's still just a big kid, you know?" Sandra mused.

Celeste just laughed and took one of the chairs that sat around the fire. I'm going down to the water, anyone care to join me?

"No, I'm gonna sit there." He pointed to the far left end of the beach and moved one of the chairs into its shade.

"Yeah, I think I'll join you." Sandra followed him with her own chair.

Celeste watched them and took her own chair down to the water to watch the boys play. She plunked herself down right between Jenny and Patrice. It appeared now that the new game was how high they could throw Brent, who was now doing cannonballs instead of diving.

"It's so nice to see him having fun." Patrice started.

"Yeah, I thought he was gonna be like Michael for a while there," Jenny continued.

"Who's Michael?" Patrice asked.

"He's our oldest." John replied.

"Yeah, as soon as he hit puberty there was no living with him. Just miserable and moody all the time." Jenny added.

"How old is he now?" Patrice inquired.

"He's twenty-four, married and got a new baby girl, Catherine."

"Oh, congratulations, I didn't think you were a grandma," Patrice gushed.

"Yup, but I didn't bring any pictures with me, so you're all safe."

They all shared a laugh and the chit chat continued until Alonzo returned and started lunch.

The men, including Brent, were absolutely starving when they finally got out of the water and were hovering around Alonzo who finally gave them a couple of baskets of burgers to cook for themselves. Brent was noticeably excited that today's menu consisted of hamburgers, hot dogs and potato salad. He ate the lobsters and the crabs, but only because Jake had. He wolfed down three burgers, a hot dog and a whole plateful of potato salad before finally calling it quits. The rest of the group also overate and everyone was just trying to find a nice spot in some shade to sit and digest. Alonzo had brought over a couple of beach umbrellas and set them up. The shady sections of the beach were now fairly non-existent. It was one o'clock and the sun was high overhead.

Jake had been the one avoiding Celeste, now it was her turn to avoid him. She was ashamed and embarrassed by her thoughts in the jungle. Jake had sat with her for lunch, even tried to talk to her but she just couldn't get any words to leave her lips. A million were bursting to get out but she kept them at bay with mouthfuls of food to stifle their progress. Never had she eaten so much so quickly.

She stared at Howie, Melissa and Dianna. Howie was putting sunscreen on the girls, but he spent longer rubbing it on Melissa and when it was Howie's turn, it was Melissa who did the applying. Is this what Jake did? Watched everyone to see what was going on in their lives. She wondered if you could really learn about people just by watching. She had always thought you had to talk with someone to get to know them, but perhaps that way you only got to know the person they wanted you to know. Hmm, it was a puzzler. She looked over at Jake; he had been pretty quiet except for that one night on the first island. She'd been watching him, but she was still no closer to an answer about him. Maybe she should try honing her skills on others.

Let's see, she thought, there's the Dempseys. They look pretty happy, course it's hard to tell since they're both asleep. John was laying on his back, snoring quietly while Jenny was on her stomach, face towards him and away from Celeste. Okay, next couple, Bill and Patrice. Bill was sitting in the water at the edge and Patrice was in a chair on the sand about ten feet behind him. She appeared to be lost in thought. No, wait, sad, yes, she looked sad. Just when she thought they were getting along better. She looked over to Sam. He and Brent were down at the water looking for shells. They seemed to be getting along better, but she noticed Brent on more than one occasion looking at Jake. As though he were silently calling him to come and rescue him. Brent had gotten awfully fond of Jake awfully fast. That really had to hurt Sam, but he never showed it. He just kept on trying to get Brent to do things with him. Celeste scanned the skies looking for pelican. It had been three days now since she had seen her. She hoped Pelican would be there waiting at the dock for her when they returned. She looked over at Alonzo and Sandra. They were sitting by a tree in the shade and Sandra had her head on Alonzo's shoulder. He had his arm around her, his head resting on hers. His eyes were closed now, but a second ago she could have sworn they were open, watching her. Maybe his head was just at the right angle, or was it? No, it wouldn't be comfortable to sleep in that position. He had been watching her, or more likely he had been watching Jake. Still protective. She smiled and looked to Peter; he was probably watching them, too. He was over by another shady spot at the far end of the beach. She watched him pull something out of his pocket. It was a distance away but her eyesight was excellent. It was a small bottle of pills. He took one out, or two, course it could have been three, and popped them in his mouth followed by some water. She'd never seen him take pills before. Was this new? How long had he been doing it for? What were they for? He put the pills back in his pocket. She watched him rubbing his hands together. That was nothing new; she'd seen him do that a lot, but never for this long. He looked like he was trying to rub the life back into them. She'd always thought he was just trying to warm them up after the cool night air, but perhaps there was something more to it than that. Concern filled her, the rope the other day, was there a problem with his hands? He looked up and Celeste looked away quickly. She didn't like this game. She felt like she was intruding on private moments; she felt dirty. That was twice today that she'd felt that way. She returned her gaze to the skies. She saw a couple of large birds in the east, definitely looked like pelicans, but if one was her Pelican she would come to the ship. She watched for quite a while before they flew past the tree line and out of sight.

The last hour had been quiet, most everyone was either resting or out and out snoring. Even Jake had closed his eyes for a while. This was stupid. Why couldn't she just be honest with him? He sat beside her now, watching the others. He was always watching...taking stock? She tried to take his plate for him and noticed he was rubbing his chest with his right hand. She'd seen him do that before, yesterday just before they arrived at the island. Her mind quickly jumped to his original symptoms. Maybe it wasn't simple panic; he could truly have a heart problem. Many people had been misdiagnosed before. Worry now replaced all embarrassment.

"Jake?" she gently placed her hand on his shoulder, "are you all right?"

"Aye," was the only response.

"Does your chest hurt?" she tried again.

He stopped rubbing it. "No." He stood and took his plate back to Alonzo and continued on over to the launch.

Confused, Celeste followed with her own plate and placed it in the cooler for the trip back to the ship. She watched Jake as he pulled something out of the launch. It looked like a book.

"AYE, EVERYBODY, UP, A'VE A TREAT FER YE ALL!"

Some stirred, and Brent ran up as fast as he could. It took a couple more yells at the top of his lungs before everyone was awake and together. Jake stood in front like a teacher with a group of students. Book in hand, which Celeste now recognised as one of Peter's notebooks he used as a journal. He had stacks of them to record their journeys.

When he had everyone's attention, he began,

"Ma young friend Brent here has informed me that Pirates leave Pirate Maps to find their treasure." He motioned for Brent to come forward, which he did eagerly. "Now, I never left a map cause I always knew where I buried things. It's only the stupid pirates canna remember things. Now mostly, the items I've taken o'er the years were food and supplies for ma crew and ship, and although there's no much o' anything here on THIS island, there are a few wee things. SO, in keepin' wi' the tradition, so te speak, I've made a few maps o' the island and ye've each got a different spot te find yer own treasure."

There were a lot of gasps and squeals from the group, including Sandra. Celeste was dumbfounded. Each time she thought he was just a man he showed his pirate side, and the whole problem of him being two people would resurface and send her into a state of doubt and apprehension.

Jake called out the names and gave each set of passengers their own map to a different part of the island. He told them that everything was easily dug out as long as they had a good sharp stick to do it with. Howie and Peter would be a team, since he had other plans for Celeste.

"These maps are incredible, Jake. How did you make them all so fast?" Howie asked.

"A've bin o'er this island a hundred times, I know it like I knew _The_ _Avenger_." Now off ye all go and find yer treasure." He waived them all off. They all took a few moments to look at their maps and then slowly they headed in different directions.

"What about me, don't I get a map?" Celeste stood in front of him coyly, arms locked behind her back.

"No, ye've no need o' a map when ye've got me wi' ye." All the passengers were now studying their maps, ready to embark on their treasure hunt. Jake slid his arm around Celeste's waist and pulled her close, his lips only inches from hers. Her hair smelled of the sea and her skin was soft against his arms. He could feel his flesh prickle at her touch.

"I had te get rid o' them somehow. I didna need anyone follyin' us, and I like te know where they're aw gunna be."

Celeste felt a blush as Jake took her by the hand and led her into the jungle.

CHAPTER 31

THWAAAP! Sam took another tree branch to the face. His left cheek was warm to the touch and he knew it must be quite red by now. Brent wasn't doing this on purpose, he thought, he was just enthusiastic about the treasure hunt. He was growing up, finding his way, that was all it was. But there was another part of Sam that was trying to tell him otherwise. He didn't want to listen to that voice. That voice would cause arguments and Sam preferred to avoid confrontation. THWAAAP! Another branch, this time in the stomach.

"Brent, could you please not let those branches go so hard." He was surprised at his tone. It had come out a little harsher than he had planned and Brent just grunted out a 'yeah'.

Sam took a deep breath and decided to let it go. It wasn't worth fighting about. He had never yelled at Brent before and he wouldn't start now. He hadn't even yelled at Libby during any of her scream fests. Brent stopped abruptly and Sam almost ran into him.

"Are we lost?" he asked.

"NO! I know where I'm going. I just need to check something." Brent stared down at the map.

Sam tried to look at the map with him, but Brent moved it away. He stepped back. Independent, he thought, but deep down he knew it wasn't independence that made him act that way. He was frustrated with the map and wouldn't ask for help. He wanted so much to be like Jake, to be able to read the map like Jake. Sam decided that he would have to approach it in a different way.

"I'll bet it took Jake a few years before he was able to make maps like that."

Brent stopped. "Why?" he asked exasperated.

"Well, maps are difficult things if you haven't been taught how to read them."

"You know how to read them?" he asked.

"Yup, I took a course in college. We used to go out into the woods with only a map and had to find our way to different points. We'd get a different coloured flag at each point."

Brent grunted again and started off in another direction and Sam followed. Brent had been lost since they left the group and they had passed this patch of trees already. Everyone's map had been the same, but with different directions written neatly in script underneath. Jake was a fine mapmaker, but then a pirate captain should be, shouldn't he? Everyone's first direction was to meet at 'the big rock'. It was quite a few yards in from the beach, and Jake had apparently sliced a path for them to get to it easily. After that, the jungle took over and it was hard going. There were a million tree roots to trip over, as well as the coconuts, palm fronds and tree branches that littered their path. Their map, when he had that first split second to look at it before Brent grabbed it, had told them to go to the big rock and find the sharp side of it. They found the sharp side on the back and they were then instructed to follow it like an arrow until they came to another smaller rock that looked like a sea turtle.

Brent was looking quite frustrated. Sam tried again. "May I see the map?"

Brent just let out a huff of disgust and handed it to Sam. He studied the map for a few minutes before figuring out their location.

"Look, here," he began "you see there's a bunch of round squiggly circles right there?"

Brent was leaning against a tree, his arms crossed in front of him. He turned his head and glanced grudgingly at the map. "Yeah," his response wasn't as cold as Sam had expected.

"That means there's a hill, like that one over there," he pointed to the right.

"Doesn't look like a hill to me," he argued weakly.

Brent was quite right; the hill in question more resembled a mound about four feet high with an uneven circumference of about twenty feet. Still, in this landscape it stood out. Small trees were growing at precarious angles on this hill and Sam couldn't help but wonder if they toppled over whether their roots would uncover any bodies. The entire hill looked like a giant burial mound.

"Well, no, not a hill like back home; but this isn't a very big island, and that, my boy, is a hill. I thought they would have taught you how to read a map in geography?" he tried to tease, but Brent stood stone-faced. "Well, anyway, we have to go to the right of that and we'll find our turtle. He handed the map back to Brent who took it cautiously and started for the 'hill'.

It was about thirty yards away and the going wasn't too tough; mostly ground obstacles and not too many branches to be hit with. Brent was mute again. Sam decided he may as well stick with the topic of the year, "So, why doesn't Jake's map say to take six paces due east from the big tree, and start digging? It seems that would be a lot easier than looking for mounds and rocks."

Brent stopped and turned to Sam. "Jake says that trees aren't good for markers, you need something that's gonna be around for a long time, and trees can grow, or get torn up by hurricanes."

"So, did he tell you what kinds of things he buries on these islands? Any treasure?" Sam laughed.

"No, he wouldn't tell me where his treasure is. Pirates don't tell anybody where their treasure is."

Now it was Sam's turn to be quiet, unsure what to say or how to say it.

They arrived at the hill and circled it searching for their turtle.

"I don't see any rocks, even turtle shaped ones," Brent began, his voice a mixture of disappointment and frustration.

"Well, let's look around, we may find it. It's supposed to be very close to here." Sam started off to the left and Brent went right. "Does the map say how big this turtle is supposed to be?" Doubt was plaguing him. Sure everybody believed that Jake believed who he said he was, but there was always that niggling voice that told him Alex was just bonkers. However, he knew where this island was and there was no way he could have explored all of it last night and made these maps so quickly.

"There's nothing here!" Brent called over.

Sam joined him back at the mound and they sat down. Sam took off his glasses and cleaned them with his t-shirt before wiping his face with it. He replaced his glasses and looked around. It seemed to be nothing but vines and palm trees in this area.

"Well, it was almost three hundred years ago, maybe things have moved since then?" Sam offered.

"Yeah, maybe," Brent replied softly. "Maybe it's behind that other hill over there?" He pointed to the mound about ten feet to the left.

"Where? Oh, yeah, well, that, I do believe, IS a mound," he chuckled. Brent was already on his way and Sam followed.

The heat was starting to take its toll on him, even in the shade. There was virtually no breeze in here and the extra weight he was carrying around his middle had him sweating profusely. He used the bottom of his t-shirt again to wipe his eyes and sat down on the vine-covered mound to rest. His bottom, ready for a nice soft sit, instead hit rock. He slapped the mound with his hand and confirmed that this was, indeed, a rock.

"Hey, Brent, come here." He couldn't believe his own excitement.

"What? Did you find something?"

"I don't know, but I think this might be our rock?" He was now standing beside the rock and gently bent over to pull away the vines and moss that covered it. Brent joined in, pulling vigorously at the greenery. About fifteen minutes later they had at last uncovered a large rock that indeed resembled the shell of a giant turtle. Carved on its back were inch deep grooves now filled with dirt, almost like a checkerboard pattern, that one could easily assume were meant to be the markings of a turtle. Sam was completely convinced about Jake now. Even if he had been able to scour the island without anyone knowing about it there was no way he could have placed these vines on this rock. The vines had been completely tangled and had obviously grown here over a long period of time.

"Give me the map." Sam thrust his hand out to Brent, who obligingly gave over the map. He read the bottom _dig under the tail._ "Go get a couple of sticks" he ordered Brent who, for once, didn't argue and quickly ran off to find something to dig with. He returned quite quickly with a large branch and broke it in half using his foot.

"Here." He handed Sam one of the sticks and they both looked at the rock. "which part do you think the tail's supposed to be?" he asked.

Sam wasn't too sure himself. "I tell you what, you dig on that end and I'll dig on this end."

"Okay," Brent dropped to his knees and plunged the sharper end of the stick into the dirt.

Sam did the same at the other end; the dirt was soft and came away easily with the stick.

"Whaddya think it'll be?" Brent asked excitedly.

Sam shook his head. "I really have no idea, son," he kept digging.

"I FOUND SOMETHING, LOOK, LOOK!" Brent started digging with his hands and Sam came over to help.

"What is it?" Sam asked, "can you tell, yet?"

"NO, but it's big. Help me dig, you take that side"

Sam was now digging out the right side of the tail and Brent the left. The item in question was about eight inches under the surface and quite long. Sam had an idea what it would be, but he would let Brent discover that on his own.

When the dirt had been displaced Brent removed a large rectangular wooden box from its grave. It was still in good shape considering it had been buried for over two hundred years. There was no lock and it opened with little effort. Inside there was something wrapped tightly in sailcloth for protection. Sam recognised the shape immediately and apparently, so did Brent. He began to carefully unwrap two cutlasses, just like Jake's. Brent took out the first cutlass and eased it out of its leather scabbard. The blade was in fair condition as was the basket. Sam took the second cutlass from the box. The blade was in the same shape as the first, but the basket had seen better days. It was quite dented and there was a chunk missing from the area covering the pinky finger. Sam could imagine the amount of force it would have taken to shatter it. He held it in the small stream of light that split through the trees. This blade had seen a lot of battles and a lot of blood. He placed it back into its scabbard.

SWOOSH! Brent's blade had sliced through the air and lopped off a large leaf from one of the larger shrubs nearby.

"Be careful with that, it's sharp." He knew Brent hadn't heard him. Sam smiled at Brent's enthusiasm with a blade. Finally, something he could teach him. Sam had been an excellent fencer in college, of course that was about forty pounds ago, but he could still wield a blade. He pulled out his own cutlass from its scabbard and held it in front of him.

"Brent, let me show..."

"Come on Dad, I wanna get Jake to show me how to use it," Brent interrupted and hastened back to the beach, slicing the foliage on his way.

Sam stayed put, only managing to stare after Brent. He tried to quell the hurt, telling himself that it wasn't Jake's fault. He knew it was his own for letting things get this far. Brent needed a Father, someone to discipline him, show him how to tow the line as well as love him. He had seen Jake command the boy with only a look. That's what Sam wanted, his son to listen to him, respect him, love him.

"Come on, Dad!" Brent called.

Sam sighed; at least he wouldn't be getting any more branches in the face. He followed Brent back to the beach.

CHAPTER 32

The four of them trudged through the underbrush in single file with Howie leading the way, then Melissa and Dianna. Peter insisted on being the rear guard, just in case, but the true reason was that his arthritis was acting up today. His hands were quite sore today and although he hadn't had a lot to do, the toting of food coolers and lifting of chairs had taken its toll on him and it wasn't just his hands anymore. He could feel it beginning in his knees and ankles. Long walks, such as this one, were more difficult than they had been even a few months ago. Howie had shown him the map and their 'so called' treasure was at the very west end of the island. Melissa and Dianna would be going the same way, but their stop was a bit closer. It was hot today and already a sweat had started to form on his brow and the back of his neck. Dianna was very accommodating, she held the plants back for him and pointed out every root, rock and dip in the landscape. She was treating him like an old man and today, he didn't mind. In all these years he had never felt old, never asked for help in doing anything, but lately...

"Oh!" Dianna jumped back.

"What's the matter?" Peter asked.

"Ah, just another one of those stupid brown lizards. They keep scurrying under the leaves and I'm never ready for them." She laughed, "You might want to walk a couple more steps back in case I jump on you."

"Well, in that case, maybe I should walk closer."

Dianna giggled at this and pretended to fall backwards, stopping herself before she would have landed on Peter. He put his hands up and pushed her forward. His hands had started to curl in on him and although he did his stretching exercises daily as the doctor had shown him they were just not ready for such a quick and sustained stretch backwards, but he didn't flinch. He'd been working through the pain for a few months now and managing to keep it to himself pretty well, but soon, very soon, he wouldn't be able to prevent himself from yelling out. Peter kept his hands to his sides, hoping the pain would subside on its own. The aching increased and he could feel the heat in his joints now. Dianna had turned back to the others and Peter took a few deep breaths, trying to breathe through the pain and telling himself that it would ease up soon. He had his pills with him but he'd forgotten to bring some water. Maybe he could talk Howie into doing all the digging?

"How much further, How?" Dianna called out.

Howie stopped quickly and Melissa walked right into him.

"Hey, signal your stops, bud. That's like the fifth time you've done that. If I didn't know better I'd say you were doing that on purpose," she laughed.

"Sorry, I was just gonna check the map and I can't walk over all this stuff and read at the same time." Howie turned back to the map, a smile on his face. Of course he'd been stopping like that on purpose, and each time Melissa had walked into him he had felt her warmth against him, felt her breasts against his back, and each time she would put her arms around his waist to keep her balance. It must be a hundred degrees in this jungle, he thought, but he wanted to feel her warmth...maybe crazy was catching.

"Okay, Mel, Di, I think this is where we part company," Howie gave the map back to Melissa. Her hand grazed his and for a moment they merely stared into each other's eyes and Howie could see the sparkle in her light blue eyes, even in this dark overgrowth. Had they always sparkled like that? Neither she nor Dianna had bothered with make-up after the first time they had been doused by the ocean spray; and Howie thought that she had never been more beautiful.

"Come on, Mel, I think we're going this way." Dianna took Melissa by the arm and brushed by Howie. They went left, whereas Howie and Peter took a right.

"Di, wait up," Melissa stumbled over the tree roots as she tried to keep up to her. Something was wrong and Melissa thought she probably knew what it was, but Dianna would have to tell her. Damn, she'd tried so hard not to like Howie, it had just happened. When they started the cruise they had decided, jokingly, that Dianna could have Howie and she would get Alex...no tradesies. She was keeping the bargain, she hadn't gone after Howie; they had only talked a few times on deck.

"Di, wait." Melissa grabbed Dianna by the arm and turned her around.

"Let go!" Dianna yanked her arm back from Melissa's grip and continued on.

"Dianna, STOP!" Melissa stood still and Dianna did as she was ordered.

"Tell me what's wrong, Di."

"You know what's wrong," her voice was quiet and angry.

"Look, I didn't..."

Dianna turned quickly, "I don't want to hear any excuses. I told you I liked him and you're trying to get him for yourself."

"No, I'm not..."

"Don't lie to me, I saw you two, holding hands on deck, the way you keep looking at him, bumping into him, so don't tell me you're not doing anything." Dianna slumped down onto a fallen tree and wiped the tears from her cheek.

Melissa sat beside her and put her arm around Dianna's shoulder. "Dianna, the last thing I would ever do is try to take your boyfriend."

Dianna sniffed loudly, "I know," she wiped her cheek again, "he's not my boyfriend anyway. All he would have been on this trip was someone fun to hang out with, maybe a little fling to make me feel better," she smiled sadly at Melissa.

"I'm sorry,"

"It's not your fault, I mean, who wouldn't rather have you than me? You're beautiful, blond, thin, fun...the list goes on, and then there's me...fat, ugly and I have stupid hair." She sniffed again loudly and wiped her nose on the sleeve of her shirt.

"DIANNA MARIE CLARK, how DARE you say that about my best friend!" Melissa stood up, her hands on her hips.

"Oh, shut up, you know I'm right."

"I do NOT know that, what I do know is that you are beautiful, smart, funny and voluptuous. I would kill to have your body."

"Oh, sure, gain twenty pounds and you'll have it," she sounded so dispirited.

"Yeah, I'll have it on my hips and ass. Believe me, that's where ALL my extra weight goes. Not one ounce of it goes to my boobs, it's not fair." She tried to lighten up the mood. Dianna obviously wasn't upset about Howie; it was her fragile self-esteem that was hurting. Dianna's only problem with men was that she was too nice, she let them walk all over her and they took advantage of her big time. They'd show up for dates with her when they felt like it, and she forgave them their stupid excuses.

Dianna smiled and her tears had subsided, for now. "Thanks, I know you wouldn't try to steal anyone from me, and if you want Howie, take him. He's obviously not interested in me."

"No, you're my friend for life and he's only here for another couple of days. I choose you."

Dianna laughed and her smile was genuine this time, "Thanks, well, let's check out this map and see where we're going."

"Okay, let's see," Melissa sat beside Dianna on the log and tried to get her bearings.

"Ooh, look, there's a big rock on this map and that must be it over there," Dianna pointed to the tree straight ahead.

"That's a tree, sweetie."

Dianna shook her head and sighed. "No, behind it, through all the vines and bushes and huge leaves, you can just see the grey of the rock." She pointed again.

"Where, I don't see anything," she squinted and stood up to get a closer look.

Dianna stood and took Melissa by the arm, "come on", and led her in the direction of the rock.

"Oh, yeah, I see it now. Wow, you've got good eyes." The rock was visible to her now, but it was draped in creeper vines and very well camouflaged behind the palms and banana trees.

"Blessed with perfect vision, thank you very much."

"That's not perfect, that's x-ray, baby."

They pulled some of the vines away from the rock; it was immense, almost as big as the first rock they had gathered at.

"What's the map say?"

"Let's see, we have to find a marking on it that looks like a...well, kind of like a lightning bolt and that should point us to where we have to dig."

Together they scoured the rock until finally locating the mark on the back near the middle. It wasn't easy to find, some of the vines were tangled and difficult to move aside.

"Okay, so now what?" Melissa asked.

"We follow the end of the lightning bolt to the treasure." She smiled, and then the smile faded. She had thought that the mark would point directly down to the treasure buried underneath it, after all it did say to 'dig under the rock', but it pointed away from the stone and through some more shrubs.

"Great, how the hell are we supposed to find it in that?" Dianna sat down, exasperated. It pointed directly to some very thick scrub brush.

Melissa looked at the mark again, and started to look around for something. "I have an idea."

"What?" Dianna stood and helped search, although she had no idea what for.

"We need a really long stick."

"Why?"

"We'll put one end against the mark and trail it to the other end so we know exactly where to look."

"Oh, I get, it?" Dianna looked around, "but where are we gonna find a stick that long?"

"Beats me," Melissa wiped the sweat from her brow with both hands and retied her ponytail.

"I have an idea," Dianna started to pull the vines from the rock.

"I get it, great idea, see I told you you were smart."

They pulled down as many vines as they could and tied them together, enough to make a very long line to find their goal some twenty feet away. The end of the line was another rock, much smaller and completely covered in dirt and vines.

"Oh, well, here goes the manicure." Melissa started to remove the vines and other foliage while Dianna searched for something to dig with. She came back with some broken pieces of coconut shell she advised would make excellent scoops. Together they lifted the rock, which was no small feat. Though smaller in size, it still had to have weighed at least fifty pounds and both women jumped back at all the beetles and giant centipedes crawling underneath. Dianna grabbed the nearest palm frond and swept them away.

"That was gross, thanks."

"No problem, they're only bugs." Dianna threw the leaf away and started digging.

"What do you thinks buried here?" Melissa was impressed; Dianna's idea of the shells was working fabulously. The ground was soft and already they were about eight inches down.

"I don't know, Jake said he didn't bury treasure here, so maybe it's a sword like the one he got on the other island?"

"Yeah, but just think, if it were jewels, emeralds, rubies, diamonds..."she held up her left hand and wiggled her dirt encrusted fingers.

"Yeah, let's not get ahead of ourselves here, it's probably nothing much."

"You're right, but it's more fun to dig thinking that it's something expensive," they laughed and Melissa felt that Dianna was starting to feel a bit better. At least her mind was on something else now.

"Did you really mean what you said back there?"

"Yes, I did. You are smart and funny and worthy of someone extraordinary."

"I notice you didn't mention anything about my hair?" Dianna ventured.

Melissa didn't look up, instead she kept digging, "Don't push it." Both women started to giggle.

"Oh, my God, this is useless; I don't think there's anything here. At least not anymore." Melissa put down her coconut shell and sat back exhausted. She was filthy, they both were. The dirt had stuck to the suntan lotion and she couldn't wait to get back to the beach and go for a swim to get rid of all this grime. She was grateful, however, that Dianna had insisted they put on their long sleeved shirts at least, but pants would have been very appropriate for this environment. No wonder Jake opted for pants and a long sleeve shirt instead of shorts and tees. Her legs were already scratched from the different bushes they had passed and the shirt which had once been tied so cutely just underneath her bust line was now unravelled and buttoned up to cover as much of her as she could.

Dianna was still digging madly and Melissa decided that she'd better continue as well.

"Here, move over, I'll dig for a while, the hole's getting a little too deep for both of us to get in there."

Dianna took one more scoopful of dirt and felt a thud.

Both women heard the noise and now stared at each other, the excitement was starting to bubble to the surface and they both squealed.

Dianna took a few more scoopfuls and then placed her hand down to find out what was there. It felt like a box and she could make out only a couple of the corners. They both madly started to dig the hole wider. Sweat was now dripping off of them but they didn't stop until the entire box was uncovered. It was about eighteen inches long and fairly rotted; the lid broke off before they even got it out of the ground. Dianna picked out the rest of the pieces of the lid and gently removed the items inside. It was wrapped in canvas and she pulled it up carefully out of the hole.

Whatever was inside was wrapped tightly in the cloth and Dianna now unwrapped its contents carefully.

"What's it feel like, Di?" Melissa was on her knees hovering over the treasure. Excitement, curiosity and exhilaration filled her with a nervous energy and she was having a difficult time trying to remain still.

Dianna finished unwrapping the package and sat back in awe, there before them were two identical daggers, ten inches of shining steel and their golden handles intricately detailed and the handle was carved with the golden head of a bird. Jake had obviously stashed them here as weapons, but the women only saw them as treasures.

"Oh, my God." Dianna gingerly ran her fingers over the smooth jewelled handle, its stones inlaid so that they did not interfere with the real purpose of the item.

Melissa was the first to pick one up. The eyes of the bird were small rubies and a large diamond was placed at the hilt. Emeralds and sapphires peppered the wings of the bird. Dianna picked up the second dagger and held it up to the light; the jewels still sparkled as though they had just been polished. She cautiously felt the tip of the dagger with her forefinger, it was still sharp and a tiny drop of blood flowed from her finger.

"Ow!" Dianna sucked the blood from her finger and Melissa laughed.

"Well, what did you think" she paused for a moment and became solemn, "I bet that's not the first blood that thing has tasted."

"Ooh, you're right," Dianna stood up quickly, "come on, let's go back and get some antiseptic on this."

Melissa quickly followed Dianna back to the beach. "Hey, wait up; I'm sure Jake cleaned off all the blood before he buried them. Besides, how long can germs live?"

"Shut up!" Dianna laughed and got out the map again to find their way back to the beach.

CHAPTER 33

Howie walked on in silence for a short time. Peter hadn't said too much since the girls had veered off to their own locale, but that was okay with him. Howie would just have more time to daydream, something that used to drive Treena squirrely. She could never understand how he could get lost in thought so easily and he could never understand how she could have no imagination. Right now he was imagining himself as a pirate and Melissa as his woman but then Alex would enter his brain and he wondered what Jake and Marianna had been like. Jake didn't like to talk very much and he really hadn't been able to get much out of him other than sailing lessons, but today had been good. He'd been more open, at least more talkative...just not about himself. He tried to picture Melissa as a barmaid, serving him mead, and he smiled.

"How much farther?" Peter sounded tired.

Howie came back from his dream state rather unwillingly, "Huh? Oh, uh," he stared at the map, trying to find something that would tell him where he was. He didn't want to admit that he hadn't been paying attention to where he was going. "I'm not sure, here, take a look and see if anything looks like it does on the map." Peter took the map, gingerly grasping it between his fingers. Howie frowned and looked around for someplace to sit down.

"Peter, why don't we sit for a while, over here looks like a good spot." Howie took Peter over to a fallen tree, he looked around; the tree had taken a good chunk of the jungle with it. The whole area looked to have been cut down. Peter sat on the tree and read the map. Howie read Peter. His hands were bothering him today, and he seemed out of breath. Sure, he was getting on in years, but he'd been pretty good yesterday, running all over the ship. Then again, the ship didn't have quite so much hiking on board, and he did get to sit at the wheel most of the time.

"I have some water if you need to take your pills." Howie offered.

Peter looked up quickly, "what pills?"

"It's okay, Alex told me about your hands. I promised him I wouldn't say anything." He opened the water bottle and held it out for Peter.

Peter sighed. "I guess it's pretty obvious by now, isn't it?" He fished around his pocket for the pills and handed them to Howie to open.

Howie snapped off the lid and placed one of the pills in Peter's open palm. The water bottle shook as he drank.

"They're pretty sore today, huh?"

"Yeah, comes and goes. Lately it's been coming more than going. It was all the lifting and carrying today. Too much bending." He held out his hands and tried to stretch his fingers, they were swollen and unwilling to straighten.

"Alex says you don't want Celeste to know, how come?"

He shrugged, "part of me doesn't want her to think I'm just an old man and no good for anything anymore...and part of me doesn't want to leave her. She's like a daughter to me. It's like I'd be letting her down. Sandra and Alonzo will be leaving at the end of this trip and if I left..." he turned away from Howie.

"I understand." Howie left it at that. Peter would figure this out and Celeste would adapt.

"I just wish I knew somebody who could sail with her back to Vancouver. Then she'd have the whole summer to find a new crew."

Howie smiled and snorted out a laugh, "just have her take Alex, he seems to know what he's doing."

"I thought about that," he replied.

Howie stopped laughing and stared at him, "I was just kidding, I don't know how long Alex is gonna know how to sail for."

"Why do you keep calling him Alex? You know that's not Alex back there."

"Yes it is. No matter what else he may be, he's still Alex. It takes every brain cell I have to remember to call him Jake...and I know he's working with a whole different set of memories right now, but it won't last, Alex will come back."

"Are you sure?"

"I have to be, don't I? He's my best friend." Howie stood and picked off some of the bark from one of the nearby Turpentine trees. Tourist trees, Peter had called them because their bark was all red and peeling. Howie inspected the tree closely, it was more than just peeling today, it looked charred. He took a good look above him, the leaves on a few of the trees looked as though they had been burned. Lightning? Maybe.

"Well, I think I have this map figured out," Peter announced, "we go this way to a big rock about half the size of you, I imagine. He pointed to the right and Howie led the way again.

The jungle seemed strange now, maybe it was just an overactive imagination on his part, but there seemed to be an awful lot easier to walk. The leaves and tree branches appeared to have been hacked away and although they were going in another direction, there appeared to be a path leading off to the left.

"Peter. Doesn't that look like a path to you?" He pointed to the left and over to the right.

Peter stopped, "Huh? It does, doesn't it? You think maybe Jake was out here?"

They stood silent for a moment. "No, I'm sure he was on board all night."

"Well, come on; let's get on with it before my joints seize right up. It's better if I keep moving."

Howie followed, still looking at the path, "Okay, comin'." He tried to see as far in as he could; it looked like there were more fallen trees further in. A shiver ran up his spine. He couldn't explain why, was there someone else here? Surely they would have heard or seen another boat in the area; of course they hadn't been to the other side of the island.

"Come on, Howie, I'm not getting any younger," Peter called out.

Howie hastened to catch up and almost ran into Peter full force. He managed to stop quickly before bowling him over. Peter stood stock-still, staring, mouth open, at the spot where they were supposed to dig. Howie was about to ask him what was going on when he, too, glanced over at the area and dropped his jaw.

The large boulder they were supposed to find was now nothing but a pile of rubble. It had been blown to bits, literally, and the area around the rocks had been excavated rather extensively. Whatever treasure there may have been here was now gone. The treasure didn't matter and they both knew it. Whoever had blown up the rock had done it fairly recently, there was no moss, or any vegetation taking over the stones and the earth was still in piles beside the holes. If someone thought there was treasure on this island, he might not like knowing that there was company. Still, they had been here for almost a full day and nothing had happened. Maybe there was no one here right now?

"I think we'd best get back and tell Alex about this," Howie started.

"The hell with that, we'd better get back and tell Jake!" Peter concluded.

"I think I agree with you."

Howie and Peter turned and made their way back to the beach as quickly as they could.

CHAPTER 34

Patrice had trudged on in silence long enough. How she wished that Brent hadn't sprinted off so fast into the jungle, at least then she would have had Sam to talk to. She had heard them for a while but then her map required a detour around a thick stand of trees that weren't on the map. Probably a lot of things weren't on this map. It was pretty good for what it was, bit sketchy, but then again it really didn't have to be too detailed now did it? Patrice had looked forward to this, not the treasure hunt, but just some time alone with Bill. Her map showed a small pool of fresh water and she was eager to share this whole experience with her husband but Bill was back to being silent again, only grunting and an occasional nod her way. She had been foolish to think that one romp was going to fix everything. The trouble was that it didn't feel like a romp, it felt like Bill was back with her again and for one glorious hour they were in love again.

Patrice was leading the way and tried to talk to Bill several times but he was mute. They had just reached the small pool of fresh water and Bill brushed past her. She quickly decided that she had had enough. No more of this unwillingness to talk; they were in the middle of nowhere with no one around to overhear them. Before she could think clearly and form her thoughts she blurted out the thing that had been plaguing her since Sam had mentioned it,

"Are you having an affair?" She stood still, her hands shaking by her side. She wanted the truth but she was afraid of what she might hear. What would she do if the answer was yes? Suddenly she wanted to take it back, go back to the silence. The birds that had been chattering in the trees fell silent and the only thing she could hear was her heart beating and the sound of her own swallowing, so loud that everyone must hear it.

Bill hesitated before he turned around to face her and she knew by the way that he dropped his shoulders that it was true. She slumped to the ground, dropping the map into the water. She felt the tears welling up and she didn't want to cry, but there was no way around it, the tears would come no matter how hard she tried to quell them. The silence was maddening. Why wouldn't he talk to her, confess, lie, anything to break the silence? Patrice couldn't look at him but he sat beside her and tried to put his arm around her. She threw it off.

"Don't touch me," her voice was quiet and firm and she heard a faint hint of hysteria growing in it.

"Pat, I'm not having an affair. I swear." His voice was soft, pleading.

She wiped her eyes, and remained with her back to him, "I don't believe you." More composure now, the anger was coming through.

"Pat," his hand was on her shoulder and she now dared to face him.

"Don't lie to me anymore, Bill. Tell me the truth."

"Pat, I am telling you the truth, I'm not having an affair." He had hold of both her shoulders now and she allowed it.

"Then what is it? What is the problem you have with me?" Patrice was softening; God she loved him and wanted to believe him, maybe there was a chance.

"It's not you...it's my problem and I'll deal with it. It just might take a little time for me to get over it, that's all."

"Get over what? What exactly do you have to get over? Is it something I've done?"

"No, it's not you; I told you that, it's..."

"Me, yeah, you said that. Well right now I want to know what your problem is because I can't take this anymore." She was back on the verge of tears again, but this time she held them in check. "Tell me, Bill. Tell me right now. What. Is. Your. Problem?"

Bill was silent for what felt like an eternity even though only a few seconds had passed. "Okay, I guess I do owe you the truth, but please...listen to what I have to say before you do anything, okay?"

"Go on," she didn't like the sound of it already but she remained steady.

Bill shook his head, the bewilderment was obvious, "I don't really know where to begin."

"Pick a spot, any spot."

"Okay, about a year ago a new girl started in the office,"

Patrice felt faint, she sat down on the ground hard and Bill quickly came to her side and helped to steady her.

"No, no, no, it's not what you think, nothing has happened between us."

His voice was reassuring but why did she still feel as though she were coming unglued. "Yet, you mean, don't you?"

"NO, no, aagh, I don't know." He ran his hand through his hair and absently rubbed his head. He tried to hold her again, but she slapped his arms away.

"No, keep away from me right now." She stared straight ahead, Lord how she wanted to get up and run away, far away, but her legs were like lead, unwilling to assist her in any type of escape. Patrice sat that way for a few minutes, fully aware that Bill was watching and waiting for her to say something first. A million thoughts were rushing through her mind and it was difficult to pick just one to concentrate on. Her body was shaking and a cold sweat was lacing her skin. The only thought she could find was that Bill wanted to be with someone else. He didn't want her. Another sudden and horrible thought hit her, was Bill thinking of that other woman when they had made love yesterday? Her marriage was over. She gathered up enough strength to calmly turn her head and look him in the eye. Quietly she said, "You don't love me anymore, do you?"

"You're wrong, I do love you, I do, I do," Bill was crying now.

Good! Seeing him cry made her feel better, stronger somehow, but she knew that was only the anger in her and soon she would feel sorry for him, but not yet.

"So...you love me, but you want to sleep with someone else. Have I got that right, Bill?"

"No, I...I don't know what I want, it's not that simple."

Patrice stood, her legs no longer refusing to move, she was angry now and she knew from past experiences that she would be flip-flopping between the crying and the anger for a while yet before everything was settled.

"No, Bill, it is simple. You either love me or you don't." However had she managed to find such a calm and rational voice she didn't know. "If you love me, you stay with me...and only me. If you don't, then you leave and you can have anyone you want." Oh, how she hated ultimatums, but she didn't want this thing to be hanging over their heads forever. "You think about it, and when you make up your mind, call me."

"What? You expect me to make a decision right now? My God, I've been going over this in my head for months and I couldn't figure it out and now you want it right now?" He was almost yelling.

Patrice just shook her head sadly. "Bill," she started "if the decision is that hard to make, then I think you've already made it. If you don't know you love me after fifteen years of marriage, then you can't love me anymore."

"Pat..." he came towards her with his arms out.

"No, don't," she put up her hands to stop him, "I'm going back to the ship. I'd appreciate it if you stayed here for a while." She felt the tears brimming again.

Bill watched helplessly as Patrice cut through the trees back to the beach. What in the hell had he been thinking, of course he loved her. She was the only woman he ever wanted to love. Man, he'd blown it. Some female flirts with you and you think it's love. Maybe this should have been a no-brainer. You can't love two people, can you? Well, maybe some people can, but not him. Christa had only been lust. It had been a long time since anyone but Pat had complimented him on anything and it had gone completely to his head. Why couldn't he see that before? The problem now was how to get Pat to trust him again?

CHAPTER 35

Alonzo found the spot first, a cluster of boulders that looked as though they had been stacked for a reason. They probably had. Whatever he had thought about Fake Jake before, he believed in him now. Too many things had happened to be mere coincidences. This island, for one. Jake had planned the voyage and that would be near impossible for someone who supposedly never sailed before; even a day-sailor wouldn't have been able to do that. Then there was the island itself, and the maps. No way Jake had fabricated these directions. Their directions were the closest to the starting point and Alonzo was grateful for that. Sandra tired easily these days and although she would have scaled Everest without complaining he would make sure that she didn't overdo things.

"Lonz, are there any wild animals on this island?" she asked quietly.

He turned back to her, "Haven't heard any and I doubt they could swim this far anyway, why?"

"Well, it's just that there's an awful lot of holes over there. It looks like something's been digging, or burrowing or something." She pointed to a group of banana trees on their right.

Alonzo went over to investigate. Sandra was right; something or someone had been digging up the dirt.

"OW!" Sandra called out loudly.

Alonzo spun around quickly to see her on her knees and he rushed to help her up.

"NO, no, I think I sprained my ankle." She waived him away and sat back, gently touching her ankle and wincing at the pain with each touch.

"Okay, it's starting to swell, come on, I'll carry you back to the beach." Alonzo lifted her gently and Sandra managed to stand on one foot.

"Just let me rest for a minute, okay?"

"Okay," Alonzo looked around and found a fallen tree and gingerly led her over to it to rest.

Sandra straddled the tree and Alonzo helped her lift her swollen ankle onto it. "Let's try to keep it elevated. There, how's that feel?" He had taken his shirt and tried to make a pillow under her foot, but there wasn't much material in a t-shirt. He ended up stuffing it full of banana leaves to try and give it a little more cushioning.

"Better, thanks." She smiled weakly and stared at her foot.

"What happened, anyway, did you step in a hole?"

"No, I was avoiding the holes but the earth was really soft and I just went over."

Alonzo looked back to the area where she fell and then approached it cautiously. He examined the holes and the area where Sandra twisted her ankle. The earth was very soft here, not because of the rains, but because someone had dug a hole and filled it back up with dirt. It was a wonder she didn't break her ankle. He came back and sat behind her on the tree.

"I think we should go back to the ship and get that ankle wrapped in ice."

"Yeah, probably, but, since we're here why don't we just see what's buried under those rocks?" She raised both eyebrows and nodded for him to go find their treasure.

Alonzo shook his head. "Fine, I'll go and dig up the rocks." He got up and started towards the rocks. "What's that map say again?"

Sandra shook the map out and read aloud, "It says 'four from the left, dig down one foot and tunnel underneath for two more'."

Alonzo looked around, hands on his hips. "What the hell am I supposed to tunnel with?"

Sandra joined the search, "Well, Jake said all we'd need is a sharp stick," and shrugged her shoulders.

"See any?" He started to move the foliage from the ground and after a couple of minutes he found a stick that would do nicely.

Sandra watched him dig in silence for a few minutes before speaking. "Do you think he'll stay with her?"

"Who?" Alonzo was concentrating on the digging and not really listening.

"Jake...I mean, Alex...well, you know. Do you think he'll stay with Celeste?"

Alonzo stopped digging and craned his neck to look at her. "I don't know? Why? Do you want him to stay with her?"

"Yes."

Alonzo turned back to his task and had to get down on his stomach for the rest of it. "There better be something good under here", he was already filthy.

"Don't you want him to stay with her?" she prodded.

"NO, actually, since you're asking, I don't." He kept digging. Alonzo knew that if he looked at her right now she would see how angry he was about this and she would start to cry. She cried a lot lately, hormones, he guessed.

"Why not, you know she's in love with him, don't you?"

Alonzo turned on his elbow quickly and stared at her, "WHAT? How on earth can she be in love with him already, she's only known him a few days and he's obviously got some problems." He sat up, elbows on his knees and arms straight out. He wiped the sweat from his brow and left a smear of mud behind.

Sandra frowned. "Lonz, you can't help falling in love. When it happens, it happens, and sometimes it just happens like that." She snapped her fingers.

"Great," he mumbled and went back to digging.

"He loves her, too, you know."

"Whatever," he mumbled again.

Sandra scowled at him and stuck out her tongue. He could be such a jerk sometimes, especially where Celeste was concerned. He was just like Dad, always picking apart the guys she dated. It was the money, no doubt. Dad and Alonzo were a lot alike in that respect. Celeste was a beautiful woman, why couldn't they see that she would be more than just money to any man. Sandra knew that they were trying to protect her, but they weren't helping her by any stretch of the imagination, just preventing her from love. Why couldn't they see that all she wanted for Celeste was the chance at the same happiness she had with Alonzo. Men! Sandra cradled her ankle in her lap, it was starting to feel less painful now, but the swelling was still there. Not too bad, though, she'd seen worse; a little ice and she'd probably be good to go in a couple of days. She watched Alonzo dig, he had his arm fully under the pile of rocks now and he was completely covered in dirt and sweat. She took a swig of her water, "Lonz, you want some water?"

"Nah, I'm..." he froze.

"What? Did you find something?" She sat up straighter and tried to look at the hole he had made.

Alonzo shoved his arm into the hole as far as he could and felt just the edge of a piece of fabric. Excitement coursed through him and he grasped the edge and, with a lot of effort, pulled it out. He now had in his hand a ball of sailcloth about the size of a five-pin bowling ball and about as heavy.

"What is it?" Sandra tried to get up and Alonzo motioned her to sit back down.

Alonzo carried the goods over to the tree and sat beside Sandra.

"Hurry up and open it, let's see what it is?" She was more than eager to see what was inside.

"Okay, okay..." he stared at the ball, "here, you do it." And he handed it to her.

Sandra took it carefully and placed it in her lap, unwrapping it slowly in case its contents should break. She needn't have worried about breakage, the more she unwrapped the looser the items in the bag became and with one final movement several silver and gold coins spilled out of their would-be purse and fell into the dirt at her feet.

Alonzo picked up the coins and turned them over in his hand. They were larger than the coins minted today, but their gold and silver were unmistakable. Some of the coins were obviously British and others were in languages that he did not know. One thing that did stand out above all else were the dates. All the coins they could read were dated after 1743 and many had no date at all, but there was not one coin past the year in which Jake was supposed to have died...1795.

Together they went through all the coins, there was no telling what they would be worth now, but back in 1795 they would probably have been enough to start a new life.

"Still think he's crazy?"

"No. I don't think he's crazy anymore." Alonzo put the coins back into the sailcloth and wrapped them up tightly before giving them back to Sandra to hold. "But I still don't think that Celeste should fall in love with him."

"Why not? You know he's exactly who he says he is, he's not lying or playing some game with her," there was frustration in her voice now.

"No...but he's still not a real person." Alonzo stood.

"WHAT are you talking about? Of course he's a real person."

"NO HE'S NOT, SANDRA! ALEX, Alex is a real person and maybe if she had fallen in love with him I could understand it, but JAKE is not real and he won't ever be real. He existed over two hundred years ago, he's dead, and he's supposed to be dead, don't you get that?" He had tried so hard not to yell, but it had erupted anyway and he was immediately sorry that he had done it. Sandra was quiet, her head was down. He knew she was crying and he sat back down to put his arms around her. The apology was almost past his lips but she stopped him.

"No, don't. I'm sorry. I finally understand what you mean." She wasn't crying. "And I think that Celeste understands it somewhat, too. That's why she's been so confused about him."

Alonzo hugged her tightly and kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you, now come on, we've got to get you back to the ship and get that ankle looked after."

Sandra's eyes brightened, "piggy ride?" she squealed and clapped her hands.

"Okay, jump on, piggy." He squatted down in front of her and she climbed onto his back.

"Jeez, I hope we're going swimming as soon as we get back, you are just completely mucky." She took the rest of the water in her bottle and poured it down his back.

"Oooh, got any more, that felt good." The water would have been better over his head, but either way, he felt cooler.

"Nope, that' the last of it. Giddy up!"

Alonzo whinnied and carefully made his way back to the beach, Sandra clutching the coins tightly between their bodies.

CHAPTER 36

Jenny slipped her bathing suit back on and shook out her shirt to get the dirt off of it. John stood next to her, one hand on his hip and the other propping himself up solidly against a frangipani tree, one ankle crossed over the other. Jenny turned back to see him there and started to laugh uncontrollably.

"For God's sake, John, put your clothes back on. Did you take Viagra today, or what?

"I don't need Viagra when I have you," he arched his left eyebrow and crooked his finger for her to come to him.

"NO," she laughed, "no more, we're gonna get caught." Jenny threw John his trunks and they landed beside him. He made no attempt to catch them.

"There's no one around here. We're the only ones in this area, it's perfectly safe." He walked over to her and took her by the arms, pulling her close for a kiss. She complied willingly and then pushed him away quickly.

"Cut it out," her voice was firm this time and John acquiesced.

He picked up his shorts and stepped into them, almost falling over as his shoes caught in the leg. Jenny held him up.

"Thanks...you sure?" he stood in front of her, the waistband of his shorts at his knees, arms out to his sides showing off his wares.

Jenny giggled, "yes, I'm sure. You're wearing me out. I'm not as young as I used to be, you know."

John finished pulling up his trunks and kissed her cheek, "yes you are. You got the map?"

"I thought you had it."

"No, I handed it to you just before..." he winked and nodded towards the tree.

Jenny thought for a moment, and tried to mentally retrace her movements after John had undone her shirt. She was over by the tree, that much she remembered, such a beautiful sweet fragrance coming from its pretty white flowers, such a shame they were so poisonous. Everything on this island was beautiful; there was jasmine and masses of gardenia scattered all over this area. It was like walking in paradise, as though this island was made for lovers. There were also masses of pink bougainvillaea near the beach. She returned to the area where she had picked up her shirt and found the map underneath a layer of flowers from the jasmine bush, she picked one of the flowers up with the map and inhaled its sweet aroma, mmm, heavenly.

John picked up another flower and placed it behind her left ear. "I can't remember, does that mean you're taken or available?" He softly stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers. Her skin was so soft, always had been. She fretted a lot lately about the wrinkles that had been multiplying daily under her eyes and on her forehead, but he saw none of them. She was still the same young girl he had married at twenty-one, and if anything he loved her more now than he had then.

"MAP!" she pointed and stepped back.

John smiled, "Okay, okay, map." He held it out as far as he could from himself and squinted, "I should have brought my glasses with me but I didn't think I'd be expected to read today."

"Here, I'll hold it out for you," Jenny took the map and held it out further than John's arms could reach and slowly inched backwards, snickering the whole time.

"Very funny, honey, just read it and tell me where we're supposed to go."

Jenny looked at the map and tried to focus in, but her eyes weren't much better. "Sorry, I'm not helping much here am I," she laughed, "I had to take my contacts out when we went swimming and I just never bothered to put them back in." She held the map further away, "Oooh, oooh, wait a minute, I see a rock," she turned "That rock!" and pointed to a large boulder to their right and walked quickly over to it.

"What are we supposed to do when we get to the rock?" John asked.

Jenny looked at the map, "Uh...hmm, I'll have to let you know when we get there."

"Would you like me to hold the map while you read it?" he mocked.

"You might have to," Jenny stretched out her arm behind her and returned the map to John.

"Why do I get it back?"

"Cause I'm gonna need two hands to get through these vines." She started to part the vines and suddenly jumped back with a scream.

"What's wrong?" John wrapped his arms around her but she kept trying to get away and finally managed to get behind him.

"Snake, snake, snake, snake, snake..." she pointed to the vines, "ooo, I touched it." She wiped her hands on her shirt and was visibly shaking.

John turned to see a small brown snake slithering down one of the vines and tried to suppress a laugh. "Don't worry, he's going. Why don't I lead for a while?"

Jenny nodded; her arms were now hugging her body tightly and followed cautiously behind John.

"Just when I thought this place was like the Garden of Eden," she started,

"Yeah, well, as I recall there was a snake there, too." John finished.

"Whatever." Her eyes were searching everywhere now for snakes. The small lizards hadn't bothered her, but snakes, now that was something else. Their fun trip into the jungle had now, at least for her, turned serious and all she wanted to do was go back to the beach. The hell with the treasure hunt. "Let's go back; I don't want to find any treasure."

John huffed, "We're almost there, look, it's only another ten feet or so."

"I don't care, let's just go back." She stopped, arms crossed in front of her now.

John knew that stance. He loved her more than anything but she had to be the most stubborn woman in the world. There would be literally no arguing with her at this point, but damn it, he wanted to continue.

"Well, you can go back if you want, but I'm gonna go find me some treasure." He turned and started to carefully part the vines and went through them. He held them for Jenny, but he knew she wouldn't go through them. She had always had an irrational fear of snakes and he knew it had been her brother who had fostered that in her. She had told him about Stan chasing her with garter snakes when she was little, leaving rubber snakes in her bed and generally just being the little bastard that he was. He hadn't grown up any better, none of the family spoke to him now. At this moment, however, John could think of quite a few things to say to him.

"Jen, the snake's gone, come on; I'll make sure there aren't any more around, please." He didn't want to fight, those days were over and the counselling had at least taught him how to deal with these situations.

Jenny didn't move and John knew she was considering it; finally, she took a step closer. "Okay, I'll go, but...just make sure, okay."

"I promise." He held out his hand and she placed hers in his. The next few feet were the slowest going of his life. She was afraid to step anywhere but eventually they made it to the rock.

"Okay, what's the map say now, Jen?"

She held it out again and squinted painfully at the writing on the bottom. "I think it just says to " _find the mark and dig deep_ ".

"Mark, what mark? Does it tell you where this mark is?"

"Nope." She neared the stone and looked for anything she could see easily but there was nothing. Unlike the rest of the area, there were no vines or vegetation of any type on this stone. It was more like a boulder, actually, about four feet high and at least the same wide. She'd seen a few of these rocks strewn throughout their walk here and she hoped this was the one they were supposed to find.

"I found it...I think." John was on the other side.

"Where?" Jenny was behind him now, careful not to touch anything that might move.

"Right here, look." He pointed to the bottom of the rock, etched into the stone was a carving that looked like an arrow pointing up, with a little tail at the bottom. "I think that's supposed to be a "J", but the arrow would make others think to look up or somewhere else maybe. But we know to dig."

Jenny heard the excitement in his voice and she was glad that she had, for once, decided to give in and accompany him. That had been the biggest argument in their lives and it took three different marriage counsellors to make her finally realise that every so often she needed to give in to John instead of him always giving in to her. Of course there had been other problems in their marriage, too, but they had worked on them one by one and now here they were, finally happy with each other...for the most part. They still argued over stupid little things, but they now knew that the little things weren't worth breaking up for.

John jumped up and started looking for something to dig with. He came back quickly with a stick and half a coconut shell. "I'll loosen the dirt and you can scoop it out with this." He started to chop at the earth and found it was quite easy. The dirt was soft in this area and they quickly had a hole about eighteen inches deep.

"Do you think we'll really find anything, John?"

"I don't know. I hope so."

"I mean, he said there was no actual treasure here, but we wouldn't be disappointed. What do you think he meant?"

"I have no idea; he's a hard one to figure out. He's hot, he's cold. One minute he's friendly and the next he's like a hermit without a cave."

"Yeah, I feel sorry for Celeste. I think she really likes him, but..."

"What?"

"Well...he ignores her half the time. Someone who claims to love you that much isn't supposed to ignore you. And then other times he's holding her and you can just see how much he loves her." Jenny stopped scooping. "I don't know,"

"I think I know what you mean, but I think there's more going on with him than just this dual personality thing."

"Reincarnation," Jenny corrected.

"Whatever you want to call it. Maybe Alex is fighting his way back? Keep scooping."

Jenny took another couple of shells full of dirt and threw them aside. "You think so? I don't. I think Jake's here for a while."

"Speaking of a while, I don't think we're gonna find anything here. We must have dug for three feet now and I don't see anything." John straightened up and massaged his lower back.

"Well, the map did say to dig deep, we've come this far, let's go a little more."

They dug in silence for a few minutes, with only the sound of the birds and the wind in the trees. The smell of jasmine perfumed the air and Jenny breathed deep. Her hands were sore from the scooping and her knees were starting to ache but if John wanted to keep going she would try not to complain, after all, his back was probably worse than hers.

John plunged his stick into the small pit and there was a dull thud.

"Did you hear that?" he whispered.

"I did!"

John put the stick aside and started to feel around with his hands. "there's something here, it feels like wood." He picked up the stick again and started to scrape the dirt from around the sides of the box and after about five minutes he had it out of the ground. It was a fair size, wrapped in sailcloth and quite heavy. He made ready to unwrap the cloth and Jenny nodded for him to go ahead. Cloth tossed aside he opened the box carefully; inside he found two beautiful brass pistols. The brass was badly tarnished and the wooden handles were not in the best shape, but still solid.

"They're beautiful, John."

"I can't believe they're in such good shape after all these years." He picked one up out of the box and examined it closely. He ran his fingers down the barrel of the pistol. It was beautifully smooth and flared out at the end of the barrel. The trigger was very stiff and the entire piece would need to be oiled but John believed that once restored these pistols would probably work like new.

"I guess Jake knew how to bury things so they'd last," she paused, "although he probably didn't expect them to last this long." Jenny picked up a small piece of string from the box but it fell apart and a pile of dirt lay underneath it. "What's was this supposed to be?"

"I'll bet you that's gunpowder." He poked his index finger into the pile of black dirt and felt something else. "Yeah, look, here's the bullets." He held up a small round metal ball between thumb and forefinger to show her.

Jenny sifted through the powder for herself and found a few more. "Wow." she whispered and turned to John, "I am most definitely NOT disappointed."

"Me neither," he whispered back. He stood up, box in hand, and held his other hand out to Jenny to help her up.

"Come on, let's go back to the others and show off our treasure."

She took his hand and stood up, the ache in her back reminding her of her age. "Let's go. You think you can find our way back?"

"I'm pretty sure I remember the way," a sly smile on his face. "At least I can find our way back to that Tourist Tree." He pinched her backside and she jumped and slapped his hand away, laughing.

"Okay, I'll race you." Jenny ran ahead though the vines, forgetting all about the snakes and John followed close behind.

CHAPTER 37

Celeste followed obediently behind Jake. For the moment she was content to watch his muscular arms as he parted and sliced through the foliage to create their path. Their journey had only lasted a few minutes and they were already deep into the jungle. It was steamy in here and trickles of sweat were now forming at her hairline. She wiped them away distractedly, her eyes never leaving Jake's physique. He wielded the cutlass expertly, slicing the thick hanging vines, various small trees and dense ferns that blocked their way.

They passed a large gardenia bush and in one sweeping move Jake had clipped off a few of the flowers with his cutlass and placed them in Celeste's hands. Celeste inhaled their sweet fragrance, only managing a smile before Jake spoke,

"They used tae be yer favourite. Are they still?"

Surprised, she replied, "yes." She paused, "well, actually I have two favourites..."

"Jasmine," he replied quickly with a sly smile.

"How did you..." her voice trailed off, the confusion still on her face.

Jake turned back to the jungle and continued his pruning. "Do yeh still like te paint?"

Celeste gave a small jump, uprooted herself from her spot and quickly caught up to him, "what do you mean? I don't paint."

"No? That's a shame, yeh were fair talented. Yeh even painted me once." Jake laughed loudly. "Yeh made me stand fer hours while yeh sketched me." He tossed aside a handful of vines and turned, "A've been in battles that didna leave me achin' as badly."

Celeste didn't respond. She was thinking of that book from the library all those years ago, and the picture she now kept in her safe on board the _Breeze_. She shuddered. When she had been young she had a definite artistic talent, and then she had discovered sailing and everything else simply took a back seat. She'd always thought that any natural talent you had was inherited from your parents, but maybe it was just something you brought with you.

"What else did she like?" she ventured.

"Wha?"

"Back then...what else did Marianna like? I mean, we seem to like the same flowers," she paused, "and the same man."

Jake turned and took her by the hand and Celeste felt the excitement flow through her at his touch.

His face turned solemn when he spoke, " _You_ liked a lot o' things, but the one thing ye hated was the sea."

Celeste was confused, she loved the sea; she loved sailing. What else in the world could make her happier than sailing? And she knew instinctively...him. She'd come to sea for him. She curled up the left side of her mouth into a knowing smile.

"What else?" Celeste listened as Jake told her about herself. Everything was so close to her own life now, even her dislike of any type of bean.

They came to a fallen palm tree and Jake took her hand and gently pulled her over to the tree. Celeste sat on the rough palm and Jake returned his cutlass to its sheathe and sat beside her. He took her hand in his and she felt the goose bumps again on her arms at his touch.

"There's so much more te tell ye, but I've no time."

"What do you mean?"

He turned away from her and stood.

How could he even begin to explain what was going on in his mind? She had accepted a lot on faith, but how could he tell her, again, that he would be leaving her. Instead he opted for continuing on to the cave. She didn't need to know yet. It wasn't the right time.

"Come on, it's no much farther." He held his hand out to her and she took it. He relished her touch, peaceful and calm to his soul. He needed that now, especially here. The sense of danger he had felt last night was gone, which bothered him. An eye to the island all night long had proved futile. Nothing moved. There were no sounds and no lights of the type Celeste's ship had and of which Peter had informed him were mandatory, especially while sailing at night. He knew that meant nothing. Mandatory did not apply to pirates. He thought perhaps that he was still living a pirate's life with a pirate's paranoia. This was a different time and he hadn't seen or heard anything on this voyage that would endanger any of them. It was best to concentrate on Celeste and his purpose. He tried to go as slowly through the jungle as he could. He didn't want to leave, not yet, but it wasn't about him now, it was about her. He had to make it right with her and the ring would do that.

"Why won't you tell me what's going on?" Celeste asked.

Jake kept on walking but he knew Celeste had stopped. He took a deep breath and turned back to her.

"I have told ye, I've te give yeh the ring, it's right o'er here."

"No. When we're on the ship you won't even look at me, and when we're on dry land you speak all cryptic. I have no idea what you're feeling or doing. I mean, you throw me such mixed signals. One minute I think you love me the next I can't tell if you even know I'm around." She was speaking so fast and, clearly, he'd upset her.

She looked to be on the verge of tears and Jake felt a tear of his own welling up inside him. The last thing he had ever wanted to do was to hurt her again. He took her in his arms and held her. Surprisingly she came willingly to him. He held her that way for a few minutes before speaking again,

"I don't speak to yeh on the ship because you're the Captain, and I'll no interfere wi yer authority, it's the way. A've tried ma best te help out yer crew, te be one o' em, fer you." He gently placed his hand under her chin and lifted her face to his. He saw a single tear slide down her cheek. "I love yeh. More than A've ever loved anyone and I would like nothin' more then te be wi' yeh forever but I know that canna happen. I had ma chance and I lost. All I can do the now is te give ye the ring I was supposed te gi' yeh back then so that ye'd know."

"Know what?"

"That I'd never leave ye, that I'd always be wi' ye. We were meant te be together, always."

"But we're together now."

"No, I'm no supposed te be here. You know that as well as I do," his voice was calm.

"It doesn't matter," the firmness in her voice surprised him.

"Aye, it does."

"No, I love you. We're both here now. That's a sign."

Jake smiled, "yeh love me?"

"Aye," she laughed.

He held her close, breathing in the scent of her, feeling her, soft against him.

"Do yeh think yeh cud love Alex?" He held her close, not wanting to see her face but she pushed him back.

"What?" she asked puzzled.

"After I'm gone, they'll only be Alex here." He paused and saw confusion in her expression, he tried to explain, "I don't know if I'm Alex or if I'm just usin' him, but once I'm gone..." There was a smile on her lips now and she was shaking her head.

"Idiot. You're the same person. I fell in love with Alex the second I saw him, and now I know why; because he's you. It guess it really doesn't matter what you look like on the outside. You told me you'd know my soul anywhere, maybe I know yours, too?"

"Ah hope that's true. Come on, it's over here." He took her by the hand and suddenly realised that this may be his last chance. He turned quickly and embraced her tightly. Their eyes locked as he leaned in and kissed her hungrily. Her lips were as soft as he had remembered and the passion he felt from her was almost uncontrollable for him. His hands began to explore her body and he felt his own passion rising. But no, he mustn't go that far, it wouldn't be fair to either of them. He stopped, and they gazed at each other, both gasping for breath, "I'm sorry..." he began, but she placed two fingers gently on his lips,

"Shhhh," and she shook her head gently and smiled.

Jake took her hand again and led her through a tangle of vines and small palm trees to a tiny open area. To the right of a large frangipani tree in full bloom was the small cave Jake had used centuries ago to store his supplies in.

The cave was nothing more than a large rock formation, grasses obscured the top of it, and an opening tall enough to walk through if you bent yourself in two, and wide enough for exactly one average sized person to enter. Scattered about the entranceway were at least a dozen boulders and it appeared that the earth had been savagely excavated all around it. Jake was inside quickly and she had to hurry to catch up. Celeste poked her head into the small cavern and tried to adjust her eyes to the extreme darkness. She saw Jake in the far right of the cave kneeling over a large hole. He didn't have to tell her that whatever had been buried here all those years ago was now gone.

"Jake..."

He put his hand up to stop her, "No."

Clearly he needed a moment. Celeste stepped back and waited for him to emerge. It was almost five minutes before he exited the small tomb, a look of utter bewilderment on his face. She waited for him to speak first and it took him almost another five minutes before he did.

"I'm sorry," he turned to face her.

Celeste's heart broke at the sight of him; he looked so lost and sad. She took him in her arms and tried to reassure him, that the ring really didn't matter anymore, but it was to no avail.

"No, I've let you down again," he sat on the ground, head in his hands, but Celeste knew there were no tears. She sat down beside him and put her arm around his waist. Jake turned and smiled at her and the sadness in his eyes was heart-wrenching for her.

"No, you haven't. You've come back to me and that means more than anything in this world ever could."

He put his arm around her shoulder and squeezed. They sat that way for a short time and Celeste was the first to get up.

"Come on," she extended her hand to him, "let's go back. Everyone will be wondering where we are."

"Aye," he accepted her hand as she pulled him up with a grunt.

Celeste started for the trail Jake had blazed and felt his hand on her shoulder.

"What is it?" she asked.

He hesitated and then, "I think I need to stay here for a while. I need te think a few things through, but I promise I won't be long behind ye. Yeh can find the way back te the beach awright, just dinna get away fray the path, aye?"

Celeste nodded, she understood, "aye". She started into the path and turned to find Jake just re-entering the cave.

The path back was easy to follow and she hadn't gotten too far when she heard a rustling in the jasmine bushes a few yards to her left. She knew that there were no large animals on this island, probably one of the others on their quest. Celeste went over to see if it was Sandra. She definitely needed her sister to give her a little perspective right now. As she got closer she knew instinctively that this was not Sandra. It was a lone male, and she would recognise that filthy shirt and pants anywhere, it was Jeff.

Jeff turned quickly at the sound of her footsteps and Celeste instantly wished she had never been quite so inquisitive. A sense of panic crept over her, but Jeff appeared to have been just as surprised as she was. He clutched his chest and dropped one of the mangoes he was holding.

"Oh, Celeste, it's you. What are you doing way out here? I thought you usually toured the other direction?"

"Yeah, I do, what are you doing here?" she asked suspiciously.

"Willy and I were out looking for some other fishing spots and we spotted this island a while back. I was thinking of putting it on my charter. You can catch some great bonefish and tarpon about a mile right outside the reef."

She was still suspicious, but he couldn't have been following her. For one thing they would have heard his boat if he'd come in after them.

"Where's your boat? I didn't see it."

Jeff pointed behind him, "it's over there, in a little cove."

"Oh," silence between them now.

"Listen, Celeste, about the other day," Jeff lowered his eyes and actually looked apologetic, "I'm sorry about the way I acted. I just...well, I'm sorry and you don't have to worry about me bothering you again. I got the hint."

Celeste felt a little better with the apology, and relieved that he wouldn't be bothering her again.

"Thanks, Jeff, well, I'd best get back to everyone."

"Yeah, okay...." Jeff's eyes suddenly flew open and his voice was high and excited, "Oh, my God, Celeste, I almost forgot, your pelican."

"Pelican? What about her? Have you seen her?" Celeste wasn't thinking about Jeff now, if he had seen her she would be grateful beyond belief.

"Yeah, she's got a broken wing; I found her floating just outside of the marina. Willy and I managed to get her on board and he set her wing. He's amazing with animals. He's been making sure to feed her and see to it that she's okay."

Celeste's could feel her pulse racing, "Where is she now?"

"She's on my boat, don't worry. Do you want to come and see her? You can take her back on board your ship if you want."

Celeste wasn't sure, but Jeff sounded sincere, and Willy was with him. Willy had always seemed okay, but she didn't know him that well. She was within screaming distance at least and there was no way Jeff would try anything with everyone else on the island.

"Okay, lead the way."

CHAPTER 38

As she followed Jeff through the jungle Celeste was almost overpowered by his smell. Sweat and the unmistakable odour of feet permeated the once perfumed air as the odour trail he left soured it. She had to keep the gardenias to her nose for the entire trek. The only thing on her mind right now was getting Pelican and taking her back to the safety of her ship. Celeste was unsure how Jeff had managed to get the bird on board. No one on board the Breeze had ever touched the bird. She may not be entirely a wild bird, but surely Pelican would have some natural fear, wouldn't she? And why didn't Jeff just take her back to Treillis Bay and get some help for her there? Why have Willy set her wing and bring her all the way out here? And why was Jeff out here? There were too many questions right now and no time to answer them. Jeff had tried to make small talk the entire way back, but she was still a little uneasy with him and used as few words as possible. Another reason was that any responses would have required her to inhale, something she was not too willing to do right now. Maybe when they were on board his boat there would be a breeze she could fill her lungs with.

"How much further?" Celeste managed to cough out.

Jeff turned, "only about a hundred feet or so now, Celeste."

She cringed. It bothered her every time he said her name, as though by saying it he was trying to be intimate with her. She watched as he had no problems getting through the jungle. He'd carved this path out before and, by the looks of the ground, travelled it quite often. Over to the left and right she spotted downed trees and piles of rocks that looked like they'd been blown to bits and a cold fear flowed through her.

"You know, Jeff, maybe I should get Alonzo and a couple of the others to come over to your boat and get Pelican. I don't think I can carry her back by myself, not through all this anyway."

Jeff laughed, "oh, Celeste, don't be silly. I wasn't gonna make you carry her through the jungle. I figured we'd just take my boat over to your ship and off-load her. And besides, Willy's there to help."

He sounded sincere, but Celeste still didn't trust him. "Yeah, I suppose, but I still think I should get Alonzo to help me."

"It's up to you, Celeste. Do you want me to take you to your ship?" He was face to face with her and looked...normal. This was stupid. He was trying to help her get her bird and she was being paranoid. _He just offered to let you go and get the marines and come to his ship so he's not up to anything,_ she thought.

"No, it's okay, lead the way."

"All right, it's only a couple of minutes away." Jeff turned and Celeste followed, flowers still at her nose.

Jeff's boat was not where Celeste had imagined. She thought that it would be moored, as hers was, between the reef and island, but here it was jammed up against the mangroves. His _cove_ was nothing more than a collection of these giants that seemed to surround his boat. No wonder they hadn't seen it, although she didn't believe that they had even passed this section of the island on their way in. Perhaps he truly hadn't known they were here, after all, she hadn't known he was. The roots of the mangroves jutting into the sea were massive and sturdy enough to support their weight. Jeff jumped agilely up onto one of the roots and held out his hand for her. She knew he was trying to be polite but she still couldn't bring herself to touch him.

"I'm good, Jeff, thanks." She carefully balanced herself on the roots and made her way carefully to the bow of the _Clarissa_ and climbed up the ladder Jeff had fashioned there. It was definitely quiet here. Small Bananaquitas were squabbling in the trees but all in all, it was quite peaceful. Jeff waved his arm to allow her to go ahead of him.

"She's at the stern with Willy."

"Thanks," Celeste carefully inched her way along the side of his boat, holding on tightly to the rail above the deckhouse. Celeste looked down at the mangroves enveloping the boat and wondered how he ever managed to get this in here, and how in the world he would ever get it out? She looked to her left and Jeff was only about six inches away from her. She picked up the pace and took hold of the ladder at the back of the ship and swung herself onto the deck, took one step and immediately stopped. Willy was sitting in the chair and Pelican was in a large metal dog cage beside him. Willy turned his head and looked at her pitifully, but he said nothing.

"What's going on here? Why have you got her in that cage?" Celeste's adrenaline was starting to flow. She took another step towards Willy and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Willy, what's..." her hand recoiled when she saw the silver handcuffs that kept him bound to the chair. Her stomach sank and a cold sweat started to ooze from her pores. She turned quickly and tried to take another step back but Jeff grabbed her roughly by the shoulder and clasped one dirty hand over her mouth. She was quickly turned and thrown up against the ladder that led to the helm above.

"I guess I don't need to tell you what's gonna happen now, do I Celeste?" His voice was low and harsh, like it had been the day they had set sail, and Celeste was officially terrified.

"If you dare to make one tiny little noise I will kill you. Do you understand?"

Celeste merely nodded, the terror she felt must surely be obvious to Jeff, and somehow she thought that he liked it.

He slowly took his hand away from her mouth but he still had an iron grip on her arm and his body was pressing firmly on hers. She felt sick. She could smell his rotted breath each time he spoke and the revulsion wasn't the only thing she fought to keep down. She wouldn't be able to escape if she had to stop every few feet to throw up.

"What do you want?" she whispered.

"You. You're what I've always wanted Celeste. I love you." His voice became louder and angrier, "but you decided to give it away to that BASTARD back there on the ship. He's no good for you, Celeste. I'M the only one for you!" He gently stroked the side of her face.

She looked to Willy for help, but he could give none. He had been watching and now turned his face away.

"Why are you doing this?" she whispered again, scared, her breathing now coming in shorter bursts, and for long seconds she was sure that she didn't breathe at all.

"I told you, because I love you, Celeste. I couldn't let you leave here before I told you that. That's why I've got your bird. I knew you wouldn't leave without her."

"But, I don't love you..." she needed to make him understand.

"Yes, you do. That little show you put on for me on the island proved it." He took his hand from her face and started to stroke her breast.

She struggled to get free from his grip, anything to stop this violation but he was too strong.

"Stop it," she was trying to hold back the tears now and Jeff gently wiped one away from her cheek.

"Oh, don't cry Celeste," he said gently, "I was very impressed with your body." He slid his hand back over both her breasts and then down her side to her hip and pulled her close to his groin. She could feel the hardness and tried to struggle free again.

"I was very impressed that you put your clothes on again when that freak came looking for you. I knew then that you only meant that for me." His breath was hot on her lips now and she knew that he was going to try and kiss her.

Celeste tried to turn her head away from his but there was no escape.

"What's wrong, Celeste? I had to please myself out there in the jungle after I watched you; I think you owe me for that." He grabbed her face and thrust his tongue into her mouth, rubbing himself against her.

Celeste tried feverishly to move but she was unable to break free of him. She bit his tongue and he snapped his head back wiping the blood with his sleeve.

"BITCH!" he spat, a mixture of blood and saliva sprayed across her face.

She was angry now, still terrified, but the anger was starting to overtake it.

"You're disgusting! I would NEVER love you!" She saw hate in his eyes and thought he was going to hit her, prematurely recoiling from the blow that would be coming.

"You'll learn to love me, Celeste." His voice was calm now, with some obvious slurring of words from his swollen tongue.

"NEVER!" was the only word she could reply.

"You'll learn. But I'm afraid that you're going to have to get back into my good graces if you want to make it pleasant when we make love." He grabbed her roughly by the breast and squeezed hard.

She grimaced in pain.

"You'll never touch me," she spat out the words with as much venom as she could muster.

"Oh, but you'll touch me. And you'll beg my forgiveness. Remember what your knees are for, Celeste." He was breathing in her face again. She knew what he meant, but another thought arose.

"You're right. I do remember what my knees are for," she smiled sweetly at him and he seemed to relax and smile back. Her right knee came up quickly and as hard as she could into his groin. Jeff's face when white and he fell to his knees, one hand clutching his balls and the other at his waist. There was no time for Celeste to think about Pelican or Willy now, she had to run, had to get help. She tried to scramble over the ladder to the side of the boat but Jeff had grabbed her ankle. She shook him free and heard a click.

She recognised the sound immediately and turned to see Jeff, somehow standing, and pointing a gun at her head.

Celeste froze where she was and Jeff pulled her back onto the small deck. She was back in the same position she had started off in.

"You fucking BITCH!" he screamed, still holding his balls.

The last thing she saw was the gun in Jeff's hand as it sailed towards her and the last thing she felt was the sharp pain as the butt of the gun connected to her jaw.

CHAPTER 39

Celeste heard the sounds of rustling before she was even aware of her surroundings. The next thing she was aware of was the excruciating pain in her jaw. It didn't feel broken, but it may as well have been. She tried to move it but it hurt too badly. She could feel the swelling; it must be the whole left side of her face. She could feel the dried blood at the corner of her mouth and licked at it gingerly. She heard breathing and slowly opened her eyes to see Jeff standing at the bottom of the small bunk bed she was laying on. He had his arms crossed in front of him and he was just staring at her. Celeste tried to get up and suddenly and painfully realised that she had both arms handcuffed above her head to the wall and her feet were tied separately to the bottom of the bed with lengths of yellow cording. She looked down at her body; at least she still had her bathing suit and t-shirt on. She struggled desperately to free herself but the handcuffs only tightened and dug deeper into her wrists. Her feet were bound so tight that she couldn't even crook her legs to try and loosen the knots. Terror welled up inside of her again. She didn't know how long she had been unconscious but someone must be looking for her by now?

"There's no need for you to try and get free Celeste. It won't work."

"Why are you doing this to me?"

"I've already told you that, Celeste, so stop asking. It's starting to get annoying." He remained motionless at the end of the bed.

She scanned the small room, "Where's Willy?" Had he hurt him? Or was Willy in on the whole thing?

"He's off doing an errand for me." He smiled, "I needed my handcuffs back anyway."

"What errand?" she asked fearfully and prayed that Willy wouldn't be hurting any of her friends.

"He's just bringing a little present over to your ship." Jeff unfolded his arms and walked over to side of the bed and sat at Celeste's waist.

"What kind of a _present_?" her voice was agitated now.

"Well," he laughed, "I can't be leaving here with you and have anybody follow me or call the authorities, now can I?"

"What did you do?"

"I'm sorry Celeste, but you won't be needing your boat now anyway, now that you'll be living here with me." He smiled again and moved the hair away from her forehead. His eyes were boring into her but she couldn't look away.

"NO! YOU CAN'T!" she screamed.

"Shhh," he stroked her hair again, almost lovingly, "You can scream all you want. No one's around to hear you down here. And all those mangroves make the perfect sound barrier. It'll just be us from now on, sweetness." He stoked her cheek and she winced as he touched her swollen jaw.

"I'm sorry about that, baby, but you hurt me, and you need to know that that is not the way to treat the man you love."

"I don't love you. You're crazy," she yelled. She didn't think she had anything to lose now and the anger was back. He was going to kill everyone on her ship and sink it. She had to get out of here.

Jeff squeezed her jaw in his hand and she cried out in pain. "Don't you ever call me crazy!" he yelled back at her.

Celeste felt the tears coursing down her cheeks from the pain and the thoughts of him killing her family. Willy would have been her only chance, but it seemed that he was going along with whatever Jeff wanted.

"What about Willy?" she ventured.

"What about him?" he asked.

"What if he's over there telling them about you right now? They'll all come for me and..."

Jeff pulled the gun out of his waistband and held it in front of her face. "Willy won't be a problem for us, darling," and he bent over and kissed her forehead. "He'll do whatever I tell him to cause he ain't smart enough and he ain't got the balls to do anything else. Why do you think I hired him?"

Celeste closed her eyes and prayed.

"You know Celeste, Willy won't be back for a while and my dick feels a lot better now. And you know, you just look so good lying there," he got up and straddled her on the bed. He placed the gun on the small nightstand beside him and started to stroke her. She tried to sink into the bed, away from him but she knew there was no chance for her to get away, although she pulled at the handcuffs and the ropes wildly to try and get free.

"Oh, sweetheart, don't struggle," he soothed, "soon I'll be inside you and you'll love me." He took off his t-shirt, threw it on the floor and unbuttoned his pants. Celeste screamed "NO" and turned her face away, waiting for the inevitable to happen.

She heard Jeff's voice trying to soothe her, and felt her t-shirt being lifted over her head.

"Oh, dear, the shirt won't go over the handcuffs, but that's okay." He hiked her shirt up and covered her face with it. She wouldn't be able to see him now even if she wanted to. His calloused hands were roughly massaging her breasts as he tried to take them out of her bathing suit. He stopped abruptly and climbed off of her and Celeste felt sudden relief; only to be quickly horrified again when he jumped back on top of her and she felt the cold metal of a knife slice off the straps of her suit. She heard a clink as the knife was thrown onto the floor and felt his fingers as they started to peel the suit from her body. He began to moan and rub himself on her. She screamed again as she felt his tongue on her neck.

"You go ahead and scream," he said quietly, "I like to hear you scream." He sat up and she could hear a zipper being pulled down.

A loud clang and Jeff was no longer on top of her. A louder thud to her right and another clang from the end of the bed were the only other sounds she heard.

Willy had come back quickly from his task. The mangroves were hard to navigate and the whole area near them was mushy and slimy. Everything seemed to live in mangroves. He climbed on board _The_ _Clarissa_ and dropped his gear beside the pelican's cage. There was no sign of Jeff or Celeste. He hadn't wanted to leave Celeste. She looked to be in bad shape, but Jeff had pointed that gun at him and he'd done as ordered. He was soaking wet and went inside to find Celeste in the hopes that Jeff had just left her tied up. Still no sign of them. Willy picked up a towel from the floor and started to dry off when he heard the scream.

He raced to Jeff's cabin and what he saw there disgusted him thoroughly, although he wasn't shocked that it was occurring. Jeff was about to rape Celeste and he was the only one who would be able to stop him. He saw the gun on the nightstand and knew that Jeff would be able to reach that quickly. The knife on the floor was in Jeff's line of sight and he would be able to see him going for it. That left only one thing. Willy grabbed the urn from the table and brought it down hard over Jeff's head. Jeff fell unconscious onto the floor in a flurry of ashes and...marbles?

Willy threw the urn down and almost tripped over himself trying to get to Celeste. He uncovered her face and pulled the t-shirt back over her body.

"Don't worry, I'll get you out of here," he whispered. He grabbed the knife from the floor and sliced through the cord that bound Celeste's feet to the bed before searching through Jeff's pocket for the key to the cuffs.

"Thank you, thank you," Celeste whispered through her tears. She was free quickly and immediately hugged him.

Willy allowed her embrace for only a moment, she was shaking badly and he knew she would need time to settle down, but they didn't have that luxury. "We have to get out of here. NOW."

She seemed to understand, nodding her head in agreement. He pulled her up and quickly took her out of the cabin.

They made it to the path that Jeff had carved and Willy pointed her in the right direction to find her ship.

"They're probably all out looking for you right now, so you should find them quickly."

"Thank you, Willy." Celeste took his hand in hers.

Willy stared down at the small gesture, "You're welcome...now go."

"Aren't you coming with me? You can't go back to him, he'll kill you. He told me."

"I have to go back for the bird, but don't worry, I'll catch up and maybe then I can get a ride back with you?"

In all the terror and confusion Celeste had completely forgotten about Pelican. She had been on the back of the boat when she arrived but she had no recollection of even seeing her on the way out. Actually, she had no recollection of anything that happened between then and now.

"PELICAN. Where was she? I don't remember seeing her."

"She's still there, don't worry, I won't let him hurt anyone." He turned to run back to the _Clarissa_ but Celeste grabbed his arm fiercely and pulled him back.

"What about my ship? He said he sent you to do something to my ship."

"Your ship's fine. I'm no murderer. What he wanted done...I couldn't do." He looked her in the eyes and she believed him. "Can I still hitch a ride back?"

Celeste nodded, "sure, but I plan on leaving immediately, so hurry." She turned and ran off into the jungle.

Willy smiled, "I will." And he turned around and headed back to the _Clarissa_.

He'd only been gone a few minutes but apparently that had been long enough for Jeff to come to and leave. He had searched the boat and there had been no sign of him. Jeff was definitely gone...and so was the gun. He went over to the cage and opened it but the bird refused to come out.

A searing pain shot through his skull and he fell to his knees beside the cage.

"YOU FILTHY MUTINEER!" Jeff screamed. "THE PENALTY FOR MUTINY ON MY SHIP IS DEATH!"

He pointed the gun to Willy's head and the look in Jeff's eyes was beyond madness. Where in the hell had he come from? Looking closely he saw that Jeff was soaking wet; and Willy understood. Jeff must have hidden in the mangroves and slipped on board when he'd been searching the rest of the boat. There was no place to run now. No place to hide. He had to make his stand or die trying. Willy mustered up all the courage and strength he had and lunged at the madman in front of him.

Jeff fired two shots.

CHAPTER 40

Jake returned to the beach crestfallen. He had taken a lot of extra time to think things through but had only come to the conclusion that he didn't understand anything. Someone had removed the ring from its burial site. It was unlikely that Edward had done it all those years ago; the dirt had been excavated recently...probably sometime in the last few months. His pride had made Celeste return to the others. He would not appear weak in front of her...and the pain in his chest had grown stronger in the cave. He had kept it fairly well hidden from the others but the pain was coming at regular intervals now and the sweat on his brow was not from the heat.

He had been gone for over an hour and was pleased to see that everyone had returned from their quests. Brent was the first to race up to him.

"Jake...Jake...I found the swords, will you show me how to use it?" he was running up the beach, the cutlass tied around his waist in the same fashion as Jake's own.

"I'm glad yeh found the cutlasses in gud shape, Lad, but I think yer faither'd be the best tae teach yeh how tae use it." Brent's face dropped. Sam was coming up behind him, a cutlass strapped to his waist in the same fashion. The others were starting to cluster around him as well. All but Celeste, she was not on the beach.

Howie and Peter were coming at him purposefully through the sand and a sense of danger filled him again. Alonzo ran up the beach from the launch and shoved him back hard.

"WHERE'S CELESTE?" he yelled.

Jake steadied himself and his first instinct was to take out his sword but Alonzo's words had struck him hard, "WHA? Celeste shoulda bin back o'er an hour ago." His senses were on high alert now and a chill ran through him.

He was virtually surrounded now by everyone, all talking at once.

"STOP!" he screamed and everyone silenced. "YOU!" he pointed at Alonzo with the tip of his cutlass, "SPEAK!"

"Where's Celeste? You took her into the jungle and now she's missing. What did you DO to her?" The anger in his voice did not surpass the anger Jake was reading on his face. Alonzo's face was red and his knuckles were white from clenching.

"I have not harmed Celeste," he shot back, "but we must find her now. We'll split up into search parties. Howie, you and Peter will come wi' me; Alonzo, John and Bill will search the other side." They nodded in agreement.

"What about us?" Jenny interrupted loudly.

"I'll need you, Melissa and Dianna to stay here in case she returns. Sam, you'll stay here and use yer sword if need be. Patrice, you're a nurse and ye'll be most help here but get te the ship fer supplies. Dianna will help ye get them.

"Hold on just a minute. We're not fighting pirates here, she's just lost on an island is all..." Bill broke in.

"NO," he strode over to Bill, "ye canna get lost on an island this small. Somethin has happened tae her and she must be found NOW!" his voice was a growl and Bill backed off.

Sandra...You'll go back to the ship wi' Brent.

"NO, I WANT TO..." Brent yelled to make himself heard and was quickly silenced,

"YOU WILL GO TO THE SHIP WI' SANDRA. THAT IS AN ORDER." His voice was harsh and Brent stopped his protests immediately, but Jake saw the look of fear in Brent's eyes now. A simple nod from Jake and Brent dropped his eyes.

Howie spoke up quickly. "Look, when Peter and I were out there we saw some pretty weird stuff. It looked like someone had blown up the rocks and there were pathways cut all through the area. Now I'm not saying that there's pirates here, but there could be someone else. I think he's right, we should get out there and start looking."

Alonzo started for the jungle quickly and John hurried to catch up with him. They dispersed quickly but everyone stopped where they were when they heard two shots echo over the island.

"What the hell was that?" Bill called out.

"Gunshots," was John's simple answer.

"It came from this direction, let's go!" Alonzo raced into the jungle, quickly overtaken by Jake who shoved him out of the way and started to slice his way through the undergrowth, Howie, Bill, John and Peter right on their heels. It didn't take long before they were into a definite pathway and followed it at a run for a short time. Alonzo kept calling—one voice so that if she replied they would stand a better chance of hearing her. A rustling from the shrubbery in front of them told them that someone was coming towards them. Jake had his cutlass at the ready.

The gunshots had only made Celeste run faster and the tears flowed with every step now for she was sure Willy had been killed. He would be coming for her next and she didn't look back. She must be near the ship now, she had been running forever but she wouldn't scream out for fear that Jeff would show up. That's what always happened in those slasher movies. The only sound was the blood pumping through her ears and the only sight was the choppy path in front of her. The branches and leaves had been cleared away but the ground still held a thousand stumbling blocks for her to overcome...she would not fall, not give Jeff the edge he needed to catch up to her. Her mind raced, if Willy had indeed been killed they were all still in danger. Jeff could still do something to her ship and she had to get back and warn them...plus, he had the gun and probably enough ammunition for all of them.

The path ended and Celeste knew that the beach was to her left. She would have to start pushing her way through the foliage to reach it and that would slow her down considerably. She shoved the first branch aside and ploughed through as best she could. After a few minutes she could hear voices...Alonzo. She tried to call out to him but her voice was weak, a mixture of running and crying had taken its toll. She leaned on a nearby palm and took a few deep breaths to regain her strength to call back.

"I'm here," she gulped in more air and screamed this time, "I'M HERE!!"

Jake's chest was on fire now as he kept cutting the foliage to get to Celeste. "Keep callin', we're comin' tae get yeh," he forced the words out through the pain.

"Celeste, we're coming," Alonzo echoed.

"I'm here," she called again. Her voice was close and Jake could now see her leaning against a palm, a small clearing just in front of them and he ran to her, replacing his cutlass as he did. She collapsed into his arms and he scooped her up and carried her back through the jungle.

The myriad of voices asking her if she what had happened was overwhelming and she could only concentrate on one of them...Jake's. She was crying hard now, this time it was relief at being found and finally feeling safe in his arms. She knew she had to stop and take hold of herself.

"It was Jeff. He's here on the island."

"Jeff? What's he done? I'll kill that bastard," Alonzo pushed his way in front of Jake and stopped them.

"NO," Celeste screamed at him, "He's got a gun; we have to get away from here."

Jake put Celeste down, but she still clung to him. "Who's Jeff?"

"He owns the fishing charter on the other dock," Peter spoke up. "What's he done to you Celeste?"

Celeste hung her head, "nothing," she whispered, "but he tried..." her voice trailed off but Jake understood completely.

Jake placed his hand on her chin to raise her head and she winced in pain. "Look at me," he commanded. When she raised her head he saw the ugly purple bruise forming on her jaw. He hadn't seen the bruise when he found her. He had scooped her up so quickly, so happy that she was still alive, her face buried in his chest and hot tears soaking through his shirt. He had just wanted to get her back to the ship. The guilt he now felt was overpowering. He had left her...again. He swore he would make it right this time and he almost lost her because he was being selfish...again.

"Alonzo, take Celeste and the others back to the ship." He guided Celeste over to Alonzo who immediately took her in his arms protectively. Jake pulled the cutlass from its scabbard.

"Where do you think you're going?" Alonzo asked.

"I'm goin' tae find this Jeff," he turned quickly and Celeste broke free of Alonzo and ran after him, pulling his right arm back to spin him around.

"NO. You can't go after him, he's got a gun, he's crazy, he'll kill you. We have to go back to the ship and get out of here," she pleaded.

"He's hurt you Celeste and he could have killed yeh. He's got tae pay fer that," Jake turned again and Celeste ran in front of him.

"NO. You're NOT a pirate anymore and I won't let you kill anybody. We'll call the authorities and they'll take care of him. Now let's go," she pulled his arm hard and he followed.

"She's right," Howie added, "these are different times. Please, let's just go."

The others voiced their agreement and Jake gave in and began to walk towards them when a sudden sharp pain hit him and he fell to his knees.

"Jake, what's wrong," Celeste cried and knelt down beside him, trying to help.

Howie rushed towards him, "Alex...Alex...are you okay, tell me what's wrong."

Jake took a deep breath and stood up. "I'm fine. Let's get back tae the ship," he stood, "quick now".

Howie reluctantly followed orders but kept a keen eye on Jake the whole way back. He was still rubbing his chest. Doctors didn't know everything; that had to be more than anxiety.

The others were waiting at the beach. Patrice had retrieved the first aid kit from the ship but that was all that had been accomplished. Brent was still on the beach, so was Sandra. She had steadfastly refused to move until Celeste was back and that meant that Brent could not be on the ship by himself. Jenny had tried her best to reassure them that Celeste had probably just gotten misdirected and would be back before the men but Sandra didn't believe a word, something about sisterly intuition. Jenny understood exactly what she meant. Everyone seemed a little tense when they'd gotten back from their treasure hunt. It was supposed to be fun, wasn't it? She plopped herself down onto the sand and thought about everyone's situations. She was sure she could help if she could just figure them all out.

Patrice and Bill had definitely had some sort of argument. They had been the first ones back and according to Mel and Dianna they hadn't spoken to each other at all. Patrice looked as though she'd been crying. She had sat alone at the far end of the beach. And poor Bill, he kept watching her, but he, too, kept away from everyone. "Hmm."

Howie and Peter had been speaking with Alonzo and the three of them looked worried about something, most likely about Celeste and Jake. Alonzo was quite the protective father to this group. It must be hard on the Alpha male when he's being dethroned, she thought, and it looked like this Alpha male was going to fight to the death. "Hmm."

Howie had been watching Melissa but she seemed to be ignoring him. They had been flirting quite a bit lately and Jenny could see a definite attraction there. "Hmm."

The whole mood on the beach had changed since this morning, all except for Brent and Sam. That seemed to be the same. She looked around for Sam; he was at the launch with Patrice. The interfering gene kicked in again and she decided to go over and speak with Brent, since he was the only one left to interfere with. It was tricky talking to teenagers, they never listened, and if they did, they never really understood the adult logic.

Brent sat on a shady piece of sand near the trees and watched the others. He made shapes in the sand with the tip of his cutlass waiting for Jake to return. He liked Celeste and hoped that she was okay, but let's face it, what could happen out here? Nothing, that's what. Just when he was beginning to think his Dad wasn't totally lame he does this. All the other guys go looking for Celeste and he stays here. He should have gone with them...be a real man for once...like Jake. Jenny came over and sat beside him. She was okay, he supposed. They all were, for the most part, but the only one he really wanted to hang with was Jake.

"What's up, bud, you look kind of sad?" Jenny asked.

Brent just shrugged and looked at his dad talking with Patrice.

"What's up with you and your dad, kid? He's a good guy."

"Yeah," was the only response.

"I know, not my business," she replied and stared out at the ocean.

Brent stayed quiet.

"You know, Jake gave your Dad quite the responsibility today."

"What? Staying here?" he mocked.

"No, protecting all of us. In Jake's world that's a biggie. Jake has a lot of respect for your Father." They sat in silence for a moment and before either of them could speak Peter and Bill appeared from the jungle,

"Come on, we're leaving, NOW," Peter yelled.

Sandra rushed over to Alonzo who had now appeared with Celeste close behind him.

"OH MY GOD, Celeste, what happened? Look at your face, are you all right?" Sandra gently placed her fingers on the blossoming bruise on Celeste's chin.

Celeste took her hand, "I'm okay, now. Come on, we have to get out of here." She tried to pull Sandra towards the beach.

"But what happened?" she asked again as they ran to the launch.

"Jeff," was her only response.

Sandra stopped dead in her tracks in front of Celeste, and turned to her "Oh, my God, did he..."

Celeste shook her head, "no, but he tried. Willy stopped him."

"Willy? Celeste, what were those gunshots we heard?" she screamed.

"I don't know, but I think Jeff killed Willy. That's why we have to get out of here." She grabbed Sandra by the arm again and they made for the launch.

Melissa, Dianna, Patrice and Jenny were in the launch, as was Brent and Peter started the engine, but a louder engine was heard close by and getting closer.

The crew of the _Celestial Breeze_ all recognised the sound of Jeff's fishing boat coming towards them.

CHAPTER 41

A distant wind had been blowing steadily since he had emerged from the jungle with Celeste. Tinged with danger and familiarity, this was a wind of finality. The moment he heard the engine he had ordered Sam and Alonzo to take Celeste and Sandra and hide in the jungle and they had obeyed.

"I'll take care of the boy, Sam; ye needn't worry, now quick, go." He withdrew his cutlass and made ready for whatever came next.

Jeff's fishing boat came around the bend quickly and pulled up parallel to the beach. He fired a shot that narrowly missed Peter and sliced into the water.

"GET OUT OF THE BOAT!" he screamed at them but they seemed frozen in the boat. He fired another shot and hit Dianna in the shoulder. "NOW!" he growled.

There was a loud shriek from Dianna as the bullet pierced her shoulder blade and the blood started to flow. Melissa was the first one out of the boat and quickly removed her t-shirt to use as a compress on Dianna's wound. Patrice grabbed the first-aid kit and jumped out of the launch into the knee-deep water beside Melissa. Together they helped her out of the boat and Dianna was able to make it back to shore under her own power. Patrice led them to a shaded area where she could tend to her the wound.

"YOU AND YOU!" he pointed to Bill and John who had run to the launch to try and help everyone out to safety. They both stopped in their tracks, "GET THIS GARBAGE OFF MY BOAT! He motioned to the stern where they found Willy, a blood soaked cloth trying to stave off the bright red ooze from his right side.

"OH, Jesus," Bill felt a sudden urge to throw up, but he forced it back. John remained calm and took Willy by the shoulders. Together they gently carried him off the boat and over to Patrice. Bill stayed with her to help, as did John. Bill took off his own shirt to apply as a compress to Willy's wound, but it didn't look good.

"Celeste," a whisper from Willy's lips, "must tell Celeste," his voice was almost inaudible and Patrice shushed him.

"Don't talk, you need to conserve your energy," her voice was soothing yet commanding. "John I need some clean water, there were a couple of bottles in the launch, do you think you can get them?" He looked over at the fishing boat; Jeff was in the water now and making his way towards Jake.

"I think so," he made sure Jeff was concentrating on other things and then carefully made his way to the boat for the water.

She turned back to Dianna and lifted the compress, "you'll be fine, sweetie, the bullet went straight through and the blood is already starting to clot, but I'm sure it hurts like hell."

"Yeah, it does, but I'm okay," she turned to Melissa who was still holding the compress, "thanks; hey, why the tears? Didn't you hear, I'm gonna be fine."

"I know, I'm sorry," she spoke softly, trying to hold back the emotion, "I just..."

"I know, I know, come here," Dianna pulled Melissa's head towards her and gave her a hug with her good arm.

"Where's my Dad?" Brent whispered to Jenny.

"I think he's with Alonzo, that's the last place I saw him, but I'm sure he's okay."

"But he shot Dianna, and..."

Jenny could see the tears welling up and she hugged him tightly, "your Dad's okay," she soothed, but inside she wasn't sure if any of them would be.

Another shot rang out and everyone turned their attention back to Jeff. He was at the water's edge, completely focussed on Jake.

"HEY," Howie hollered and stepped back as a bullet lodged in the sand a scant eight inches in front of them, but Jake didn't move. He stood transfixed, cutlass in his left hand, ready.

"So, PIRATE-BOY, what ya gonna do against a gun, huh?" he fired again at Jake's feet; still, Jake did not move.

"Well, you've got some big ones, don't ya?" he looked around, "CELESTE!" he screamed, "YOU BETTER GET OUT HERE BEFORE I KILL THIS PIG. YOU'VE GOT TWO MINUTES." Jeff looked at his watch, it was getting late and they had to be off this island soon.

"I've got to go out there," Celeste whispered.

"No," Sandra whispered back loudly, "you can't."

"She's right, you can't go out there. He's unstable; you don't know what he's going to do," Sam added.

Celeste grabbed Alonzo by the arm, "Alonzo, you've got to get to the ship, call VISAR. They can get a helicopter out here for Dianna and Willy, and they can bring guns."

"I'm not leaving you," he held Sandra tighter and looked at all of their faces, "any of you."

"You have to. You're the only one who can get to the ship," she tried again.

"No, I won't leave you."

"I can go," Sam interjected.

Celeste smiled, "I believe you can, but Alonzo knows where to find our co-ordinates and he knows how to get in touch with VISAR, it's easier if he goes," she turned to Alonzo, "for all our sakes, Alonzo, you need to get to the ship. You can go through the jungle and out to the water. You're a strong swimmer."

"She's right," Sandra turned to him, "please go get help. We'll be fine."

Alonzo watched Jeff, and then turned to see everyone gathered at the far side of the beach, he knew Celeste was right, he had to go. None of them could do anything against a gun. "Okay," he turned to Sandra and kissed her, "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"I know, now go." She watched him until he was out of sight and then turned her attentions back to the beach.

"TIME'S UP, CELESTE!" Jeff fired another shot, this time into the air.

"She's no coming, Edward,"

Jeff stopped and scratched his head with the butt of his gun. "Did you just call me Edward?" he asked quizzically.

"Aye"

Jeff laughed loudly, "my, my, my, you really are crazy, now aren't ya."

"You should know," he replied calmly.

Jeff stopped laughing, "I wouldn't be so cocky if I were in your position," Jeff pointed the gun at Jake, this time at his head, "especially with me in mine," he spat, "and I'm sick of you."

"Oh, aye, ye're sick, but it's nothing tae dae wi' me." Jake was baiting him now.

Jeff's face turned red and his gun hand shook in rage, "I'll kill you, you filthy piece of shit."

"Now, Edward, we weren't meant teh fight wi' guns. It's the sword we were meant teh die by." He turned to the makeshift hospital, "Brent. I'll be needin' yer cutlass." He turned back to Howie and ordered, "get it from him."

"Alex, you can't be serious..."

"Go."

Howie took a moment and studied Jeff, he was still holding the gun at Jake's head...Alex's head..., but he looked like he was trying to figure out his next move. He took a few steps and Jeff did nothing; he continued to walk purposefully over and retrieved the cutlass from Brent quickly stopping to see how Dianna was doing. He kissed her on top of the forehead and spoke quickly with John and Bill.

"What the hell is he doing?" Bill asked.

"I have no idea" Howie replied.

"I think he's trying to get that gun away from him. Get him to put it away and use the sword," John offered.

"And you think we're gonna be better off with a sword fight?" Bill retorted, "I mean, he's gotta be out of ammo by now, right?"

"No, that's a Beretta, it can hold fifteen and he's shot, what, seven? He's probably got another clip with him, too. I'm betting one bullet for each of us." John stated quietly so that the others wouldn't hear.

"How do you know all that?" Peter asked.

"Used to be in the military, long time ago," he turned to Howie, "you'd better get going with that sword," and to them both he added, "but as soon as we get a chance to get that gun, dive on it." They nodded and Howie took the cutlass out to the last real pirate.

Jake took the weapon and threw it at Jeff. It landed neatly in the sand at his feet with a soft thud.

Jeff lowered his gun slightly as he bent down and slowly picked up the cutlass. He now placed the gun in the small of his back.

"CELESTE," Jeff screamed, "I WANT YOU OUT HERE TO WATCH ME KILL THIS 'PIRATE' OF YOURS."

Celeste didn't move, Jake had ordered her to stay out of sight and until he gave the signal that's exactly what she would do. But, how in the world could she ever live with herself if he died because of her. Sandra and Sam both clasped an arm on her to hold her back and she looked at them both now and nodded. She would stay.

Jeff scanned the jungle for her. "WELL, MAYBE IT'S NOT YOUR PIRATE YOU CARE SO MUCH ABOUT. MAYBE IT'S THE BOY OVER THERE."

Jeff swiftly removed the gun and aimed it at Brent. Jenny immediately jumped in front of him and Sam came running out of the jungle towards Jeff, cutlass in his hand."

"UH UH," he repositioned his gun towards Sam, "but thanks for letting me know where she is. _You can come out now, Celeste_ ," he sang. "And YOU," he pointed the gun at Sam, "drop that and get over there," he pointed to the others.

Sam dropped the cutlass and walked slowly towards the other passengers. He had made it almost half-way when Brent came running up to him and hugged him tightly around the middle. He was shaking and Sam could feel the tears, but there was no time for this father-son moment, they had to get to safer ground, "Come on, let's get back, it's going to be okay."

"Sandra, you stay here, you can't walk on that ankle. And besides, he doesn't want you." Celeste took a step towards the beach.

"No, you can't. He'll kill you, he's crazy," she whispered frantically.

"I know, but I can't let him kill everyone else because of me. Don't worry, I'll be okay" her voice quivered and then steadied, "Jake won't let anything happen to me."

"You trust him that much?" she sounded unsure of him now that her sister's life was in danger.

"Yes." Celeste kissed Sandra on the cheek and walked onto the beach and stood at Jake's right side.

"There's my sweet girl. Come over to me, Celeste. NOW!" Jeff cooed.

"NO. She stays wi' me." Jake turned to her, "yeh shouldn'a hae come out, but I understand."

"I don't think so." He pointed the gun again, this time at Sam and Brent, "I'm sure I could get both with one shot."

"It's okay, Jake, I'll go," she said aloud, and then whispered to him, "get me back."

She took a couple of steps towards him and Jake grabbed her by the arm, but his eyes remained fixed on the madman in front of him, "No, you'll kill her just like yeh did before and I'll no have it happen again." He guided her back behind him.

"Really, Long John? Well, then, I guess the only way to settle this is, as you suggested, a good old fashioned sword fight, huh?" Jeff was highly agitated now, sarcastic insanity animating his movements.

"Celeste, go with the others," Jake ordered and she reluctantly obeyed.

Jeff watched her go, a look of contempt on his face as she followed that bastard's orders but not his.

"Have it your way, _Jake_ ," Jeff put the gun back in his waistband and brandished the sword in its stead. "Let's do it."

"Aye, but if ye dinna mind, I'll be fightin' upwind from ya this time, I see ye still smell as bad" he grinned widely and started to manoeuvre himself between Jeff and the water.

Peter met Celeste with a protective hug before she joined the others where she immediately knelt beside Willy to find out his condition. He had saved her life, most likely she realised, at the cost of his own.

"Celeste," he whispered.

"I'm here, Willy," she answered.

"You can't get on Jeff's boat, promise me," he coughed, "promise me, you won't get on his boat," his voice was weak now, but determined to get his message out.

"I promise, Willy, I promise, save your strength" she stroked his forehead and looked to Patrice who merely lowered her eyes and continued to keep pressure on his wound. John took off his shirt and handed it to Patrice nodded and tore it into strips to use as fresh bandages. The sun was starting to set now, and it wouldn't be long before she would be unable to see anything at all. They all turned quickly as the first clang of steel pierced the quiet.

Jeff was the first to strike and Jake took one step back, easily and quickly blocking his blow.

"Aye, ah see ye're still as bad wi' a sword as yeh ever were, Edward." Jake took another step back at the next blow, leading Jeff away from the others.

"I'm not as bad as you seem to think, Jackass," he pushed his way through the sand sending Jake back further towards the tree line, his blade slashing at Jake's with venom in every blow.

The smile on Jake's face did not once fade and the fury in Jeff's only increased.

"You're keeping up quite well, Edward, I must say, but ye'll no defeat me," he taunted.

"Really...according to your little fairy tale last night I managed to kill you pretty good the last time," he shot back.

"Oh, aye? Yeh were listening, were yeh? I thought I smelled somethin'. Is that what yeh think happened?" Jake continued to block Jeff's advances, allowing him to think he was dominant. He had to admit that the new Edward was somewhat skilled but he would not win this time.

"Isn't that what you told everyone? You know I'm better than you and I'll have Celeste while your carcass rots on this same beach."

"Ah, now Eddie, Celeste wouldn'a hae a man such as yersel, she's standards, ye know. And I'm afraid that she'd much prefer tae throw hersel' in wi' pigs than teh hae you." He laughed at the rage he could see building in him.

"DON'T CALL ME EDDIE! MY NAME IS JEFF," he screamed and lunged, his sword slicing past Jake's and slashing his shirtsleeve. The blade left its mark on Jake and a thin rivulet of blood started to seep from his forearm.

Jake only laughed louder as he inspected his arm, "Well done, Eddie, ye've drawn first blood," but Jake's smile faded quickly "now it's my turn," a lightning strike across Jeff's left shoulder caused Jeff to scream and jump back quickly. A gash quickly appeared, drawing far more blood than Jeff's blade had.

"Somebody's got to do something. One of them's gonna get killed," Jenny whispered.

"What do you suggest we do? They've both got swords and one of them has a gun. Personally, I'm not ready to jump into the middle of that without a suit of armour," John replied simply.

"Look, if Jake can back him up to the trees maybe we can knock him out with something, there's lots of rocks on this island," Bill suggested.

"Well, unless you've got a hell of a good throwing arm you'll probably _lose_ an arm, cause ain't no way you're getting close enough to hit him with anything," John countered.

"I wouldn't worry about it, gentlemen," Sam interjected, "I've been watching them and Jake's just playing with him, trying to tire him out before he really starts fighting."

"What do you mean 'playing with him'? They're both bleeding now," Patrice piped in.

"Does it look bad? I mean, from a medical point of view?" Celeste asked her.

"I don't think so, although they'll both probably need stitches."

"I hope that's all," Celeste whispered under her breath.

The fury was back in Jeff's eyes and he ran at Jake, sword straight out, Jake merely allowed Jeff's blade to slide off his own and stepped to the side. One foot quicky kicked out left and Jeff sprawled face down in the sand. Jake plucked the gun from Jeff's waistband and threw it into the ocean.

Jeff rolled over and winced as the sand ground into his wound. Jake quickly stepped on Jeff's right wrist, effectively preventing him from using his sword. He stood over Jeff, the same position that Edward had taken over him on that last day. Justice.

Jake placed the tip of his sword on Edward's chest and felt metal. Jake saw an imprint of a ring under the soft cloth shirt he wore. He ran the sword up to Edward's neck and pulled out the string and the small gold band it held.

"Where did you get that?" he whispered to Edward.

"None of your business, asshole," he shot back.

Jake bent down to get the ring and Jeff threw a fistful of sand into his face sending him backwards, wiping at his face trying to get the sand out of one eye.

Jeff got to his feet quickly, "get ready to die now, shithead," he raced towards him and was quick to learn how dangerous Jake could really be.

Jake raised his sword and stopped Edward's. His eye had teared up now and flushed most of the sand out. He had fought under worse circumstances.

"It won't be me who dies this time, Eddie," Jake forced Jeff back, his blows fierce and ear-splitting. "You really think you killed me back then?"

Jeff looked puzzled and the arrogance he had once worn had now faded. He looked worried.

"You said Edward killed you. I heard you. He killed you then just like I'll kill you now," but Jeff didn't sound as sure as he had only a few minutes ago.

"No, Edward may have put that sword through ma chest, but only because I let him do it." Jake backed him up to the trees, the strikes from his blade strong and accurate. Jeff could barely keep the blade away from his head. "Actually, he killed me twice."

Cross blades were at Jeff's neck now, with Jake in full control of them both. Jake grasped the basket of Jeff's cutlass and pried it from his hand. "Once when ye killed Marianna", he pushed Jeff back hard against a palm tree, his head rebounding off its trunk and the blade of Jake's cutlass slammed into the tree beside Jeff's neck. There was definite fear in Jeff's eyes now and hatred in Jake's.

"And once when I allowed yeh teh put me out o' the misery I was in at her death." Jake raised the sword in his right hand...

"NO!" Celeste screamed from across the beach. Never in her mind did she believe that Jake would kill Jeff but now she was afraid that that was exactly what would happen. Everyone had been listening to his words but now it was his actions they were stunned by. She raced across the beach screaming. "NO! JAKE! YOU CAN'T KILL HIM! I WON'T LET YOU! NO!" She grabbed Jake's arm after he had sunk the blade of the second cutlass into the tree at Jeff's neck.

Jeff cringed trying to keep his neck from being sliced open by the blades bolstering his throat as Jake ripped the ring from his neck.

Celeste was trying to hold back the tears but it was no use and she wiped them away with her hand. Jeff was still alive and that was a good thing.

"Why?" Jake asked her. He wiped his right eye again and stared at the ring, rubbing his chest.

She hugged him tightly and took him away from Jeff, "Why what?" she asked through sniffles and tears.

"Why didn't you want me to kill him?" he looked up at her searching for an answer.

Celeste took a moment to figure it out for herself. Certainly Jeff hadn't deserved her compassion after what he'd done, but did he deserve to die? "I didn't want you to kill," she answered simply.

Jake smiled in understanding, "Aye, yeh never did." He rolled his mother's ring between his fingers, "this is for you, Celeste." He took her left hand in his and slipped the gold band onto her ring finger.

Celeste barely had time to smile at the sweet sentiment when Jake's face contorted in pain. He clutched his chest in agony and fell forward.

Sandra limped out from the trees as fast as she was able to help her sister. Jake wasn't breathing and Celeste already had him rolled onto his back giving him mouth-to-mouth. "Patrice," she called. "Come help Celeste."

John and Howie had rushed the tree where Jeff had been secured and removed the swords. Each of his arms were now firmly in their grip and they thought that most of the fight had gone out of him. He didn't struggle. Howie heard Celeste scream and immediately let go of Jeff and rushed to Alex's aid.

Patrice checked his vitals but he was already breathing on his own, "Stand back, all of you, give him some air. He's breathing now, he's okay." Patrice pushed Howie out of the way.

"Jake. Are you okay?" Howie asked.

Jake slowly opened his eyes and Celeste stroked his cheek. He stared at them, dazed, "Jake. Are you okay?" Howie asked again.

His eyes darted back and forth, at all of their faces, but he didn't speak.

"What's wrong, Alex? ALEX!" Howie shook him by the shoulders but the same look of confusion stayed on his face, "Patrice, what's wrong with him?"

"I don't know; he looks kind of disoriented? His pulse is pretty high. I think it's some type of panic attack. We'd better get him back to the ship. PETER!" Patrice called out and he came immediately, "Do you have any type of sedatives on board?"

"Yeah, I have some valium, will that do?"

"To start, I think he's okay otherwise, his arm doesn't look too bad. Just needs to be cleaned up. I don't think he even needs stitches."

"Let's get him up," Patrice took him under one arm and Howie under the other and started to make their way to the launch. "Celeste, go check on Willy for me, I'll take care of your man and be right back." Celeste nodded and left Jake in Patrice's care.

"Alex, it'll be okay, we'll get you back to your cabin and you can rest, you'll be fine," Howie heard himself say it but he was less than convinced.

Alonzo came out of the jungle, still soaking wet from his swim, and ran to Sandra, wrapping his arms around her. He thanked God that they were all safe. He had heard the shots from the ship and had prayed no one else had been injured or worse yet, killed.

"Did you get in touch with them?" she asked.

"Yeah, they won't be out here for at least an hour, but they have our position. We'd better get back to the ship, it'll be dark soon and they'll need to see our lights to find us."

"Come on, they're taking Jake back to the ship, we can go with them." He picked her up and carried her to the launch.

John thought he had a good hold on his prisoner but was left flat on his ass when Jeff broke free and shoved him to the ground. He grabbed one of the cutlasses and ran after Jake. "LOOK OUT!" John screamed at them.

Jeff was making a mad dash for Jake, cutlass raised in preparation for the attack. He was almost upon them when Howie and Patrice turned and saw him coming but there was barely any time for them to react. Bill had been waiting by the launch and now ran to Patrice's side, the only thing he had time to do was to stand in front of her so that she wouldn't be hurt. Howie tried to carry Alex out of the way but he was now just dead weight, barely even able to stand.

He closed his eyes and heard a loud clang of steel on steel and opened his eyes to see Sam in a duel with Jeff.

Sam had seen Jeff's escape and ran as fast as he could to intercept him. He hadn't run in years and was surprised to find that he could still do it. He'd really had to reach to intercept that blade but luck had been with him. He forced Jeff back, away from the others and quickly disarmed him with one clean sweep of his blade.

Jeff backed off quickly, hands up halfway, "sorry to leave, folks, but it's getting late," he turned and darted to his boat.

Howie and Sam started to give chase but Celeste stopped them, "just let him go, the police will catch up with him," she called. The _Clarissa's_ engine started up and Jeff wasted no time in getting her out to sea.

"Dad, that was awesome," Brent yelled and ran towards Sam, "you really DO know how to fight. Can you show me some of those moves?"

Sam smiled in surprise, "sure," was the only reply he was able to get out and he watched Brent run and pick up the other blades.

"Bill?" Patrice followed him back to where Willy was resting.

"Yeah?" he responded somewhat surprised. She hadn't spoken to him since the jungle and had stayed as far away from him as possible the last few hours.

"I..." she stopped and looked at the ground, "I can't believe you put yourself in front of me like that" she whispered.

"Hmm. I really didn't think about it, I just wanted you to be safe."

"Why?"

He looked at her, incredulous that she would even have to ask, "because I love you, that's why," he stared at her and her eyes met his and didn't waver.

Patrice curled up the corner of her mouth, "okay, now I believe you," she rushed to him, threw her arms around him and kissed him.

Bill didn't let go.

"I hope that's the last we see of him," Peter piped up.

"Somehow I doubt it," Alonzo replied, "crazy always turns up," he turned to the others, "There's a helicopter on the way to take Dianna and Willy to the hospital, and I think maybe Jake should go, too," he pointed at Jake sitting on the sand, his lips were moving in silent conversation and his eyes were darting back and forth; _here's that psychotic episode_ , he thought. "The rest of us will sail back, okay, Celeste?"

"Yeah, I guess so," worry in her eyes.

Alonzo put his arm around her and she put her head on his shoulder. "Look, I'm gonna go to the ship with Sandra and man the radio. Peter and John can come and get some supplies till they get here, sound good."

Celeste was still watching Jake, Howie was with him, holding him, just exactly what she should be doing. "Huh," she grunted as she absent-mindedly rubbed the ring on her finger, "oh, yeah," she turned to Alonzo, "yeah, that's a plan."

Alonzo turned to Sandra, "OKAY, she's all yours; I'm going to the launch, hurry up."

"What time is it?" Willy whispered and Melissa had to bend down to hear him.

"What's he saying?" Dianna asked?

"He just wants to know what time it is."

Jenny looked at her watch, "It's a couple of minutes to six."

"Oh, Celeste, I forgot to tell you, Pelican's on the _Breeze_." Sandra advised.

"What?"

"Yeah, Alonzo said she landed there just after he climbed on board."

Celeste looked over at Willy and mouthed a silent "thank you."

Three minutes later, about a mile off shore, a loud explosion pounded the air and a pillar of fire was visible for a few moments before being completely engulfed by the sea and the ensuing darkness.

Willy smiled and laughed quietly before falling into unconsciousness.

CHAPTER 42

VISAR had picked up the wounded and Alex two days ago. There was no extra room for Howie or Melissa to ride with them, and although Dianna would most likely make a full recovery, the prognosis didn't look good for Willy. And they had absolutely no idea what was wrong with Alex. Howie had tried twice to find out only to be told that he was in some sort of catatonia and seemed to be coming out of it slowly. They would know more soon, but Dianna had left word that she would stay with him and send word if there was any change. This put Howie's mind at ease, at least for the voyage back.

Alonzo had made arrangements with Oscar, the owner of the Rising Tide, to look after both Dianna and Alex should they be discharged before _The Celestial Breeze_ returned to port. He promised that he would make sure they had a place to stay and they could eat at his restaurant free of charge. This put Celeste's mind at ease as well. Oscar was a good friend and she knew he would take good care of them.

This cruise would be a day late in returning but no one would miss their planes back home, but the authorities would have a lot of questions about what had happened.

On their way back they had sailed near the area where the explosion had taken place. There was nothing. If there had been some sign of Jeff or his boat it was long gone. It had been a massive explosion and Celeste knew what had happened but she would not implicate Willy. He had saved her life and she could never repay him for that.

The _Celestial Breeze_ docked at Treillis Bay sometime around four p.m. and found both Dianna and Alex waiting for them on the pier.

Melissa rushed to Dianna and threw her arms around her, careful not to reinjure her shoulder, now in a white cotton sling.

"Jake, how you doin'?" Melissa hugged him.

"Alex, please. Alex," he hugged her back. "I'm trying to forget my insanity phase, if you don't mind," he joked.

Brent ran down the gangplank, followed by Sam. "Great to see you're doing well, Jake...uh, Alex." Sam shook his hand. Brent stood, unsure whether to hug him or shake his hand and finally decided on the hug.

Big hugs and kisses from Jenny and Patrice. John and Bill merely shook his hand while the others started to mill around them.

Jenny asked him seriously, "you're okay, right?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

"You look fine," Howie carefully stepped down the gangplank, "but you looked fine the other way, too. How will I know if it's really you?"

"I hate selling insurance," he said stonily.

Howie smiled, "hell, that could be anybody." He hugged him tightly until Alex pushed him aside and walked up the plank to where Celeste was standing at the top.

Celeste didn't want to interrupt their reunion. Her first instinct on the beach had been to rush to his side and care for him, but Howie was his best friend and he already had that job. And now, her first instinct was to run into his arms, kiss him and make sure he was okay, but she held back. Jake would easily have accepted her but she wasn't sure what Alex's reaction would be; after all, he hadn't spent the last few days with her...Jake had.

"What do you think is gonna happen with them, Howie?" Dianna came over and asked him.

"I don't know." He turned and put his arm around her waist, "So, how're you, kid?"

"I'm good," she sighed and looked over to Melissa and then back to Howie. She'd had a couple of days to think about what she really wanted to do with her life and what kind of a friend she wanted to be.

"Howie."

"Yeah?"

"Do you like Melissa?"

"What? Of course I like her, why wouldn't I? She's a nice girl. I like you, too, you know."

Dianna smiled, "Thanks, but...I think you like Melissa differently than you like me."

"Why would you say that?" Howie looked uncomfortable, "besides, I don't think she likes me that way, if that's what you mean. She barely spoke to me on the trip back."

"Oh, well, I'm sure I can fix that." She took Howie by the arm and led him over to Melissa.

Alex stepped on board and Celeste greeted him ambivalently.

Alonzo interrupted them and gave Alex a hug and a handshake, "Thanks." Sandra followed suit and both disembarked and joined the others on the pier.

Peter was the last, and he too, hugged Alex with a tear in his eye before he disembarked.

"Did I do something?" he asked Celeste.

She huffed out a short laugh and nodded, "Yeah, you did something all right."

He smiled shyly and paused, choosing his words carefully before he spoke, "listen...Dianna filled me in on my 'activities' the last few days and I just want to apologise..."

"No, hey, no need to apologise. We're good here," Celeste turned back and Alex put his hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"No, that's not...I just meant...can we sit down?"

Celeste tried to keep her emotions in check as they sat in the parlour.

Alex sat quietly for a moment and then blurted out "I love you."

Celeste sat, stunned, before managing to stammer out "what?"

He smiled, "I have since the first moment I came on board and...although I don't really remember everything that happened, Dianna tells me that you and I got...close."

"Yeah, we did."

"I'd like to say that we should forget about the last few days, but apparently that's not going to be possible," he motioned over to the pier and the passengers, all waiting to see what would happen with them.

Celeste laughed, "huh, no, you're right."

"But maybe we can start over and you can get to know _me_ ," he took her left hand in both of his and looked into her eyes.

"I'd like that, Alex."

He smiled.

"I quit my job today."

Her eyebrows crinkled, "what?"

"Well, if we're going to get to know each other I'm going to have to stay down here to do that, so I quit."

"But what will you do for money?"

"Well, your friend Oscar has offered me a job at his restaurant, so I'll be working there." He saw the look of concern on her face and thought that maybe this was a bad idea. "I'm sorry, if you don't want me to stay here I won't. I can go back to Canada and we can visit. Whatever you want. I don't want to push you into something you're not ready for. I just thought it would be easier for us to see each other if I was close by."

"No, it's not that at all. I just can't believe you did that for me."

"Look, I know how much you must love sailing, after all, Captain of this ship is a big deal, and I thought about asking your boss for a job. For some reason I seem to remember everything about sailing, just not much else. Anyway, I thought that would just be way too much togetherness if you weren't ready for it, so I settled for land."

Celeste laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, it's just that now you're the serving wench."

Alex cocked his head, "huh?"

She laughed and shook her head, but she was awed by the fact that, whoever this man was or is, he was willing to give up everything for her, and voluntarily decided to stay on land. She wouldn't let him go.

"Well, as it so happens there are a couple of spots available on this ship."

"Yeah, well, I'm not much of a cook. I heard Alonzo and Sandra are leaving."

"Dianna really did fill you in, didn't she?"

"Yeah, she's amazing. Oscar hired her, too."

"Really, she's staying here?"

"Yup."

"Well, in that case, I think I can talk my boss into hiring you. Of course, you'll have to pass the Peter Test again."

He looked at her quizzically, "again?"

"You'll find out," she laughed, "and, there is one more test you'll have to pass if you want this job."

"What's that?"

Celeste leaned in and kissed him and Alex pulled her close to him, still holding her hand. When they broke she was captured by those brown eyes.

"Did I pass?"

"Oh, yeah, you passed."

Alex took her hand and kissed it gently, his eyes distracted momentarily by the ring on her finger. "That's not and engagement ring is it?" he sounded worried.

She touched it gingerly, "no, it's a family heirloom."

Peter returned to the ship, "I hate to interrupt, but the police are waiting to get statements and they've asked me to come get you."

"Already?" she asked.

"Yup, we'd better get a move on."

Alex and Celeste followed Peter down to the dock, hand in hand, and the others were all smiles.

"Right this way, folks," the constable ordered as the crew and passengers were led to waiting taxis to take them to the station for their statements.

Celeste and Alex stayed at the rear as the others followed the officer. This had simultaneously been the worst and best cruise of her life and she wondered what her passengers had thought of it.

Sam and Brent had the lead and Sam had his arm around Brent's shoulders. She marvelled at this. At the beginning of the trip she never thought such a thing was possible.

Jenny and John were next, laughing and joking the whole way to the taxis, followed by Patrice and Bill; their arms around each other's waists. It appeared as though they had resolved whatever issues they had started out with. Celeste hoped that was true.

Howie had one arm around Dianna and one around Melissa as they trailed behind the others. She hoped Dianna would be happy here.

And then there were Sandra and Alonzo. How she would miss them both, and she may not even be there for the birth of her new niece or nephew. Peter hobbled up the dock behind them. How could she not have noticed how bad his arthritis had gotten? She'd known he'd had it for a lot of years but she never imagined it was this crippling. He'd told her on the way back that Vancouver would be his last stop.

Her entire family was leaving her. Was this how Jake felt at sea? Alone? She understood now, his love of the sea and how difficult it could be to change your life. Sandra and Alonzo had done it, for her; and now they were changing it again, for themselves.

It had to be hardest on Peter. He was being forced to give it up, but he'd made his decision and she would stand by him.

She thought of Willy. He should be walking up this dock with the others, not lying in a hospital dying. His life changed most of all, and he was all alone now.

She looked now to Alex, the man who had crashed into her life and would be instrumental in rearranging it. He gazed down at her now and in an instant she felt at peace.

"You look pensive," he said.

"I am."

"About what? Your statement?"

"No..." she shook her head.

"About me?"

"Sort of."

"Are you having second thoughts already?" he stopped.

"Never," she put her arms thorough his and held tightly and pulled him along.

"Then what about?" he asked.

"Compromise," she replied.

EPILOGUE

The reception was held on the patio of Alonzo's which was now illuminated with thousands of tiny white lights. Candles flickered in their crystal holders on each of the tables and the smell of gardenias and jasmine filled the night air from the bouquets that surrounded them. The ceremony had been short and spectacular. The sunset their backdrop, and the ship their altar, a more perfect evening could not have been ordered.

"That was a beautiful ceremony, Celeste," Jenny hugged her, careful not to spill any champagne on Celeste's white satin gown.

"Thank you, I'm so glad you could all make it," Celeste took a glass of champagne from the waiter and clinked glasses with Jenny and John.

"You really didn't think that we'd miss any opportunity to come back here, did you?" Patrice interrupted.

"She's right, Celeste, and you really didn't have to pay for our flights and accommodations just to get us here," Bill added. The couple, who started off on such a rocky second honeymoon, were definitely on their third now. They hadn't been apart since they departed the _Breeze_ last year. _I guess all it takes is knowing what you might lose to make you hold onto it all the more_ , Celeste thought. She held onto Alex's arm even tighter now.

"It was my pleasure. After all, I still feel like I owe you all another vacation after the last one."

"The last one was fabulous, what are you talking about. I'm still telling all my friends about it." Jenny clinked her glass with John and drained the last of the champagne from it. John and Jenny hadn't stopped travelling. They had been to Scotland, England and Ireland on a six-week tour, and two cruises, one in the Mediterranean and one to Alaska. They seemed to be just as happy as ever.

"I expect you'll be wanting another one?" John asked sarcastically.

"Don't worry, someone will be around soon with more," Dianna advised. Dianna's shoulder had healed nicely. She would forever have that ugly scar, but she had no problem in recounting the story behind it to anyone who asked. She'd quit her job via telephone and moved to the British Virgin Islands permanently. She now managed Alonzo's.

Alonzo and Sandra had returned to Vancouver, but Alonzo only lasted three months in his new job. He hated the pressure and there was very little time to spend with Sandra. They contacted Diego, the owner of Diego's Seafood Restaurant, who was very happy to sell. Diego had been kicking around the idea of retiring for a while and Alonzo made him a very good offer. They had moved back just after baby Evan was born. He was now six months old and doing very well.

"Dianna," Melissa scolded, "you're not working tonight, remember. Now drink up and let's party! WHOOHOO!" Melissa grabbed Dianna by the hand and twirled her around. Dianna just laughed and danced with her best friend.

"You're girlfriend's a little wild tonight, Howie," Alex stood beside him, arms crossed, and watched the two women spin on the dance floor. Alex had, of course, left his job and moved to be with Celeste. This left a spot open at Omega in Toronto, which was quickly snatched up by Melissa. She and Howie had gotten a lot closer over the past year and were now living together in a small house in Mississauga.

"Yeah, she's had a LOT of champagne," he just shook his head and chuckled.

"Speaking of girlfriends, when do I get to kiss the bride?"

"Right now, honey. Lay one on me," Celeste puckered up. Howie kissed her grandmotherly on the cheek.

"Wow. You really do kiss your grandmother with those lips," Alex laughed and Celeste with him.

"Hey, I'm just trying to be dignified here. It's the occasion."

"SAM! Get over here and kiss my wife," Alex called.

Sam was looking much happier, he'd shed a little weight and had started roller blading and swimming with Brent, and last summer they signed up for fencing classes. Brent shadowed his father over, he even looked happier. According to Sam, he'd gotten a whole different group of friends, and Sam knew them and their parents all by name.

Sam hustled over and gave Celeste a quick kiss on the lips.

"Hmm," Alex grunted, "that wasn't too much better, was it?"

"Sorry, about that, I'm a little out of practice, you know."

Celeste curled her mouth into a frown at Alex, "just never you mind Sam, it was perfect."

"Brent!" Alex crooked a finger at him.

"Yeah, what's up, Alex?" Brent had grown, at least two inches, in the last year, and this year his clothing all fit. They were still a little big, but not so much that he would fall overboard.

Alex put one hand on Brent's shoulder, "well, it's like this, I need you to kiss my wife."

"Scuse me?" Brent replied hesitantly.

"You see, it is customary for men to kiss the bride on her wedding day, sort of wish her good luck. And these two", he motioned to Howie and Sam, "don't seem to know how to do it properly. Why don't you show 'em how it's done."

Brent just looked at him and shook his head, "okay," he went over to Celeste and kissed her on the cheek.

Alex shook his head, "well, I guess I'm just gonna have to show you guys how to kiss a woman. Celeste let out a small cry of surprise as he swept her into his arms and dipped her down, kissing her passionately for a full minute before putting her back on her feet.

"That, gentlemen, is how it's done," Alex bowed and retrieved two glasses of champagne from the waiter passing by, handing one to Celeste.

Melissa hollered and grabbed a glass and a spoon and started the ball rolling. Alex took Celeste in his arms again, this time tenderly, and his kiss was gentle but no less passionate.

Peter waited patiently behind the couple until they were finished and then tapped Alex on the shoulder. "I believe it's my turn." Peter had returned with Celeste and Alex to Vancouver and there, he left the ship. He had stayed in Vancouver until Alonzo offered him a job in the restaurant as Host. Peter couldn't accept it fast enough.

Celeste opened her arms and pulled him towards her. She gave him a big kiss on the lips and one on each cheek. She wiped a tear from his cheek, "now stop that."

Peter wiped another away, "I'm just so happy for you, honey."

"I know," she whispered back.

Another cry arose from the corner and Sandra picked up baby Evan from his bassinette.

"Oh, oh," she cooed, "Mama's here, sweetie."

"Give him to me, honey," Maggie ordered.

"Sure Mom, but I think he's just wet."

"Well, then," she took Evan from Sandra and cradled him in her arms, "why don't I just change him, yes," she cooed, "why don't I just change your diedee."

Sandra gave up and watched her mother grab the diaper bag and head off into the restaurant.

"You'll never get to hold that child the entire time she's here, you know," Stan warned.

Sandra just sighed, "I know, dad."

"Your sister looks beautiful, doesn't she?" Stan put his arm around her and she did the same and rested her head on his chest.

Sandra smiled, "she really does."

"She looks happy."

"She really is."

"You must be so glad they came back here, Celeste." Patrice said.

"I am. I never really saw Alonzo as a business suit kind of guy. He's much more suited to owning a restaurant. I'm glad Diego sold it to him. And since Peter decided to come back it's like home." Sandra laughed, "Look at him over there, still checking to make sure everything's in order. Alonzo!" she called, "you're not supposed to be working either."

Alonzo gave instructions to two of his waiters before joining Celeste and Alex on the patio.

"Sorry, just a couple of things."

Alex scooped another glass of champagne from the tray and handed it to Alonzo.

"Thanks, Alex."

"So, have you kissed the bride yet?" he asked.

"Please," he scoffed, "it's like kissing my sister, ew!" then he smiled and gave her a kiss on the cheek, "congratulations," he turned to Alex, "and you," he smiled again and kissed Alex full on the lips.

"Ahgg," Alex wiped his lips with the back of his hand, "was that tongue?" and wiped his lips again.

Alonzo just smiled, tipped his glass at Alex and took a sip before disappearing into the restaurant.

Alex happened to look over and see another member of the wedding who had, as yet, to kiss his bride and called him over, "WILLY! It's your turn, get over here."

Willy came up cautiously, "Well, okay, Alex, if you say so." Willy gingerly put his arms around Alex and puckered up.

Alex shoved him back lightly with one hand, laughing, "Not ME, you idiot, HER," and he pointed at Celeste.

Willy laughed and kissed Celeste on the cheek, as well, and gave her a long hug.

"Congratulations, Celeste."

"Thanks, Willy. Where have you been?"

"Oh, sorry, I was just getting a few things ready on the ship before we set sail tomorrow."

"Putting the tin cans on the back?" Peter asked.

Willy laughed, "no, I was stocking the reefers. The food came late and I wanted to get it in." Poor Willy had had to spend a little time in custody after being released from the hospital, about four months. It took a while for the authorities to have everyone's part figured out, but the Judge took into consideration how he had helped and gave him his time, probation and community service for his part in the destruction of the reef. When he got out he started working for Oscar. Alonzo had arranged everything. He would start at the bottom, a place Willy was extremely happy to be since anything was better than jail, and when Celeste was in port he worked for her.

"Now, really, Celeste, who else would decide to take twelve other people with them on their honeymoon?" Peter asked.

"Hey, it just seemed like the perfect idea. It's the one year anniversary and everyone's down here for the wedding anyway," she replied nonchalantly.

The rest of the group started to crowd around them now, "where are we going anyway? You haven't told us."

"To be quite honest, I have no idea, John. Alex has planned the whole thing and he won't tell me a word about it," she turned to give Alex the floor.

"HEY! Do you want to be surprised or not?"

"Are we going to another one of Jake's islands?" Brent broke in excitedly, "Cause my dad's been teaching me how to fence and since they took all our stuff from the last time, maybe we could find more."

"No, I'm afraid Jake's gone for good, Brent. Alex doesn't remember any of that," Celeste cut in.

"Oh," the disappointment in his voice was shared by them all.

"Well, it doesn't matter. I'm up for another adventure," Jenny interjected.

"All right, then, everybody back to the party, and at Midnight, I'll let you all know where we're going."

A round of glass clinking, cheering and toasting and they all went back to dancing and chatting.

Alonzo disappeared for a few minutes and returned with a large Manila envelope and handed it to Alex. The postmark was from Kingston, Ontario.

"What's this?" Celeste asked.

"Little wedding present I ordered last year."

"It's already been opened," Alex noticed.

"Yeah, but I think you'll like it anyway," he turned and walked away, giving orders to the waiters as he passed them.

Alex took the envelope over to a corner table and opened it. Inside was a letter from a private detective, the subject of his inquiry was one Percival Iain MacDonald. Alex read the four page letter and Celeste read it with him.

Alex reread the second page of the letter. He breathed out heavily as though a weight had been lifted from his chest and Celeste knew which part had caused the relief. The letter was all about one Percival Iain MacDonald, born 1763 in Fraserburgh, Scotland. It explained that Jake's father Andrew MacDonald had been killed by Owen MacGregor, Sheriff of the town, and it was assumed that he killed the son, Percival MacDonald. He was hanged.

Jake would most certainly have been relieved by that news, but Alex? He just said, "wow".

Just before midnight Celeste took Alex by the hand and led him down to the water's edge. The moon was full and all the boats had their lights on. As she looked out over the water, Alex behind her, she pulled his arms tight around her, feeling his warm breath in her ear as he nuzzled her neck. She raised her left hand into the moonlight and watched the light as it bounced off the small gold band. This day, she chose no other jewellery. This small gold band with the gaelic inscription would be the only jewellery she would ever need.

"So, was Brent right? Are we going to one of Jake's islands?" she had many questions now.

Alex took a deep breath and took her hands in his. "Do you remember why you didn't tell me until six months later that you owned the _Celestial Breeze_ and that you were stinkin' loaded?"

She screwed up her face in mock irritation, "yes," she replied,

"And why was that, now?" he asked sarcastically.

"Because I wanted you to love me and not my money," she whined.

He kissed her gently and replied, "well, that's the same reason I never told you exactly what I remember about Jake. I wanted you to fall in love with me, not him. I needed to know that you loved Alex and for that to happen you had to know that Jake was completely gone and never coming back."

She looked shocked, "you mean, you remember Jake? You still remember your past life?"

"Yes," he looked deep into her soul, "I remember."

"That's incredible."

"No, what's incredible will be our future."

"I wonder," she mused.

"What?"

"Well, we were together in the last life and in this one, I just wonder if we'll be together in the next?"

Alex pulled Celeste close and gazed into her eyes. The love he saw there would keep him till the next life. He gently took her in his arms and pulled her close, his lips gently caressing hers, before pulling back and gazing into her eyes once more.

"Yes," he said firmly.

"You sound awfully sure of yourself. How can you be sure you'll find me next time?"

He turned and cupped her face in his hands, "I always do."

END

Enjoy an excerpt from my next book...

LAMPLIGHT

PROLOGUE

The air in the room hung heavy, laced with the pungent aroma of herbs and incense. Smoke rose in tendrils from the smudge pots around the ornate bed and hovered like wispy talons under its canopy. The young woman dressed in servant's clothes gingerly dabbed a cool cloth across the old man's forehead. He had lain in this bed four days now. Death would come soon and even she could not stop it.

The silk curtains around the bed shimmered in the candlelight and the expanse of the room diminished in their light. The warm night breeze from the desert did little to disturb their surroundings but the young woman shivered in its path. She pulled the shawl around her shoulders and returned to her duties.

Her long raven hair hung past her shoulders in perfection, not even the heat of the desert and candles had affected it. Large brown eyes surrounded by thick dark lashes and framed with perfect brows glanced over the old man once more and then squeezed shut momentarily before opening again. With one delicately manicured hand she removed her veil revealing a small, straight nose and full red lips. There was no need for ceremony now, the old man was dying. Still, she could not look into his eyes...it was still forbidden.

The night remained quiet; the sound of his breathing was all she heard tonight, he had not spoken for many hours now. She turned from him and surveyed the room and the old man's treasures. Things. All he had ever wanted was things. For years she had done his bidding, fed his greed and watched as it turned him into a paranoid, grasping miser. The family he had once loved had been discarded long ago and replaced with an insatiable lust for wealth. Unfortunately, such wealth attracts those who would try to take it. He became reclusive, his home was now a great castle in the desert that no man could reach before heat and thirst disposed of them. He had no company except her and spoke with her only when he wanted something.

She rose from her post by his bedside and moved towards the door. She passed intricately carved teak armoires filled with clothing made of silks and jewels to adorn him, and his bed...large enough to sleep the family he once possessed...was draped in silks. The mattress was filled with the down of countless exotic birds, there was no finer in the land. An exquisite menagerie of brass elephants, jewel encrusted scorpions and ivory carvings filled every surface and corner of the room. The only pets he would possess. She passed two miniature golden camels guarding the doors and continued down the long hallway. His home was a palace with dozens of rooms he had barely seen, each one a rich splendour of colour and decadence.

She passed through the dining hall, a great room, the solid teak table stretched to seat fifty people; utensils and plates of the finest gold and silver, crystal and linens from the east graced its surface. She gently brushed the linen tablecloth with the tips of her fingers and the sadness enveloped her again. Only the best and yet he ate alone each evening. A penchant for the finest wines and rich foods had made him fat and lazy, yet he had been envied by all who had met him...or heard of him...but that had been long ago. He had eaten well these last fifty years but the man before her no longer resembled the master she had known. His illness had robbed him of his once robust frame and left him merely skin and bone.

What a life this man had given up. She had heard how kind and generous he had been and in the beginning he had showed that part of himself, but then the greed had taken hold of him and he had embraced its grip...like the others. She was all he had now, the only one who _would_ look after him. The only one who _must_ look after him--a slave.

The young woman filled the bowl with water and returned to the old man's room. She held the cool cloth to his brow and gently stroked his face. His breath came in short gasps now. She took his hand in hers. It was time. She gently shook him and slowly he opened his eyes. His voice was raspy and cracked when he spoke but she understood, he would say the words for her. She rose and took the small wooden chest from the table beside the bed and placed it into his hands. He was weak but he grasped the chest tightly with both hands.

She placed her hands on his and bent down to kiss them – a thank-you. A tear slowly trailed down her cheek and onto his wrinkled hand.

As he began to speak in the ancient language a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. He was almost done, she would have her freedom.

A sudden gasp from the old man startled her and the chest fell from his hands to the floor. Her smile turned quickly into panic. One last shudder and the old man's words were cut off by the last spasm of death. He had not finished the words that would free her. She fell by his bedside in shock. She cried out in rage and desperation as the chest disappeared.

CHAPTER 1

Slushy sidewalks would be no barrier this morning. Craig Waller was feeling too good to let a little slop ruin his mood. The three inches from last night's snowfall was melting fast. He gripped his backpack tighter and ran for the bus. Climbing onto the first step he stomped the snowy residue of salt and sand from his galoshes and swiped his pass. He looked up the aisle for a seat and saw Todd Wentworth near the back. They had been best friends since grade six; and two years ago Todd had finally convinced Craig to apply to Omega Insurance. Twenty-seven years old and he had still been looking for the right position. He was now twenty-nine and it was becoming increasingly obvious that this was going to be it. No gripes, the job paid okay and it wasn't difficult. He was one of the masses who answered phones, gave quotes and started the claims while Todd was one of the accountants on the fast track to management. No two people could be so different. Todd dressed in Armani while Craig had to settle for whatever was on sale and the ever popular three-for-one deals. While Craig was tall at 6' 2" and muscular with broad shoulders, Todd appeared short in comparison at 5' 9". Todd may not have been as obviously muscled but he was strong and lean. Although they both had brown hair, Todd had much less; but looks weren't the only differences. Todd was a whiz at money management and Craig had already gone bankrupt once. If it wasn't for Todd he'd probably be out of work and living at home. It wasn't that Craig was lazy or stupid; he just seemed to lack focus, according to his mother.

Dodging passengers, bags and feet Craig grasped the rail above to steady himself as the bus lurched forward. He threw his head back and gave a loud laugh, there must be a course they had to take to learn the precise moment to hit the gas and throw around the newly boarded passengers.

"You're in a good mood this morning. Get laid last night?" Todd smirked and moved over. Craig sat down, eyed by several of the passengers. Dressed impeccably in a dark brown wool coat, Todd was the picture of a successful, intelligent gentleman – until he opened his mouth.

"Shut up...and no. I just feel, I don't know, lucky today. You ever get that?"

"No. Not unless I'd just been laid."

The older woman sitting in front of them grunted indignantly and stood, making her way to the front of the bus where another man offered her his seat.

Craig turned his head, "you really need to work on your verbal skills when you're out in public. Haven't we gone through this before?"

"You mean the hot dog incident?"

Craig sighed, "yeah."

"Don't remember. So tell me, why're you in such a good mood?"

He shrugged, "I don't know, just something about today feels good." He reached up and pulled the cord.

"Come on."

Todd grabbed his briefcase and followed him out. "What're you doing we're still six blocks away?"

They exited the bus and Todd almost had to chase after him into the convenience store. He found him at the lottery tickets.

"You're gonna make me walks six blocks in the snow cause you need a lottery ticket?"

Craig smiled, "I told you, I feel lucky."

"You are aware that it's Friday the thirteenth, right?"

"Really? Hmm." He purchased five scratch tickets and they started out towards the OMEGA building.

Craig shrugged off his coat and hung it up in the small coat room outside the large office area of the tenth floor. His desk was smack in the middle of a maze of cubicles he'd learned to navigate effortlessly in the past two years. Craig sat down and immediately started to scratch the tickets. Five minutes later he was wiping the silvery-grey flakes from his blotter and into the waste basket along with the tickets.

He drummed his fingers on the desk; that lucky feeling was still there. He decided on coffee and went into the break room. Small and compact, the break room housed a fridge, sink and a bank of cupboards along the back that was bigger than the kitchen in his apartment. As luck would have it there was a fresh pot of coffee and it looked like Cynthia had made her famous brownies again, lucky. Not what he was hoping for but his day was starting off well.

He took his coffee and brownie back to his desk and had just turned on the computer when he heard Jason's voice.

"Shit", he muttered quietly, Jason Manners was the last person he needed to see, especially today. Jason was almost as wide as he was tall with a fringe of reddish-orange hair that circled his head and combed over to cover the vast expanse between its hairy halo. He had a perpetual odour that was as yet unclassified, a combination of sweat, ass and some heretofore unidentified food emanation. Jason was bad luck personified. Craig grabbed his coffee and brownie and tried to make a break for it but only managed to get as far as the outside of his cubicle.

"Craig! Hold up a minute."

"Shit," he muttered again before quickly putting on a false smile and turning around, "Jason, how you doing this morning?"

"Good. I'd like you to meet Marley Jacobs. She's helping out answering phones for Tara while Howie and Melissa are away for the next two weeks."

"Nice to meet you, Craig," Marley extended her hand.

His smile turned genuine, "nice to meet you, too," he put out the hand with the brownie in it and laughed, "sorry." He shrugged and continued to stand there with a sappy grin on his face.

"Hey, is that a brownie?" Marley's face brightened with the most dazzling smile Craig thought he had ever seen and his words came back staggered.

"Uh, yeah, there's more in the break room," he motioned behind him.

Marley slipped her arms around his elbow "quick, show me the way before they're all gone." She turned to Jason, "you don't mind, do you? I'll be right back."

"No, of course not, I'll just wait right here."

Craig smiled slyly at Jason. It seemed Jason's streak of bad luck was continuing and Craig's good luck was in full swing.

Lunch came too quickly and Craig hadn't so much as caught sight of Marley since she'd gotten her brownie and flown back to Jason. He'd barely even had time to make any sort of impression on her before she was gone. He'd wanted to ask her to lunch but Jason had probably done that by now; looked like it was lunch with Todd again. Oh, well, it was Todd's turn to pay. Lucky.

The restaurant was packed today but Craig's newfound luck had gotten him the last, and best, table. He waved at Jay to bring their usual and waited for Todd. A twenty-something whirlwind with short auburn hair and four plates piled with food in his hands, Jay brightened when he saw Craig and nodded that he had received the instructions. Five minutes later he could just see the top of Todd's spikey brown hair behind a group of women from the law firm next door. They, too, were regulars.

Craig smiled as he watched him squeeze between the blonde and the dirty blonde, as Todd had called them. The blonde one Todd had dated for three months; the dirty blonde had only required three shooters. Neither of them spoke to Todd but there were definite daggers as he left them, without acknowledgement, at the door.

Todd shrugged off his overcoat, sat down and turned quickly to the table beside them, "hey, you usin' that?" The couple, mouths full, shook their heads in unison and he grabbed the chair and pulled it over, throwing his coat over the seat.

"You order yet?"

Before Craig could speak the waiter placed two large glasses of iced tea in front of them.

"Oh, great, thanks," he turned to Craig, "food, too?"

"Yup."

"Your order will be up in a few minutes."

"Thanks, Jay" they replied in sync and he bounced off to the next table.

Todd shook out his napkin and placed it on his knee.

"Hey, you see that new hottie they got subbin' for Tara? What a perfect piece of..."

"Inside voice", Craig cautioned in a loud whisper, "and yes, I met her this morning.

Todd shrugged a scowl and continued, "all I can say is 'WOW!" She looked right into me with those big browns and I swear I almost wet myself right there."

"Yeah, she's got great..."

"And she's what? 5' 11"? Perfect."

Craig smiled, "I thought you didn't like women taller than you?"

"For her I'd make every exception in the book, Bucky. Besides, it's only one inch...and she was wearing two inch heels."

Craig shook his head, "I don't think she's your type" he paused "and it's three inches.

"Fuck off," he laughed, "two max. And whose type would she be? Yours? It would take you more than the next two weeks to get up the nerve to ask her out and by then," Todd wiggled his fingers goodbye, "she'll be gone."

Craig sat back. He knew Todd was right. She was way out of both their leagues and although it didn't happen too often, the thought of rejection had never been something he'd gotten accustomed to, unlike Todd who seemed to thrive on it. Then again, for every six women that said no to him, one always said yes. That gave him a date at least every Saturday night. Craig could barely remember the last time he'd gone out on a date. Actually, that was a lie. He remembered them, but it was remembering the last real date that was giving him problems. It was time for a serious girlfriend and the challenge would be finding one. Trouble was, he had no idea what he was looking for – a trait that seemed to spill over into every aspect of his life these days.

Their lunch was delivered promptly by Jay with, as always, a little extra smile for Todd. Jay had been their waiter since he started eight months ago. He was very stylish, and his eyes were an unnatural shade of blue that had to be contacts. Not that Craig had really had the chance to look since those baby blues were always facing Todd. Todd took it all with a smile.

Fridays were always the same and Jay never asked for their order anymore. He set the pasta special in front of Craig and the liver and onions in front of Todd.

Craig had long ago stopped complaining about the smell of liver. To be friends with Todd you had to put up with a lot but he was worth it once you understood him. However, not everyone was willing to stick it out that long.

Todd's father had left when he was ten. His mother had been forced to live with her two highly religious and virginal aunts, Emily and Amanda. His childhood had been somewhat controlled up until he hit puberty. Now, living with women may not have much effect on a lot of boys but given Todd's excess of testosterone and nowhere private to release it, (his aunts had a five minute limit on bathroom time), that testosterone was released in other, more verbal, means. Every minute he was out of the house was like a dam bursting. Later, when he discovered girls...well, there was no stopping him.

As for himself, Craig had had an average upbringing, both parents were still together, he'd had average girlfriends, one brother and two sisters with average squabbling...so far, uneventful. He was blessed with average looks, height and intelligence and had an average job making an average salary with an average apartment. There was nothing outwardly special about him and that had always bothered him; but today he felt everything was different. Maybe just different enough to attract someone like Marley.

"...so, I asked her to come to Terabo tonight."

"Sorry, what?" Craig refocused on Todd. He'd been watching his lips move and knew he'd been talking but once again, his mind had started drifting.

"I said, I asked Marley to come to Terabo tonight."

Craig hesitated in his reply, "so, what'd she say?" he stared at his food.

Todd smiled, "I know that look."

Craig frowned, "what look?" he picked at the pasta.

"You like her, don't you?" There was no reply.

Todd shoved a large portion of liver into his mouth and chewed animatedly before swallowing, all the time watching Craig for a response.

He finally laid down his knife and fork and said, "okay, I tell you what,"

"Huh,"

"You said today was your lucky day, right?"

"So,"

"So...how about tonight we find out how lucky your day really is?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I've done the invite...and she said yes, by the way...so, if you think you can woo this goddess over me I will gladly acquiesce."

Craig raised an eyebrow, "what's the catch?" There was almost always a catch if Todd was going to give anything.

"No catch, I just think she'd prefer me over you, that's all."

Craig smirked, "oh, really? And exactly what do you think she'd prefer more, looking at the top of your balding head or having your hand permanently affixed to her ass?" He smiled mischievously and Todd almost choked on his iced tea.

"I'll have you know there's a lot more to me than the sex god you see every day. And I'll admit that my hair is a little thinner than it was a few years ago, but there's still plenty there to grab, Bucky."

Craig screwed up his face trying hard to suppress the laughter. He was used to Todd's bravado but it was at times like this that he really envied the self-confidence Todd possessed.

"Like what?" Craig challenged.

"Well, for one, I can speak six languages."

Craig frowned, "you can order beer in six languages."

"Semantics. I have this athletic body from constant cross-training."

"I wouldn't exactly call running for the bus and dodging traffic cross-training."

"Let's face it. I'm a catch."

"Yeah, well, I've seen you thrown back a few times."

"Oh, yeah, well what have you got to offer."

Craig was silent.

Todd lowered his voice, "that was your cue to brag, by the way."

"Yeah, I know, I just don't seem to have your knack for it."

"I know, that's why we make such a good team. Let's face it, one of me is plenty."

Todd managed to elicit a small laugh from Craig.

"Come on, eat up, I've got to get back, and I'm sure you'd like to see what else luck has in store for you today."

"By the way, it's your turn to pay." Craig smiled smugly.

"I don't think so, I paid last time."

"No you didn't, I distinctly remember paying last Friday."

"Yeah, I'm sure you did, but I was at a meeting, so that means it's your turn."

Craig curled up his lip into a half scowl, "Right, I forgot about that."

"Hey, all good things must come to an end, Bucky." Todd laughed and gulped down half of his iced tea.

Jay returned to the table, "I'm so sorry, gentlemen, but the manager asked me to come over. A really important customer came in and this is his usual table. He says that if you'd please give it up lunch is on him today and everyday for the next week."

Todd's jaw dropped and he stared at Craig, "shit."

Craig just smiled smugly at Todd and turned to Jay. He waved a hand over the plates, "get the take-out containers."

The moment they were out the door Todd turned to Craig, "come on."

"Where we going?"

"Lottery Hut."

### OTHER BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR

### Crane's Landing

