"You know what would really make this a perfect vacation for Kate?" Sarah mused.
"Sure. Finding herself a real live pirate and having herself a nice little adventure." Margaret's brows rose and her mouth curved in wry amusement. "But don't hold your breath, Sarah. She's no more likely to encounter the man of her dreams than you or I are. We three may write about romance and adventure for a living, but we live in the real world."
"I know." Sarah shook her head thoughtfully. "But at least you and I still have our eyes out for the right man. Kate has given up looking for him altogether. I wonder if she'd even recognize him if he came along?"
"Probably not. Even if he did happen along, he'd have a heck of a job on his hands just getting her attention. The only men Kate really sees these days are the ones she puts in her books."
"Maybe. But you know something?" Sarah cast one last glance at the cover of
Buccaneer's Bride
. "I really do have this feeling about sending Kate off to
ONE
"W
hat on earth do you mean, hand over my purse, you little worm?" Kate stood in the narrow, cobbled alley and stared in outraged disbelief at the little man wielding the big knife. It was all too much.
She was hot, tired and thoroughly disgusted. Her canvas-and-leather flight bags hung heavily from her shoulders and her camera felt like an albatross around her neck. The purse the little man was demanding so rudely was slung diagonally across her body and bulged with magazines, guide books, cosmetics and a small statue carved out of lava.
The once rakish-looking safari dress was now damp with perspiration and sadly wrinkled from several hours of sitting in a cramped coach-class airline seat. The traveling had become an endless nightmare. Kate was convinced that owing to some oversight on her part during a previous lifetime she was now doomed to travel through this
The little creep standing in front of her waving the knife was definitely the last straw.
"You heard me, lady."
The small, unkempt man reminded Kate of a rat. He darted a nervous glance over her shoulder and then back over his own. Satisfied that the alley was still deserted except for his victim, he motioned with the wicked-looking weapon. "I said give me your purse. Hurry. It ain't like I got all day, y'know."
"You've obviously spent so much time in this heat that you've fried what few brains you've got. Quite understandable. This place is an oven. But pay attention. If I'd wanted to get mugged, I could have stayed home. I have not endured an endless flight, eaten rotten airline food, had my luggage lost and missed my connections just to wind up turning over my purse to the first two-bit thief who comes along."
"Jesus, lady, will you keep your voice down?"
"Why should I keep my voice down?" Kate's voice, already laced with outrage, rose yet another notch in volume. "I have no intention of handing over my purse or anything else to you. Now get out of this alley and leave me alone."
"Now look here, you crazy bitch." The man waved the knife threateningly, but he took a step back when Kate's eyes narrowed. Once more he glanced anxiously over his shoulder. "I ain't got time to be nice about this."
"Neither do I." Kate grabbed her camera and held it up to one eye. She focused on her target and squeezed the shutter-release button. The man's mouth fell open in shock. "A charming pose. You know, if you knew what I've been through today, I'm sure you'd find yourself another poor helpless tourist to rob. I am not in a good mood."
"I don't care what kinda mood you're in."
Kate ignored his interruption. "Furthermore, I am a person who has been under a great deal of stress lately, according to my friends. People who have been under stress are unpredictable and dangerous. You never know what they're going to do." She squeezed off another shot.
"Hey, what are you doin'?" The little man swore and leaped back another step, instinctively raising a hand to shield his face. "Stop takin' pictures of me. What's the matter with you? Just give me the damned purse."
"Very well. Since you insist." Kate let the camera fall to her waist. Grimly, she let the heavy shoulder bags slide to the pavement. She tugged at the leather strap of her purse.
"That's better. Come on, come on."
"This," Kate said through her teeth, "has been the worst trip of my entire life and I've hardly gotten started. I can't wait to get home and tell my friends what they did to me. Here. You want my purse? Help yourself." Kate turned the bulging bag upside down and dumped the contents at her feet.
The would-be thief swore again in a strangled-sounding voice. "You're crazy, lady. You know that?
Crazy
."
"Stressed, not crazy. There's a difference. If I were crazy, I might actually be enjoying myself."
"What the hell do you think you're doin'?"
"Getting myself robbed." Kate finished emptying the purse. "Come and get it, you little runt."
"Get outa my way." The man edged cautiously forward. "Get back. Go on, get back."
"Is there a good living in this sort of thing?" Kate watched as the man hunkered and worked his way closer to where her wallet lay on the ground.
"Shut up. Just shut up, will you? Don't you ever close that damned mouth of yours?" The little man lunged toward the wallet.
Kate waited until the last second and then kicked out at the hand holding the knife.
"Aargh!"
Caught off balance, the thief dropped the knife and scuttled to one side like a small, startled crab. Kate took a step forward and kicked him again, this time catching the man in a far more vulnerable spot.
"Damn you, you crazy, stupid woman! You're a real nut, you know that?" The man rolled to one side, hugging himself. He lurched to his feet, backing away from her. Then his nervous little eyes flicked to a point behind her. He cursed, turned and fled.
"That's it!" Kate yelled after him, her hands on her hips. "Run like the coward you are. You remind me of my ex-husband, you little twerp."
But the man was long gone. Grumbling, Kate knelt on the cobblestones to retrieve her belongings. It was not a simple task because her fingers were shaking.
"Did you kick your ex-husband around like that?" inquired a deep, amused male voice from behind her.
With a gasp, Kate shot to her feet and spun around. A man lounged in the alley entrance. He was a very large man, a couple of inches over six feet, lean and hard and broad shouldered. Caught in the harsh glare and deep shadows cast by the intense tropical sun, he looked infinitely more dangerous than the man with the knife. The slashing, wicked grin that revealed his teeth did nothing to soften the impression.
But far more unsettling than the dangerous quality was the fact that the big stranger looked eerily familiar. Yet Kate was certain she had never seen him before in her life. She would not be likely to forget those cool silver eyes.
"Who are you? The little twerp's accomplice?" But even as she asked the question she knew this man did not eke out a hand-to-mouth existence taking wallets from innocent tourists. If he chose crime as a career path, he'd go into it in a big way. He'd be a jewel thief or a mob leader. Two hundred years ago, he would have been a pirate.
"The little twerp doesn't have any friends, let alone accomplices."
"You know him?"
"Sharp Arnie and I have encountered each other occasionally over the years. We're not exactly pals"
"Oh." Kate frowned. "Did he run off because he saw you?"
"I believe he ran off because he thought he was going to get stomped into the ground trying to retrieve your wallet."
"I was certainly going to do my best to stomp him. The nerve of some people. Shouldn't we be notifying the authorities or something?"
"Sharp Arnie will be taken care of in due time. Don't worry about him. It's a small island."
"I'll be happy to file a complaint or press charges or whatever one does in this sort of situation."
"Don't bother. We're not real formal around here. Guess I'd better give you a hand picking that junk up or we'll be stuck on Ruby all day."
The man levered himself away from the pink wall and paced toward her. He moved with an easy, coordinated stride that bespoke strength.
He was wearing a pair of faded jeans and an equally faded khaki shirt. The collar of the shirt was open, and Kate realized she was staring at the crisp, dark hair that grew there. She caught herself and came back to her senses instantly as she realized the stranger was reaching for her valuables.
"Hold on just one second before you touch my things. Who are you?"
"Jared Hawthorne. You're Katherine Inskip, right?"
She eyed him warily. He didn't look like a fan who might have recognized her from the photo the publisher put on the inside of her book's back cover. "How do you know my name?"
"I've been looking for you. Billy said you'd gotten tired of waiting around for your ride to
"Billy being the Billy of Billy's Ruby Island Dive and Tackle Shop? The same Billy who told me that through absolutely no fault of my own I had missed the one flight a day to
Jared Hawthorne winced. "Sounds like the same Billy, all right. He owns that fleabag of a hotel, by the way. But you're in luck. When his message arrived I decided to come over and pick you up."
"I should think so," Kate said. "I'm booked into Crystal Cove Resort for a solid month. The least the resort can do is provide convenient transportation."
"Take it easy. I'm here, aren't I? You've got your transportation. What do you say we get moving? I've got better things to do than hang around here on Ruby."
"So do I. I certainly hope the Crystal Cove Resort offers a few more amenities than Billy's hotel does."
"Crystal Cove offers everything you'll need for a relaxing vacation on a tropical island," Jared said. "Within minutes after your arrival you will discover that time has slowed to an ancient, unhurried crawl and you are in another world."
"You're quoting directly from the brochure, aren't you?"
"Yeah. I wrote it." He leaned down and effortlessly scooped up a compact, hairbrush and several magazines, which he dumped into the empty purse.
"How long have you worked at Crystal Cove?" Kate asked.
"Since it was built. I own the place." He grabbed the strap of one of her flight bags and slung it over his shoulder. "Ready?"
That explained why he didn't have to bother with snatching tourist wallets, Kate decided. He didn't need them. In his line of work people willingly handed over their credit cards. "The resort must have a very small staff if the owner himself has to make the run to
"Don't worry. There will be plenty of people to wait on you hand and foot at Crystal Cove, madam."
"I don't need a lot of servants, just air-conditioning. It's hot as hell here." Kate picked up one of the magazines and fanned herself with it. "Right now I would trade just about everything I brought with me for five minutes in front of a real air conditioner."
A glint of what might have been amusement lit Jared's silver eyes. "Sorry. Ceiling fans."
Kate blinked. "I beg your pardon?"
"The resort is built to take advantage of the prevailing breezes. All the room have screens and ceiling fans instead of air-conditioning."
"Good grief. You mean I'm going to have to endure this heat for the next month?"
"The afternoon rains cool things off. Nights are balmy. Mornings are pleasantly warm. The heat only gets a little unpleasant during the middle of the day. Smart people stay in the shade or in the water during that time period. They don't run around buying souvenirs." Jared regarded the lava statue with amused disdain.
"I see." Kate snatched the small statue from his hand and dropped it into her purse. "Is it always this hot during the middle of the day?"
"No. Sometimes it's hotter."
"That does it. I'm going to strangle my two best friends the minute I get back to
"Why?" Jared took the bag from her and slung it easily over his own shoulder.