Treasured Secrets (34 page)

‘Your mum was just telling me that the storm has passed.' Rosalina chose her words carefully. Archer cocked his head at her and she nodded discreetly, willing her eyes to convey her excitement. Shock lit up his face. He looked at his mother and his lips formed a question, but then he just smiled as he fed her another spoonful.

‘Mum always was good at predicting the weather.'

Helen squeezed her hand again. Archer caught the movement and Rosalina forced back tears of joy. After only a few mouthfuls his mother refused to eat any more, but Rosalina was happy. Helen was eating a little more with every meal.

Within fifteen minutes, Helen had drifted off to sleep. Archer gathered her into his arms and carried his mum to her room. Rosalina dressed her in her nightgown and together they tucked her into bed and said goodnight. After they turned off the light and closed the door Archer reached for Rosalina's hand. ‘Did she really speak?'

Archer's eyes held hers, and when she nodded he was quick with his reaction. He picked her up and spun her around in the hall. ‘Fantastic,' he said. He lowered her and his lips met hers for a brief, chaste kiss that had her wishing for more. But now wasn't the time. Jimmy, Alessandro and Ginger would be waiting for them in the saloon, no doubt with drinks in hand.

The distant storm created an electric buzz in the air that enhanced the excited banter at the table. Jimmy was his usual gruff self, cracking jokes and picking on everyone's small idiosyncrasies. It was hard to believe that he'd nearly died just ten days ago. Ginger helped Rosalina in the kitchen and together they made a delicious fettuccine marinara with the fresh fish Alessandro and Ginger had caught that day. It had been Ginger's turn to teach Alessandro something for a change and Alessandro's fishing
faux pas
, especially as he could barely move at the moment, provided excellent fodder for Jimmy's jokes.

‘Has there been any news about Nox?' Alessandro asked during dinner. ‘Do you think he's alive?'

Archer shook his head. ‘Rescuing someone with a spear sticking through their body would've made front-page news. So no, I don't think he made it. Let's just assume all that blood would've attracted an abundance of predators.'

A bloody image snapped into Rosalina's mind, and as she reached for her glass she stared at the bubbles gliding to the top and tried to swing her focus back to something nicer.

After a moment of silence, Alessandro grinned. ‘Not toasters, I assume.'

‘You're getting funnier every day, numbnuts.' Jimmy clapped Alessandro on the back and for once, Alessandro didn't react to Jimmy's impromptu nickname for him.

‘So what's our plan, boss?' Jimmy asked and with almost identical timing, Jimmy and Alessandro leaned forward on their elbows.

‘It's obvious, isn't it?' Archer said. ‘We can't leave the Calimala treasure down there. It's time to haul it up. Unless you fellas want to go back to your old jobs.'

‘No fucking way.' Jimmy looked around the group with a sheepish grin. ‘Sorry, ladies.'

‘It's okay, Jimmy.' Rosalina knew Jimmy really was a gentleman. Occasionally his excitement let him down though.

‘I couldn't leave you guys. You'd flounder out here without me.' Alessandro puffed out his chest. ‘You need me.'

‘Yeah, like a hole in the head.' Jimmy smirked.

Alessandro clutched his chest in mock hurt and Rosalina didn't miss Ginger's movement to place her hand on his leg.

‘So we're treasure hunting?' Jimmy's grin was that of an extremely happy man.

Archer held up his glass. ‘To treasure hunting.'

Thanks for reading
Treasured Secrets
. I hope you enjoyed it.

If you'd like to know more about me, my books, or to connect with me online, you can visit my webpage
www.kendalltalbot.com.au
, follow me on twitter
@Kendallbooks
, or like my Facebook page
www.facebook.com/kendalltalbotbooks

You can also follow me through my publisher's page here
www.escapepublishing.com.au

Reviews can help readers find books, and I am grateful for all honest reviews. Thank you for taking the time to let others know what you've read, and what you thought.

You've just read the first book in my
Treasured
series. The next book in this series is
Treasured Deception.

If you liked this book, you may also like my other book
Lost In Kakadu
, winner of the Romantic Book of the Year 2014 – more info over the page.

This book was published by Escape Publishing. If you'd like to sample some more great books from my fellow Escape Artists, please turn the page.

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Kirsten Vincent missed Gemma like crazy, but did she miss her as a friend or as something more? She's confused and Gemma is hurt, and the consequences of a bad decision will affect more than their personal lives. Will another kiss, a sober kiss, a kiss with intent, do more damage, or could it be the start of something more?

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A new Tarrin's Bay novel from best-selling author Juliet Madison. She took a break from real life, and found what she didn't know she was looking for.

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