Chapter 7
Amber stood in the doorway not sure what to say, she’d never even considered the possibility that Sarah would put them in the same room, but she understood how it looked to everyone. Still, there was no way she could spend an entire night locked in with Daniel and not make a fool of herself or lose control and let something that was a bad idea happen. But Sarah had been so nice to her, showing her around and explaining how Jeremy’s Hollow had come to be. The last thing she wanted to do was throw her hospitality back in her face, but she was going to have to say something. What she was going to say, she wasn’t sure.
To stall for time, she stepped into the room and walked around, it really was a nice room, but it should be Daniel's. “This is my nicest guest room. You and Daniel should be very comfortable in here. The bathroom is right through that door and there should be clean towels and more blankets in the closet.”
Amber sat down on the bed as the realization that once they were married there would be no avoiding sharing a room with Daniel washed over her, and she began to have second thoughts again. Sarah saw the look on her face and sat down next to her.
“Honey, what’s wrong?” she asked, concern in her voice.
Amber didn’t know what to say, Sarah was a stranger, she couldn’t just blurt out her problems to her. But then she looked into Sarah’s eyes and saw only kindness and compassion, and before she knew it the entire story was pouring out of her. When she’d finished, she felt better, just voicing what she was feeling had made her feel better. She’d been keeping everything bottled up inside her, letting it fester until now she wasn’t sure what she was feeling.
“So, the man your mother picked out for you turns out to be the perfect man for you. That’s not so bad,” Sarah said, as if it was perfectly clear.
“It’s not that, Sarah. There’s no way that Daniel feels the same way, I’m not exactly the kind of woman a man like him would want,” Amber said quietly, her eyes focused on her lap.
Sarah grabbed her by the chin, “Amber, you listen to me. You are a very beautiful and attractive woman, a woman that any man would be lucky to have. Besides, I have it on very good authority that Daniel likes his women curvy.”
Amber’s heart leaped at her words, hope blooming in her chest. “He’s probably just entertaining himself.”
Sarah shook her head, “Daniel isn’t like that, he wouldn’t play with your emotions. I wish there was more I could say to make you feel better, but this is one of those times in life that you have to stop worrying about what might happen and just enjoy what is happening.”
“I’ll try. I’m just afraid that I’m going to get hurt,” Amber admitted. She’d guarded her heart carefully, keeping herself at a distance thinking that if she did she’d never be hurt.
“I can’t promise that you won’t, but if you live your life protecting yourself from getting hurt all the time, just think about all that you’ll miss out on,” Sarah said. “Sometimes the things that hurt us make us stronger.”
After a week in Jeremy’s cove, Amber was sad to leave, but the boat was repaired and it was time for them to be moving on to Anchorage. Standing on the beach she watched as they raised the new sail and let the wind take it, thinking that she was looking forward to being out on the open water again. She’d only gotten a small taste of what it was like, and she was anxious to experience more, especially the gulf crossing, the first time they’d sail at night.
Daniel had volunteered to take the overnight watch both nights and she was grateful for that. But that still meant that at some point during the day he’d have to sleep and she’d basically be sailing alone, the thought was both frightening and exciting. She smiled at the thought that her mother had certainly gotten her way, even if it wasn’t how her mother had imagined it. Amber was not only having a romance but a big adventure to go along with it.
She’d been so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t see the men coming to shore, but when one of them shouted, she looked up to see Daniel grinning from ear to ear as the dingy hit the shore. He waved and shouted, “Are you ready to hit the water again?”
“Just say the word and I’m there,” she shouted back, then started towards the dingy, thinking that Daniel was even more handsome when he was happy like he was just then.
He jumped out of the boat and closed the distance between them, picked her up and swung her around, then set her on her feet. Amber let out a little scream, then breathless from the shock and pleasure, teetered on her feet before getting her balance back. Daniel was still grinning and she couldn’t help but smile right along with him.
“She’s good as new, maybe even a little better. That new sail is made from a new material that Jeremy says will give us more speed. Between that and the new engine, no one will be able to catch us if we don’t want them to,” he said, taking her hand and leading her up the trail towards the Hollow.
“So, when do we leave?” Amber asked, loving the way his big hand enveloped her small one.
“I’m thinking we’ll get up in the morning and sail back to the marina, stock up on food and whatever else you think we need, then sail out on the evening tide. There’s an anchorage a few hours from here that will be the perfect place to start our gulf crossing in the morning,” Daniel said, then added, “It will take about three days to get to Anchorage.”
Amber nodded. She’d been putting off what was going to happen when they got to Anchorage, but hearing that they were only a few days away, made her heart begin to staccato in her chest. Determined not to let it ruin her last night in the Hollow, she pushed it from her mind, replacing it with the advice that Sarah had given her. “I hope I’m ready.” Was all she said.
“You are. It’s going to be great, it’s been so long since I sailed for days at a time,” Daniel said, then after a second added, “We’ll handle Anchorage when we get there.”
Amber was surprised that he understood that she’d meant more than just sailing and smiled. “Okay.”
After a goodbye dinner with the entire population of Jeremy’s cove, they were off the next morning, the short sail to the marina got them to town with plenty of time to get their shopping done and still make the evening tide. As they walked down the dock, Amber looked around her, she’d heard stories about the men who were harassing the town and hoped that they wouldn’t run into them.
“We should be safe enough during the day,” Daniel said, again reading her mind.
Amber laughed. “How do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Read my mind,” she said, looking up at him.
“I didn’t know I was,” He said, looking at her for a long time, then smiling down at her. “I guess we’re already in tune with each other.”
Amber had no idea how to take that comment, but she was saved from answering by the appearance of an old sailor who was beckoning Daniel over to the shack that stood at the end of the dock. The shack and the man both looked like they’d been there for decades, but when they got closer Amber could see that the man wasn’t as old as she’d thought.
“Daniel, it’s good to see you,” the man said when they got over to where he was standing in front of the shack.
“You too, Bill. Heard you've been having some problems around here,” Daniel said, then added. “Sorry, this is Amber McIntyre, we’re on our way to Anchorage.”
“Good to meet you,” Bill said, then shook her hand. He turned back to Daniel, “Couple of rough fellows giving us a little trouble, but nothing we can’t handle.”
“That’s what I heard too,” Daniel said, laughing. “Is that their boat over there?”
“Yeah, scoundrels gave me a deposit on the work but then wouldn’t pay the rest of the bill. Been chasing them around town trying to get them to pay, but no luck yet. I’m holding it until they do. Sheriff's behind me on that one,” Bill explained.
Daniel looked at the boat, “I could buy that boat off you. Take the problem off your hands,” He suggested.
“Hmmm, that’s not a bad idea. Been trying to collect for more than thirty days, so technically the boat's mine. Let’s go inside and talk,” Bill said, then turned to Amber. “If you’d like to sit on the deck over there I’ll bring you something to drink, cup of coffee maybe.”
Amber looked to where he was pointing, pleased to see some comfortable looking lawn furniture. “That would be nice,” she said, pulling her sketch pad out of her bag. “I’ll just sit there and sketch while you two are talking.”
An hour later, Daniel came out of the shack clearly pleased with himself. “Ready to go shopping?” he asked, trying to look over her shoulder at the sketch she’d made.
With a sigh, she held it out to let him see what she’d been sketching. It was getting easier and easier to show Daniel her uncompleted work. He always offered an honest opinion, but never in a way that made her feel bad. “Did you get everything worked out?” she asked, putting the sketch book back in her bag.
“Yep, I now own that piece of junk. I’ll arrange to have someone pick it up and take it to the nearest salvage yard when we get to Anchorage, for now we’ll just let it sit and let them think it’s still theirs,” Daniel said with a wicked grin.
Amber shook her head. “Feel better now?”
Daniel looked down at her. “What do you mean?”
Amber chose her words carefully. “Well, you’ve been dying to help the town but no one would let you, so you found a way. I have a feeling that’s what you do all the time. Find a way to help people even when they don’t seem to want your help. You think more about other people than you do about yourself.”
Daniel looked at her for a moment, then said,“I’m a very rich man Amber. I know how lucky I am, it makes me feel better to use that money to do some good when I can.”
“Too bad everyone isn’t like you,” she said, thinking about all the shallow people she knew who wouldn’t think to help the way Daniel did.
Their shopping took far longer then they’d thought it would, the produce and dairy shipment got held up so they decided to wait until it arrived later that day. To entertain themselves they toured the little museum the town had created, then went to the afternoon movie at the tiny theatre in town. As they were leaving the theatre they saw the delivery truck pull up in front of the store and began to slowly make their way down the street. As they were walking, they passed a little café , the kind of place that could only be found in such a small town. There was a wonderful smell floating out the door and Amber paused for a second to take a deep breath of the fragrant air.
Before she knew what was happening, the door to the café burst open and a woman came barreling out, grabbed Daniel and hugged him. “Daniel Taylor, it’s about time you showed up in town. Don’t think I didn’t know that you were out at Jeremy’s Hollow.”
Daniel hugged the woman back, then pulled back to look at her. “Minnie, you look even better than the last time I saw you,” he said, then turned to Amber. “This is Jeremy’s sister, Minnie.”
“It’s nice to meet you, I’m Amber,” she said, instantly liking the woman.
“I hear you two are headed to Anchorage,” Minnie said, looking from one to the other, clearly hoping for more information.
“As soon as we stock up on groceries, we’ll head out. I thought we’d spend the night in Mason’s cove, start the gulf crossing from there.” Daniel explained.
Minnie nodded her head, “Good plan, you don’t want to spend the night in the marina that’s for sure. I’m sure you’ve heard about our little problem.”
“I bought their boat from Bill,” Daniel said.
Minnie roared with laughter. “That ought to get them riled up, make them do something the sheriff can run them out of town for. Should have known you’d find a way to help us. I think that deserves a dinner on me, come by on your way out of town and I’ll fix you up good.”
“That’s a deal, but first we better get over to the store while they still have stuff left,” Daniel said, giving Minnie one last hug before they walked away.
It wasn’t long before they were back at Minnie’s, seated at her best table, more food in front of them than they’d be able to eat in a week. But she’d insisted and there was no telling Minnie no when she’d made up her mind.
“We’ll never be able to eat all this,” Daniel said, taking another helping of the fish stew.
“No, but it’s fun to try. Everything looks so good, I don’t know what to eat first,” Amber said, thinking that they’d be eating this food all the way across the gulf.
Daniel opened his mouth to reply, but his words were cut off when the front door burst open and slammed against the wall. Two men came into the restaurant and Amber saw Daniel instantly tense up, his body suddenly rigid. Minnie came out from the kitchen and stood behind the front counter, clearly not happy to see the men.
“What have I told you boys about that door and coming in here like that?” she asked, hands on her hips.
The taller of the two men looked around the room, spotted Daniel and headed straight for him. “You the guy who bought our boat?” he snarled at Daniel.
“What if I was?” Daniel asked calmly, but his body was tense.
“Then I’d have to tell you that what you did was a pretty low thing,” the man said, clearly assessing Daniel.
Daniel stood up from the table and put his hands on his hips. “If I was the man who bought your boat I’d say that you had your chance to get it back, can’t blame a guy for seeing an opportunity and taking it.”
The man backed away a few paces and looked up at Daniel, who towered over him by at least six inches. He raised his hand. “Well then looks like we have a bit of a problem,” he said, still trying to sound tough but not looking as confident as he'd been when he walked in.
“I don’t see any problem,” Daniel said advancing a few steps towards the man, who held up his hands.
“Okay, then I’ve got a bit of a problem. You see my brother’s not going to be happy when he finds out that you bought his boat. In fact, he’s going to be down right pissed, and neither of us is going to like that,” he said, then paused.
Daniel simply waited, he’d hoped to avoid this but they hadn’t gotten out of town fast enough. “I’m not sure how I can help you,” he finally said.
The man seemed at a loss for words, he hadn’t expected Daniel to stand up to him or for him to be so big. “I… well… You could play poker with me, let me win it off you,” he said in a rush.
The man standing next to him elbowed him in the ribs. “Dennis, your bother isn’t going to like this. We don’t have any money to play poker with.”
Dennis gave him a dirty look. “You let me handle this,” he said, then pulled a pack of cards out of his shirt pocket.
Daniel had an amused look on his face. “I’ll play poker with you, but we’re not using your cards. Minnie, you got a pack of cards around here someplace?”
Amber looked at Daniel, shocked. Agreeing to this was the last thing she'd expected from him, but he walked over to another table and took the cards Minnie handed him, then began to expertly shuffle them. She sat down next to him and looked over at him, but he just continued to shuffle the cards, waiting for the men to join them.
“Change your mind?” Daniel asked.
Several hours later, they were still sitting in Minnie’s with the crowd that had gathered to watch the game. Word had spread about what was happening in the café and the room was crowded, entertainment was hard to come by out here and no one wanted to miss this. The pile of money in front of Daniel had been slowly growing larger, each hand he won depleting the pile in front of Dennis. Amber had been watching Daniel’s cards and she knew that he was only toying with him, and she wondered if he’d really take all the man’s money.
It wasn’t long before she got her answer. Dennis, desperate now that he had lost almost everything, made a huge bet which Daniel won easily. When Daniel pulled the pile of money over in front of him, Dennis looked down in front of him, got a desperate look on his face, then pulled a weathered leather pouch out of the inside pocket of his coat. “One more hand. If I win I get everything back and the boat. If you do, you can have this,” he said, slapping the pouch down on the table.
Daniel looked at the pouch with disgust. “And why would I want that?” he asked, pointing to it.
“Because it’s worth millions of dollars,” Dennis said, then when Daniel snorted, he said, “It’s a map to a ship wreck full of gold.”
Daniel actually laughed. “You really expect me to believe that?”
Dennis looked desperate. “It’s the truth, it’s been in my family for two generations and no one believed it was real, but it is. We’ve done the research, there really was a ship full of gold that sank.”
Daniel smiled indulgently. “Okay, it’s a bet.” Then he turned to the man they’d chosen to deal. “Deal the cards, if he wins he gets it all, if I do the map is mine.”
Not five minutes later, Daniel was gingerly pulling the pouch toward him. Dennis was staring at the table in shock, then he jumped up out of his chair and ran out the back door, the man with him following. The silence in the room only lasted a second after he was gone, then the crowd erupted into cheers and clapping, the people of the town only too happy to see Daniel take down one of their tormentors.
When the clamor died down, Daniel called Minnie over to the table and handed her all the cash on the table including his own. “I’d like to donate this to the town,” he said, grinning as the room erupted in cheers again.
Everyone seemed to want to talk to Daniel, so Amber excused herself and headed for the bathroom down at the end of the hallway. When she got to the door, she noticed that the back door was propped open and that she could hear voices. When she realized that it was Dennis talking, she stepped into the bathroom and peered through a crack in the door. Standing that way, she could just see him pacing around behind the restaurant, clearly deeply unhappy that he’d lost.
“Shit, shit, shit. What the hell am I going to do when Trevor gets back, he’s going to kill me,” Dennis said. “We’ve got to get that map back.”