Julianne rushed to the deck with Nelson close behind and hurried to Wade. He glared at her, but she slipped her arm around his side and whispered, “You can do this. You’ve got this, love.”
Rain whipped at her face and soaked her hair even more, drenching her completely. Waves crashed against the side of the boat, roaring with every hit. Julianne nodded to Wade again and squeezed his hand, letting him know that she was with him, no matter where the storms brought them.
She would be by his side.
She would stand by him through thick and thin.
She would be with him on his journey.
Wade looked out over the sea, hollering orders to the crew as the ship bounced on the ocean’s surface. It was the nastiest storm Julianne had ever seen, but Wade seemed to have everything under control. At the helm, he looked fiercer than ever.
He was the Saucy Devil.
“Get below deck!” Julianne was right next to him, but he still had to yell the words. She saw his mouth moving, and then the words registered.
“Aye, aye,” she said, giving his hand one last squeeze before she turned to go down the narrow ladder. She made her way carefully down, doing her best not to slip. The deck was covered in water and the men were running around, yelling and shouting to one another.
She would go below deck and see how she could help Buck. There would inevitably be a leak or two she could help stop. At the very least, she could mop. She was good with a mop. The slick wood planks on the ship were an accident waiting to happen. No wonder so many good men got injured during storms.
Julianne had just reached the door to move below deck when she heard the song.
It was unlike anything she’d ever heard before.
It was beautiful, and sweet, and it seemed to speak directly to her heart. The song was one of happiness and pleasure. The song promised joy and loveliness, and somewhere beyond the lyrics, Julianne thought she heard Wade’s voice.
Cover your ears!
She didn’t cover her ears.
Instead, Julianne found herself moving to the side of the ship. She made her way closer and closer to the edge of the boat, and that’s when she saw it. The storm seemed to clear, at least in her vision, and she saw the women dancing on the beach.
They were tall and short, fat and thin, old and young. There were women of all ages, and all colors, and all sizes, and they were happy together.
Come and join us.
The song changed, moving faster, and Julianne knew there wasn’t a lot of time. This was her chance. Wade didn’t love her. Not really. He loved his dead wife and he loved revenge, but he didn’t love her.
She was just a stowaway.
She was just someone to pass the time.
But the women on the beach were different. They wouldn’t treat Julianne like she was a stowaway. She wouldn’t have to fight to fit in. She wouldn’t have to do anything but be herself, and she could belong somewhere.
Maybe these women were loose, or perhaps they were chaste, or perhaps they hadn’t decided yet. That wasn’t going to matter. Julianne could already tell. She still felt the wind on her face and the rain in her hair, but she had a clear view to the beach.
And it was sunny over there.
It was bright.
Beautiful.
Clear.
All she had to do was swim.
Come! Join us! The women on the beach called to her. She waved back frantically, fervently.
“I’m coming!” She called, and Julianne began to climb over the side of The Dark Lovely. She gripped the side of the boat for just a second, and she thought she heard someone calling her name, but it was too late.
It wouldn’t be long now.
All she had to do was swim.
**
Wade Docherty’s heart had been broken when he returned from the sea to find that his family had been slaughtered. He had been devastated, he had been pained, and he had been angry. It may have been years since he lost his beloved family, but the devastation had stayed with him all this time: a constant companion.
Until recently, he hadn’t been able to go more than a few minutes without thinking of Madeleine. He hadn’t been able to get the images of little Jack, of baby Diana, out of his head. He couldn’t escape his pain until Julianne simply strolled onto his ship and into his life.
And now the pain didn’t seem so bad anymore.
Now he could have a real conversation without feeling like he was going to crack at any moment. Now he could go a few hours without thinking about all he had lost. Now he could sleep peacefully for long stretches of time.
He didn’t have nightmares anymore.
He knew Julianne was to thank for that.
She’d been a light on the ship: a bright, shining star to guide his soul.
And she had just jumped off the side of his damn ship.
Wade grabbed Nelson and pushed him in front of the helm. He ignored the man as he himself ran to the side of the ship.
“It’s too late, Captain,” Ray said.
“She just dove right o’er,” Thomas agreed, yelling to be heard over the wind, but Wade ignored them and peered over the edge of the water where his beloved had disappeared.
She was going to the Isle of Changers.
He knew it deep in his gut.
He looked out at the island and wondered what vision Julianne had seen. What had called to her, promising her a future? He didn’t know, and it didn’t matter.
He just had to get to her before she reached the beach.
The waters were swirling as Wade took off his sword and ripped off his shirt. He was going to get to her, and he was going to save her. Julianne had already saved him. He could do the same for her.
It could cost him everything: the respect of his men, the ship, his life. None of that mattered when he thought about living a life without her, though. Oh, he knew she secretly worried she was in love with him. He knew she fretted that they might not have a house one day. He even knew she daydreamed about having his babies.
Wade knew all of this because Julianne talked in her sleep, and she talked often, and he wondered how the woman managed to keep any secrets at all to herself.
“You can’t do it,” Ray yelled, but Wade didn’t wait another moment. As he dove off the side of his ship, he heard the yells of his crew, but he ignored them. What they thought didn’t matter. Their advice didn’t matter.
Wade Docherty had to save Julianne before she reached that beach.
He would get to her, and he would bring her back, and everything would be okay.
It had to be, because she was his heart, his soul, his reason for living. She was the only reason he smiled. She was everything to him.
He wouldn’t leave her behind.