7. Isabel
ISABEL
Isabel was practically out of her mind with worry.
She had spent the last twenty-four hours trying to get a hold of Darius, but her brother had effectively vanished since the previous day's explosive confrontation in the hotel foyer. He was not picking up his phone, his messaging screen remained dark, and he hadn’t answered a single one of her frantic texts.
She had driven out to his beach house multiple times, her heart hammering against her ribs each time she turned into the driveway, only to find the property dark and empty.
She had even resorted to calling his number from Emma's phone, hoping he would see an unfamiliar screen and pick up, but the line had simply rolled straight to voicemail.
Then there was the guilt that was eating her alive, a constant, heavy weight pressing down on her chest. She had been trying to work up the nerve to go and find Linda, but the fear of the look on her friend's face kept her frozen.
Isabel truly had not been aware that Linda had no idea who Darius really was.
The awful truth had only crashed down on her and Penny the day they overheard the conversation at the diner.
She squeezed her eyes shut, a flush of shame warming her cheeks as the memory returned.
Oh geez, I was spying on my freaking brother, she thought, leaning her forehead against the cool doorway frame.
The whole situation was an unmitigated disaster, and she had no idea how to begin untangling the threads of her family's deception.
She took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing nerves as she walked through the hotel grounds.
She had the day off because the Bay Café was closed for a short stretch.
Owen had taken the operational pause as an opportunity to make minor renovations to the interior, painting the trim and touching up the counters.
To ensure their regular morning crowds were still taken care of, he had parked a small, mobile coffee van near Linda's stepfather's bakery down the street.
Isabel had walked down earlier to check on the setup, finding the machine running smoothly and the lines moving fast. She had also popped her head into the café to review the physical progress of the renovations, confirming that the layout looked fine before heading back toward the main building.
Isabel’s thoughts were a chaotic blur as she hurried through the hotel foyer, her eyes focused on the floor as she adjusted her bag.
She was moving at a fast clip, desperate to find Linda in her office, and she ran and slammed into Owen as he stepped out from the side corridor.
The impact was solid. Her heart lunged violently against her ribs, her pulse racing as a wild swarm of butterflies erupted in her stomach.
A deep wave of heat surged through her skin, turning her cheeks a bright crimson.
To her utter mortification, she bounced right off Owen's broad chest, stumbling backward until her shoulder clipped the massive, heavy potted plant positioned against the pillar.
The collision sent her ricocheting off the glazed ceramic base, her balance vanishing as she bounced a second time.
She was right on the verge of crashing onto the hard tile floor when Owen lunged forward, his strong arms reaching out to catch her by the waist, steadying her frame before she could hit the ground.
"Oh my word, Gran!" Emma yelled, rushing across the polished tile floor from the direction of the front door, with Sophia and Lily trailing close behind her. Emma frowned, her sharp eyes taking in the awkward physical embrace. "What happened? You were bouncing around like a ping pong ball."
"Are you okay?" Sophia and Lily asked in unison, their expressions filled with genuine concern for her safety.
The heat burned even hotter through Isabel's cheeks as she and Owen jumped apart, their hands dropping instantly to their sides.
She was extra careful with her footing this time, consciously planting her sneakers against the smooth tile, though her knees felt shaky enough to give out at any second.
She wished the floor would simply open up right beneath her feet and swallow her whole to spare her the lingering embarrassment.
"Are you okay?" Owen asked, his deep voice carrying a quiet warmth that seemed to reach out and caress her senses.
Isabel shook her head quickly, trying to break the hypnotic effect his tone always had on her stability. What on earth is wrong with me? She took a deep mental breath to anchor her composure.
"I'm fine," Isabel said, finally finding her voice after a long moment of feeling as though she had gone completely mute.
She straightened the hem of her shirt and quickly plastered a cheerful smile across her face.
"I'm so sorry. I was rushing to find Linda, and I wasn't looking where I was going. "
"No, it was my fault," Owen told her, his brow furrowing as he reached down toward his side. "I was concentrating on the text of the report..." He paused, his gaze dropping to his empty fingers as he realized he didn't have the paperwork.
Emma reached down, her small fingers plucking the heavy geological survey documents from where they had fallen onto the tile floor near the base of the pillar.
Her eyes scanned the data sheets rapidly, a flash of sharp amazement flickering in her gaze as she noted the technical labels.
She flagged a specific section, her brow knitting.
"Look at this. The stated reason for the survey doesn't match what the actual survey content is showing." The other two girls stepped closer, leaning over her shoulders to glance at the printed charts.
Owen and Isabel both gaped in silent shock as the three intelligent young tweens began a complex, highly analytical discussion regarding a professional geographical report.
"Where exactly did you learn to read a stratigraphy map?" Owen asked, his voice filled with surprise.
"Aunt Anna," the three of them chorused together without a second thought.
"We've seen this specific report before as well," Sophia told them, pointing to a data grid.
"Yes, but it had a different title when we looked at it," Lily added, her finger tracking a column.
Owen looked thoroughly surprised, his jaw loosening slightly. "Anna showed you this? When?"
"The day she arrived on the island," Emma told him, shifting the heavy papers in her grip. "I asked her if a comprehensive land survey had ever been executed on the coastal basin. My uncle taught me about regional land surveys years ago, and I love going through the layout metrics."
"That's when Aunt Anna showed us that report, but it had a different title on the header," Lily added, nodding in confirmation.
Owen frowned, his dark eyes fixed on the document as he quietly slipped into his own thoughts, his analytical mind clearly working through the timeline.
Isabel watched him curiously, noting the slight shift in his jaw and the quiet intensity behind his stare.
She shook her head slightly, a sudden wave of self-consciousness hitting her.
Good grief, she had only known this man a short while, and she was already starting to read every minor shift in his expression.
She swallowed hard, quickly manufacturing a logical reason to calm her thoughts.
Of course you'd learn to read his expressions, Isabel.
That's simply what you do when you're working closely with someone on a project, and Owen is your boss.
Satisfied with her internal excuse, she turned her attention back to the girls. "Where are you three off to right now?" she asked, keeping her tone light.
"We were actually coming to find Dr. Reed," Sophia told her, gesturing toward Owen. "We are scheduled to work with him down at the basin today. Aunt Anna went down to the hospital with Maggie a little while ago."
"Ah," Isabel said, nodding slowly as she absorbed the news.
"Are you going to join us down at the dig site later?" Owen asked, looking directly back at her. A sudden flash of intense emotion moved through his eyes, but the motion was so rapid she convinced herself she had merely imagined it.
"Yes," Isabel said, adjusting the strap of her bag. "I just need to find Linda first."
"Oh, we just saw her a few minutes ago," Emma offered, handing the documents back to Owen.
"Yes, she's gone out to Penny's house," Sophia told her.
"She literally just left the building," Lily added, pointing toward the front door. "If you hurry, you might still catch her vehicle in the car park."
Isabel nodded quickly, a wave of relief washing over her.
That was brilliant. If she went to Penny's estate, her friend could help her navigate the difficult conversation with Linda, and perhaps Penny had some inkling of where on earth Darius had disappeared to.
She had even tried calling his corporate office in Miami earlier, but the receptionist had confirmed he had not returned there either.
She looked back at Owen, offering a polite nod.
"I'll just drive out to Penny's then. I have to speak to both of them anyway." Isabel gave a quick smile.
"Oh..." Owen said, a brief flicker of clear disappointment darkening his features before he could mask it.
"But I shouldn't be too long, and I'm genuinely looking forward to getting back and helping you here at the pool site," Isabel assured him, her voice softening.
He gave her a breathtaking smile that made her toes curl, and her stomach tie itself into a nervous knot.
"Great, I'll see you then," Owen told her, his posture relaxing as he gathered the three tweens. "Come on, girls. Let's go get stuck into the grid alignment."