Chapter 31
Treasure hunt – an excuse to drink moonshine and cause havoc
Nova
I slap my hand on my leg to stop it from bouncing. I’m excited and nervous and impatient. I’m basically a bundle of energy. We’re on our way to the doctor’s office for the growth scan for baby Sprog. And I can’t wait. Maybe this time we’ll find out if Sprog is a boy or a girl.
Hudson places his hand over mine.
He doesn’t say don’t be nervous or everything will be all right. Words I hate more than a mermaid hates sharks in her water. Trust me. Not everything is all right all of the time.
“We’re nearly there.”
He turns down the road toward the hospital but has to slam on his brakes before he drives into a group of bikers who are pedaling down the middle of the road. Hudson honks but they don’t move.
I roll down my window when I recognize the members of the group.
“What are you doing?” I ask Sophia, Chloe, Maya, and Paisley. “And why wasn’t I invited?”
We’re the five musketeers, we do everything together. Maya bikes toward the truck but doesn’t manage to stop before she slams into the front end. She lands in a heap on the road.
I jump out to help her but Hudson reaches her before me.
“Are you okay? Did you hit your head?” he asks as he helps her to sit.
Sophia, Chloe, Paisley, and I gather around them.
“Wow. You’re gorgeous. Not as gorgeous as Caleb but a hottie nonetheless.” She pats his cheeks.
“I think you’re fine,” Hudson says before standing.
“Um, Maya?”
She swivels to glance up at me and nearly falls backward. Hudson steadies her with a hand on her shoulder.
“Hey, Nova. What are you doing here? You shouldn’t be drinking. Drinking’s bad for the baby.”
I giggle. “How much have you had to drink?”
Her nose wrinkles as she counts with her fingers. “One at the start at the Bootlegger bar. One at the Buccaneer’s Distillery. One at the Mermaid Motel. And one at the Rumrunner. ”
“You forgot the shot of whiskey at Mermaid Mini Golf, ” Paisley says.
I scan the group. “Why are you out drinking whiskey shots on bikes?”
“The mayor asked us to test out the route for the Mermaid Treasure Hunt in two weeks,” Sophia says.
The Mermaid Treasure Hunt is part of the holiday celebrations on Smuggler’s Hideaway. Participants are given a treasure map with clues of where gifts are hidden around the island. Whoever manages to collect the most gifts wins.
And, because this is Smuggler’s Hideaway, you have to drink a shot of moonshine every time you find a gift. Which is why the treasure hunt is conducted on bikes.
I raise an eyebrow. “The mayor asked you to test the route?”
“We volunteered!” Chloe squeals.
“Of course, you did.”
Paisley frowns at me. “Why the sarcasm? We’re the perfect group to test out the route for the Mermaid Treasure Hunt. ”
“We are excellent at figuring out clues,” Chloe continues.
“And the loopholes!” Sophia shouts.
It’s true. My friends and I are the queens of finding loopholes in contest rules. It’s how we won the Bootlegger Escape Room weekend festival. I nearly gag at the memory of the hangover I had after the festival. But it was worth it.
I giggle. “In other words, Lana asked you to do the treasure hunt today because she knew you’d figure out how to win at the actual festival in a few weeks.”
“We get to be police at the festival,” Maya slurs.
“Poor Smuggler’s Hideaway,” Hudson mutters.
“What do you mean?” Paisley asks. “I will help direct traffic and ensure tourists don’t get lost.”
“Ha!” Chloe shouts and tips to the side. Sophia helps to prop her up but she’s not too steady on her feet either. The two end up slumped together with their arms around each other.
“I’m going to send tourists on a wild goose chase,” Chloe continues once she’s as steady as it’s possible to get after five shots of Smuggler’s Hideaway moonshine.
Hudson puts Maya’s bike in the back of his truck.
“What are you doing?” I ask when he reaches for Paisley’s bike.
“I’m not letting them bike in this condition. I’ll call Weston and Lucas and Flynn to pick them up.”
My heart warms at the gesture. He’s worried about my friends. I know my friends can be a lot, but he’s not complaining. He’s helping without being asked. Sexy mermaids in the sea, do I love this man.
“No need.” Paisley points to the police vehicle pulling to a stop behind Hudson’s truck.
“The calvary has arrived!” Chloe shouts before stumbling toward the car. Lucas barely manages to step out of the driver’s side in time to catch her before she falls.
He grins down at her. “Are you happy to see me, wildcat?”
“I’m always happy to see you. I love you.”
Happiness fills me as I watch my friend gaze up at the man she loves. I never realized how lonely and sad Chloe was until Lucas and Natalia came into her life.
I glance behind me at the man I love. Hudson is staring at the couple with a wrinkled brow. As if he’s confused. What is he confused about? Does he not understand how a man could love Chloe? Does he not understand love?
I blow out a breath before panic seizes me. Hudson didn’t say he loves me back to me when I confessed my love to him but so what? He obviously cares for me. Doesn’t he?
“Do you want me to bring their bikes around later?” Hudson asks Lucas.
“Nah. Flynn is on his way with his truck.”
Sophia’s nose wrinkles. “Why is Flynn coming to pick up our bikes? I can bike home just fine.”
“Except you’re sprawled on the road with your legs in the air.” I motion to her legs.
“Huh. I wondered why everything was blue.” She rolls over and pushes herself into a seating position.
“Sunshine!” Hudson calls.
I smile at him. “What?”
He taps his watch. “We don’t want to be late.”
“Don’t be late for a very important date!” Maya shouts.
“I’ve got them,” Lucas says before herding my friends to the side of the road where they can’t jump in front of us – it wouldn’t be the first time – and get themselves hurt.
Hudson helps me into the passenger seat of his truck and runs around to the driver’s seat.
“Are you in a hurry?”
He shrugs. “I want to find out if we’re having a girl or a boy.”
“I have an idea.”
He blows out a breath. “Please tell me it has nothing to do with the Mermaid Treasure Hunt. ”
I giggle. I have tons of ideas of how to screw with my friends during the treasure hunt but those are for later. “If we find out the gender of the baby, let’s not tell anyone.”
“You want to keep it a surprise?”
I nod. “We can tell everyone together. Maybe at my baby shower.”
“Baby shower?” He curses under his breath. “I knew I was forgetting something. I’ll ask my event planner to start working on it.”
I roll my eyes. “Terri doesn’t need to plan my baby shower. I can do it myself.”
We arrive at the hospital and he parks. “Are you sure? I don’t want you straining yourself.”
“I’m a smuggler. I can plan a party for my friends and family with my eyes closed.”
He squeezes my hand. “Promise you’ll let me know if it gets to be too much.”
“I promise,” I whisper before leaning across the console to kiss him.
“My little temptress,” he mutters before thrusting his tongue into my mouth. His taste hits me and I scoot closer to him. Except I can’t touch him. The stupid console is in the way. I try to climb over it but my belly stops me.
Hudson chuckles before he pulls his lips away from mine. “Appointment.” He kisses my nose before exiting the truck and coming around to open my door.
“Maybe you should get a truck without a console in the middle,” I complain as he leads me into the hospital.
“I was thinking an SUV.”
I blink up at him. “Are you serious?”
He tweaks my nose. “The truck is safe enough but I want a family vehicle for when I drive you and Sprog around.”
“As long as it’s not a minivan. I am not driving a minivan.”
“Duly noted.”
He opens the door to Dr. Katz’s office and every woman in the place looks over at us. The pregnant women return their attention to their reading but the other women?
Every single one of them tries to catch Hudson’s attention. They cross their legs, push out their chests, flutter their lashes. They’re sexy and gorgeous. Meanwhile, I’m fat and pregnant and need to pee every five minutes. Not exactly an appealing characteristic.
Hudson helps me into a chair in the corner. “What’s wrong?”
I force a smile. “Nothing’s wrong.”
“Don’t lie to me, Sunshine. I can recognize your fake smile.”
“I don’t have a fake smile.”
“It’s the same smile you use whenever you have to speak to the sales manager at the Gourmet Corner grocery store.”
My nose wrinkles. “He’s not a nice man. He told me we need to change all of our packaging despite the CEO saying she loves it.”
A nurse enters the waiting room. “Nova Myers.”
Hudson scowls as he stands and offers me his hand. “What’s wrong? You’re not going to bully the sales manager, are you?”
“We’ll discuss this later.”
I follow the nurse into one of the exam rooms and get changed into one of the gowns. I shiver when Hudson helps me onto the exam table. He frowns.
“Are you cold? We should bring a blanket next time. I don’t want you cold.”
I pat his cheek. “It’s fine. I can handle a bit of cold.”
The door flies open and Dr. Katz strolls in. “Ah, look at the two of you. So cute. All loved up.”
I don’t deny it. I’m totally in love. Hudson isn’t, but it’s okay. He obviously only has eyes for me. He didn’t notice one of the women who was staring at him in the waiting room.
Maybe he just needs time.
“Let’s find out if the baby is a girl or a boy.”
I focus my attention on the doctor, and Hudson squeezes my hand in support. I gaze up at him, but his gaze is focused on the monitor.
I frown. Is he only being considerate and sweet because of the baby? It’s possible. He did ignore me after our night together after all. Until he found out I was pregnant.
Maybe I should slow my roll. Learn how to protect my heart before he breaks it into a million pieces.