Sea of Love: A Bayberry Island Novel Read Free Page A

picking up right on cue, coming in at thirty-two knots from the northeast. The next big gust should do it, Ash figured—one blast of heavy air hitting directly into the mainsail and his staged breakdown would be under way.
    Leaving Martha’s Vineyard that morning under engine power, he’d drained most of the oil and then let the engine run until only about ten minutes’ worth of gasoline remained in the tank. Then he’d loosened the rigging enough that the doctored chain plate would rip out of the deck, leaving the boat crippled in the water. Yes, whoever came to tow his sorry ass to Bayberry would look at him funny, wondering how a novice idiot who didn’t know enough to buy gas and perform basic maintenance could end up with a beauty like the
Provenance.
But he decided it was the best way to pull this thing off. His plan was to arrive on the island as if by accident, oblivious to the fact that it was the eve of the island’s blowout party week. He welcomed the worse-than-expected storm, since it added a dash of drama to his predicament. He was going to milk it for all it was worth.
    Ash would be the proverbial stranger in the storm, a rich guy with a busted-up sailboat who just happened to wander into the Safe Haven Bed-and-Breakfast looking for shelter, a rich guy willing to pay a boatload of money to an innkeeper barely making ends meet. He figured ten thousand should do it, an amount that was too much to pass up but not enough to balance the B and B’s books. From that point on, his objective would be simple: He’d use his proximity to the Flynns to convince them to sell their hilltop property and private cove, because without their centrally located acreage and beach access, the two-hundred-thirty-million-dollar project was dead.
    As always, Ash had done his research. He knew the best way to infiltrate the Flynn family was through Rowan, the daughter. She was the one who had the most to gain from selling and was the perfect target for his seductive sales pitch. Ash knew that Rowan had sulked home after a disastrous romance with a man who stole what was left of her family’s money, and she now ran the B and B, the family’s only remaining business venture. But Ash figured after twelve years of living and working on the mainland, the choice to come home hadn’t been one she’d made freely. If he could flirt with the lonely Miss Flynn enough to remind her that life was passing her by, she might guilt her mother into dropping her opposition to selling. Within hours, Ash would have cashier’s checks drawn up and delivered. The marina, golf course, hotel, and casino would go forward, making a whole lot of people, including Ash himself, even richer than they already were.
    And by the time Rowan Flynn and her family realized they’d been set up, Ash would be long gone.

Chapter Two
     
    “P lease take him home, Clancy.” Rowan whispered her plea out of politeness, though she needn’t have bothered. Her ninety-one-year-old neighbor was deaf as a dinghy. “He’s gonna frighten the guests again.”
    Rowan’s brother slowly approached the old man, his palm outstretched as he tromped up the steps and crossed the wide porch. “Come on now, Hubie,” Clancy shouted. “There’s no need to be waving that sword around. You don’t want your daughter bailing you out of jail, do you?”
    “
What
?”
    Clancy increased his decibel level. “I said, you don’t want to go to jail, do you?”
    “I’m too old for jail! And anyway, she took all the knives out of the house, so the sword’s all I got!”
    “I’ll walk across the road with you.” Clancy spoke directly into the man’s ear and pried the decorative antique weapon from his hand.
    “How am I supposed to defend myself?”
    Clancy supported the old man by the elbow and gently guided him down the steps to the circular drive, where he walked around the police vehicle. “Let’s get you home before the storm hits, okay? How about a