Christmas in Cancun Read online

  Christmas in Cancun

  Cancun Series Book One

  KaLyn Cooper

  Contents

  Introduction

  Acknowledgments

  Factual Fiction

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  About the Author

  Also by KaLyn Cooper

  Introduction

  Busy building a new career with his catamaran company, former SEAL Jack Girard had all but forgotten about his grandfather’s quest to find the golden Mayan goddess statues until his brother’s beautiful widow, Jillian, and adorable daughter, Addison, arrive in Cancun with the research materials. His need to complete the family mission is almost as strong as his desire for Jillian.

  Between raising her daughter alone and finishing her doctorate in Mayan anthropology, Jillian doesn’t have time for a man in her life, although, after mourning her husband’s murder for two years, she’s ready for one in her bed.

  An underwater Virgin Mary statue and centuries-old manuscripts lead the two of them through the Mayan Riviera and directly into danger.

  During steamy Caribbean nights together, will they develop the ability to move on and discover the real treasure isn’t gold?

  Christmas in Cancun

  KaLyn Cooper

  Published 2014, 2016

  Copyright © Published 2014, KaLyn Cooper

  Printed in the United States of America

  * * *

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

  This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.

  I dedicate this book to the men and women who have fought for our country and have created a new life for themselves after leaving the service. I know what it takes to start all over again and build a new career.

  Acknowledgments

  I’d like to thank my critique partners, contemporary and historical author Vikki Vaught and New York Times bestselling romantic suspense author Teresa Reasor. They tell me the truth, such a valuable asset. My thanks to my wonderful editor, Devin Govaere, who makes my stories even better. Thank you also goes to Charlie for listening while I plotted. Last, but not least, I thank my husband who helps add colorful language, and demonstrates Alpha male characteristics every day.

  Factual Fiction

  I write factual fiction, which means my stories are based in facts and I leave it up to the reader to determine what is truth and what is my imagination. Below are a few facts to get you started. I hope you enjoy Christmas in Cancun, the first of the Cancun Series. available.

  Fact: Isla Mujeres, translated as the Isle of Women, is located in the Caribbean Sea approximately seven miles off the coast of Cancun, Mexico. It has some very nice coral reef diving and snorkeling, interesting restaurants frequented primarily by locals, and a beautiful beach on the north end.

  Fact: According to Diago de Landa’s writing in 1566, the conquistadores led by Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba followed the light emanating from the pyramidal temple dedicated to Mayan goddesses for women. They found only females on the island and named it Isla Mujeres, but it had been known to the Mayans for centuries as Ekab. Unfortunately, the temple ruins were destroyed in 1988 by Hurricane Gilbert.

  Fact: The conquistadores found a large cache of gold and precious gems in the temple, along with four statues made of gold in the likenesses of the Mayan goddesses Ix Chel, her daughter Ix Chebeliax, and two daughters-in-law, Ix Hunie and Ix Hunieta.

  Fact: Soon after the discovery of precious metals and gems, Spain claimed that part of the new world.

  Fact: Near the north end of Isla Mujeres is a very old statue of the Virgin Mary… underwater.

  * * *

  For more research details and information on my latest releases, please visit my website at www.KaLynCooper.com

  Chapter One

  Jack Girard lounged with his back to the wall in a dark corner of Mayan Nites and watched gorgeous women—wearing as little as possible, but stylish enough to be admitted into the exclusive Cancun nightclub—gyrate to the pounding beat of the sub-woofer.

  “Kuk’s place is hopping tonight,” Terrance “Too Tall” Larkin commented. “Bet you wish you could move like the good doctor.”

  “Nobody can dance like Kuk,” Jack stated as they watched his extraordinarily tall cousin command the dance floor. Few knew that Dr. Kukulcan Chel, professor of Mayan anthropology with a second doctorate in archeology, owned the famous club that filled every night with young men and women visiting the Mayan Riviera determined to have a good time.

  A group of women in their early twenties at the next table had been eyeing Jack and Too Tall since they took their seats ten minutes ago. The dark-tanned blonde with barely contained breasts stirred her margarita with her index finger then, using the tip of her pink tongue, licked the droplets before she deeply inserted it into her mouth. Collapsing her cheeks, she slowly withdrew the now-clean finger and smiled salaciously at them.

  “Damn, I love living here,” Too Tall declared and shifted in his seat. He and Jack had been friends since they went through SEAL training together seven years ago.

  “Good to know.” Jack wasn’t nearly as satisfied. In the two years he’d lived in Mexico and owned BACats, officially named Bad Ass Catamarans, women like the ones who filled the club came and went every day on his four boats. He paid little attention to their advances anymore. He’d slowed down on hooking up for one-nighters about a year ago. Not that he’d been celibate by any means, but taking the edge off didn’t seem to be enough lately.

  Jack’s gaze fell on the table of nubile women begging for attention. He wanted more from a woman than sex. Maybe he was just tired. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d actually had a day off to mindlessly play or how many years it had been since he’d taken a real vacation. Maybe he was due. When a beautiful, nearly naked woman didn’t stiffen his cock, he needed an attitude adjustment.

  “Have I thanked you lately for hiring me after I got out of the Navy?” Too Tall was Jack’s second-in-command and captain of the company’s forty-five-foot catamaran.

  “Nope.” Jack had made a point of hiring military veterans who’d seen a lot of action, like him. He could depend on these men to do the right thing. For most, working Jack’s boats was dream duty. Caribbean sunshine, lots of beautiful women always available, and the work was easy. No one was shooting at them. No one died. All they had to do was pick up guests brought from cruise ships on busses, take them snorkeling or SCUBA diving, or just out for a ride and a meal on a fast catamaran. Basically, show them a good time. These people wanted to have an adventure, and BACats was all about good, safe fun.

  The chair across the table scraped on the wooden floor. Jack looked up to see the captain of his dive boat join them. “Mikey.” Jack nodded
.

  “That dildonic, moronic, motherfucking, son of a bitch Chastain swamped my party this morning.” Mikey slammed his beer on the shiny ebony table.

  “You didn’t call, so I take it everyone was all right.” Jack sat up and leaned on the table that had been designated VIP and was always reserved for BACat.

  “Yes. Thank God all my divers today are experienced.” Mikey took a long drag on the draft.

  “What happened with that asshole?” Jack and Johnathan Chastain had been at odds since Jack’s grandfather fired Chastain Salvage over fifteen years ago. Gramps had replaced the thieving company with Jack and his brother Jimmy in his lifetime quest for Mayan gold, especially the statues of the goddesses that reigned over Isla Mujeres, the Isle of Women.

  Those damn idols were nothing but trouble. Now more problems with Chastain.

  As if reporting to his superior officer, Mikey explained, “The Chas II approached at a high rate of speed on our starboard and circled us twice before powering down to port where they anchored. We had seven divers in the water and two ready to drop for a thirty-five-foot dive over the wall. The last two guests made it into the water, but it was a rough landing. The men were smart enough to go under immediately. I handled it when they came topside. As I said, they were experienced and knew it wasn’t our fault. A few free beers helped.”

  Mikey took a deep breath. “Jack, are you going to report these fuckers? The guests on Chastain’s boat were drinking before they went down. It looked like a private party rather than a group from a ship.”

  “The cruise lines and major hotels in the area won’t use Chastain because of his reputation. The Travel and Tourism Bureau won’t recommend them, but they have a strong presence online and are usually available for last-minute bookings. There’s really not much else we can do. The Internet reviews on them are all over the board.” Jack had made a point of doing what he could to blackball Chastain’s tourism business—on the sly, of course. The man and his crews simply weren’t safe, and that was of prime importance. Someday he was going to get a guest killed, which would hurt everyone’s business.

  “The son of a bitch should go back to scavenging wrecks,” Mikey suggested.

  “He discovered the real Caribbean gold was in tourists’ pockets and was a lot easier to lift,” Too Tall offered. All three men laughed.

  Jack was well aware of the fact that Chastain Salvage was still alive and sucking up anything of value it could find on the bottom of the Caribbean Sea.

  “I’d like to meet Johnathan Chastain in a dark alley in Cancun and beat some sense into the man.” Mikey chuckled.

  Jack studied Mikey for a minute. His friend could easily kill Chastain with his bare hands. He had killed that way before, covering Jack’s back during a raid and rescue in a godforsaken jungle in South America.

  Mikey must have read his thoughts. “No, bossman, I’m not going to hunt him down and beat the shit out of him.”

  “Jack, why don’t you take the blonde?” Too Tall suggested in an obvious attempt to change the direction of the conversation. “I feel like tasting brunette tonight.”

  “She’s not my type,” Jack admitted as the three men blatantly surveyed the women. “Totally fake. That tan came from hours in a glass bed lined with bulbs, the blonde hair from a bottle, and the boobs from a surgeon.” He shook his head. “Not even with Mikey’s dick.”

  “Hey,” Mikey protested. “I’m not opposed to fake. Hell, it’s not like I’m going to carry on a conversation with her beyond volunteering to walk her to her hotel room.”

  Jack wasn’t sure he had a type anymore. For most of his adult life, all it had taken was a good body and a willing attitude. Had he become desensitized after two years of scantily clad women throwing themselves at him? Maybe. Bored? Possibly.

  Or perhaps he just needed a fucking vacation…emphasis on fucking. It had been weeks…no…months since he’d gotten laid. With his work on the boats during the day and the evenings filled with the paperwork required to run his growing operation, there hadn’t been much time for entertainment of the female variety. And no one had caught his interest. Certainly no woman had held his attention for longer than one night in the past year.

  Jack’s cell phone vibrated with a text. At a glance he saw it was from his sister. All here n settled in. C u soon little bro?

  Great. His family had invaded for the holidays. He loved them all and was thankful they only came to the Girard compound a few times a year. For a week or two in the summer they’d trickle through, and always at Christmas the whole gang would descend on Cancun. This year would be different since the sister-in-law he’d never met would be there for the first time…and without his brother.

  Jack felt the raw bruise on his heart that would never heal.

  Jimmy was dead. He had been for over two years. Jack had been shot at more times than he could count and lived through unbelievable firefights, but it took only one bullet from a drive-by shooting to kill his little brother. His best friend.

  No, Jack wouldn’t be home anytime soon. He wasn’t ready to face the absence of his brother yet. He texted back.

  Gonna b late.

  Three hours later Jack’s cell phone buzzed in his pocket. He ignored it and sipped his third beer while tolerating the conversation at the now-crowded table.

  Rock Star, captain of Jack’s sixty-two-foot catamaran, and Cool Hand Luke, who owned a helicopter charter service, had joined them…as had eight college-aged women. At least he thought they were in college because they looked young.

  Within seconds, his phone buzzed again with another incoming call. “Excuse me.” Jack removed the small, soft hand that had been working its way up his thigh toward a half-aroused cock. He’d been giving serious consideration to seeing the pretty woman with auburn hair to her condo bedroom a block down the street. He didn’t want to go home.

  “I need to check this.” Jack rocked his hip and dug in his pocket for the phone.

  “Need help?” Whiskey eyes dark with need held his gaze as she reached for him. His gaze dropped to lips he was sure would be soft and welcoming. She’d taste of strawberries from the daiquiris she’d been downing as fast as they’d deliver them.

  He’d just turn the damn thing off and see for himself.

  He glanced at the illuminated screen and saw that his mother had called. Five times.

  Never a good thing to ignore his mother since she was staying in his house for the holidays. Actually, it was her house, and it wasn’t really a house as most would consider. It was more of a compound. Gated, eight-foot concrete walls on three sides but open to the beach, it was home to him. Although he occupied only one of the nine bedrooms, each with its own bathroom and either a balcony or shaded porch, it was where he’d slept every night for the past two years, so he thought of it as his.

  The family dropped in for a week here and there, but the place was so big sometimes Jack didn’t realize his brother or sister were there for days. Except at Christmastime when his mother demanded that the whole Girard family descend on the place on Riviera Maya that he called home.

  Fuck. Jack pressed return call and headed to the back door and quiet.

  “Mother, what’s wrong? Who’s hurt? Are the kids sick?”

  “No one is sick or hurt. I was just hoping you were in Cancun and would do me a favor, Jackie.” He cringed at his childhood name then heard the tinkle of ice. Jack wondered how many times her highball glass had been filled and drained in the few past hours. Washing away the pain with alcohol was a well-founded Girard coping mechanism.

  She must feel it too. Go easy. It was hard to heed his own warning. This would be the first Christmas when no one could deny Jimmy’s death.

  Always vigilant, Jack watched everything surrounding him as he chastised himself for his impatience with his mother

  Figuring she needed additional groceries, Jack offered, “I’m downtown at Kuk’s club. What can I get for you, Mother?”

  “Jim—” His mother chok
ed on his brother’s name. Ice rattled just before her very audible gulp. “They…Jillian and Addison missed their connection due to weather.” He heard the impatience in her voice. “I don’t see why. This has never happened to us. We live in Chicago for christsake, and we always take off on time. They’re coming in from St. Louis and get delayed from a little snow?”

  “Mother, you fly the whole family down in one of the corporate jets. She’s flying commercial.” He chose not to remind her that, once onboard the plane, his mother immediately had a drink and a pill in her hand, guaranteeing she wouldn’t remember anything until they landed.

  “That makes no difference.” Sometimes his mother’s flippant attitude really irritated Jack. “I hate to put any pressure on you, Jackie, but could you pick them up?” Her voice had softened. “The children are already in bed, so Lilly can’t possibly leave. Levi left an hour ago…to find a bar and have a few drinks.”

  Yeah, his older brother was going to have more than a few drinks and whatever leggy blonde he could convince to entertain him for an hour or two.

  “They should have been here hours ago.” His mother actually harrumphed. Okay, that meant she was only two drinks from passing out.

  “I can get her, Mother.”

  “Jack, I don’t want you to feel pressured about this. I can have a cab pick her up.” Now she was backpedaling. Great.