Page 251 of The Romance Adventure

She blanches. “What’s wrong?”

He says, “You tried. Let’s see where you went wrong.”

“Were they too sweet?”

Royal handles this gently, lovingly. “I don’t know because I couldn’t bite into it. They were, how to put this delicately, they weren’t delicate.”

“Hard as a rock, Isla,” I confirm.

She slouches and says, “Guys, I’m sorry. I followed Bean’s recipe exactly.”

Placing his hand around her waist, Royal leads his wife back inside.

I lick the glaze off the top then holler after them, “Glaze gets a ten out of ten though!”

“We could have Lally pack these in her purse if the crew aboard the Dark Seas gets rough. She can use them as weapons,” CJ says.

She snatches the cinnamon rock from his hand and squeezes. “Oh. That is hard. Isla’s gift isn’t baking, but she’ll get better.”

Thinking about Harley, which is an increasingly common experience with no more than sixty-second intervals between occurrences, I say, “I know someone who can help.” My gaze travels over to the abandoned Sip & Scoop. I think about how there’d often be a line outside with boaters docking for a scoop or a frosty beverage like the citrus ginger crush Harley had last night at the Driftwood restaurant.

“Who can help?” CJ asks.

I give my head a little shake, surfacing from thoughts about Harley. “Huh?”

“He’s asked you three times, brother. What’s up?” Magnus asks.

“Who asked me what?”

“Earth to Ryan. You said you know someone who can help.”

“Oh, I meant Isla in the kitchen, er, baking.”

“So not with this issue we have in our hands. Or not in our hands. We need the other stone, the rest of the map, and the crown in our hands.” CJ exhales long like his hands are already full.

“What CJ is trying to say is the stuff with the will is heating up with whoever Captain J is.”

“Then what?”

“Then what what?” CJ repeats.

“What happens after we get the last stone, the remainder of the map, and the crown?”

CJ and Magnus exchange a look.

“Then we’ll figure it out,” CJ says.

“That’s not much of a plan. In football, there’s a concept called follow-through. We know what to expect if X, Y, or Z happens.” My thoughts drift to the X’s and O’s from last night, especially the X’s.

“It’s similar in the military. We always have a contingency plan and a contingency for the contingency. But that’s because A, B, and C are known variables.”

“Are we talking about algebra or pirate treasure? Surely, in the military, you have a lot of unknowns.”

“Exactly. That’s why we adapt, overcome, and improvise.”

“Isn’t that a Marine’s saying?” CJ asks.

“It’s a brotherhood saying,” Magnus says.