Page 60 of Corrupted Lies

Not that she was letting on. Well, she was doing her best to convince him that she believed him and that she was okay, but he’d known her long enough to recognize the differences between her real smile and her fake one.

It was a subtle difference, and one he doubted anyone else would be able to pick up on.

But he wasn't anyone else, he was her best friend, and he knew when she was faking cheerfulness for the sake of those around her.

What he needed to do was come up with an idea to distract her for a while. She’d been through so much in such a short time that he knew her mind had reached overload. Now everything, no matter how small, was going to seem like another boulder of a problem that she didn't know how to solve.

An idea had already formed, it was a crazy one, and one that he was pretty sure she was going to shoot down as soon as he mentioned it. If she didn't, if she said yes, then it was going to change things between them, maybe in a way that would mean they could never go back.

Was that a risk he was prepared to take?

For such a good cause he had to believe he could go through with it, but he couldn’t deny he was glad he had a bit of time to work up some courage.

“Do you really think you can catch us something for breakfast?” Alannah asked, a hint of doubt in her voice as she followed him along the sand and down toward the rocks.

“You doubting me, sunshine?” he asked, shooting her a smirk. “Because that wouldn't be wise. Don’t you remember all the times I used to catch you fish when we were kids?”

The smile on her face turned genuine, and he felt a stab of relief. Whatever doubts she fought she was at least trying to fight them, and that was all he could really ask of her.

“I remember, but I think there’s somethingyou'reforgetting, grumpy.”

“Yeah, and what's that then?”

“This time around, you don’t have a fishing pole. When you and Jax used to catch fish for us to eat, you always had equipment. Now we don’t have anything. So how exactly are you going to catch us breakfast?” Although her smile was still there, a thread of worry had tangled itself in her voice.

The rain last night had provided them enough water to drink to satisfy them both with some left over, but now they were starting to really feel the effects of not eating in well over twenty-four hours. His stomach was cramping with hunger pains, and he was sure Alannah’s was no different.

“Oh ye of little faith,” he teased as they reached the rocks. “Prepare to see a genius at work.”

Alannah rolled her eyes at him. “Yeah, you're a real genius, Jake Holloway.”

Her sassy tone made him laugh, and the sound of it immediately brightened Alannah’s smile, making it a real one again. Laughing wasn't something he did often, and it was usually either his sunshine or his little niece that managed to make him do it.

That was because both of them were special, although in vastly different ways. Essie was such a happy, excitable, energetic little girl that you couldn’t help but spend time around her and not feel better about life in general.

And Alannah was …

His sunshine.

“A real genius,” he agreed with a grin. “And I'm going to prove it to you. You’re going to have to eat your words, Alannah Johansen.”

“I’ll happily eat my words along with a fish.Ifyou can catch one,” she sassed back.

Still grinning as he walked along the rocks, leaving her waiting on the sand, he went hunting. The storm had stopped, the sky was clearing, and the ocean had calmed right down. Now only the occasional lazy wave rolled across it.

Perfect for catching them some food.

It wasn't really their food situation that scared him the most. Jake was confident he could keep catching enough fish to keep them going, and today they would explore the island some more and see what other food sources it provided. The water situation was tougher, he didn't want to have to keep relying on rain to keep them hydrated, so he was hoping they could find a fresh water source as well.

Their biggest problem was how they would get off the island, not how they were going to survive on it.

Didn't take him long to locate the best spot to position himself, and then it was just a waiting game. As soon as a fish came close to the rocks all he had to do was grab it. It took a lot of time and practice to learn to do it right, move too slowly and you missed the fish, move too fast and you startled it away.

Had to get it just right.

Which was exactly what he did.

Patience was a virtue, and in this case, it was going to be the difference between spending the day with a full belly or starving to death.

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