JAKrentz - The Pirate, The Adventurer, & The Cowboy (14 page)

Jared sauntered off, whistling.

Kate stared after him. "Correct me if I'm wrong, Letty, but did I just let myself get bamboozled into cooking a free meal for Jared and Dave?"

"That's what it sounded like to me." Letty looked over at her curiously. "Can you cook?"

"You're looking at the best pizza maker this side of
Seattle."

"Pizza!" Letty looked first astounded and then delighted. "If David isn't already half in love with you, he will be after tonight. Since Gabriella died, that boy's been eating restaurant food for just about every meal of the day except breakfast. When you stop and think about it, you realize he's been practically raised on such things as pâté-stuffed mushrooms and seafood curries. Not normal kid food at all."

The question was whether David's father would be as easily impressed, Kate decided. And if Jared did fall in love, would he admit it, either to her or himself?

The fact that she was even pondering such a question shocked Kate. It meant she had to face something she had been deliberately shying away from for the past few days. She was tumbling head over heels into love with the pirate of
Amethyst
Island
.

SIX

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T
he short trip into the tiny island town of
Amethyst was a disturbing confirmation of everything Letty Platt had said about Jared's power on the island. Even more unnerving for Kate was the realization that even though this was the first time she had left the resort grounds, she was already a well-known figure, and not because of her reputation as an author, she soon discovered to her chagrin.

"Ms Inskip, it is indeed a pleasure to serve you." The beaming owner of the small grocery brushed aside his young assistant who appeared to be his son and handled the transaction personally. "Allow me to give you the usual resort discount," he insisted as he bagged Kate's purchases.

"I think I can handle the regular prices." Kate reached for her purse.

"No, no, no. Impossible. I will not hear of it. Jared Hawthorne does a great deal of business with my small shop and the discount I give him is my way of thanking him. You understand?"

"Yes, of course, but these are my groceries, not Mr. Hawthorne's. I'm buying them for personal use, not for the resort."

"But you are a close personal friend of Jared's and I must insist you accept the discount."

"But I really don't want it or need it."

Letty stepped close and murmured, "I wouldn't argue with him if I were you, Kate. Mr. Chan will be hurt, Jared will be annoyed and you'll lose the battle, anyway. This is Jared's discount and you're entitled to it. Let it go at that."

Kate sighed. She knew it wasn't worth an argument. She summoned up a properly grateful smile. "Thank you, Mr. Chan. You're very kind."

"Not at all, not at all." He rang up the sale on a cash register that looked as though it had been around since before one of the less recent wars. "Please give my best to Jared."

Kate took the paper sack full of pizza fixings and turned to follow a grinning Letty out of the store. Several people glanced at her with open curiosity and big smiles.

"What, exactly, do you think Mr. Chan meant when he called me a close personal friend of Jared's?"

Letty shot her a slanting glance. "What do you think he meant?"

"I was afraid of that. Does everyone on the island know that I'm…that Jared and I have been that—" she cleared her throat"—that close?"

"Probably. Does it bother you?"

"It annoys me," Kate snapped as she dumped the sack of groceries into the back of the small Jeep Letty was driving. "It's an invasion of personal privacy."

"If you wanted a lot of personal privacy," Letty said as she put the Jeep in gear, "you shouldn't have gotten involved in an affair with the biggest honcho on the island."

Kate closed her eyes in brief frustration. "You've got a point. Getting involved with Jared is probably not the brightest thing I've ever done. Maybe the tropical heat has warped my brain. Where are we going now?"

"Thought we'd make a quick stop at a dress shop run by a friend of mine. She carries some nice things, and her prices are a lot better than the ones in the resort's gift shop."

Kate perked up. "Sounds like a great idea."

But twenty minutes later when Kate selected a colorful full-length island dress and asked to have it hemmed, she was confronted with another example of Jared's inescapable presence. He might as well have been looking over her shoulder, she thought wryly.

"I'll have my seamstress hem it immediately," the shop owner promised. "It will be delivered to the resort this afternoon. Will that be soon enough?"

"There's no great rush," Kate said quickly. "I can pick it up tomorrow."

"I wouldn't hear of it." The woman waved the idea aside with a graceful movement of her hand. "You're a personal friend of Jared's, and I insist. It's the least I can do. After all, Jared was the one who loaned me the capital I needed to open this shop. I'm delighted to be able to do a favor for a friend of his. Heavens, just about everyone on the island is happy to extend a few favors to Jared. Isn't that right, Letty?"

"I'm afraid so." Letty's eyes brimmed with amusement. "Come on, Kate. Let's take a peek inside the gallery next door. You might see something you like."

"And get it at a
Hawthorne discount?" Kate asked dryly.

"Probably. Mary Farrell, who runs it, gets most of her business from the resort visitors. She undoubtedly feels she owes Jared a favor, too. Her artists would all be starving if it weren't for the customers Crystal Cove sends her way."

Kate threw up her hands. "I give up. Why don't you all just admit you're living in a feudal kingdom and buy Jared a crown?"

"Not exactly a feudal kingdom," Letty said, laughing. "Just a very small town on a very small island that's tucked away in a very far-off corner of the world. If it weren't for Jared Hawthorne and his resort, Amethyst would either be completely deserted or look a lot more like Port Ruby, a run-down, sleazy dump. People around here know that."

"And they're suitably grateful."

"You could say that."

"You know something, Letty? I'll bet things around here worked very much the same way back when Roger Hawthorne was in charge."

"I wouldn't be surprised."

Kate came to a halt on the path, glanced quickly back over her shoulder and then ducked under the heavy chain that guarded the route to the
Hawthorne castle.

She felt extremely daring as she slipped past the barrier. She was now on forbidden territory.

There was no real reason to worry about being seen, though she continued to glance back over her shoulder. There was no reason to be nervous, either, she reminded herself. She had been at Crystal Cove long enough to learn the routine. It was barely dawn and no self-respecting guest at the resort arose at this hour. Neither did members of the staff, as far as Kate could discern. Life was definitely more relaxed on a
South Seas island.

She would have the castle to herself, and that was exactly what she wanted. Her curiosity had become overwhelming.

Earlier in the week she had dutifully signed on for the official tour of the castle and had been bitterly disappointed. An enthusiastic guide had led the small group of interested guests along the winding path to the picturesque ruins, but no one had been allowed to do any in-depth exploring.

The young man had told everyone the story of Roger Hawthorne, a rather sanitized version compared to the edition Kate was reading in Amelia's diary.

The
Hawthornes had lived on
Amethyst
Island
for many years and had produced several children, despite Amelia's initial opposition to the marriage. That information had amused the small crowd. The family had eventually moved back to
England when Roger's older brother had died without an heir, leaving the estates and a title to Roger.

The castle had remained empty ever since.

"And in such a dangerous state of disrepair that the resort management allows visitors only as far as the front hall at the present time," the guide had concluded. "Renovations are planned and someday soon large sections of the castle will be open for viewing."

But Kate had seen no sign of the renovations, nor any evidence of workmen around the place. She had, however, seen two sets of fresh footprints in the dust on a circular staircase at the back of the shadowy hall. Something told her the prints had been left by Jared and his large friend Max.

Kate had awakened this morning with the sure and certain knowledge that she could no longer contain her anxious curiosity. She had to know what was going on. Her intimate relationship with Jared made it impossible to ignore his mysterious comings and goings any longer.

The castle was supposed to be a crumbling ruin, forbidden to everyone, yet Jared had taken Max Butterfield up to it at midnight on at least two occasions, and the two men had apparently gone well beyond the front hall.

Kate was rapidly becoming convinced that whatever was going on at the castle at night was either illegal or dangerous or both. She had to know the truth.

It was a long hike along the narrow path to the
Hawthorne castle. The route wound through the dense tropical growth above Crystal Cove and continued on for some distance through more heavy foliage until, with no warning, it ended abruptly in front of the old stone ruin.

Kate came to a halt and caught her breath while she studied the dark pile of stone in the dawn light.

The
Hawthorne castle was more of a well-fortified stone house than a true castle, she decided. It was not a huge place, just a three-story structure pierced with narrow windows. There were no outer walls protecting a courtyard, gatehouses, moats or ramparts. There was, however, a tower that rose above the main building from which Roger Hawthorne had no doubt kept an eagle eye on the sea. From his aerie he could have watched for both opportunities and competitors.

The section of the castle that faced the sea was a solid wall of stone that merged with the dark lava that rose out of the waves. On the sea side, the castle was impregnable. The only approach was from the jungle side of the island.

During the tour, the guide had explained that Hawthorne and his crew had used the beach above Crystal Cove as a wharf. Cargoes had been unloaded, goods had been traded and business had been conducted on the spot where the resort now stood. The wealthy planters and others from nearby islands had been eager to buy whatever Hawthorne managed to get hold of and no one worried too much about the original owners of the goods.

Kate took a deep breath and walked cautiously through the massive stone entryway, following the path the tour guide had used the previous day. A moment later she found herself in the shadowy, high-ceilinged hall.

An eerie sensation rippled through her as she switched on her small flashlight. When she had stood in this room with a crowd full of curious resort guests, everything had seemed quite interesting. But this morning she felt as if she were standing in a room full of ghosts.

"Not exactly an English country house, Amelia," Kate whispered. "How did you stand it? I'll bet you were really annoyed when you realized you were supposed to set up housekeeping in this joint."

Kate walked across the floor to the circular stone staircase at the far end of the hall. The footprints were still there. She had not imagined them. The staircase went down, not up to the next level.

She leaned forward and splashed the light over the steps. They twisted and vanished into a forbidding darkness.

She had known the answers weren't going to come easily. She took a deep breath and considered her next move. There was no real option. If she wanted to know where the footsteps led, she would have to follow them.

When she started slowly down the narrow steps, she learned firsthand the meaning of having the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Her fingers trembled as she grasped the flashlight. Her every instinct was alive with warning.

But she forced herself down the steps, following the muddled prints in the dust. It crossed her mind that the guide had emphasized several times that the castle was not structurally safe, but she decided that as long as she followed the footprints she would be reasonably safe. Jared and Max had come this way more than once, she reminded herself. And at midnight, too.

The gloom thickened around her as she descended below the level of the entry hall. Down here there were no slits in the walls to provide air and light. A dank, damp odor swirled around her. When she paused to flash the light around, Kate saw only more stone.

Then, without any warning, the stone steps came to an end in a tiny cell of a room. Perhaps this was a storage cellar, she thought. But when she examined the floor, she found that the footprints continued on, straight into a wall. There must be some sort of concealed doorway in the stone, she decided, but she had no idea of where to begin hunting for the hidden lock.