Page 85 of Uncharted

“The cave isn’t that far. It’s got a shelf. We tie it up in the cave and swim back and forth. Or we drag it up onto the tiny beach on the other side of the reef. Or keep it back at the treehouse beach.”

I purse my lips because they’re answers. They might not be the answers I like, but they’re not bad. Okay, they’re fine.

“Look at that, Little Bird. He’s speechless. Dante has an egg for you, Haley, and wanted to wait to make sure you were ready for your egg. Want me to tell him you’re up?”

“That’s okay. I’ll go chat with him in a minute.”

Zane puts his arm around Haley’s shoulders. “Thanks for calming him down.” He wiggles his eyebrows at her.

“I’m glad you didn’t get hurt,” Haley says.

“Me too. He took it much better than I thought.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about, Zane.” Her tone drops, and she glares at him. Now it’s me who is happy that he’s getting a scolding. Disappointing Haley is probably better than me taking it out on him, anyway.

I push the pillow back to the headboard and move the tray onto my lap. The last time I ate breakfast in bed, I was twelve and had strep throat. My grandparents and I were in deep quarantine. I read and listened to music for four solid days. It was awesome, but that’s not going to happen here. I need to get to the wheelhouse to work on the radio.

Haley sits on the edge of the bed. “You want anything else?” she asks.

I hold up a bite of the egg for her. It’s remarkably good. I thought what I would miss most was pizza and beer. And last night was fun, although maybe no more beer for a while. But there’s nothing better than a fresh egg.

“That’s yours,” she insists.

“One bite.” I hold the fork out, and she takes it, her lips closing over the tines.

“Mmm. It’s really good.” She leans in and kisses my cheek. “Do you need anything?”

“I’m not staying in bed. I’ve got shit to do. I should have been up already.” I wipe up the rest of the egg with the pizza crust that Dante has sliced open and grilled with something. “I’m getting up.”

The door swings open, and Easton steps in. He’s got the medical kit under his arm. “No, you’re not. At least, not until I take a look at your stitches.” He hands me a little cup with some pills in it.

“What’s this?”

“Just a couple of normal pain killers.”

“I don’t need that. We should save them.”

“The yacht has enough for a couple of years. We don’t need to skimp on them anymore.”

I frown at the cup but then toss it back and chase it with the rest of Haley’s bottle of water.

“You need me?” Haley asks Easton.

“Unless he’s going to take the WaveRunner incident out on me? No.”

Haley gives me a quick kiss and is out the door.

Easton drops the medical kit on the bed next to my legs, and my foot bounces. A zip of pain shoots up my leg. I glare at him.

“That’s what I thought. How bad does it hurt?” He unwraps my foot and pokes at the bottom of it.

“Not bad until you started jostling me around and poking at me.”

“I’m on your side. It’s just I had a feeling you’re the sort of guy who acts all tough and doesn’t let the wound heal before trying to do too much.”

“What more do you want from me? I’m lying in bed.”

“Exactly. And that’s where you should stay.”

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