then plunge forward like a sprinter at a starter’s shot. She’d hit the trough of the wave then rise again, tossing the water from her bows in a cloud of foam and spray. A high-mettled horse does the same thing, champing and shaking the froth from the bit.” He paused a moment, then added ruefully, “I admit to being wrong about this boat. I should have known. Great spirit goes a long way in overcoming physical limitations.”
Maggie’s entire body went still.
Great spirit can overcome physical limitations
. It was the motto she’d lived by following the very first attack of rheumatism. That Rafe Malone recognized the truth of the statement, too, and stated it to her here at this particular moment felt significant. “I agree,” she said slowly. “And I’m intrigued by the image you paint. The force of nature is awe inspiring.”
“So is the force of man.”
She gazed up at him, silently questioning his meaning.
“I hear timber straining and the wind whistling through the rigging, and I realize that man has taken the most unstable of elements—sea and sky—and bent them to his will. Man’s courage and skill has harnessed the horse, Miss Maggie. He used his brain to ease his way over the wild and lonely paths of this world we live in.”
“Not to be insulting, but that’s profound thinking for a thief, Mr. Malone.”
“It’s profound thinking for a lawyer, too, and I used to be one of those.”
“A lawyer!” From the deck behind them where Snake MacKenzie pretended to polish brass while he eavesdropped, the buccaneer’s voice rang with revulsion. “Maggie, get a rope. Treasure or no treasure, I’m stringing him up by the thumbs. Lawyers are the whole reason we’re in this mess.”
While the younger man pointed out that a good attorney might have saved them from their legal troubles, Maggie tried to make sense of Rafe Malone’s revelations. During a pause in the men’s debate, she wondered aloud. “When did you have time to be a lawyer?”
He looked at her and grinned. “I studied law back before the Texas revolution. I was young, but I was good. Luke is fond of saying that the step from lawyer to thief was a natural professional move for me.”
Snake grumbled something mean beneath his breath, then stalked away in answer to a summons from Gus. Rafe chuckled softly before turning a curious gaze on Maggie. “So, Miss St. John, now that you know my deep, dark secrets, why don’t you share some of your own.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. I’m curious about you, lady. I wonder what is going on inside of that beautiful head of yours. Why don’t you tell me what you see when you look at the sea?”
He’d surprised her with that one. Maggie gazed at the gray waters of the Gulf of Mexico and spoke from her soul. “I’ve lived a good portion of my life aboard ship. When I look at the sea, I see a nice place to visit.”
“But not to live?”
“Not to live. I find adventure wearing.”
He propped a hip against the ship’s rail and folded his arms. Cocking his head, he asked, “Have you ever tasted a habanera pepper, Miss Maggie?”
She eyed him quizzically at the change of subject. “Yes. They’re very hot.”
Rafe nodded. “A little bit of habanera in a plate of beans turns something plain and ordinary into a delicacy worth savoring. Too much pepper makes it too hot to handle.”
“And your point is…oh, I see now. You are certainly in a metaphorical mood today, aren’t you?”
“Adventure is the spice of life.”
“Maybe so, Mr. Malone.” Maggie turned her gaze toward the west where Papa Ben and Papa Lucky worked and waited at Hotel Bliss. “But home is certainly the sugar.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Caribbean blue. On the deck of the
Buccaneer’s Bliss
, gazing through the spyglass, Rafe finally had a name for the color of Maggie St. John’s eyes. Caribbean blue, luring and alluring. A man could happily drown in such glittering depths.
The Yucatan coast lay before
Maggie’s entire body went still.
Great spirit can overcome physical limitations
. It was the motto she’d lived by following the very first attack of rheumatism. That Rafe Malone recognized the truth of the statement, too, and stated it to her here at this particular moment felt significant. “I agree,” she said slowly. “And I’m intrigued by the image you paint. The force of nature is awe inspiring.”
“So is the force of man.”
She gazed up at him, silently questioning his meaning.
“I hear timber straining and the wind whistling through the rigging, and I realize that man has taken the most unstable of elements—sea and sky—and bent them to his will. Man’s courage and skill has harnessed the horse, Miss Maggie. He used his brain to ease his way over the wild and lonely paths of this world we live in.”
“Not to be insulting, but that’s profound thinking for a thief, Mr. Malone.”
“It’s profound thinking for a lawyer, too, and I used to be one of those.”
“A lawyer!” From the deck behind them where Snake MacKenzie pretended to polish brass while he eavesdropped, the buccaneer’s voice rang with revulsion. “Maggie, get a rope. Treasure or no treasure, I’m stringing him up by the thumbs. Lawyers are the whole reason we’re in this mess.”
While the younger man pointed out that a good attorney might have saved them from their legal troubles, Maggie tried to make sense of Rafe Malone’s revelations. During a pause in the men’s debate, she wondered aloud. “When did you have time to be a lawyer?”
He looked at her and grinned. “I studied law back before the Texas revolution. I was young, but I was good. Luke is fond of saying that the step from lawyer to thief was a natural professional move for me.”
Snake grumbled something mean beneath his breath, then stalked away in answer to a summons from Gus. Rafe chuckled softly before turning a curious gaze on Maggie. “So, Miss St. John, now that you know my deep, dark secrets, why don’t you share some of your own.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. I’m curious about you, lady. I wonder what is going on inside of that beautiful head of yours. Why don’t you tell me what you see when you look at the sea?”
He’d surprised her with that one. Maggie gazed at the gray waters of the Gulf of Mexico and spoke from her soul. “I’ve lived a good portion of my life aboard ship. When I look at the sea, I see a nice place to visit.”
“But not to live?”
“Not to live. I find adventure wearing.”
He propped a hip against the ship’s rail and folded his arms. Cocking his head, he asked, “Have you ever tasted a habanera pepper, Miss Maggie?”
She eyed him quizzically at the change of subject. “Yes. They’re very hot.”
Rafe nodded. “A little bit of habanera in a plate of beans turns something plain and ordinary into a delicacy worth savoring. Too much pepper makes it too hot to handle.”
“And your point is…oh, I see now. You are certainly in a metaphorical mood today, aren’t you?”
“Adventure is the spice of life.”
“Maybe so, Mr. Malone.” Maggie turned her gaze toward the west where Papa Ben and Papa Lucky worked and waited at Hotel Bliss. “But home is certainly the sugar.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Caribbean blue. On the deck of the
Buccaneer’s Bliss
, gazing through the spyglass, Rafe finally had a name for the color of Maggie St. John’s eyes. Caribbean blue, luring and alluring. A man could happily drown in such glittering depths.
The Yucatan coast lay before
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