XLVII.   when you say you love me

Dylan first met Bobby Heyward when she knocked on his front door and asked very loudly if Pope could come and hang out with her. They were thirteen years old. Andrea Heyward couldn't believe her son had a friend that was a girl. At first, Pope was too shy to come down when his father asked. But Dylan kept insisting. Mr. Heyward told him to suck it up. When he finally came out of his room, it was clear to the parents that the young girl made their son nervous.

Dylan kept coming around and asking for Pope. Every time, she stood at the door with a big ole smile on her face. By the time they'd spent enough time with each other, Bobby wanted to meet her parents. The Heyward family and Jennings family clicked. Their dynamic was natural. Like they were meant to be in each other's lives. Logan and Bobby used to joke about their kids falling in love one day.

Dylan loved the man like he was another father to her. Seeing him in pain made her sick to her stomach. His shirt was torn and covered in blood. She wiped his face clean and lightly pressed a bandage to his forehead,  quickly apologizing when he hissed in pain. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, sweetheart. You're doing just fine." Heyward responded. "Thank you, DJ."

"Pop, what happened?" Pope, who'd been freaking out ever since JJ gave them the news that his dad was hurt, asked his father.

"Oh, I should've known better. He came in just as I was about to lock up. Caught me by surprise," Mr. Heyward explained to them. "One he had me down, he put his knee in my chest, and asked me about that. . . that. . . that key from. . . that drawing you showed me."

Dylan sucked in an angry breath and she rubbed her face.

"And it case you're wondering, I ain't tell him nothing." He looked at his son. "Now, did you track it down?"

Pope reached into his pocket. "DJ and I found it." He told him and handed him the key. "Found it in Mee-maw's old apartment about the pharmacy just like you said it was."

"We took a tumble or two in the process." Dylan uttered, referring to when he fell off the ladder.

"Shit, boy, you should've gave this to me. I wouldn't have had to take a beating." Bobby replied. "What's the big deal? It ain't worth anything. Why they want it so bad?"

"I don't know. First, I get this letter telling me that I need to go to Charleston. And then I meet this rich lady who wants me to give her a key that I didn't even know was in my family."

"None of it makes any sense." Kiara voiced after being quiet for so long.

"Well, don't y'all just sit here whining about it. Figure it out!"

"No." Pope immediately denied. "I'm just gonna give the key to that lady. It's definitely not worth—"

"No, no, no. Did I raise you to back down from a fight, boy?" Heyward cut him off. His son shook his head. "Well, all right. Now, I. . . I didn't think about it before. I admit that. But now. . ." He pointed to his bandaged head. "Now? I'm interested."

The Pogues smiled slightly.

"Well, did they say why they want it?"

"Something about an old cross." Pope explained. "I think it might be some kind of lost treasure."

Heyward thought to himself as he talked. "You know who you should talk to? Your great-grandmother, Mee-maw."

They listened closely as he talked. Dylan's leg bounced up and down with nerves. The thought of Pope continuing to get involved and now his father was hurt because of the mess, made her upset. Her stomach churned at the thought of who else could get caught in the crossfire. Her father. Her mother. Her brother. She would kill someone if it ever happened. And that's what scared her the most.

As the Pogues got ready to leave, she turned to them man with a somber frown. "I'm so sorry this happened to you." She spoke quietly, her voice full of remorse.

Bobby grabbed her hand. "Oh, come on now. You know I'm tough." He sent her a fatherly smile. "I'm just thankful my son has someone helping him through his. No better person than you."

She smiled at him, her brown eyes lighting up.

The tension between Sarah and John B made the car ride uncomfortable. She caught their longing glances in the rearview mirror. The way Sarah looked away out of anger. The way John B looked sorry but was too stubborn to say it. Dylan has known him his whole life. The one thing he and his father had in common was obstinacy. But at the same time she didn't blame him. None of them trusted Topper and for Sarah to was almost betraying.

But Sarah was her friend and Dylan was empathetic. Her brother did just try to kill her.

"Guys, that thing that Limbrey said, I don't think she meant to let it slip," Pope spoke. He twirled the key in the hands. "She said the key leads to the Cross of Santo Domingo."

"Wait. Can I see that?" JJ asked quickly, reaching for the key.

"Are we supposed to know what that is?" Asked Sarah.

"I'm guessing it's some sort of historical artifact of great importance."

"In other words, something else that'll possible lead us to death." Dylan uttered.

Pope nudged her arm.

"Well, according to the interwebs, it was a gift from New Spain to the Spanish King." Kiara read her phone.

"New Spain? Is there an Old Spain?"

Dylan looked over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes at JJ.

"Shit, talk about over gifting. Look at this thing." Kiara continued. She showed them her phone that showed a picture of the cross. "Looks like a person standing next to it."

"So it's a giant ass cross." JJ stated.

"It was widely considered at the time to be the most extravagant tribute ever from the provinces. It was lost off the coast of Bermuda in 1829."

"Did you just say Bermuda?"

Dylan rolled her eyes. "Not the triangle, JJ."

"It always leads back to the triangle, D!" He added. "Like everything single time something's weird, it's Bermuda."

"They literally discovered why everything was  disappearing ages ago!" She argued.

"Okay, okay, children. Chill." John B interrupted them.

"Why does a key found above your mee-maw's pharmacy have to do with any of this?" Kiara asked Pope. "Where do we come in?"

Pope looked like he didn't know how to answer. Dylan looked his way and titled her head. "We'll find out, okay? Together."

He half smiled at her.

They arrived at Shady Acres nursing home. JJ got out of the van to slide the door open and the girls moved so Pope could climb out. He paused half way. "Um," he uttered. He looked over his shoulder at Dylan. "Will you come with me?"

Her eyes softened. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Of course I will." She accepted. He held out his hand and she took it without question. When she got out of the van, she turned to the others. "We'll be back soon."

"Good luck." JJ told them.

The couple walked around the Twinkie and she followed him to the nursing home. "They're so good together." Said Kiara.

"Always knew it'd be them. Match made in heaven." John B replied with a slight smile.

His eyes caught Sarah's again and she looked away, down at her hands.

Dylan kept Pope's hand close to her. She rubbed his arm comfortingly with her other hand. She spotted the elderly people sitting around, playing games or reading. She found herself smiling at them. She'd volunteered at many nursing homes because of her parents. They loved giving back to the community and part of it included volunteering.

"There she is," she heard him say. Dylan looked over and saw his mee-maw asleep in the living room chair.

She released his hand and touched his back. "Go on. I'm right behind her." She spoke softly.

Pope walked into the living room and crouched in front of his great grandmother. He gently rubbed her knee. "Hey, mee-maw." He whispered.

Dylan watched him with light eyes.

"Mee-maw."

She woke up with a small groan she chuckled. "Oh."

"Hey."

"Bobby?"

Dylan chuckled. "No, Mee-maw, it's. . . it's Pope, Heyward's son." Pope explained himself.

"Oh, I didn't know I'm supposed to know that was you standing so far away like that. Come on, show me your face."

He went over and sat in the chair beside her.

"Oh, yeah." The woman chuckled. "Yeah."

"Hey, Mee-maw." He said and grabbed her hand. "It's good to see you.

"Hello, Bobby."

Pope titled his head. "Uh, it's. . . It's Pope, your great grandson." He corrected her. He looked at his girlfriend, who stood quietly with her hands clasped in front of her. "This is Dylan. My best friend. . . and my girlfriend."

His Mee-maw looked at her and Dylan smiled. "Oh."

"It's so nice to meet you."

She waved a hand. "Come over here, honey."

Dylan walked her way and crouched in front of her. "Hi, Mee-maw. I'm Dylan." She introduced herself with a gentle smile.

"Girlfriend, you say?" Mee-maw asked. They both nodded. "You as pretty as a peach."

Dylan's smile grew wider. Pope did the same. He looked at his great grandmother. "Mee-maw, do you mind if I talk to you about something in private?"

The woman agreed. "Do you want me to wait out here?" Dylan asked.

Pope shook his head. "You don't have to."

"It's okay. You guys go talk." She insisted. "I'll keep some of them in here company."

He smiled at her again. She helped him get his Mee-maw up out of the chair. Pope leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Thank you."

Dylan winked at him and watched as he led the woman outside. She looked over at the elderly sitting around the table playing checkers. She walked over and smiled. "Hi, my name's Dylan." She introduced herself.

The man and woman looked up. "Oh, hello." She said back, her voice shaky and light. "Darla."

"I'm Russell." The man introduced himself.

Dylan shook their hands. She pointed to the checkers. "Do you mind if I join you?" She asked.

"Oh, of course dear." Darla said and motioned for her to sit down.

She pulled the chair out and sat beside her. "What brings you here, Miss Dylan?" Russell asked her.

"I'm with my boyfriend. He's visiting his great grandmother. Thought I'd keep you guys company."

"Oh. How sweet you are." The woman gave her a smile.

Dylan smiled back and they played the game. Her heart felt warm the whole time.

After a while, Dylan finished playing the game. She let Ms. Darla win and the woman talked her ear off after x but it made her happy that they had somebody to talk to. Dylan excused herself from the table and walked out back. She paused when she saw Pope and his Mee-maw hugging. Her footsteps caused them to break apart and she saw the tears in their eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was checking—"

"It's okay, Dyl." Pope interrupted, his smile wavering. He turned to his Mee-maw. "We should get going."

"Oh, it was so good to see you, Pope." Mee-maw said and pulled him into an another tight hug. "Be careful out there, sweetheart."

They pulled away and Dylan smiled again. "It was so wonderful to meet you." She said to the woman and leaned down to hug her.

"Oh, you as well, honey." Mee-maw said back and hugged her. "You keep my boy in line."

"I always have." She replied with a smile.

The couple walked through the living room and headed to the front door. Pope paused in front of the door. "Did everything go okay?" Asked Dylan.

He turned around and faced her. "Yeah. I'll uh, I'll explain when we get back to the others." He told her.

She nodded. "She was great. Sweetness runs in your family."

Pope smiled again but it was shaky. His eyes glossed over again. "Thank you for coming with me."

Dylan stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. His arms tightened around her waist. A million emotions went off in her heart like a bomb. He was so kind. Pope was the kindest person she'd ever known. His heart was pure gold. Dylan never felt more in love than she did today. "I love you so much." She whispered into his neck.

"I love you more." She heard him say and he kissed her shoulder. "You're my family, DJ."

There was a lot of things Dylan couldn't believe in her life. Pope being related to Denmark and Cecilia Tanny was definitely one of them. The Pogues recollected back to the marina after getting told the news. "I still can't believe that you're related to Denmark Tanny," said John, who'd been freaking out the whole time. He looked at the others. "Are we in the presence of a royal?"

"A king?" Said JJ.

They all laughed and started bowing down.

"We shall crown him. All hail the lord of Tannyhill!" The blonde announced in a British accent.

"We're not worthy!"

"All right. Everyone relax. Can we relax, please?" Pope said while containing his smile.

"You know what else this means?" Kiara spoke up. She threw her arm around Dylan. "Once Pope and Dylan get married, she'll be married to a royal."

It made all of them gasp. Dylan went red. "Oh, my god. stop!"

"Princess Dylan's finally going to get her crown!" JJ said in the same British accent and pretended to put a crown on her head.

"All hail the Queen!" John B followed and bowed at her.

Dylan rolled her eyes again as they continued to laugh. She looked over at Pope and couldn't help to smile.

"Relocate to the Cat's Ass, question mark?" Sarah suggested.

"I'm with that."

"How soon can we movie in?" Asked Kiara

"Cause I don't have a place to stay, so—" said JJ.

"Me either. Bunk beds?"

"Bunk beds. Cheers to that."

"Guys, what have I told you? You can always come stay with me." Said Dylan, who'd told them this a thousand times already.

"Sleepover at the Jennings house!" Kiara cheered.

"I just keep thinking about the letter, the one that Limbrey sent." Said Pope. "It had the wheat symbol on it. That must mean it has to do something with the Royal Merchant."

"Yeah. Something seems fishy."

Dylan agreed. "I've been saying that since we got the freaking letter." She mentioned.

"This is what we get for not listening to DJ." Said John B and she threw up her hands, thanking him. "I've learned that the hard way."

"But if we find that cross. We can split it like we were gonna split the gold, Pope continued.

JJ quickly nodded. "Yeah. I'm with that."

"And live happily ever after?"

Limbrey's presence made Dylan drop the can of beer she was holding. They all straightened up in fear. Her eyes locked with Pope's, who looked angry. "You assaulted my father." He jeered.

Renfieild pushed him by his chest. Dylan hopped down from the cooler while glaring at him.

"Oh, I didn't assault anyone," said Limbrey.

"He can identify a psycho from a mile away." Kiara spoke up.

"And a racist." Dylan included with a bitterness in her voice.

"Why would my employee a. . . a. .  assault your father? That's absurd." Limbrey said with a fake laugh. "Listen, we can keep on negotiating, but the fact is that I want the key—"

Pope lunged at her and Renfield pushed him back again.

"Don't touch him, asshole!" Dylan snapped at him but got held back by Sarah.

"DJ, no."

"—And I won't stop until I have it. I don't have a choice, which means you don't either."

"It's Limbrey, right? Is that right?" Asked John B and they turned to him, seeing him holding the key.

"Yes." Limbrey answered.

"Is this what you're looking for?"

"Yes, it is."

"B, what are you doing?" Dylan asked with caution.

"Looking at the tide right now, I'd say it's about 20 feet deep right there," John B continued. "So, if so just threw it in the channel, the probability of you finding it again is slim to none."

The girls looked at each other. They watched him act like he was going to throw the key in the water but Linbrey quickly stopped him. "Please don't do that." She begged.

John B leaned against the dock. He motioned to Renfield, who was still holding Pope. "Get him to back the hell up."

"Of course," she agreed and looked at the man. "Back up."

Renfield reluctantly walked away from him and Limbrey took his place. "As I told you from the beginning, I am willing to be reasonable."

Pope didn't say anything right away. His eyes cut to John B, he looked at him as well. "Okay." He uttered.

Limbrey almost looked shocked. "Okay?" She repeated.

"I'll give you the key, but I want the tape." He negotiated.

"Of course. Of course."

"Pope. Hey, hey, hey, hey." John B stepped in. "You don't have to do this, okay?"

Dylan looked at Kiara and Sarah, both of them just shrugging.

"No, it's okay."

"Dude, this is your family."

"Hey. It's fine. It's okay." Pope kept on. "It's about your dad. That's what more important." He held his hand out for the key.

John B placed the gold key in his hand.

Dylan felt Kiara nudged her in the back. She looked over her shoulder and saw her smirking at her. That's when she started to catch on. She kept quiet.

"Oh, you're a good friend."

"The tape." Pope repeated.

"Yes, give him the tape." Limbrey ordered.

Renfield took the tape out of his jacket. He held it up and slammed it into Pope's hand and the same time he gave the key to Limbrey.

She held it tightly. "You know, I wish that you'd come to this decision earlier. We could have avoided all this unpleasantness."

"Nice to meet you." John B said as they finally left.

Renfield paused and turned back around. "See you around, Pope." He said with a troubling smirk, his eyes drifting to his girlfriend.

"Just go." Kiara scoffed.

Pope eyed them as they left, watching them completely leave. "How long do you think we have until she realizes she has your father's old key?" JJ voiced.

"Ten minutes." John B answered.

Pope spun around with wide eyes. "Whose idea was the fake key?" He questioned.

"Surprisingly, not mine." Kiara answered.

"Hmm, I don't know. Should we tell him?" John B asked and wrapped his arm around JJ.

Dylan smiled widely. "Jesse James Maybank?"

"Wow. I'm impressed. Maybe you are good for something!" Said Kiara with a smile.

"Did hell freeze over?"

The three boys laughed and Dylan high fived Kiara. "Guys. We gotta take this tape to Shoupe." John B announced.

"Yes. Ward Cameron, we're coming for you, big boy!"

"I should call my dad. Have him be there." Dylan spoke and took out her phone. She passed by JJ and held up her hand. "I'm proud of you, my little klepto."

He smiled back widely and slapped her hand.