Page 2 of Uncharted

“No, I’m going to stay here.” He looks at Zane, and I get the subtext. He’s going to see if he can get Zane to chill out. Which lately has been next to impossible. He’s excited. And I get it. But he needs to take a break.

“You all know where we’ll be.” I give them each a kiss before I go. It’s become this little ritual we do. And I didn’t even start it. It was Zane, or Easton. I don’t remember.

I start with Easton since he’s next to me. His kiss is tender and sends a zip to my toes.

“Me next, Sassy.” Dante’s waiting in line. He pulls me close and takes my breath away.

I move next to Zane. He’s not looking up from the peeling green-painted beam. “Zane?”

“What?” He’s deep in envisioning land.

“Give your girl a kiss,” Dante calls over from where he’s chopping up a coconut.

“Shit, Little Bird. Sorry.” He pops up and wraps his arms around my neck. He kisses me and dips me deeply.

“Show off.” Easton punches playfully at Zane’s arm when he rights me.

“Take a break, Zane.”

“I will, Little Bird.”

When I turn back, he’s measuring the other side of the new beam. I point at Zane’s back to Easton. Easton nods. Maybe he can make him sit and take some of the pressure off his foot. The wound is healing, but not well. It’s not infected, but the scab doesn’t look right.

Calvin takes my hand in his. He has one of our oldest mats and a hunk of the plastic from the raft under his other arm. The trail to the beach is well-worn. And while we don’t man the signal fire on the beach often anymore, we do sometimes. I kind of figure that once the shelter is done, we’ll get back to it. Watching the horizon. Or maybe we’ll just watch from the top platform, when it’s complete.

“Look.” I run down the beach, dragging Calvin along behind me. The fish weir is a lot bigger now. And we’ve discovered the far side of the beach works a lot better with the currents of the waves. Some days we have so many fish we throw a good portion of them back into the ocean. Other days there aren’t many, but enough for dinner. “Holy crap, is that a sea bass?”

Calvin picks it up. The thing is two feet long. “It’s huge.” Calvin wades in.

“I’ll toss the rest back.” I pick up a small reef fish and toss it over the weir fence. We’ve added a lot more stakes over the last few weeks.

“Good job not squealing, Haley.”

I roll my eyes. “I’ve been practicing. Still don’t like picking fish up. But I don’t want the poor thing to die for no reason.” I gather more of the small fish, setting them free. “Go Willy, you’re free.”

“So help me, Haley, if you have Zane telling us theFree Willystory tonight...”

I hold my breath and wait for his reaction before I turn slowly to him. He’s tossing another fish back. “What are you going to do if I do?”

He shakes his head. “It’s not punishment if you like it, Haley.” He picks up the sea bass again. It’s huge. “Shit, this thing has to weigh over ten pounds. It’s a good thing we came down here now. We’re going to need the smoker going tonight.”

We walk back shoulder to, well, mid-chest. “Want me to carry the fish for a while? You’re not getting tired.”

“Not tired. Contemplative.” His eyebrows furrow.

“Really, Mr. Green? What are you thinking about?” I know the answer before I ask. While I love Zane’s story time, he picks movies that he knows I’ll like and will drive Calvin batshit crazy. He’s doneThe Devil Wears Prada, The Notebook, How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, andThe Proposal. Calvin hated all of them. How you can hate anything with Sandra Bullock in it, though, is beyond me.

“A punishment.”

“Oh. Well, if I’m going to be punished...” I take off running. I know I’m not going to beat him back, but I’m going to give it a try. I’m almost to them when he thunders beside me. “I won’t, I won’t. I won’t make Zane tell usFree Willy.”Calvin picks me up and throws me over his shoulder–––he’s got the sea bass under his other arm. “Zane,” I scream.

Dante’s looking at me oddly, or at least I think he is. It’s hard to tell when you’re upside down. “What am I, chopped liver?” Dante shivers.

“What?” Zane races out of the jungle.

“Do you know the plot toFree Willy?” I’m out of breath from running and holding in my laughter. Dante bursts out laughing. Easton too. “Do you?” It’s childish. I know, but pushing Calvin’s buttons is necessary to keep him from going back to being a workaholic. Something I hope I can get Zane out of too. I’m a hard worker. But sometimes enough is enough. We have a roof and food. It’s okay to relax.

Zane shakes his head, and he’s back to whatever measurement or plan he was making.

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