Before Regan could decide what to say to Geno, Tabitha stepped forward toward Lily. “We probably shouldn’t waste gas,” Tabitha warned her, earning a glare from the young girl.
“That’s what I wanted to talk to the three of you about,” Geno said pointedly.
He’d said he wanted to speak to the three of them, but really, it was Regan he’d clearly focused in on and wanted to shout at. Whatever he was upset about, he was looking to blame someone—and that usually ended up being her.
“What’s wrong?” Tabitha asked, looking at her husband and then running her eyes over the boat.
“I had it running last night, and then this morning when I came down to start it up, it was out of gas,” he said, glaring at Regan while he spoke. “In fact, the extra tank of gas I had in the boat is gone, as well.”
Regan immediately went on the defensive. “Well, I certainly didn’t go out for a joyride in the middle of the night, and I’ve been with these two all morning. Why assume it was me?”
“Wolf mentioned you were going to head over to one of the other islands to scout it out. Did you?”
Regan rolled her eyes. “Like I would go by myself. Let alone at night.”
Geno looked at her, an eyebrow raised. “Wouldn’t you? Isn’t that how you do things? You’re Regan—you don’t need anyone else. You’re the lone warrior, too good to hang out with us.”
“I didn’t take the stupid boat!” she said, her voice raised and her eyes narrowing to a glare.
The big oaf might think he intimidated everyone else with his loud mouth and big size, but not her. She’d dealt with people far worse in her lifetime. Geno needed to step back. The accusations, side-eyed looks, and general nastiness were really starting to piss her off. She had paid for her crime. She wanted to make amends and move on. It felt as if her feet were being held to the flames and it was mentally taxing.
Lily was inside the boat, tapping on the gas gauge and trying to start the engine. “It doesn’t want to start. I think she broke it.”
Geno shot one last glare Regan’s way before climbing into the boat with Lily. “I know! That’s what I said. Scoot over and let me try.”
Lily had begun smiling like the cat that ate the canary when she’d again looked at Regan. The girl was thrilled Geno was mad at her. Never mind the fact that she was innocent. It gave her an ally in her hatred toward Regan, which was the last thing Regan needed. Dealing with the two of them separately was bad enough. With the two of them teaming up against her, life on the island would be hell.
Now Lily stood next to Geno, who was furiously trying to start the boat’s engine. The engine made a horrible noise before sputtering out. He began cursing under his breath and slamming his palm against the steering wheel.
“She probably ran it out of gas and now you have to prime it,” Lily said in a low voice, but not one so low that Regan and Tabitha couldn’t hear from their position on the dock.
“Seriously?” Regan snapped.
Geno looked up and smiled at Lily. “I think you’re right. People who haven’t the first clue about how a boat engine works should stay off of boats.”
Tabitha cleared her throat and stared down her much larger husband, her own hands on her hips. The stare was effective, and his smile faded.
“I’ll see if I can figure out what happened,” he muttered. “Maybe it’s a fuel line that’s clogged.”
Tabitha nodded her head. “It would be a good idea for you to figure out why it isn’t working before you toss around accusations. This could be nothing at all. Jumping to conclusions and yelling at innocent people doesn’t make you look very good,” Tabitha lectured him.
Lily was glaring at Tabitha now, but Tabitha only smiled in return. Regan wished she could handle the girl’s animosity with such grace. Tabitha was a far better person than she was. Regan chalked it up to being another point in Tabitha’s awesome column. She was an excellent people person who could befriend anyone. It was something Regan hoped to learn from her. There was no way she would ever be quite as outgoing and nice as Tabitha, but Regan wanted to learn how to interact with people a little better. It was a life skill she had never developed as a kid living on the streets—alone and completely dependent on herself. Now that she’d become part of this group, for better or worse, she wished she’d had the opportunity to work on it at least a little.
“Hey!” Wolf said, coming through the trees and waving a hand in greeting as he moved up to the dock.
Regan turned to glare at him, blaming him for making her come out on this so-called bonding trip. As usual, it had blown up in her face. Now, Lily hated her even more. Excellent idea.
“Whoa!” he said, looking at each of them. “This doesn’t look like a group of happy people.”
“Regan broke the boat after Geno fixed it,” Lily said with a great deal of excitement. “And, all the gas is gone.”
“I did not!” Regan shouted, stomping a foot to drive home the point. “Quit accusing me of something I didn’t do!”
“Why do you say Regan broke the boat?” Wolf asked his daughter, walking to the edge of the dock, to where the boat was gently rocking.
Lily shrugged a shoulder. “Geno thinks she did. She’s denying she took the boat out, but she’s the only one who could have. Grandpa wouldn’t. He knows how to drive the boat and he knows not to run it out of gas. You didn’t. I didn’t, Tabitha was with Geno, and I don’t even think Fred knows where the dock is. He never leaves the house,” she added. “So, that leaves Regan. Geno said you told him she was going to go over to some of the other islands.”
Wolf put his hands on his hips, and looked at Regan and then Lily with a pained expression on his face.
“Did you go over there?” he asked Regan.
Regan took a deep breath, ready to scream at the top of her lungs. “No. I. Didn’t,” she said, her words slow and pointed. “I was with you last night, remember?” she snapped, shooting a look at Lily, whose mouth had just dropped open upon hearing this last bit of information.
Wolf froze, and Lily’s mouth twisted into a sneer so that it looked like she was about to vomit. Regan immediately felt guilty for giving into her childish need to snap back at a little girl. Her and Wolf’s time alone together was supposed to be private. She shouldn’t have rubbed it in.
Wolf’s eyes had also widened, giving her a look that told her to be quiet. He turned back to his daughter. “Lily, she didn’t take the boat out. There’s no need to accuse her, especially when you have no proof. I know you’re mad at her, but you need to stop this. You’ve been stomping around here for days. You were taught to be more respectful.”
Lily looked as if he had slapped her. “But, Dad!”
He shook his head. “No. This has gone on long enough. The dramatics need to stop. We need to worry about preparing for hurricane season. All this other nonsense is only making things worse. I need you to be the young woman I raised and help us out. Put the other stuff to the side.”
Lily didn’t say a word in response, and Regan immediately felt bad for the girl. She looked as if she was going to cry, in fact. And yet, she was in that awkward stage of life where you couldn’t cry because you were too old to break down in tantrums, but still wanted to cry because you were too young to have a real say in your own life. Just seeing the look on Lily’s face was enough to take Regan right back to those years and the helplessness involved.
“It’s okay,” Regan murmured, feeling guilty for Lily’s almost tears.
“No, it isn’t okay,” Wolf bit out. “Lily knows to respect her elders. This behavior is not going to be tolerated. Got it?” he demanded, giving his daughter a stern look.
“Whatever,” Lily mumbled, and with that she turned her back to the dock, effectively ending the conversation with her father. “Can I help you, Geno?”
Geno, completely oblivious to what had been happening beyond the engine box he was halfway into, mumbled something about needing a wrench. Lily quickly scrambled to grab th
e small toolbox and hand him the requested tool.
“Geno!” Wolf called out.
Geno slid his head out from the box and looked at Wolf. “What?”
“Do you know what the problem is?”
Geno shrugged, his lips pursed. “Not yet. It’s dry, but I haven’t found any leaks yet. I’ll check out a few more things. I think it’s important everyone understands that running this engine completely out of gas can cause serious problems,” he finished, staring directly at Regan.
Rather than bothering to answer, Regan threw her hands in the air and stalked off the dock.
“Wait!” Tabitha called out from behind her, catching up with her just as she climbed the small hill into the trees. “I’m sorry. He shouldn’t act like that. I wish the two of you could be friends. You two are my two favorite people on the island,” she teased. “I want you to be friends, or at least be able to tolerate each other.”
Regan guffawed. “That’s not going to happen. He still blames me for what happened to you back at the compound. Tabitha, he loves you, which is amazing and wonderful and all that. I get it and I’m glad you have the big lug to protect you. But he can’t stand me. I just wish he would understand I would never hurt you. I can be your other protector.”
Tabitha burst into laughter. “You two both act like I’m some helpless little girl. I’m small, but, Regan, you’re like an inch taller than I am.”
“Ha. Not quite, and you know it’s not about the size. You’re so nice, and you deserve to be taken care of. It makes it all the more frustrating that he thinks I’d hurt you,” Regan pointed out. The look on Tabitha’s face was answer enough—she knew how Geno felt, just as much as Regan did, and hadn’t had any luck changing her husband’s mind.
They walked into the trees before Regan stopped moving. “Even if we can’t figure out what to do about me and Geno, tell me what I should do about Lily. I need advice.”
Tabitha shook her head, a sorrowful look on her face. “I don’t know. All I can say is to give her time. She’s angry at the world right now and she’s taking it out on you. I know it isn’t fair, but I also know you’re a strong woman and you can handle it. Don’t be a pushover, but don’t take the bait she keeps throwing out there. She wants to fight with you. She wants to make you into a bad guy, so her dad will dump you. Don’t let her win. You’re smarter than that.”
“I don’t like being the bigger person. Up until a month ago, I was the one who stomped my feet and ran away. Watching her do the same thing makes me feel childish, and I’m a little embarrassed by my behavior, but it doesn’t make it easier to deal with her.”
Tabitha giggled before giving Regan a quick hug. “You two are very different in that regard. Your running away was for different reasons. Now, come on. I’m thirsty, and I still need to turn the soil in that garden patch and get the mint planted.”
“I’ll help you,” Regan said, following Tabitha up to the house.
Once indoors, she stood in front of the fan, lifting her arms and turning around a few times, letting the breeze wash over her. Between the heat and humidity and Lily’s crappy attitude, and Geno’s new alliance with her biggest enemy, the island was anything but paradise. It was quickly turning into her own personal hell. Once again, Regan caught herself longing for the city streets and the anonymity that came with being alone in the world.
6
Regan stumbled into the kitchen early the following morning, wishing like crazy that she could make a cup of coffee to help get her day started. Coffee had been such a simple, basic thing a couple of months ago, she’d never thought twice about it. She’d either made coffee at home or stopped by a coffee shop or convenience store to grab a cup of joe—whenever she’d wanted to.
Those days were, of course, gone, and she would never take coffee for granted again. Today, it was tempting to break into the stash of coffee she knew was in the storeroom, but she couldn’t. Drinking the coffee they had would be akin to eating hundred dollar bills. It was a valuable commodity, and they all knew that people would soon enough be willing to trade nearly any items they had to get their hands on the stuff. The island was well-stocked, it was true, but there would always be things they wanted or needed. The coffee was their little savings account.
It was all about learning what could be lived without and what was absolutely necessary for survival. And as much as Regan felt nearly convinced that coffee was one of those necessary items, deep down, she knew she could live without it. Thankfully, being in the swamp for those few weeks had helped her break the caffeine habit she’d built up.
“Hey,” Wolf’s deep voice sounded out, followed by his arms around her waist startling her.
“Hi,” she muttered, looking around to make sure no one was going to walk in on them.
“You should sleep a little more. I think everyone else is still in bed,” he said, putting the Glock he was always carrying on the counter. She hated the idea of sleeping with a gun. Last night, she’d taken Lily’s empty bed, something she’d been doing more of lately, not wanting to make things any worse between her and Lily by sleeping in Wolf’s room. It didn’t matter much considering Lily never knew who was where in the house because she was outside most of the time.
She shook her head. “I can’t sleep. Figured I may as well get up and enjoy the peacefulness before everyone else starts moving around.”
“Did you sleep at all last night?” he asked, moving to stand in front of her.
She yawned in reply, covering her mouth with her hand. “I don’t think so. Something was tapping on the window most of the night. On top of that, the lightning was so bright that I could see it with my eyes closed…and the thunder, that was horrible. It felt like my insides were being vibrated.”
He chuckled. “You get used to it. I vaguely heard it, but managed to sleep through the majority of the storm.”
She shook her head. “I don’t see how I will ever get used to it. I swear someone was outside the window tapping on it. I even got up and checked, but couldn’t see anything.”
“I’ll check it out. I’m sure it was an overgrown plant or a bird. There’s no one out there. Lily slept on the couch last night while Fred had night patrol.”
Regan gasped. “On no! She could have had her bed! I didn’t know she was going to be inside,” she said horrified she had kicked the girl out of her bed. The last thing she needed was to irritate the girl even more.
He shrugged a shoulder. “It’s fine. She didn’t mind.”
“That storm was one of the worst I’ve ever seen. You say the storm was no big deal but, to me, it would seem there’s a lot more to do to get ready for an actual hurricane,” Regan commented.
He nodded. “There’s always things to do. We’ll start by picking up any fallen branches—if we don’t keep up with storm debris, it’ll stack up quickly and get in the way of things. As for the tapping…I don’t think it could have been a branch attached to a tree that was hitting the window. I have a pretty good space between the house and any tree, but something could have blown onto the roof and been hanging over, hitting the window. If not, we’ll have to chalk it up to it being an annoying bird.”
Regan shook her head. “If it was a bird, I hope it doesn’t come back. But it was a regular tapping, so I don’t think that was it. I’ll go check outside with you. I need to see with my own eyes what kept me up all night. It really had me freaked out. I always feel like there’s someone watching me when a strange sound comes up.”
He gave her a quick kiss. “You could have crawled into bed with me if you were afraid.”
She smiled. “No way. I was not going to risk getting caught in there. I was awake, which means others were probably awake. If something big would have happened, the first place they would have gone to is your bedroom. I cannot imagine the chaos that scene would have caused.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “We’re adults, Regan. This is my house. I think I can do as I please. It isn’t like we’re married—”
He stopped and looked at her, the question on his face.
She rolled her eyes. “No, I’m not married. I told you I’ve never been married. You, on the other hand…” she started.
“That again? Sorry I brought it up.” Wolf turned and walked toward the door, picking up his gun and ending the conversation before it even got started. It was the usual response whenever she brought up his ex-wife. She knew there had been at least one, but he never wanted to talk about it. Regan followed behind him, knowing she wasn’t going to get anywhere on the subject. She wouldn’t argue with his statement about being able to do whatever he wanted, either. But in her mind, it was his house—not hers. She didn’t get the same freedoms he did. Lily had made that very clear.
The ground was damp and a fresh scent graced the air as they moved outside. The morning air felt a little cooler than the past evening’s, too, but Wolf promised her it would be miserable by late afternoon, with cloying humidity. Apparently, he could tell from the clouds. It was going to be a day to take it easy.
Wolf walked around the house, looking at the ground, and then to the trees that were a safe distance from the house. She imitated his moves, trying to see what he saw. No plants grew high enough to reach the windows, she noticed, and she didn’t see any debris drooping down from the roof.
They walked out to the chicken run, finding that the chickens were happily going about their day, clucking and scratching at the ground, looking for unseen bugs. Wolf inspected the fencing and the coop. There had been no damage.
Next, they made their way around the back of the house, to where Lily’s bedroom window was. “Here,” he said, pointing to branches and palm fronds scattered on the ground around the house. “That’s what you heard hitting the window. The wind will blow stuff around. One of those fronds was probably stuck on the roof, hitting the window, and then fell toward the end of the storm. The windows won’t break, though, no matter what hits them or how often. You’re safe inside.”
Survivalist Reality Show: The Complete Series Page 33