Treasure Tides (The Coins) (9 page)

As darkness fell and stomachs filled, a deep sense of contentment
settled over Royce. He found himself wondering what it would feel like
to be part of something like this on a permanent basis. It was evident
that Landon’s secret was known only by Kurt, and also evident that he
was as protective of this family, as he would be of his pack.

Landon was clearly an alpha. Royce couldn’t help but wonder where
the rest of his pack
was
. No doubt they were within shouting-- or rather
howling-- distance.

Landon and Sean had spent the evening working on tides, currents,
calculations and projections. Since the Witches had dumped Royce into
the ocean, it stood to reason they might have hidden the coin in the
water as well.

Ironically, Witches could not touch the coin directly, but they could
have used magic to move the coin.
However, there were limitations
imposed by Merlin there as well; if they had used magic to move the
coin, it could only have been moved to a destination within their direct
line of sight. This safeguard prevented a Witch from simply grabbing the
coin and using her magic to disappear taking the coin with her.

Hopefully, when Joanna arrived, she would be able to channel enough
energy to lift the cloaking spell long enough to let Sean lock in on the
coordinates of the coin’s current location. At that point, it would be as
easy as taking candy from a baby.

The winds were picking up again and rain would most likely begin to
fall within the next thirty minutes, if not sooner.
“I had better head toward home,” Becki said standing up to stretch.
“Bee doesn’t do so well in strong winds,” Becki said, referring to her
little yellow car. “She kind of gets tossed around like a grain of sand.”
“I need to get back to the hotel and finish packing. I wish we didn’t
have to go back home tomorrow,” Natie said, as she pulled a cell phone
out of her pocket.
“I wish you didn’t have to go back at all,” Becki said. “I’ll run you
back to the hotel.”
“I’m not going across the bridge in that toy car,” Natie said. “You’re
crazy.”
“I wouldn’t either. That would be scaaarrryyy,” Mandy agreed,
scraping the last bit of ice cream out of her bowl.
“I’ll call Jonah to pick me up,” Natie responded as she began dialing.
He had driven back to their hotel right after dinner using the excuse
that he
had a long drive tomorrow
and
needed to rest-up for it
. Good riddance as
far as everyone else was concerned.
Natie had enjoyed a carefree evening with her family and had also
enjoyed the eye-candy on the scene. She had not had an opportunity to
talk privately with Sean though, and she was somewhat bummed about
that. She would never actually cheat on Jonah. She didn’t play those
games; however, spending time with someone who treated her with
respect and kindness had forced her to take a good hard look at her
current situation with Jonah.
Their “relationship” was actually a “
non
-relationship”, very onesided…
his
side. Sure, he gave into her if she bitched long enough, but
that was getting old. Yes, Jonah was in for a big surprise when he got
back to Indiana; “stick-a-fork-in-her” she was
done
with his crap.
Natie smiled thinking that Becki would be soooo happy. She tried to
hide it, but Becki seriously detested Jonah.
“We will follow you home, Becki,” Royce said as he finished picking
up the folding chairs to secure them in the garage for the night. The
winds might get strong enough to blow them around, so it was better to
be safe than sorry. The weather reports ranged from predicting heavy rains
and strong winds to light showers with a strong breeze.
This particular
storm was proving to be extremely unpredictable.
“Right, because your
sports car
is so much bigger and heavier than my
Bee,” Becki said with a lot of sass and a flip of her hair. “I have managed to
drive all over this city and beyond before you came along. I’m sure I can
make it across the connector just fine all by myself.”
“That may be so, but we will follow you just the same,” Royce said with
enough authority to end the discussion.
“Well that’s just great,” Natie said pressing the end call button. She had
tried to call Jonah five times but could not get him to answer his phone.
Kurt had noticed the way Natie and Sean glanced at each other when
they thought the other was not looking.
He also noticed that Natie had
relaxed tonight and spent most of the evening laughing, which was a rarity
these days.
“Sean, why don’t you run Natie back across the bridge,” Kurt said.
Feeling a little like cupid, he tossed Sean his keys. “Landon and I will meet
you and Royce for breakfast in the morning; I can pick up my truck then.”
Sean caught the keys as they sailed toward him and quickly said, “Sure. I
will be glad to. Are you ready to go, Natie?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Natie said tightly.
She said her goodbyes a little tearfully. It was always hard to leave. Natie
had wanted to move closer to her family, but Jonah would never agree to it.
Of course, that wouldn’t be an issue much longer.
“I love you all,” she called as she walked out through the gate and
climbed into Kurt’s truck with Sean.
As they drove away, Sean glanced at her and asked, “Are you ok?”
Natie nodded, but a big fat tear gave her away as it rolled down her
cheek and plopped onto her lap.
She sniffed, and Sean could not stop
himself from reaching over to drag her across the seat toward him. When
she was satisfactorily settled at his side, he wrapped his arm around her and
kept it there.
“We have a little time before the storm hits. Do you want to stop and
get a latté, maybe decompress a little?” he asked.
When Natie looked at him, Sean was struck by her big blue eyes and
spikey lashes.
“Yes, please,” she said in a quiet voice. He fell a little in love right then
and there.
“We’ll cross the bridge and find a coffee shop downtown, ok?”
Natie nodded her head in agreement and wiped her tears away.
“That sounds great,” She said snuggling close to him.
Just for a minute.

Royce had stowed the rest of the furniture in the garage, and Kurt
was carrying the last load of left-overs into the house.
Becki had run inside to tell the girls she was leaving and happened to
be exiting as Kurt was entering. She reached out to hug him as they
passed each other in the doorway.
“Dinner was great, as always,” she complimented.
“Glad you could make it,” Kurt responded politely.
Becki rolled her eyes. He hadn’t given her much of a choice.
“Better ‘batten down the hatches’ mate,” she suggested as she moved
from the porch.
“You, too,” Kurt instructed. “Be careful going home,” he added as
he made eye contact with Royce.
Royce nodded slightly in response to Kurt’s unspoken inquiry. He
would be following Becki home whether she liked it or not.
“You don’t have to follow me home Royce. It’s in the opposite
direction of where you are going, and the storm is closing in on us,”
Becki said, just as Kurt predicted.
“My red beast holds the road and goes fast,” Royce said with a grin.
“A little wind won’t make any difference. I’m sure we’ll be fine…don’t
you worry.”
“
Whatever
. Let’s go then, so you can get back downtown before the
skies open up.”
Royce walked to Becki’s yellow Bee and held the door open for her.
Of course, he collected a quick smacking kiss as payment for his efforts.
“Drive carefully, and
slowly
,” he instructed.
“Yes, Sir,” Becki returned with a saucy salute.
“I don’t suppose I could talk you into leaving her here and letting me
drive you home?” he asked hopefully.
She shook her head, “Not a chance, I need to have my car tomorrow.
I will be just fine, Royce.”
Royce sighed is resignation, “It was worth a try. I mean it, drive
slowly and carefully.”
Trees rustled around them, and the atmosphere felt strange as the
air pressure began to drop.
The worst part of the storm was supposed
to hit in the early hours of the morning.
There was a possibility of
sustained winds between 40 and 50 miles per hour. Becki was not a fan
of storms, and she shivered a little at the thought of weathering it
alone.
Tropical storm Betty was not expected to develop into a hurricane,
but the news stations had warned that power outages were possible due
to downed trees and power lines. Becki loved rain showers but hated
storms. Lightning and strong winds were
not
her friends.
“I’m always careful,” Becki said as she started her car. “You don’t
have to follow me all the way out to Isle of Palms; it’s out of your way.
Seriously, I’ll be just fine.”
Royce gave her a this-conversation-is-over look. “I’ll be right behind
you,” he promised and dropped a quick kiss on her lips.
She watched Royce, admiring the fit of his jeans, as he moved toward
his beast. That car cost more than she would make in five years. Becki
shook her head-
boys and their toys
.
“Drive slowly my ass,” She muttered and pressed the gas pedal to the
floor as usual.
The drive home was uneventful if you didn’t count that one moment
of unease when a gust of wind blasted her car; rocking it from side to
side. She had gripped the steering wheel a little more tightly, and as soon
as the gust passed, sped the rest of the way home.
Parking in front of her house, Becki breathed a sigh of relief and
flashed her headlights at Royce. She assumed he would want to continue
on his way as quickly as possible.
She jumped out of the car and ran toward the front door. Rain had
just begun to fall on the island.
Royce parked and within seconds stood behind Becki as she struggled
to unlock the front door.
“Was there some confusion regarding my request to drive slowly?”
Royce growled.
Becki chose not to respond. Her hands were shaking, and she was
busy trying to fit the key into the lock.
Strong arms suddenly encircled her from behind as Royce guided the
key into the lock. As soon as the door opened, he followed her inside,
kicking the door closed behind him.
Becki slipped off her shoes and started toward the living room. She
had not even taken a full step in that direction when a hand snaked out
to spin her around.
Royce took two steps forward, effectively pinning her between his
body and the wall.
“Was there some
confusion
regarding my request to drive slowly?”
Royce repeated, anger churning below the surface.
“I did drive slowly,” Becki defended.
Well, except for the last few miles.
However, she was not willing to admit to an infraction of any sort while
he was radiating testosterone all over the place.
“Right, next time your ass is in the car with me. Understand?”
“Royce, I was perfec--”
“I’m not going through that
ever
again,” he muttered just before his
lips captured hers.
Becki melted against Royce.
She loved being surrounded by him,
protected by him. Minutes ticked by as she and Royce became lost in
the moment. Suddenly the entire house shook as thunder rolled over
them.
Becki managed to free her lips long enough to say, “Royce, you had
better get going.”
“Mmmmm,” Royce absently agreed, as he lowered his lips toward
hers once again.
“You may not be able to get across the bridges if you wait much
longer,” she warned.
Lights flickered, and Becki pushed Royce back a step, but quickly
softened the action by leaning in to kiss his cheek.
“Royce, it is going to get bad out there. You need to get moving.”
“Maybe I should stay here. What if the power goes off?” Royce
suggested hopefully.
Everyone knows girls are afraid of the dark.
“I’ll…light a candle?” Becki offered sarcastically.
“Who will keep the boogey man away?” Royce persevered with a
smile.
Becki put her finger in the middle of his chest as she said, “Royce, the
Boogey Man is a myth…along with the Tooth Fairy, Santa Clause,
Werewolves, Vampires, and Witches. I’ve not come to a steadfast
conclusion yet about Aliens.”
“Oh, you never know,” he said mysteriously, as he wrapped his arms
around her once again. “Are you sure you’ll be ok here by yourself?”
“Yes. I’m completely exhausted,” Becki answered with a yawn. “I’ll
probably sleep through most of the storm anyway.”
She could always hope
.
The gods were conspiring against her, because at that moment a
streak of lightning flashed accompanied by deafening thunder.
Becki
screamed and practically climbed inside Royce’s skin.
Royce chuckled, “Sleep through it, huh?”
Becki peeled herself off Royce. “You can sleep on the couch,” she
conceded gracefully.
Thanking God for small favors, he agreed. “Ok, whatever you say.”
He could always hope
.

Royce had been lying awake for hours listening to the storm. Rain
was pounding against the windows; lightning flashed intermittently, the
wind was blowing, and the house creaked from time to time. Becki was
on the other side of the door, but at least he knew she was safe.
They
had closed all of the storm shutters, filled up water jugs, and located her
supply of candles. Eventually, Becki had shoved a stack of blankets at
him, kissed his cheek and practically run to her room
alone.

Becki had tossed and turned for the last several hours. She listened to
the wind howl outside and thought about how thankful she was for
Royce’s insistence that he stay with her tonight-- even if he
was
on the
couch and she was wrapped up like a cocoon, all alone in her bed.

Counting sheep was rumored to help combat insomnia.
However,
she was now at 1,197 and not one bit closer to closing her eyes than she
had been two hours ago.
The bedside clock said 3:30 AM. The storm
was weakening and the sun would soon be popping up over the horizon,
which meant Royce would soon be leaving.