DEVON WATCHED the frenzied activity all around the Campbell plantation. Most of the former slaves had agreed not only to stay and be paid a salary, but also to help rebuild the buildings from scratch. It would take months, but after only three days’ work, the grounds already looked different.
“Are you certain about this?” he asked softly.
“Yes,” Brett said with a smile as they walked side by side. “You don’t belong on dry land, Devon, not anymore. It is the right thing to do.”
“It will be months before Destiny sets anchor at Port Royal again,” Devon said.
“I know. I can wait.”
“Brett—”
“Devon,” Brett interrupted softly. “This is right. It would be wrong to make you stay at the plantation. You would wither and die of boredom here. I couldn’t possibly see you go through that. You have to be Captain Hall to be happy. It is in your blood. Your heart belongs to the sea.”
Devon grabbed Brett by the arms, stopping their advance. “You’re wrong,” he said with a smile. “My heart belongs to you.”
Their gazes met and held for a long time, and then Brett sighed gently. “Which is the reason I’m leaving the plantation in Joseph’s capable hands and joining you aboard the Destiny. I’ll miss seeing this place grow into the shape it once was in, but I would have missed you a lot more.”
Not wanting to insist and upset Brett, Devon simply wrapped his arms around him and hugged him tightly. And Devon suddenly realized he was a truly fortunate man; he had everything his heart desired. A ship to sail the Caribbean Sea, friends who stood by his side through thick and thin, and most importantly, someone who loved him and whom he loved back. Bliss indeed.