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An hour later, Sara was buckled into the passenger seat as Hope drove her to the airport in her Jeep. Sara watched the passing scenery with new attention. Could I really live here? The vegetation thinned out, revealing the sparkling Caribbean Sea, with its impossible shades of blue. There are worse places…
Between the resort and Frederiksted, the closest town, they passed a new, modern complex of buildings on the ocean side. A stretch of white sand peeked behind them. Hope pointed toward it. “That’s a new apartment complex that opened recently. Isn’t it gorgeous? That would be a great place for you to live. That way you could have your own home, but still be close to both town and the resort.”
Sara turned sharply to her. “You’ve got this all figured out, don’t you? Do you have my Mr. Perfect picked out too?”
“Oh, calm down. I have no intention of playing matchmaker. And how could I not think about you when I saw those apartments? You want to go talk to the manager real quick?”
Sara slumped in her seat. “No, keep going. I’m sure they’re gorgeous.” She took a deep breath and blew it out. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to sound defensive. I’m still in shock.”
“I know. Just think about our offer—that’s all I ask.”
Before she knew it, Sara had wound her way through the check-in line at the airport, Hope staying with her as she checked her luggage. The sisters ambled over to the security line, and the moment Sara had been dreading appeared at last. Hope’s eyes were misty, making her tear up too.
“Thank you for all you did. My wedding was a dream come true, and a lot of it was because of you.”
Sara tried to brush off her surging emotion. “I think the groom might have had a little to do with it too.” They embraced, holding each other tight. “I’m so happy for you. If anyone deserves a happy-ever-after, it’s you.”
Sara tried to watch a movie on the flight, but thoughts of warm breezes, turquoise water, and a chance to finally make her dream a reality kept distracting her. Once in the Charleston airport parking lot, she threw her luggage into the trunk of her elderly Honda Civic and performed her customary crossing of the fingers before turning the key in the ignition. The car wheezed and coughed a few times, but started eventually, and Sara heaved a relieved sigh as she pulled out.
It was after midnight and she rolled the window down, letting the breeze keep her awake. The air smelled totally different from St. Croix, more industrial. Sara entered her one-bedroom apartment, wincing at the raised voices coming from next door. Great. Doug and Marcy are at it again. Hopefully they’ll shut up soon.
She left her luggage in the entry and dropped onto her couch with its red tie-died cover, glancing around the apartment. The kitchen was mostly unadorned—she wasn’t much of a cook. But the living room was a riot of color. She didn’t have any particular favorites, and loved all colors, as long as they were bright. Sara had lived there for six years, and even before the new owner took over the salon where she worked, she’d been itching to move on. But a seismic shift had just occurred mere hours ago. Her world was now off-kilter.
Oh, big sister. What are you getting me into?
CHAPTER 3
The divers’ lights illuminated the octopus as it slid across the sandy bottom in the darkness. Dive guide Jack Powell grinned around his regulator as the strange creature progressed through a kaleidoscope of color changes. It had started off nearly white to match the sand, then became a brilliant turquoise before finally settling on a mottled brown as it climbed slowly up the side of a coral head. The creature wrapped its eight legs tightly around the outcropping and instantly developed stubby protrusions all over its mantle as it shifted to a reddish-brown, matching the coral. It sat there motionless except for the regular movement of its valve as it breathed, seemingly unperturbed by the divers’ lights.
Jack never tired of them, and they were partially why he jumped at any chance to lead a night dive. Octopuses hid in crevices during the day, but night was when they hunted. He glanced around, confirming there were four other lights—his group was all there. The octopus moved one leg beneath it and rhythmically moved its mantle as it found something delicious in the coral and maneuvered the meal into its beak. Then it continued its search, instantly becoming smooth as the nubs disappeared. Within seconds, it disappeared into an impossibly small crack in the reef.
Jack checked his dive computer and led the group toward the boat. Night dives rarely went over forty-five minutes, fifteen minutes shorter than their daytime dives. Although the water temperature was identical, the lack of light caused the divers to feel cooler and eager to don sweatshirts waiting on the boat above.
Hanging from a rope below the boat, a green strobe light flashed in the darkness. Jack stopped the group near it as they hovered for their required safety stop. Watching the light, Jack smiled slightly around his regulator and contrasted his two jobs. The previous day, he had worked three dives at his other position at Ocean Surf Resort. Dive operations came in two flavors—organized and disorganized. And these two exemplified that, though both were understanding of his need to work multiple jobs. Yesterday, the night dive at Ocean Surf had been a confusing, tiring slog. He had struggled to lead the group back to the dark boat despite setting an accurate heading on his compass.
But tonight, Alex had dropped the green strobe so the boat’s location would be easily visible to all divers. This also calmed any who might be uneasy at the prospect of being underwater in complete darkness. Alex had given Tommy the evening off and taken over captain duties himself, another thing Jack liked. Even though he was the dive manager of Half Moon Bay, Alex was never afraid to get into the trenches and do the hard work himself.
After surfacing, Jack stayed in the water and helped divers remove their fins. Alex then helped them walk to their spots on the boat so they could remove their tanks. Gravity was a bitch after diving. Everyone got on board without issue, and Jack was the last to tuck his fins under one arm and climb aboard. The group exclaimed about the dive, everyone excited. Sixteen-year-old Annie had just completed her first night dive and was telling Alex all about it.
“An octopus! Really? And you weren’t scared?” Alex asked as he slid her fins under the bench.
“No. It was really cool. You don’t like octopuses?”
“What if they suck my face off?” He stood, straight faced. “Maybe next time you can take me and keep me safe.”
Annie and her parents laughed. “Deal,” she said. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”
Jack smiled, enjoying Alex’s joking, but the man was hard to read. He didn’t talk about himself, except that he was a marine biologist, which made Jack wonder why he was working as a dive guide. Jack had been completely unaware Alex was involved with Hope until he mentioned they were getting married. I should get to know him better. Especially since I want to work here more.
After a quick head count, Alex climbed the ladder to the elevated bridge of Surface Interval and started the engine as Jack pulled both stern ladders out of the water and secured them. It was a quick trip back to the resort, and the divers were soon off the boat, headed toward showers and dinner. The two men busied themselves dismantling the dive equipment from the tanks so they could wash and store it, all to repeat the process after tomorrow’s dives.
They were pulling Buoyancy Compensation Devices off the tanks when the sound of rushing footsteps echoed down the pier. Hope hurried toward them, holding a bag of ice against one cheek. Alex straightened immediately, and Jack followed suit.
“We need a little help at the bar,” she said, stopping in front of them. “A couple of locals are getting out of hand, and it’s too much for Clark to handle. I’m glad you’re back.” She readjusted the ice bag on her face as Alex inhaled sharply.
“Did they hit you?” he asked in an even, tight voice, and Jack’s blood pressure skyrocketed.
