The Sea Grape Tree (28 page)

“A wedding!” Jennifer said.

“Oh, God.” Shad rolled his eyes up to the thatch as
ooh
s and
congrats
came from the women in the group and the men grinned.

“Sure, I'll play.” Ford nodded. “Just find me a place to stay—”

“No problem,” Sonja said. “You're staying with us.”

“Not too late to change your mind,” Eric said to Shad, eyebrows high.

Shad rubbed his neck. “Too late, boss, but when I walking down the aisle in July, all of you have to bar the doors to make sure I don't run.”

“I'll be happy to do that,” Danny said. He looked at Sarah. “Like to come back for a wedding? We might need you to kick Shad behind the knees.”

She put her chin on his shoulder, her nose almost touching his. “As long as—”

“I won't leave your side, I promise,” Danny said, looking contrite. Sarah gazed back at him through squinty eyes, eyes that weren't sure they could trust him again.

“You have to come, everybody wants to see Shad tie the knot,” Roper insisted. “And of course”—nodding to Danny—“you can both stay with us.”

“Thank you,” Sarah said, her prim, clear syllables making a point.

Danny took a swallow of beer. “We might as well make it an even bigger celebration. Miss Mac says she's definitely selling us the land, and by July we should be ready to go.” He turned to Shad and Eric. “What do you think, guys, a groundbreaking ceremony after the wedding?”

Eric's eyes were as wide as saucers when he turned to Shad. When he opened his mouth, nothing came out.

“Don't you want to think about it,” Shad pressed Danny, “after all this kidnapping and thing?” It was a risk, he knew, asking the man to reconsider, but if they were going into something big like a hotel, Danny needed to declare it publicly—with as much commitment and as many witnesses as a wedding.

“He's right, my friend,” Lambert put in. “Jamaica isn't an easy place. You've seen that for yourself.”

“I thought about it, and at first I thought I should just cut my losses, you know, but what came to me was that one bad apple don't make the whole basket bad. Like how the Mafia comes from Italy, but people still going to Italy, millions every year. My mother said she could hardly see the fountains in Rome for all the tourists.”

Danny waved his hand westward, toward Port Maria and Annotto Bay. “If we let Janet and the Geckos frighten us away from Jamaica, then they running things. I'm not going to let them win. I love this island. I want to get into the tourist industry and this may be my one chance to do it. Besides,” he added, “I couldn't disappoint the folks here, not after they've been so nice to me, giving me a welcome party and everything.”

“Here, here!” Eric hollered, making the patrons at the bar turn to see what the old white man was up to now.

Shad leaned over to Eric. “You inviting a certain lady to come for the groundbreaking, boss?”

“Absolutely,” Eric muttered, his mouth twitching.

“Onward to the groundbreaking!” Lambert shouted, like he was going into battle.

“To the New Largo Bay Inn—and to us,” Danny said.

“The New Largo Bay Inn,” the group echoed, raising their drinks.

“Amen,” Solomon called from his stool.

Shad clinked bottles with Beth. “Cool runnings,” he whispered, because tonight there'd be no dark water, no sharks circling Largo. Tonight he'd be stroking the baby hairs on his woman's shea-butter neck. Tonight he'd be filled with the warm fullness of knowing there'd be money ­coming in for a hotel and a campsite and glass-bottom boats, money for books and a computer and a mattress that didn't sag, and one day—maybe not right away, but ­eventually—money enough for a small-small diamond.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

By the third book in a series, one is tempted to lessen the expressions of gratitude, but the truth is that I am constantly aided by others in the completion of each novel. In this case, my thanks first goes to the village of Long Bay in Jamaica, which I visited while writing this book and which continues to serve as the rough inspiration for the setting of the series.

I also want to thank the following people for their support during the completion of this novel under particularly difficult circumstances: Sonja Willis, Lauren Baccus, Sarah Jones, Heather Royes, Gabriela Royes, Larry and Maria Earl, Deborah Huntley, Louise Santana, Ruth Cooke Gibbs, Baji Daniels, Beatriz and Ricardo Hayes, Stephanie McIver, Ursula Folkes, Mable and Jimmy Densler, Barbara Blair, the president and staff of the University of the Virgin Islands and others too numerous to mention.

And, as always, my editor, Malaika Adero, continues to offer her sage and gentle advice, which always serves to improve the content and for which I'm deeply grateful.

Also by Gillian Royes

The Goat Woman of Largo Bay

The Man Who Turned Both Cheeks

Business Is Good

Sexcess: The New Gender Rules at Work

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Cover design by Laywan Kwan Cover art: Background, easels, and border
images from Shutterstock; images of sea grape leaves © Cuboimages SRL/Almay and ©
Stockfolio
®
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN 978-1-4767-6238-8

ISBN 978-1-4767-6239-5 (ebook)