”
“ You wouldn ’ t be able to keep up if we ran into trouble. ” Dane sai d. “ Look, I ’ ve been on plenty of treasure hunts and I know how you ’ re feeling. ” Avery shook her head and, too late, Dane remembered that you should never tell a woman that you know how she feels. “ If the circumstances were different, I ’ d have you right there with us, but this is just one of those times when it needs to be me and Bones. Only me and Bones. ” He said this last to Angel, who made a pouting face that sent a shiver down his spine. He looked back at Avery, trying to ignore how warm he suddenly felt . “ I ’ m sorry, but this is the way it has to be. ”
“ Besides, ” Angel said to Avery, “ this is Maddock ’ s treasure hunt. His father left it for him. ”
“ You don ’ t understand. ” Avery whisper ed as a solitary tear trickled down her face. “ He was my father too. ”
Chapter 12
Dane sat, dumbfounded, gazing up at Avery, who seemed almost as shocked by her words as he was.
“ I ’ m sorry, ” she mumbled. “ I ’ ve been trying to figure out a way to tell you. This wasn ’ t how I wanted to do it. ”
Dane looked from Angel, who was likewise speechless, to Bones, who frowned, and then his face split into a broad grin.
“ I can totally see it! ” He pounded his fist on the table, threw back his head, and laughed. “ The hair, the eyes, the thing you both do when you ’ re thinking hard. I should have figured it out . ”
“ How? ” Angel asked.
“ Our father, ” Avery said, settling back into her chair and studiously avoiding Dane ’ s gaze, “ spent a lot of time here. Sometimes he was with his wife, but other times he came alone. He and my mother had a fling; two ships meeting in the night and all that. They didn ’ t carry on any sort of long-term affair, but he sent money every month and made sure I had everything I needed. He even helped me with college. ” Her eyes grew moist. “ Once every summer, he would spend a few days with me. We ’ d always do something related to his pirate research. I suppose that ’ s why I chose my the career path I did. ”
“ So, this is more than an academic pursuit, ” Angel said. “ This is personal. ”
Avery nodded.
“ Say something, Maddock, ” Bones urged.
“ Sorry, I ’ m just shocked. I never... ” He trailed off, lost in dark thoughts. He’d never dreamed his father would lead a double-life.
“ Let ’ s leave these two alone, ” Bones said to Angel. “ I think they ’ ve got some talking to do. ” He rose from his seat and headed out the back door onto the deck. Angel gave Dane an encouraging smile and followed her brother out the door.
“ I ’ m not lying. ” Avery said after a lengthy silence. “ I ’ ll take a DNA test if you want me to. ”
“ I don ’ t guess I want that. ” Dane said . “ Bones is right. It ’ s kind of obvious once you know what to look for. How long have you known about me? ”
“ All my life. I don ’ t mind telling you I ’ ve hated your guts for as long as I can remember. You got my dad fifty one weeks out of the year. I got the leftovers. And now, after all the times he and I spent researching Kidd ’ s treasure, I find out i t was you he wanted to share it with. ” Her tears flowed freely now, but her eyes shone with resentment.
Dane nodded, unable to summon any words of comfort. He couldn ’ t blame her for feeling like she did.
“ So, how do you feel about me now? Still hate me? ”
“ I haven ’ t made up my mind yet. ” Avery managed a tiny laugh. “ You ’ re bossy as hell and you don ’ t listen to anyone but Bones. That much I ’ ve already figured out. ”
“ I ’ m not bossy, I ’ m decisive. ” He grinned. “ And I do listen, it ’ s just that everybody else is wrong most of the time. ”
“ We really are an awful lot alike. Creepy. ” Avery wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “ So, what else do we have in
“ You wouldn ’ t be able to keep up if we ran into trouble. ” Dane sai d. “ Look, I ’ ve been on plenty of treasure hunts and I know how you ’ re feeling. ” Avery shook her head and, too late, Dane remembered that you should never tell a woman that you know how she feels. “ If the circumstances were different, I ’ d have you right there with us, but this is just one of those times when it needs to be me and Bones. Only me and Bones. ” He said this last to Angel, who made a pouting face that sent a shiver down his spine. He looked back at Avery, trying to ignore how warm he suddenly felt . “ I ’ m sorry, but this is the way it has to be. ”
“ Besides, ” Angel said to Avery, “ this is Maddock ’ s treasure hunt. His father left it for him. ”
“ You don ’ t understand. ” Avery whisper ed as a solitary tear trickled down her face. “ He was my father too. ”
Chapter 12
Dane sat, dumbfounded, gazing up at Avery, who seemed almost as shocked by her words as he was.
“ I ’ m sorry, ” she mumbled. “ I ’ ve been trying to figure out a way to tell you. This wasn ’ t how I wanted to do it. ”
Dane looked from Angel, who was likewise speechless, to Bones, who frowned, and then his face split into a broad grin.
“ I can totally see it! ” He pounded his fist on the table, threw back his head, and laughed. “ The hair, the eyes, the thing you both do when you ’ re thinking hard. I should have figured it out . ”
“ How? ” Angel asked.
“ Our father, ” Avery said, settling back into her chair and studiously avoiding Dane ’ s gaze, “ spent a lot of time here. Sometimes he was with his wife, but other times he came alone. He and my mother had a fling; two ships meeting in the night and all that. They didn ’ t carry on any sort of long-term affair, but he sent money every month and made sure I had everything I needed. He even helped me with college. ” Her eyes grew moist. “ Once every summer, he would spend a few days with me. We ’ d always do something related to his pirate research. I suppose that ’ s why I chose my the career path I did. ”
“ So, this is more than an academic pursuit, ” Angel said. “ This is personal. ”
Avery nodded.
“ Say something, Maddock, ” Bones urged.
“ Sorry, I ’ m just shocked. I never... ” He trailed off, lost in dark thoughts. He’d never dreamed his father would lead a double-life.
“ Let ’ s leave these two alone, ” Bones said to Angel. “ I think they ’ ve got some talking to do. ” He rose from his seat and headed out the back door onto the deck. Angel gave Dane an encouraging smile and followed her brother out the door.
“ I ’ m not lying. ” Avery said after a lengthy silence. “ I ’ ll take a DNA test if you want me to. ”
“ I don ’ t guess I want that. ” Dane said . “ Bones is right. It ’ s kind of obvious once you know what to look for. How long have you known about me? ”
“ All my life. I don ’ t mind telling you I ’ ve hated your guts for as long as I can remember. You got my dad fifty one weeks out of the year. I got the leftovers. And now, after all the times he and I spent researching Kidd ’ s treasure, I find out i t was you he wanted to share it with. ” Her tears flowed freely now, but her eyes shone with resentment.
Dane nodded, unable to summon any words of comfort. He couldn ’ t blame her for feeling like she did.
“ So, how do you feel about me now? Still hate me? ”
“ I haven ’ t made up my mind yet. ” Avery managed a tiny laugh. “ You ’ re bossy as hell and you don ’ t listen to anyone but Bones. That much I ’ ve already figured out. ”
“ I ’ m not bossy, I ’ m decisive. ” He grinned. “ And I do listen, it ’ s just that everybody else is wrong most of the time. ”
“ We really are an awful lot alike. Creepy. ” Avery wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “ So, what else do we have in
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