[Invitation to Eden 04.0] Hydrotherapy (12 page)

“That job is mostly in name only. You know that. I doubt the Master of the Island will give me a recommendation.”
Especially if I stole from him.
Why couldn’t Jenna be reasonable?

“I don’t care. We’ll find something.”

“This
is
something.”

Jenna slipped on her shorts and sandals. “I can’t do it, Caine.”

“You don’t have to do anything. Rex and I—”

“No. I mean, I can’t use that money knowing that it belongs to someone else. I’m not a thief.”

“Neither am I.”

“But you’re stealing from Mr. Vardalos.” Tears filled her eyes as she took a few more steps back. “I know what it feels like to have something taken from you. I can’t do that to anyone else.”

“Jenna.” Caine stepped forward and she retreated, putting more and more distance between them. “Come on, be realistic.”

“No,
you
be realistic. What if he found out? What then?”

“He won’t find out.”

“Don’t you see? What you’re doing is wrong. We could get in a lot of trouble.”

“What I’m doing is building a future—for both of us.”

She shook her head and dropped her towel in a nearby bin. “No, you are building a future for yourself, Caine. You never asked me what I wanted.”

What she wanted.
Couldn’t the woman see that this was all for her? Caine fisted his hands as anger bubbled in his chest. “Fine. What do you want from me, Jenna?”

“Not this.” She bit her lip as tears filled her eyes. “You’ve changed, Caine.”

“I haven’t changed that much. I’m still the same guy you fell in love with on St. Lucia.”

“Are you?” She shook her head. “I’m not so sure.”

“Look.” He took a step forward and paused when she retreated. “Come out to the site with me tomorrow morning and take a look at it. See for yourself what I’ve been doing.”

“Seeing it will change nothing.”

“Humor me.” He held out his hand. “Aren’t you at least a little bit curious to see what I’ve been doing for the past eighteen months?”

“Maybe. I don’t know.” She took in a shaky breath. “Seeing the treasure won’t change how I feel about stealing.”

“No, but it might make you understand.”

“Understand what?”

“Why I had to do this.” He stepped forward. “And why I had to bring you here to be with me.”

“Caine—I…”

“Please, Jenna.”

She considered him for a moment. “Very well. I’ll go diving with you tomorrow morning, but then I need to make my way back to the mainland.” She glanced at the sky. “God, I hope Celeste will let me have my old job back.”

“No,” he said, remembering what Rex told him. He’d tie her down to keep her from going back to fucking men for a living. “Don’t go.”

“I have to—”

“If what you see out at the site doesn’t change our mind, then I’ll give you a real job at the spa. You can stay here as long as you like.”

“But you said that your position was in name only.”

“I can pull some strings.” When she didn’t respond, he decided to press. “Five o’clock tomorrow?”

After a brief pause, she nodded. “Five o’clock.”

As Caine watched her go, his heart became heavy. Jenna had put a voice to what Caine had been feeling for the past few days. Stealing from the Master of the Island was wrong. He didn’t see any other way to provide for their future, however. At least, not in the way she was accustomed to. If he wanted Jenna, then he had to get his hands on that money.

She’d understand his reasons. After seeing the site, she’ll remember how much fun they had together in St. Lucia and be more willing to compromise. Then, with time, she’ll realize that what he was doing now was in both of their best interests. He was building their future, and nothing was going to stand in his way.

Not even her.

Chapter Eight

Jenna felt uncomfortable on the boat with only Caine and Rex.

She had met them down at the dock, just like she had promised, but wasn't sure she was going to find anything that would change her mind. Caine seemed so certain whatever was part of that shipwreck was going to change her to his way of thinking. At the end of the day, what Caine and his cousin were doing was illegal. What they were planning on doing was horrible considering how much the Master of the Island had done for them.

On the other hand, it would be nice to go diving again. It had been a long time since Jenna had been diving in St. Lucia, and the more adventurous part of her longed to do it again.

“Here.” Caine tossed her a bottle.

“What's this?”

“Sunscreen. It's supposed to be hot today, and we wouldn't want you to get that beautiful skin burnt.”

Rex made choking noises form the wheel of the boat. “Will you two knock it off? I still don't think—”

“She's coming,” Caine said as he sat down next to her. “And we've already discussed this. Where I go, she goes. She's with us one hundred percent.”

Jenna started to disagree—she had never agreed to be part of something so shady—but then Caine slid his arm around her shoulders, scattering her thoughts. Rex made a disgusted noise and pressed the accelerator.

While Caine’s self-assurance irritated her, Jenna refused to let it show. Instead, she closed her eyes and inhaled the fresh sea air, determined to enjoy the moment. Once she was back on the mainland, there wouldn’t be any more opportunities to go diving. She had to create enough memories in the next few hours to last a lifetime.

The motor on the boat made it difficult for conversation, and Jenna used the opportunity to take in everything around her. She missed being out on the water much more than she had realized. As they made their way to the shipwreck, memories of her mother rose to the surface. She remembered her bird-like laugh, and how her eyes would twinkle every time they took out a new group of tourists. Jenna loved those excursions in St. Lucia as much as she did. It was such a shame that part of her life had to be left behind.

“Here we are,” Rex said.

Jenna opened her eyes and found Caine looking at her. “What?” she asked.

“You.” He grinned. “You haven't changed a bit from when we used to do this in St. Lucia.”

“I've changed quite a bit.” She pushed off the seat and glanced at their surroundings. They had traveled to the far side of the island. The rock formations formed another inlet here, but only the top-most sections of rock poked through the surface of the water. Jenna could easily imagine a ship getting caught up in the semicircle of rocks if the captain wasn't paying attention.

“You ready?” Caine asked.

She turned and found him standing there with some of the supplies. “Who's going to stay with the boat?” Someone had to stay at the surface, just in case they ran into any problems.

“Rex will stay, won't you, buddy?”

Rex waved his hand in the air and opened a beer. “Yeah, I'll be here.”

Caine turned back to her. “You see?”

“So all I have to do is swim along this rock formation and you'll leave me alone?” she asked.

“That's it.”

She grabbed the gage from his hand. “Okay, let's do it.”

It didn't take them long to get ready. Jenna and Rex were similar in size and it didn't take long before Jenna fell into the familiar steps of checking the equipment and putting on her gear. There was a certain familiarity to the process that she found comforting. It was almost as if she was reuniting with an old friend.

After she and Caine checked their equipment. Caine showed her the maps both he and Rex had made of the area. “This is what we've already done,” he said, waving his fingers over an area south of the boat. “And this is what we have left to do.” He indicated the spot where they would be exploring. “Do you remember the hand signals?”

She used one hand to point at both of her eyes, then pointed at her chest.

“Look at you,” he said.

She nodded and motioned the signs for “down,” “safety check,” and “slow down.”

Caine made a circle with his thumb and index finger, telling her “okay.” He then motioned to her that they were to stay close together while underwater.

“Will you two get going already?” Rex asked.

Caine chuckled as he put on his mask and sat on the side of the boat. Jenna mirrored his movements and moments later they were both underwater.

Jenna followed him to the site, her muscles remembering the familiar motions. Down and down they went, stopping at regular intervals to do safety checks and to adjust to the change in pressure. As they approached the wreckage, Jenna's heart began to beat faster. The place was even more beautiful than she had ever imagined.

The ship looked as if it was frozen in time. It was only in parts now, the large hull really the only thing still preserved. Schools of fish swam in and out of the wreckage, and plant life wove in and out of the holes. Caine motioned her to follow him, and they swam close to the site. He pointed to a sea turtle, similar to the ones she had seen in the pictures at the castle. It was large and majestic, and reminded her of the wildlife she saw on her diving expeditions on St. Lucia. She clapped her hands and grinned like a schoolgirl. She could be sure, but she thought that Caine smiled, too.

He showed her the large kelp plants, and the gorgeous shells of the conch. As they made their way down to the ocean floor, he showed her the marker Rex had placed yesterday, and how to shift the sand so as not to disturb the artifacts. He handed her a bag and motioned her to pick up anything she felt was interesting. He then moved to a short distance away to begin scavenging on his own.

They worked in companionable silence for a time, Jenna watching the world around her more than working. She was so amazed by the rich wildlife, much of which she thought couldn't survive outside the Caribbean waters. Odd that such colorful plants could be found this far north. She wondered if they were caught in a warm current or something that allowed the plants and fish here to survive.

Time passed slowly under the water, and Jenna felt almost as if she was in another world. Things were so peaceful here, so different from her life in Chicago. Her chest squeezed as she thought about how much she had lost and knew it was unfair to blame Caine for all of her troubles. She had known that her mother wasn't well, but chose to ignore the symptoms of her cancer. If she had been more vigilant, she would’ve taken more control of the business and sent her mother to be checked out long before she ended up in the hospital.

She watched Caine work and realized that he was in his element. Part of her was jealous that he was able to do this for a living. She hated working for Celeste, and hated servicing clients even more. She longed for the days when she was free to roam the waters again.

Caine tapped his equipment and made the signal that he was low on air. Jenna checked her tank and realized that she was low as well. She motioned Caine to return to the boat and turned toward the surface of the water.

As they were leaving, a flash of light caught her eye. Jenna swam toward it and saw something sticking up out of the wreckage and plant life. Motioning Caine to wait up, she tried to sift through the sand and retrieve the item.

Caine swam toward her and tugged on her arm. When she looked up, he signaled for the surface once more. She shook her head and pointed at the item. He motioned her to leave it, but she couldn't be swayed. She didn't know what the piece was, but it called to her, and she felt a strange compulsion to retrieve it. It was important, she could feel it in her bones, so she ignored Caine's request to return to the surface and began sifting the sand once more.

Caine grabbed her again and began to drag her away. Jenna fought him until she broke free from his iron-like grip. She swam toward the item, desperate to pull it from the wreckage. If only she could get her fingers around it...

Caine shoved her out of the way and went after the item. Within seconds he pulled it out of the sand. It looked like a small figurine, but at this depth in the water, she couldn’t make out much more. Jenna grinned as Caine put it into his bag. It was her first real find. She could hardly wait to get back to the ship to examine it.

Caine grabbed her hand and dragged her back toward the surface, stopping at regular intervals to adjust to the change in pressure. On the last drive toward the surface, Jenna looked up and noticed that the sun was reflecting off the water in much the same way as the sconces reflected color in the foyer when she had first arrived. She began to feel a little disoriented. Her grip on Caine's hand became weaker, and the world around her began spinning. She signaled Caine to wait, but he only pulled harder. The quicker they moved, the sicker she felt. He kept swimming and swimming, moving faster toward the surface of the water. Jenna ground her teeth as her ears began to ache.
Alternobaric Vertigo.
She had seen others experience the common diving sickness but had never experienced it herself.

All too soon they broke through the surface and into the sun. Caine ripped off both of their masks and stared at her with wide eyes.

“Are you okay?”

“I-yeah. Just a minute.” Jenna closed her eyes and took deep breaths until the dizziness subsided. “I think I rose too quickly to the surface. My ears didn’t have a chance to adjust.”

“God damn it, Jenna. I’m sorry, but I told you we were low on air. Why didn’t you listen to me?”

“I thought I knew what I was doing.”

“At some point, Jenna, you’re going to have to trust me.” Caine’s strong arms came around her as he held her above water. “Here, let’s get you back to the boat.”

“Did you see it?” she asked after they climbed back into the boat with Rex.

“See what?” Rex asked as Caine took off his gear.

“The artifact? I have never seen an artifact so big before—and it looked to be intact, too.” She turned to Caine. “That’s rare, isn't it?”

“It is.” Caine dropped the sack at her feet. “Come on, let’s have a look.”

Caine fell down onto his knees beside Jenna and watched as the artifacts poured out. In amongst the small coins, pieces of pottery, and arrowheads was the figurine.

“Do you think it's important?” Jenna asked.

Caine examined the find. The small statue was of an angel, praying. The white porcelain had faded with age, but it made it no less beautiful. Caine turned it over in his hands, brushing off the sand and inspecting it as he tried to make an assessment.