Read Online Don't Tempt Me by Julie Ortolon - Free Book Online
Authors: Julie Ortolon
Tags: Fiction, General, Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Man-Woman Relationships, Love Stories, Uncles, texas author, galveston island, Galveston Island (Tex.), award-winning author, USA award-winning author, Pirate treasure, Corpus Christi Bay (Tex.)
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delicious even though she knew she couldn't possibly eat a bite. Adrian sat in a straight-backed chair beside her, having no trouble devouring his dessert. Rory and Chance settled on the sofa as Lauren lay on her tummy between them, showing the first signs that her energy wasn't infinite.
"So, who's going to read the letter?" Rory asked.
"Me!" Scott said as he took the chair opposite Jackie. Allison perched on the arm, balancing her dessert plate as she ate.
"Why you?" Adrian challenged.
"Hey," Scott said, "if it weren't for me, y'all wouldn't even know it existed."
"True," Adrian conceded. "So I guess the honor goes to you, unless ..." He turned to Jackie. "Do you want to read it?"
She shook her head, trying to relax.
"Okay, then." Scott wiped his fingers thoroughly on a napkin before opening the large envelope. For the first time that evening, the room fell quiet as he extracted the protective sleeves that held several aged and brittle pages.
Jackie kept her eyes fixed on her wine glass. If Adrian and his sisters believed in ghosts, they were going to love the very part of the letter she feared would make most people doubt its validity.
" 'Dear Andrew'," Scott began, his voice relaxed yet resonant, as if accustomed to reading aloud. " 'It is with sincerest regret that I have not written sooner. By now, I know news of your father's death has reached you along with any number of rumors. First let me assure you that those who accuse your father of betraying the South are nothing but lying traitors themselves who seek to cover up their own treachery. Your father loved four things in this world: you, Texas, his ship, and a woman named Marguerite. He would never, nor did he ever, betray any of those loyalties.
" 'Forgive me. I've hardly begun, and already I digress. I shall endeavor to speak simply, so as not to confuse you more, though I must confess, after these past months, my passions run high.' " Scott glanced up at Jackie. "I take it the man wasn't used to corresponding with children."
"I don't think so, no."
"How old was Andrew?" Rory asked.
"Nine or ten." She cleared her throat. "Old enough to understand he'd lost his father and that people were saying some horrible things about him."
"Tough age," Scott said before going back to the letter. He read on about the night of the tragedy, of how Jack had received word from Marguerite saying Henri had found out about them and she feared for her life and the life of her child. The letter relayed it all in chilling detail, the lightning and thunder, anger and fear, as if the man scribbling words across page after page were exorcising his own demons in an outpouring of emotion.
" 'When the first blast from the cannon struck the ship, the captain took the wheel himself, looking as if he meant to run the ship right onto the beach in his effort to reach Marguerite. I argued with him to bring the ship about, but he shook me off. Then a second cannon blast caught us, igniting the gunpowder in the hold.
" 'I saw in his eyes he knew we were sinking. At last, he gave the order to abandon ship. Yet rather than head for the lifeboats with the rest of us, he ran through the flames toward his quarters. I went after him, I swear upon my honor. You must believe me when I say I did not abandon him to his own insanity in that final hour. Still did he push me away, shouting that he would not leave the ship without the treasure.
" 'I pray that you remember the treasure of which I speak, for I heard him tell you many times the tale of Jean Lafitte and his grandfather as he showed you the powder horn that hung in his cabin on the wall behind his desk ---' " Scott glanced up, excitement lighting his eyes.
"Wow ..." Chance sat forward, shoving his wire-rimmed glasses higher on his nose. "That couldn't be more perfect."
"No kidding." Adrian set his plate aside. "It's exactly what we need ---confirmation that the powder horn was on board, plus an indication of where."
"Okay, great, but
"So, who's going to read the letter?" Rory asked.
"Me!" Scott said as he took the chair opposite Jackie. Allison perched on the arm, balancing her dessert plate as she ate.
"Why you?" Adrian challenged.
"Hey," Scott said, "if it weren't for me, y'all wouldn't even know it existed."
"True," Adrian conceded. "So I guess the honor goes to you, unless ..." He turned to Jackie. "Do you want to read it?"
She shook her head, trying to relax.
"Okay, then." Scott wiped his fingers thoroughly on a napkin before opening the large envelope. For the first time that evening, the room fell quiet as he extracted the protective sleeves that held several aged and brittle pages.
Jackie kept her eyes fixed on her wine glass. If Adrian and his sisters believed in ghosts, they were going to love the very part of the letter she feared would make most people doubt its validity.
" 'Dear Andrew'," Scott began, his voice relaxed yet resonant, as if accustomed to reading aloud. " 'It is with sincerest regret that I have not written sooner. By now, I know news of your father's death has reached you along with any number of rumors. First let me assure you that those who accuse your father of betraying the South are nothing but lying traitors themselves who seek to cover up their own treachery. Your father loved four things in this world: you, Texas, his ship, and a woman named Marguerite. He would never, nor did he ever, betray any of those loyalties.
" 'Forgive me. I've hardly begun, and already I digress. I shall endeavor to speak simply, so as not to confuse you more, though I must confess, after these past months, my passions run high.' " Scott glanced up at Jackie. "I take it the man wasn't used to corresponding with children."
"I don't think so, no."
"How old was Andrew?" Rory asked.
"Nine or ten." She cleared her throat. "Old enough to understand he'd lost his father and that people were saying some horrible things about him."
"Tough age," Scott said before going back to the letter. He read on about the night of the tragedy, of how Jack had received word from Marguerite saying Henri had found out about them and she feared for her life and the life of her child. The letter relayed it all in chilling detail, the lightning and thunder, anger and fear, as if the man scribbling words across page after page were exorcising his own demons in an outpouring of emotion.
" 'When the first blast from the cannon struck the ship, the captain took the wheel himself, looking as if he meant to run the ship right onto the beach in his effort to reach Marguerite. I argued with him to bring the ship about, but he shook me off. Then a second cannon blast caught us, igniting the gunpowder in the hold.
" 'I saw in his eyes he knew we were sinking. At last, he gave the order to abandon ship. Yet rather than head for the lifeboats with the rest of us, he ran through the flames toward his quarters. I went after him, I swear upon my honor. You must believe me when I say I did not abandon him to his own insanity in that final hour. Still did he push me away, shouting that he would not leave the ship without the treasure.
" 'I pray that you remember the treasure of which I speak, for I heard him tell you many times the tale of Jean Lafitte and his grandfather as he showed you the powder horn that hung in his cabin on the wall behind his desk ---' " Scott glanced up, excitement lighting his eyes.
"Wow ..." Chance sat forward, shoving his wire-rimmed glasses higher on his nose. "That couldn't be more perfect."
"No kidding." Adrian set his plate aside. "It's exactly what we need ---confirmation that the powder horn was on board, plus an indication of where."
"Okay, great, but
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