Twice In A Lifetime by Jennifer Jakes Read Free Book Online Page A

particular, the one sidled up to Ian. The woman rubbed against him, whispering in his ear. He smiled, but shook his head and kept walking.
    Bitch . Izzy tugged her hat lower and stepped into the road. If she wasn’t afraid Ian would hear the commotion, she’d go ballistic on her. Instead she kept her head down and trailed after him, walking behind people or wagons.
    Finally he stopped and spoke to his lieutenant, gesturing first to one street filled with taverns then another. The man nodded, then took the short sailor and left Ian on his own.
    So much for having someone to watch his back.
    She darted beside a building and waited. He looked over his shoulder, suspicion narrowing his gaze. Shit! She flattened her back against the rough wood. Had he seen her? Her thundering heart counted the seconds. He wouldn’t—
    “Are ye lost, child?” An ebony hand gripped her shoulder.
    Izzy whirled and blinked once, twice. It couldn’t be. Could it? “Celeste?” Oh, thank God. Celeste had come to help her.
    The short Jamaican woman stepped from the shadows. “Nay. My name is Vea `.”
    “Oh…” Disappointment stole her words.
    “Child?” Concern etched her wrinkled features.
    “I’m sorry. I thought you were someone else.” Loneliness clenched her heart. “I thought you were my friend.” A sudden rush of emotion filled her eyes with tears. Damn it, she didn’t have time to get all sappy.
    “Here now. No need for sorry.” Vea` clucked her tongue, the sound so like Celeste, more tears rolled down Izzy’s cheeks. “Don’t cry. I will be yer friend. Tell me what is wrong.”
    “You’d never believe me.” She shook her head, drying the wetness with her sleeve.
    “I believe things most people don’t. And I believe yer more than lost.”
    Izzy nodded. More lost than this woman could ever imagine.
    Vea` clasped Izzy’s hands, rubbing her rough thumbs over the palms. “Lost not just in body, but lost in heart and spirit. Lost what was most precious to ye.” She dropped her hands and rummaged through the sack slung across her back. “Here, child.” She pulled out a gris-gris bag and strung it around Izzy’s neck. “This will help ye find yer way. Decide what ye most want, then hold the bag in yer right hand and wish.”
    “I can wish for anything?” Could she actually wish herself back to 2011?
    “If yer heart is true, it will be granted. But ye must be careful how you ask. Magick can be a complicated master.”
    Didn’t she know it? Even Celeste had missed the mark on this one.
    “Okay, so if I—”
    “What the hell are you doing here?” Ian’s growl filled the alley.
    Izzy whirled. Oh, damn, damn, damn. She swallowed hard. “I’m talking to my new friend.” She half-turned, but Vea` had vanished.
    Ian peered over her shoulder then frowned. “I told you to stay aboard ship. Are you incapable of following orders?”
    She lifted her chin. “Well, I never agreed to stay. And I don’t do orders. Just part– ”
    His eyes narrowed. “Do not say it’s part of your charm. It is not.”
    She bit back a smile. Now was probably not the best time to push him. “I was simply going to point out you said a lady wouldn’t be safe here. So now I’m a boy.”
    He scoffed, then turned her in a slow circle and shook his head. “Fair-skinned boys aren’t safe either. Pirates like to sell them. Or worse.”
    “I can defend myself.” She drew herself up to full height.
    Ian scoffed. “That’s what fools say— mere moments before they are killed.”
    “Really?” Oh, he had a lot to learn. She could drop him right now with one well-placed kick.
    “Yes, really.” Removing his hat, he ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. “But I don’t have to time to argue about it, nor do I have time to return you to the ship, so listen to what I say.” He pulled off his long coat. “When we are in the taverns, you will not speak to or make eye contact with anyone. Is that understood?” He draped the coat