Page 59 of Last Resort

Jane laughed. “Not now. Go get Daddy to get you some coconuts to play with.”

Terro was set down, and he raced back through the adult legs until he smacked into his dad.

Poppy got up and stretched. “Yeah, I just want some cool lemonade and to stretch out in a hammock. My second time in the islands and just as frazzled as the first.”

Jane smiled. “Give it time. It works its way into your blood.”

Poppy chuckled. “Sounds like an infection.”

Myro sighed and said, “I believe our vessel is waiting. We need to get back to Wonder.”

Breen nodded and stood next to her. “Poppy knows where the best snacks are. We need her to navigate.”

Jane nodded. “Of course. Well, I wish you luck when the final voting happens. I think it would be immensely fun to finally have an actual omega in it who didn’t end up pregnant before the final show.”

“Well, I have been keeping pretty busy.” Poppy snorted.

“Understatement. Well, I will walk you to the dock. Estrya is already away and off with her mates.”

Poppy grinned. “Right. Well, we will have to make do with whoever shows up.”

They snuck away and crept down the stairway to the dock. There was a zodiac coming toward them, and its origin was a tall vessel waiting in deeper water. The wordSeekeridentified the yacht.

Poppy smiled at the cheerful figure in the zodiac. “Nina!”

Nina waved, and the man next to her nodded. “You are Poppy?”

“Yeah. This is Myro and Breen.”

Nina grinned. “This is Kimo. Hop in. We are your ride for the day.”

They got into the zodiac and headed for the vessel. A man who looked similar to Nina caught the line and tied them to the yacht. “Any friend of Nerina’s is a friend of mine.”

He helped her onto the floating dock, and she grinned as she stood and was taller than he was. “You would be Drake, right?”

He nodded slowly. “Yeah. How do you know my name?”

“I am a friend of your sister’s. We met when I was shorter.”

Nina laughed. “No shit. Like nearly a foot shorter. She was smaller than me.”

“I got taller.” She smiled. Nina hugged her, and there was a distinct bump. “Oh, congratulations.”

“Thank you. We’re looking forward to it actually being where we can hug it.” Nina grinned.

The alphas were greeting each other, and Poppy smiled. “I am still not aware of if they summon lightning or sniff tails. Those guys are a mystery.”

Kimo finished tying off the zodiac and whistled sharply. Drake ran to the front, and the guys came on board. The engine hummed, and the anchor finished lifting.

Kimo walked into the wheelhouse and came out with an armload of water bottles. He handed them around and had a seat. Nina settled against him. He opened her bottle and kissed the top of Nina’s head.

“So, Poppy, how did you meet Nina?”

“We were in the same group-therapy group.”

Nina smiled. “She was my mentor in an assault-recovery group. Poppy really helped me feel like myself again.”

Poppy smiled. “I am glad. It’s always weird to come back from an attack, but it is definitely possible.”

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