Written in the Stars (10 page)

Chapter Ten

The dream and the video interview haunted Cordelia the next morning as she prepared
for the dive. Mom was in such a cheerful, hopeful mood that she kept all her worries
to herself.

Immediately after breakfast, they put up sail and moved out, the salvage vessel, Foley’s
Treasure, following. She’d met Innis Foley during her hurricane summer. He’d been
her first crush. It was somehow prophetic that they would unearth this find together.
She’d hired him and his company on the spot when he’d sought her out after hearing
rumors of her proposed expedition. With her father’s maps to find the approximate
location, they would use the ship’s magnetometer to pinpoint the area with metal readings
from the wreck’s canons.

“How are your nerves?” he asked, his golden-brown gaze searching her face as they
donned their vests and tanks.

Taking a look around, she didn’t see another dive boat on the horizon. Murphy would
go to the wrong site. She had nothing to worry about.

Even so, she admitted, “My stomach is whirling a little more than normal. What if
I’ve made a mistake? Or what if someone has actually beaten us to the find? Or what
if the manifest was wrong and there is no real treasure aboard the Celestine?”

Which would devastate her mother if there was nothing to curate. If Cordelia was so
inclined, she could always join another search.

Laughing, Innis slid a hand along her face and gazed deep into her eyes. A wave of
copper-brown hair spilled over his forehead. “This is it, love. Believe in what you
know. Don’t ever doubt yourself.”

A thrill shooting through her, Cordelia grinned at Innis. He’d given her exactly what
she’d needed to regain her confidence.

“And if you are in want of extra luck,” came a woman’s accented voice as the Haitian
cook joined them, “then take this with you.”

Cordelia glanced at the feathered object in Brigitte’s hand. The too-thin cook, whose
long hair was braided and beaded in tiny rows, and her giant of a husband, Leandre,
Innis’s first mate, were island superstitious.

“I appreciate your making that for me, Brigitte, but taking it on the dive would no
doubt ruin the pretty feathers.”

The woman’s dark features pulled as tight as her voice. “Up to you, cher.”

“Take it,” Innis urged as he secured the vest’s straps over a chest that rippled with
well-defined muscle.

“Of course.” Though she didn’t believe in the magic of Voodoo fetishes, she didn’t
want to offend the woman. Besides, knowing they had competition for the treasure,
she figured she could use all the luck she could get. Taking the little feathered
object, she smiled. “Thank you for your good wishes.”

Brigitte’s lips curved. “You are welcome.”

Cordelia slipped the fetish in her mesh ditty bag that was attached to her weight
belt and took a moment as she always did before a dive to pray that she and her partner
would remain safe throughout. Though the salvage vessel had a full crew including
several divers, she was scheduled to take the first dive only with Innis.

With her dream beginning to replicate before her eyes, Cordelia could hardly breathe
despite the full tank strapped to her back. She hung over the bones of the wreck,
gaze darting around as if she would pin some knife-wielding villain in the shadows.
All she saw were several nurse sharks, usually harmless, but enough to make the skin
along her spine crawl even after the predators disappeared into the deep. A yank on
her arm startled her, and she gazed into Innis’s mask. He tilted his head toward the
hull, and she followed. Taking a closer look at the area beneath her, she realized
things looked quite different than they had in the dream world. The area hadn’t been
touched by human endeavor, at least not for nearly a century. Of course, her dream
had shown her a site that had been worked on, which would happen when they used the
magazine attached to the salvage ship to blow away sand.

In the meantime, she and Innis were merely making a discovery dive. Innis used an
underwater camera to snap digital photographs that they could share with the crew
before other divers came down that afternoon and started setting up a grid.

That might change the direction of her dream. There had been no grid in her vision.
Perhaps, once her crew had set it up, that would negate the danger. Deep in her heart,
she knew she was simply being hopeful. Her precognitive dreams weren’t that specific
to detail. The intent was what mattered.

Shoving away dark thoughts, she lost herself in the joy of the find, going down to
the seafloor every so often to brush away sand from some object. Uncovering a canon
with eroded lettering on its base, she could barely make out the name. Celestine.
She had found it! Her pulse sped up, and she frantically searched for another canon.
This was it, then, the culmination of her father’s research. The high point of her
own career. She became so focused that, as she backed up, she was startled again when
Innis grabbed her, signaled her to stop, and pointed to something directly behind
her. Realizing the birthmark on her wrist was burning, and her Posey ring tightening
to warn her of danger, she carefully turned to look, and her heart began to thunder.

A ten-foot-long shark swam directly behind her. The thick body with tiger-like markings
and a blunt snout told her it was a tiger shark. She felt paralyzed, unable to move.

Innis carefully inched her away from the potential danger.

He took her hand and squeezed hard, indicated they should surface—their air was running
low anyway—and after the close call, she was having some difficulty breathing normally.

Innis had possibly saved her life.

She and Innis shared so many memories of the summer she’d been sixteen. Of her diving
with her parents, while he salvaged with his father. Of a summer romance cut short
when the impending hurricane forced her family to sail back to the Carolinas.

All those years since seemed to melt away.

When they broke the water’s surface, Innis wrapped his arms around her and without
warning, kissed her full on the mouth. A stunned, grateful Cordelia kissed him back
but, still worried about the shark, quickly broke away.

Innis grinned at her, and her pulse fluttered as Leandre pull her up to the deck.
The first mate winked at her, and behind him, Brigitte wore a satisfied expression,
as if Innis had been part of the luck the cook had wished on her.

Her cheeks flooded with warmth, but, breathless, Cordelia couldn’t help her happy
smile. Innis was handsome, charming, and he’d just saved her from a possible shark
attack. Plus there was the high of finding the wreck on the first dive. Who wouldn’t
smile?

“Are you all right?” Innis asked.

“Yes, I’m fine, thanks to you. If you hadn’t been there…”

“Of course I was there. I’ll always be there for you.”

Now Cordelia grew uncomfortable as she always did when a man sounded like he meant
to get serious about her. It wasn’t that she didn’t want someone in her life, but
that she wanted the kind of relationship her parents had cherished. A soul mate. The
problem was recognizing him.

Was he standing before her now?

The way Innis was devouring her with his eyes made her pulse thread unevenly. She
took a big breath and ducked her gaze to her weight belt and the fetish, bright against
the dark mesh of the ditty bag.

Relieving herself of her gear, she handed it over to one of the crew. After which,
she went straight to her mother, who stood near the door leading to the captain’s
quarters. Her expression carefully neutral, Mom twisted her hands together as if keeping
herself from hoping too hard.

“This is it, Mom.” Cordelia grinned. “We found one of the canons. It fit the description
Dad had in his notes.”

Her mother’s lips parted and spread wide, as did her arms. Cordelia walked straight
into them for a celebratory hug.

“So, what’s this with Innis kissing you?” Mom whispered in her ear.

Cordelia kept her voice low. “He was just congratulating me.”

She didn’t want to worry her mother by telling her about the shark. Let Mom think
it was part of the excitement of a successful dive.

When she turned around, Innis was heading straight for them, his pale brown eyes lit
with something that reminded her of victory. Because he was certain they’d found the
Celestine, or because he got to kiss her again?

Her pulse raced as she wondered what it would be like to let him do more than kiss
her, to pick up where they’d left off years ago, when they were still young and innocent.

Innis stopped before them, sweeping his hair from his forehead with an open hand.
His smile crooked, he then brushed a wet strand of hair from her cheek before looking
at her mother.

“You should have been with us, Madelyn.”

“Very kind of you, but I no longer dive.”

Cordelia slipped her hand in her mother’s and laced their fingers together. Mom hadn’t
gone in the water since her father’s tragic last dive.

“A shame,” Innis said. “But you’ll get to see the site anyway. I took plenty of digital
photos, and I’ll be adding video footage to chronicle the entire underwater excavation.
You’ll get to see every detail.”

“That would be wonderful!” Mom said, squeezing Cordelia’s hand. “We can incorporate
it into the exhibition later…” She hesitated a second. “…if this turns out to be the
find that Clive thought it was, of course.”

Innis grinned. “Ah, my dear Madelyn, I would venture we have reason to celebrate.”

“I wouldn’t be doing that all too soon,” boomed a deep, familiar voice from behind
him.

Cordelia looked over Innis’s shoulder and gasped when she saw the man standing on
the rail. Beard-stubbled, a large emerald in his right earlobe, his dark, shoulder-length
hair windswept as if he were about to fly, he stood spread-legged, arms crossed over
his broad tan chest. For a moment, she forgot to breathe. He was wearing nothing but
a pair of tight, knee-length black pants that showed off his assets. Her heart thundered.
He looked every bit the modern-day pirate he’d appeared to be in magazine articles
and in television interviews like the one she’d seen the night before.

Morgan Murphy had found their site after all.

“What are you doing here, Murphy?” Innis demanded. “Lost your way again?”

“Actually, I’ve found it, Foley. I’m here to warn you to stay away from my family
treasure.”

Cordelia nearly choked on that. “Your family treasure?”

He jumped down from the rail, and in three long-legged strides stood staring down
at her from eyes that gleamed, brilliant as the emerald earring. “You must be Cordelia
Ward.”

She backed up a step. He was so much bigger in person than on video, not only in size
but in potency. Power seemed to roll off the pirate. She sucked in a breath. Not that
he had any power over her, of course.

“And you must be that pirate, Morgan Murphy.” Cordelia remembered the confidence he’d
had in the telecast interview—he exuded even more in person. “Keep your distance from
my family treasure!”

Wedged between the two men, she struggled to regain control of herself. Her heart
was pounding and her birthmark seared her wrist, a sure warning of trouble. She stepped
closer to Innis, certain that he and his armed crew would keep her safe.

Murphy arched an eyebrow at her. “If you want something out of this treasure hunt,
you’ve chosen to align yourself with the wrong man.”

“And what would make you the right man?” she demanded, denying the chemistry that
confounded her.

“Nothing,” Innis quickly said. “Get back to your own boat, Murphy, and head out of
here, or I’ll have my men throw you off!”

A quick look beyond the rail told Cordelia that Murphy had pulled his boat smack up
against Foley’s Treasure. Three tough-looking crewmen of the Sea Rover stood at the
rail, seemingly ready for a fight. Innis’s salvage crew appeared equally ready and
willing to take them on.

“We’re in international waters,” Murphy reminded Innis. “And the treasure is under
law of find. Finders keepers.”

Cordelia was too familiar with the law of “finds.” A finder obtained not only possession,
but also ownership of the property when a discovered shipwreck was beyond the reach
of the original owners. This applied to the Celestine. Or rather, it had.

“At least part of that mother lode is mine by law,” Cordelia said. “It belonged to
my ancestors, and I’m here to collect my family’s inheritance.”

Murphy cocked an eyebrow at her. “I suppose you can prove that.”

“I have a copy of the original manifest—”

“As do I. That proves nothing.”

“How did you get it, Murphy?” Innis’s face flooded with angry color. “And the map,
too. You must have gotten your hands on that or you wouldn’t know where to look.”
He flashed an accusing look at his crew. Then to Murphy. “How did you steal the map
from us?”

“Steal?” Murphy drew himself up and took a step closer so they were face-to-face,
nose to nose. Innis stood six feet, but Murphy was even taller. “A fine accusation
from a man who makes his living finding things that belong to other people and then
holding them hostage until he’s paid to give them back.”

“I go by the book. You know very well salvage is a legitimate business.”

“Pirating isn’t,” Cordelia added. “You aren’t wanted here, Morgan Murphy.”

As if suddenly remembering her, Murphy grinned and winked as if he didn’t believe
she was serious. Cordelia’s mouth went dry, and she had as much difficulty breathing
as when she’d caught sight of the shark. Her wrist was practically on fire now, and
her Posey ring seemed to tighten…tighten…tighten around her finger.

“I’ll get off this boat, Cordy—”

“Cordelia.”

“Cordy,” Murphy insisted. “And, I’ll find the mother lode before you do.”

Innis pushed between them and right into the other man’s face again. “Not bloody likely.”