Jack’s arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her in tight, his head burying in her neck. He picked her up and twirled her around, tossing his head back and his joyous laugh booming off the walls.
He stopped and set her down, staring intently into her eyes. “I love you, Charli Harris.”
Charli caught her breath as she held his gaze. She gulped and took a deep breath. “I love you, too, Jack Sullivan.”
He gasped and his face split with a broad smile as he twirled her around again. “WooHoooo!” He shouted and then stopped suddenly and dropped to his knee in front of her, pulling something out of his pocket. “Marry me, Charli,” he said, holding a delicate rose gold ring between his fingers.
“Oh my god! The boy’s proposing! Yes!” came a loud voice from the doorway. Jack and Charli both glanced to the side to find the ladies of the Royal Conch Society huddled together, all watching with wide eyes and hopeful expressions.
“Shhhh! Don’t interrupt him. You’ll spoil the mood. She hasn’t said yes yet,” nagged Flora.
“Hush!” urged Miriam. She arched her eyebrow at Jack. “Get it finished, boy.”
Jack chuckled and looked back up at Charli. “Marry me, baby.”
Charli laughed nervously and blinked her eyes to hold back tears. She sniffed and nodded vigorously. “Yes, Jack. Of course I’ll marry you.”
His smile grew even bigger as he slid his family ring on her finger. The room erupted in celebration as he stood and yanked her in for a long kiss.
“Okay, you two. You can do all that kissy-kissy stuff after we’re gone. Now it’s time for us to celebrate.” Hazel held up a bottle and gave them a wicked grin. “I brought your favorite tequila. Looks like it’s gonna be a great night to do some shots.”
* * * *
An hour later, Charli sat at the table and watched as Sadie and Iris argued with Jack—her fiancé!—about the exterior color of paint to use on the other houses within the compound.
“No, Jack!” Iris slurred. “You need to have at least one pink house. It’s Key West for cripes sake!”
Holding firm, Jack pressed his lips in a line and shook his head. “Nope. Not a chance.” When Iris opened her mouth to argue, he continued, “I agreed to a teal house, but that’s it. We want Paradise West to be taken seriously here.”
An elbow nudging her arm brought her head around to find Miriam sitting next to her with a serious expression on her face. “I almost forgot to tell you...”
She leaned back, reached inside her bra, and slowly drew out a long gold chain. “I have something for you.” Dangling from the end of the chain was a small gold key. “I’m willing to bet that this is for the box.”
Charli’s eyes bulged. “Jack and I were wondering where we’d find the key. How did you get it?”
“It was in the archived materials Dottie left to the society,” Miriam replied with a smile. “When you told me that Amelia’s box required a key, I knew I had seen one in the pile of materials we received. Up to that point, we had no idea what it was for.” She shrugged again. “Maybe Dottie wanted us to keep it safe until the box was found.”
Charli’s heart pounded in her ears. “Hold on a sec. Let me grab the box.” She ran to the office and grabbed the box from the side desk drawer where she’d placed it for safe keeping. All eyes watched her as she raced back to the kitchen and placed the box carefully on the table. Everyone stared reverently at the box as if the contents were a lost treasure.
She held her hand out to Miriam, who placed the key in her palm. Charli took a slow, deep breath andinserted the key into the lock. Holding her breath, she turned the key and gasped as the enameled top of the box sprang up. Silence spread through the room.
Stunned, she simply stared at the box. Jack walked over to stand behind her, his hand on her shoulder.
Slowly Charli reached a hand in and pulled out what looked like a newspaper clipping.
“What is it?” Cornelia whispered.
“This is the article dated November 1870 about the ships going down in the hurricane. I found this on the films at the library, but this is an original.” She set it aside and drew out a small gold ring. Charli looked up at Jack. “Amelia said Ian had given her a ring before he left the last time. I wonder if this is it.”
He pursed his lips and stayed silent.
Next, she took out a folded piece of thin paper, similar to what was used in a bible. She slowly opened it and began reading. She gasped, her hand coming to her mouth.
“Charli, what is it?” Miriam demanded. “What does it say?”
Charli glanced up at Jack, who was staring at her with alarm in his eyes. She laid the paper flat on the table and began to read. “Malcolm Ian Kennedy was born on this Saturday, March 4th, 1871, in Jacksonville, Florida. His beloved father was IanKennedy, d. October 1870, and his mother is Amelia Jane Brown.”
“Malcolm...” Jack breathed, staring at the sheet as his brow furrowed.
