The Pirate & The Adventurer & The Cowboy

Margaret mean well, but…"

    Sarah took Kate's arm and hauled her to her feet. "Just think of what's waiting for you, friend. You're heading for genuine pirate territory. The real thing. Just like a setting from one of your books. Margaret did the research on this, and she says it's the place for you. You know how accurate Margaret is with her research."

    A gnawing sense of fatalism settled over Kate. Sarah was right—Margaret's research was always impeccable. It was one of the things that lent real power to her friend's sophisticated stories of love and intrigue amid the jungles of the modern corporate world.

    "And Margaret says AmethystIsland actually has a ruined castle left over from the days when a real live buccaneer lived there," Sarah went on cheerfully.

    "A castle?" Kate was intrigued in spite of herself. Sarah had her halfway down the corridor now, plowing along in Margaret's elegant wake. "This island has a castle on it?"

    "That's right. And a history of violence and lust. Just think, Kate, you're going to be able to explore a genuine pirate hideaway. No telling what sorts of bloody deeds were done there in the last century. Think of the atmosphere you'll soak up."

    "What is this about lust?" Kate asked.

    Sarah waved an airy hand. "Oh, there's some legend about how the pirate king who settled the island went back to England once, kidnapped his bride and took her away to the South Seas. I don't know all the details. I write contemporary romantic suspense, not historical romance, remember?"

    "He kidnapped his bride?" Clutching the ticket envelope more tightly, Kate allowed herself to be thrust into the crowd of people milling about at the boarding gate. "What pirate? Which legend? I never heard of any stories about AmethystIsland. In fact, I've never even heard of AmethystIsland."

    Margaret smiled and impulsively hugged her friend in farewell. "It's part of a small chain in the South Pacific called the JewelIslands. You'll have plenty of time to find out all about the place. Have a wonderful time, Kate. When you come back, you'll feel like a new woman."

    Alarm flared through Kate as the crowd caught her up and carried her toward the jetway. "Wait. What's this about lots of time? When am I coming back? How long am I to be banished to a tropical island, for heaven's sake?"

    "You've got reservations for a month at the only resort on the island," Sarah called out just as Kate got hustled through the doorway.

    "A month ? Good grief, that's forever. I'll be bored to tears. I'll be crawling the walls. I'll be a basket case by the time I get back. And it'll cost a fortune. Neither of you can afford to send me away for a month."

    "We put the whole thing on your bank charge card," Margaret assured her.

    "Oh, Lord, talk about stress," Kate wailed. "I'll never recover."

    Sarah chuckled. "Send us a postcard."

    Margaret waved farewell. An instant later, Kate lost sight of both women as she was swept up and carried down the ramp to the open door of the waiting jet.

    Back in the departure lounge, Margaret frowned with faint concern. "I hope we did the right thing."

    "We did," Sarah said with cheerful certainty as they both turned to walk back through the bustling terminal. "I have a feeling about this AmethystIsland. As soon as you found out about it from the travel agent, I knew it was the right place to send Kate."

    "You and your intuition."

    "My intuition hasn't been known to fail yet." Sarah halted abruptly in front of a newsstand and grinned at a display of paperbacks.

    One book stood out from all the rest on the rack. Its cover, lush and colorful, featured a powerful, good-looking man dressed in a wide-sleeved shirt that was open to the waist to display an impressive chest. A lethal-looking dagger was thrust into his belt. Locked in his fierce, passionate embrace was a fiery-haired woman clad in a diaphanous gown. The backdrop featured a misty view of a tropical island and a ship with billowing sails. The title, picked out in gold, was Buccaneer's Bride . Stamped across the top of the book in bold script was the author's name, Katherine Inskip.

    "You know what would really make this a perfect vacation for Kate?" Sarah mused.

    "Sure. Finding herself a real live pirate and having herself a nice little adventure." Margaret's brows rose and her mouth curved in wry amusement. "But don't hold your breath, Sarah. She's no more likely to encounter the man of her dreams than you or I are. We three may