Page 77 of Deadly Waves

Twenty-Three

The last nighton the King Theodore was surreal. After docking in the Florida Keys early in the afternoon, authorities took Archibald, Peterson, and Tabitha into custody. Will Davenport went with his daughter. He was already on the phone with a lawyer when he left and didn’t bother saying anything to the Hardys as he disembarked. His mind was elsewhere, and no one begrudged him his worry.

Davenport’s company arranged for a new captain to finish the trip, and instead of leaving – which was legitimately considered – the Hardys opted for a relaxing night of romance on the ocean before heading home.

Despite throwing up for the bulk of the night, Mandy was in good spirits as she helped James decorate the private area at the front of the ship. They’d arranged to keep the other passengers away and were busy lighting candles before sunset. They didn’t have a lot of time, but they were almost done.

“What do you think will happen?” Mandy asked.

James shrugged. “I’m not sure, baby,” he said. “Tabitha is still a minor, but she proved herself fairly bloodthirsty. She might end up in a hospital for the rest of her life. I’m not sure that’s better than prison, though.”

“It will be if she gets some help,” Mandy countered. “I think that’s the most important thing.”

“Maybe,” James said. “I talked to Jeff. He’s been handling phone calls from various municipalities. They’ve discovered the teacher’s body and police have taken the girl in Montana in for questioning. She’s refusing to cooperate, but given the circumstances, the court will probably compel her to agree to a DNA test.”

“And Archibald and Peterson?”

“They’ll go away for a long time,” James answered. “I promise they’re not going to see the light of day for decades. Given his age, Archibald will most likely die behind bars.”

“I can’t say that upsets me. I hope they both rot in prison.”

“That makes two of us,” James said, dusting off his hands after lighting the last candle and glancing around. “You realize we’ve done this twice in the past few months, right? How is it that we’ve become the designated proposal people? No one helped me when I proposed to you.”

“No, but you didn’t need help,” Mandy said, moving closer so she could kiss his chin. “Your proposal was already perfect.”

“That was a stellar answer, baby,” James said, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her senseless before he released her. “How do you feel?”

“Better since I took the medication,” Mandy said. “I’m sorry about last night. I ate a truckload of seafood for dinner and it didn’t particularly look nice coming back up.”

James snickered. “You don’t have to apologize. I’m kind of used to it by now.”

“How sad for you.”

“Not sad, wife,” James corrected. “Everything with you is happy.”

“I hope everything with Grady and Sophie is happy, too,” Mandy said, glancing around. “I think we’re done.”

“Then let’s get going,” James said. “I promised Grady we would be gone so he doesn’t have an audience for his big moment. I think he’s a little bit nervous.”

“He’ll be okay,” Mandy said. “As for an audience … well … I thought maybe we could hide behind that storage thing over there and watch. He would never have to know.”

“No way,” James shot back, wagging a finger. “I let you talk me into watching Ally’s proposal and I almost saw my sister naked. I have no interest in seeing Grady naked.”

“Please.”

“No.”

“Pretty please?” Mandy stuck out her lower lip.

James sighed as he tugged a restless hand through his hair. “Fine,” he said, giving in. “It will be easier to do what you want than fight. You’re going to talk me into it no matter what.”

“I do have a way about me,” Mandy agreed, giggling as she followed James to the storage bin and crouched behind it. “It shouldn’t take long. After that, we can do whatever you want. This is our last night on the ship. I think you should get to choose tonight.”

James pursed his lips as he regarded her. “I want to get a few drinks, steal some food from the dining room, and look through the marine window all night.”

Mandy’s eyebrows flew up her forehead. “You do?”

“Yes.”