Page 23 of Third Time's the Charm

His voice came from behind me. Luckily I had already set the trowel aside. “You’re finally here!” I knew he’d hate it, but I threw my arms around him anyway. “You’re done?”

“Completely. I’m all yours for Christmas.”

Even though he was a little stiff, he didn’t completely hate the hug, and even laughed at the dirt I got on his perfectly wrinkle-free turquoise polo shirt. I couldn’t get him out of the polos, but at least I convinced him to try some tropical colors.

“Well, I’m about to finish up here. Do you want to come with me to do the rounds?” I was filling in for Derek, the park ranger who normally made the rounds of the islands under the park service’s jurisdiction.

“The boat thing?” Ryker scrunched up his nose which usually meant he was either disgusted or thinking really hard.

“Yep. It’ll take me the rest of the afternoon and it’s really fun.” I tugged on his arm.

He gave in to my enthusiasm, as usual. “All right. If you say it’s fun then I’m sure it is.”

Ryker Lawson cut a dark and handsome figure. He had perfect brown hair, dark eyes, broad shoulders, and full lips. We met when I ran into him on Main Street. He was walking down the sidewalk, coming from a business meeting to develop a bunch of new homes on the island, and I wasn’t looking where I was going (as usual), calling back to Mrs. Yates at the seafood shack as I opened the door and took the poor guy out.

He wasn’t mad though. He was flustered. I later learned he was turned on and mesmerized. The poor guy didn’t know what to do. I offered to buy him dinner (because I was equally smitten), and the rest is history.

“Excellent.” I clapped my hands. “You got this Cynthia?”

“Oh, aye, Skipper.” She saluted me. “Just remember we’re not working tomorrow.”

“I know, I know.” Was it bad that I loved my job so much it rarely felt like a job? It seemed all my friends and family thought so.

We made the short walk back to the house where I changed and grabbed my badge and the boat keys. Ryker opted to stay in his loafers, khakis, and polo. Honestly, I loved that he was his own person and no one could change him. Ryker Lawson was Ryker Lawson, everyone else be damned.

As I watched him waiting ever so patiently for me, a little bit of guilt managed to wiggle its way inside me. Oddly I didn’t feel terribly guilty last night. It was the mistletoe. I had to kiss someone. And it was just a kiss.

Just an incredible, spine-tingling, earth shattering kiss with my ex.

Who I still had some feelings for—even though I didn’t want to. Besides, they were just physical feelings. Chemical reactions can’t be stopped. But emotional ones? Those mattered, and in that I was firm. Ryker was my future.

“So Berlin…”

I was lost in thought and had to shake myself out. “Hmmm? Oh, I almost forgot my sunglasses!” I snagged them on the way to the door. “Did you have a question?”

He shook his head. “Just...didn’t want you to forget your glasses.”

“Cool! Let’s go!”

It was about a fifteen minute drive from Mistletoe Key to Islamorada. We parked in the packed parking lot of Robbie’s. Tourists milled around outside, waiting for their turn to eat or feed the tarpon. It was a lot of fun to feed the tarpon, but today we were here for work. We walked to the back of the parking lot, past a fenced area, and around to where the State Park boats were docked. I hopped in first and got to work making sure everything was where it should be, and then fired up the engine.

Our first stop was Indian Key. The entire island was a state park and completely uninhabited. The park service, with the help of archaeologists, had partially recreated the old Houseman era street grid, and visitors could wander the island, finding the old cisterns and foundations left behind. Unlike Mistletoe Key, Indian Key was never truly occupied after 1875.

Mistletoe Key and Islamorada benefited from the railroad. New homes went up and the population grew...until the Labor Day hurricane destroyed part of the railroad, the islands in its path, and the idea that a railroad could connect the Keys to the mainland.

Luckily Mistletoe Key just missed the hurricane and I was able to call it home, along with five hundred other residents who were all obsessed with the holidays.

I pulled up to the dock and tied off the boat. “Looks like we’ll have the island mostly to ourselves.” There were no other boats, but I did spy a few kayaks pulled up on the beach.

“And what are we supposed to be doing?” Ryker asked as he attempted to get out of the boat. It wasn’t the most natural thing in the world for him, but he could manage on his own most days now.

“I need to walk the island and make sure everything’s in order. Basically that no one decided to come and trash the place today.” I enjoyed walking Indian Key and always took the chance when Derek needed a hand. Normally I was alone and could wander around at my leisure, but it was Christmas Eve and we had guests, so I decided to keep things neat and tidy today.

We walked the old “roads”, checked the beaches, and the old warehouse, then over to the cisterns where there was an observation tower. “There’s not a whole lot to see, but it’s fun.” I scanned the island, turning until I faced Ryker.

Jack never came with me when I volunteered for park duty. He was always too busy. But here was Ryker, every bit as drowning in work as anyone else, and he decided to tag along.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

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