Scarlet Butterfly Read online

  It was Jacob’s voice that came to her; Jacob, who was in tune with her thoughts and needs. Quietly, Carolina climbed the steps to the deck and walked across its polished flooring to the tent of netting. She lifted the fabric and stepped inside.

  “Rogan?”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Jacob says that I’m in danger. You must take me to a doctor.” She paused, then implored, “Please hurry!”

  Rogan carne to his feet, catching his head on the netting and lifting it as he clasped Carolina’s arms. Her skin didn’t feel right. Neither did her pulse. Something was very wrong.

  “You’re sick?”

  “Not sick exactly. I think that it’s just that I haven’t been taking my medication.”

  “Your medication? Hell! I never even thought. Was it in your suitcase?”

  “My handbag. I thought I would be all right for a few days. But I guess I need it. Oh, Rogan.” She swallowed hard. “I didn’t want to be sick. I thought that if I found the Butterfly, I’d be strong like her.”

  Rogan gathered Carolina in his arms and strode across the deck.

  “The first Carolina was strong, Rogan. She ran away with the captain and left her family and her past behind.”

  Rogan dressed himself quickly, formulating a plan as he grabbed the sheet from the bed and wrapped Carolina in it.

  “Carolina, your great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother ran away with Jacob because she was going to have a child. She didn’t want to marry the man her family had chosen, and she coerced Jacob, who was her father’s partner, into taking her with him.”

  “Of course she did,” Carolina said happily, allowing Rogan to carry her across to the dock and place her in his truck. “She was in love with the captain too.”

  Without any idea of how he got off the ship, Rogan suddenly found himself driving like a madman. He’d take her to his brother’s clinic, and then he’d call Angus, even if Carolina wouldn’t like it.

  Rogan groaned. He’d told her father that he’d take care of her. But he hadn’t. He’d been so busy trying to keep her from intruding on his life that he hadn’t stopped to think what he was doing to hers. Was she in trouble now because of his stubborn refusal to see someone else’s needs?

  Was his solitude worth it?

  Rogan applied more pressure to the gas pedal. Ryan would know what to do. He might not have been able to save Beth, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t a damned good doctor.

  Rogan made a sharp turn and roared down the narrow street that came to a dead end near the ocean. Ryan’s house, which contained his small office and free clinic, was one of the original sea captains’ houses still standing. There were no lights on. It was after midnight. Saying a brief prayer that his brother was at home and wouldn’t refuse him, Rogan lifted Carolina, hurried up the walk, and rang the doorbell urgently.

  No answer.

  Again he rang, then began to kick the door. “Dammit, Ryan. I know you’re in there. Open this door or I’ll kick it down!”

  The porch light came on and the door opened.

  “What’s wrong? Sean? Is that you?”

  “Of course it’s me. Open this door. I have an emergency here, and I need some help.”

  “You need help? Sean Rogan is asking his brother for help? I don’t believe it.”

  “Believe it, Ryan. There’s something wrong with Carolina. Her medicine was lost in the flood, and I didn’t know. She’s having some kind of reaction.”

  “Carolina? Bring her in.” The man in the hallway swallowed his shock and turned his attention to the problem.

  In minutes he had a handle on the situation and was examining the patient, leaving Sean to reach Angus Evans and get the necessary medical information.

  Carolina wavered between full awareness and a dreamlike state that greatly concerned Ryan. “It’s all right, Doctor,” she insisted. “Rogan will take care of me.”

  “Tell me about the medication, Carolina. What was it?”

  “Thyroid and hormones—”

  “Why? Why are you taking them?”

  Carolina frowned. She couldn’t worry about medication. She couldn’t seem to remember. All she wanted was to tell the handsome man about the peaches and the scarlet butterfly. But he kept jabbing her with needles, just like they’d done in the hospital.

  After several unproductive attempts to find a telephone number for Carolina’s father, Rogan remembered the business card in his wallet. He found it and punched in the numbers.

  In minutes the man on the other end of the line had arranged to fax Carolina’s medical records to Ryan. Angus Evans held his tongue, neither accusing nor demanding. Rogan would have welcomed his anger. Instead, his silence made the weight of Rogan’s error even heavier.

  Angus agreed not to fly to Georgia until he received a report from Ryan.

  “I should put her in the hospital,” Ryan said later after assuring Sean that she was out of immediate danger. “She needs careful monitoring to make certain that her hormones are stabilized. With this kind of problem, endocrine function is crucial. Why on earth didn’t she take her medication?”

  They were sitting at Ryan’s kitchen table, drinking their second pot of coffee. Carolina was sleeping. He would have more lab work done when the commercial facilities opened later in the morning, in order to confirm his findings.

  “I didn’t know.”

  “Sean, this woman had a brain tumor. Granted, it was not malignant, but the treatment is radiation. The treatment itself could have severely damaged her pituitary gland, which is responsible for all the body’s hormone production. When that happens, those hormones have to be artificially provided.”

  “I knew about the tumor, I just didn’t know she was supposed to be taking medication. And she was afraid if she told me, I’d bring her back to town.”

  “So?”

  “I—I probably would have. No, I’m not sure. The truth is, I didn’t want her to go.”

  “Are you in love with her? No, you don’t have to answer that. Nothing less than love would have forced you out of that hole you dug for yourself. I guess I should thank her. I never thought that you would come to me for any reason.”

  “ ‘Love’? Don’t be foolish, Ryan. I’m not in love with Carolina Evans. She’s a witch. Ghosts talk to her.”

  “Well, one of the symptoms of her problem can be mental, but usually once the tumor is gone, the problems disappear. That could mean that the tumor has reappeared.”

  “The tumor may have reappeared?”

  “Only a possibility, brother. Don’t panic. More than likely it’s the lack of medication, some kind of aberration due to hormone imbalance, or even stress. You of all people ought to understand what stress can do to the mind.”

  “What do you mean? Dammit it, Ryan, don’t you do this to me. I’m not seeing ghosts or long-dead sea captains.”

  “No, you’re too busy isolating yourself from your family.”

  “Hah! And I suppose the family misses me.”

  “I doubt that you’ll believe me, Sean, but they do. They care about you. They always have.”

  “And that’s why they made my life hell?”

  “No, they made your life hell because you closed them out.”

  “Ryan, you saw what happened once everybody tried to have a say in the operation of the company without considering the consequences. It was chaos.”

  “They understand that now. They just resented your running roughshod over everybody without allowing for what they might have wanted. Sure, you knew what you doing, and what you were doing was best for them, but, Sean, you were a bastard. I tried to tell you, but as I recall your only comment was a curse and a laugh. I know that I was the only one who understood why you acted that way. But you closed me out too.”

  Because you were the final hurt, Rogan thought. But he wouldn’t talk about Beth, or Ryan’s part in her death. She was gone, because of his family. And he’d never forgive them.

  “Hell,
I thought that it was more than any of you deserved. I was just doing what I had to do to fulfill my obligation.”

  “Like you did for Carolina?”

  Carolina heard their low voices, although they sounded muffled, as if they were on the other side of a thick wall. By being absolutely still and holding her breath, she could make out most of what they were saying. Poor Rogan. He’d been handed the reins of the family business, and then the family had turned into dragons and tried to destroy him. Finally he’d turned his back on them.

  Until she’d gotten sick and he’d been forced to ask for help.

  She couldn’t imagine how she might have felt if Rogan had actually let her father take her away. He hadn’t. He’d claimed her, taking responsibility for her, just as he had for his family. He’d given her more than she’d ever expected, and she’d never intended to cause him pain.

  What was she going to do?

  Rogan watched as Ryan studied the early-morning lab results.

  “How is she?” Rogan’s voice was tight, his hands deceptively casual as he waited for his brother’s answer.

  “She’s responding to the medication. Now it’s simply a matter of monitoring her levels so that she won’t have some kind of reaction. She isn’t out of the woods yet, but she’d holding her own. It’s a good thing you brought her when you did. Why’d you wait so long?”

  “I didn’t know. I’m not even sure she understood the danger. Then last night she came to me and said that Jacob—that I should take her to the doctor. Her voice sounded strange, as if she’d memorized her speech.”

  “She’s still a bit out of it. She keeps smiling and glancing past my head as if she sees someone who isn’t there. In spite of her illness, she’s really quite beautiful, Sean—certainly not a fruitcake, as David described her.”

  “She believes that it was fate that brought her here, Ryan, that she’s a descendant of the first Carolina Rogan, and she thinks the Butterfly is haunted,” Rogan said, and came to his feet.

  “Haunted? You mean as in a ghost? Have you seen him?”

  “No. There is no ghost,” Rogan said firmly. “Thank you, Ryan. I’d like to see her, then I have to go.” Rogan walked to the bedroom door and glanced inside at the still figure in the white metal hospital bed. In the darkness Carolina made a little sound, drawing him reluctantly to her side.

  Rogan watched her sleep. He let out a deep sigh and leaned down to brush her lips with his.

  “Get well, Carrie,” he whispered. “You wanted to find the Scarlet Butterfly. You thought it was fate, that we belonged together. You were wrong. Jacob sank her himself. I don’t know why yet, but I will. I guess you won’t understand, but I’ve already decided that I’ll send her back to the bottom before I let them take her. Ryan is right. I’m bullheaded and stubborn. I expect people to do what I think is proper, and maybe I’m learning that what’s proper isn’t always best.”

  She wanted to protest, but she couldn’t seem to speak. Jacob’s there all the time, she wanted to tell him. But Rogan wouldn’t have believed her anyway.

  “I think Jacob did save your life, that it’s been Jacob who’s watching over you, not me. So you see, love doesn’t make things right, Carrie. Both of us ought to know that by now.”

  Nine

  “I’m Ryan, Sean’s brother. How are you feeling?”

  Carolina opened her eyes.

  The man standing in the doorway wearing the white coat over the red Atlanta Braves T-shirt was as impressive as her Rogan, but without the sinister bearing. His hair was short and full, cut in layers just a bit too long, allowing it to hug the collar of his sport shirt. A stethoscope hung around his neck.

  “You’re the doctor?”

  “Yep, the best in St. Marys, Georgia. That’s because I’m the only general practitioner here.”

  “How long have I been here?”

  “Three days.”

  “Where’s Rogan?” she whispered.

  “Gone back to his schooner to do battle with the state’s recovery team on their way to claim the Butterfly.”

  “But they can’t do that.” Carolina sat up, swinging her feet off the edge of the bed, then caught herself as dizziness swept over her. “We’ve got to stop them.”

  “I’m afraid that even Rocket Rogan can’t stop them.”

  “ ‘Rocket Rogan’?”

  “That’s what they used to call him when he played for the Georgia Bulldogs and ran all over the defense.”

  “Rogan played ball?”

  “Rogan played hardball, even then. But this time I’m afraid he’s met his match.”

  “But—it just isn’t fair. The Scarlet Butterfly belongs to Rogan. They have to believe that.”

  “Knowing Sean, if there was a way, he’d have found it. I suppose you know how tunnel-visioned he is. If he wants a thing, he gets it, no matter the expense.”

  There was bitterness in Ryan Rogan’s voice, the same kind of rapier sharpness that she’d heard in Sean’s. Sean. She’d never thought of him as anything but Rogan. Rogan, special, apart from all others, captain of his ship.

  But there were other Rogans. And this one was a doctor who’d likely saved her life, and she hadn’t even expressed her appreciation. “Thank you for taking care of me, Dr. Rogan,” Carolina said, glancing down at the hospital gown she was wearing. “But I have to get back to the Butterfly. Where are my clothes?”

  “I’m afraid that Rogan brought you here in a sheet. But I’ll have my nurse pick up something for you at lunch.”

  Ryan walked over to the bed and began to check her vital signs. “Whatever possessed you to go without your medication? That was very dangerous. You must have known that something like this would happen.”

  “My doctor warned me. I didn’t think it would happen so fast. And I didn’t want to leave him. He’s so alone.”

  Ryan gave a harsh laugh. “Sean? If he’s alone, it’s because he wants to be. He turned his back on his family—on me especially.”

  “Why, Ryan? I heard you two talking. I don’t have any brothers and sisters, but if I did, I couldn’t imagine turning my back on them.”

  “It’s a long story, and one I think you’d best get from him. I guess I ought to thank you for forcing him to come back here, to ask me for help. For the first time in years, we talked. I don’t know what will come of it, but at least it’s a beginning.”

  “You seem to be a nice man, Ryan. So is Rogan—Sean. I think it’s very hard for him to let himself care.”

  “He cares about you. You’re the first—since Beth.”

  “ ‘Beth’? Who is Beth?”

  “Beth was our sister. Sean loved her very much. Until now, she might be the only person he ever loved unconditionally.”

  “What happened to Beth?”

  “She died. Sean blames me for her death.”

  Carolina couldn’t even think of another question. Sean believed his own brother killed his sister? No wonder he’d become a recluse, closing himself away from the world. No wonder he chose to spend his time with a boat rather than with his family. He probably figured that at least the boat wouldn’t betray him.

  She realized that Ryan was waiting for some comment. “And are you to blame?”

  “No, and even if I was, I’ve tried to make up for it by establishing a free drug clinic to help others who get on drugs and can’t stop. He knew she was experimenting with drugs. So did I. We got them from a friend of mine. In the end I didn’t know how bad she was.”

  Ryan’s eyes narrowed in pain, but he didn’t try to absolve himself. This kind man kill someone? Carolina’s mind refused to accept that, just as it refused to accept the idea that Rogan was some rocket man who intentionally ran roughshod over his family. Whatever he’d done, he’d done in the name of love, just as her father had.

  “When is he coming back?”

  “I don’t think he is. He would never have come this time, except for you. Sean doesn’t break his word—ever. And he swore he’d never speak
to me again. I’m not sure what was worse for him, your condition or having to go back on his word.”

  Carolina felt her spirits fall. He’d gone. And he wasn’t coming back. What they’d shared hadn’t meant anything to Rogan. She was the one who’d fallen in love, who’d gambled that if she stayed with him, he’d see that he cared too.

  But he did. Damn him, she knew he did. Otherwise why would he have broken his vow and asked his brother for help? Ryan was wrong. Families were dysfunctional. Certainly her own had been, but family was still family. In spite of his high-handed ways, her father had done only what he’d considered best for her mother, and for herself—just as Rogan had done.

  But three days later Rogan still hadn’t returned. Ida came by for a visit and to report that the state authorities had booked rooms at her inn for the following week.

  Carolina made up her mind. If there was a way to save the Scarlet Butterfly, there was only one person who could find it.

  She went to the phone and dialed her father’s number.

  There were times when Jacob wasn’t working on the house, or stocking it with supplies, and Carrie would get him to tell her stories about his travels. The one she liked best was the legend of the scarlet butterfly.

  Rogan turned the page eagerly. At last he was about to learn about the schooner’s name. Carolina would be excited. For a moment he almost called out her name, a thing he’d done without thinking so many times in the last week.

  Rogan let out a deep, painful breath. He’d never expected to miss her. He’d never realized that he could share so much, simple things that didn’t mean anything. He remembered how fascinated she was with the Spanish moss, the birds, the plop of a fat frog when he jumped into the water. For a woman who’d always had the best, she’d been as excited over learning to fry catfish as she might have been over eating in the finest restaurant.

  But Carolina was gone. She’d almost died because he’d been so involved in preserving his solitude that he hadn’t paid attention to her condition. If it hadn’t been for Jacob, she would have. Rogan hadn’t wanted to admit it, but he’d seen the captain. Not once, but several times since he’d returned, the ghostly figure had appeared at his side with a questioning expression on his face.