by A. D. Ellis
Table of Contents
Blurb
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
About the Author
By A.D. Ellis
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Copyright Page
Holiday Island
By A.D. Ellis
No peacocks were harmed in the making of this story.
Rafa’s nautical skills are less than stellar. He’d rather be a full-time artist, but he has a duty to the family business and a fear of standing up to his father and brother.
Carpenter Lucas is determined to rebuild his business after a lover’s betrayal nearly destroyed it. But he runs into a snag when he misses the last boat to the job site.
Rafa offers to take him, but Rafa isn’t much of a sailor.
When they end up on the wrong island, fears for survival gradually give way to an appreciation of the beauty around them—and each other. Rafa insists a holiday miracle will save them, and he teases Lucas for being a Scrooge.
In the end, Rafa’s miracle might come from the last place he expects: inside himself.
Chapter 1
Lucas
“ARE YOU sure this is even the right damn island?” I hefted the carpentry bag higher onto my shoulder for the umpteenth time and winced as my already-pinking skin stung.
My guide, Rafael—but I was to call him Rafa—seemed as unsure as I was. In hindsight, jumping on a boat with this kid who looked like he just walked out of a fashion magazine was probably one of many stupid things I’d done that day. “We’ve been walking fucking forever, and I don’t see a damn soul around here.”
“Look, maybe I parked in the wrong area. I’m sure the rest of the crews are just on the other side of the island.” Rafa pushed a chunk of floppy mahogany hair from his eyes. “And if someone hadn’t showed up late to his job, neither of us would be in this mess.”
The kid was hot as fuck, but damn he had an attitude. I wasn’t in the mood to focus on my being late as our problem.
“Parked? Did you just say parked about a boat? You don’t park a boat. Jesus, man. I knew you seemed a little novice at the helm, but had you ever even sailed that boat?” Not that I had any experience with boats. But blaming the kid was easier than admitting I’d fucked myself before this job even started.
“I grew up on that boat.” Rafa spun around to face me, causing me to practically bump into him. Hands on hips and huffy, his stance dared me to continue questioning his skills.
“Doesn’t really prove anything, but whatever.” There was no way Rafa had much experience navigating the boat, but the argument would go nowhere. “I’m here to fix up some long-ago-built island resort. Let’s just find the other crews so I can do my job, get paid, and get home.” Ever since my fiancé had screwed me over by stealing away much of our carpentry business, I was desperate to land jobs and build up my solo name.
“Got big holiday plans with the family?” Rafa turned back to leading us through the forest.
Or was it a jungle if it was on an island? I was happy to be in the shade of the trees; my pale, freckled skin wasn’t a fan of the sun.
I ruffled at the mention of family. “Not that it’s any of your business, but no.” I was actually thrilled to be away from home. A year ago, my ex walked off with all of our business money and most of our customers. I’d been blindsided. My parents weren’t exactly supportive with their continued comments insinuating that they’d never trusted Robert. The fact that this job was to take multiple weeks leading up to the holidays was music to my ears and only part of the reason I jumped at putting in a bid.
“No family?” Rafa paused in his walking and turned big brown eyes my way.
“No family I want to have plans with.” I wiped sweat from my brow and switched the damn bag to the other shoulder as we continued walking. I likely should have left the bag on the boat until I knew what we were dealing with. But I knew there were several other contractors bidding for work today, and I didn’t want to show up empty handed. Besides, the vast majority of my bigger, more important tools were waiting for me on the boat.
Rafa was quiet as he led us through the vegetation. His designer sandals and fashionable shorts and shirt would have been perfect for a night out with friends, but definitely not made for trekking across an island. I was glad I’d opted for jeans, work boots, and a tank. Actually, the tank was likely a bad idea, but I’d reapply sunscreen when we met up with the other crews.
“You know, I think I totally get that.” Rafa stopped abruptly—again—and turned to face me. “The family thing.” He pushed that damn hair from his eyes. “I have a huge family. My great grandparents came to the United States from Mexico. My great grandfather went to work in a shipyard. He eventually moved his way up to management, which wasn’t something that usually happened for immigrants at the time, but he was a hard, honest worker. By the time my grandfather was eighteen, they switched their attention to the tourism route. They had a small fleet of cruise ships and various other boats. The Hernandez family has been in the cruise and tours business ever since. Our Holiday Island tours are a huge draw every year.” Rafa paused in his rambling as if trying to remember the point of his story. “But, even though my family is huge, I’ve never really fit in. So I get not having family you really want to spend time with at the holidays. I mean, I love them, and I’m lucky they provide for me and allow me to work for them, but I don’t really mesh well.”
Against my better judgment—I blamed it on the sad puppy dog eyes on Rafa’s face—I dropped my bag and asked, “Why?”
Rafa took a deep breath. “Well, my dad doesn’t ‘agree with my lifestyle.’ God, I hate when people say things like that. Being gay isn’t a lifestyle or choice. But, anyway, he doesn’t like the fact that I’m gay. He points out how wonderful my straight older brother is all the time. Married to a woman, manager of the company, a gaggle of kids. My brother is as much of an ass as my dad. I think they only let me work for them because my mom demands it.”
I felt bad for the kid. I did. I understood it. “My parents aren’t on board with me being gay either.”
Rafa’s eyes lit up, and a smile filled his face as he did a fist pump into the air. “Yes! My gaydar is on point. I knew you were gay.” He held his fist out for a bump and urged me to return the gesture. “Come on, homos unite!”
I rolled my eyes and gave him the fist bump he seemed to need before we could continue. “Whatever,” I grumbled but had to bite back a chuckle. Rafa was a breath of fresh air I didn’t realize I needed.
“I don’t have a lot of friends.” Rafa turned to continue our journey, and I picked up my bag to follow. “I mean, I have plenty of hookups and friends I drink and party with. But to say I have real friends, I really don’t. It’s good to meet a person and even better to know he’s gay. You have a boyfriend?” Rafa threw a glance over his shoulder and stammered, “I mean, just out of curiosity, not that I’m hitting on you or anything. I mean, I’d totally hit on you if you wanted me to, but this doesn’t seem like the right place, ya know?”
Rafa nervous and—flirting?—was even cuter than Rafa trying to pretend he knew what he was doing.
“Had a boyfriend. Fiancé actually.” I gritted my teeth when I thought about how my life had revolved around Robert and our business and our future. “But he had different plans. We built up our carpentry business over five years. Then one day he was just gone. Not only did he take the money and most of our customers, he’d been fucking one of our employees behind my back the whole time.” My heart hurt but not from missing Robert. It hurt from the anger and betrayal. And the loss of all the hard work I’d put into that business. I took a dee
p breath. “That’s why I really need this job. I’m working hard to build up my solo business, and getting my name out there on bigger jobs is really important.”
Rafa nodded. “Yeah, I can see that. Let’s find the other crews, then.”
Twenty minutes later we emerged from the jungle on the other side of the island to a very empty beach.
“Man, we’ve walked the entire diameter of this island. The only thing we’ve seen is a dilapidated old tree house that was likely built about twenty years ago. Probably the same time anyone last stepped foot on this island. Let’s get the boat and figure out where we’re actually supposed to be.” I didn’t want to make Rafa feel bad; I’d grown to like him during our foray across the island. “The other crews are probably getting a shit-ton of work done, which means more money for them and less for me.”
Rafa frowned. “Dammit, I’m really sorry. I thought for sure this was the island they were working on. Yeah, come on, let’s get back to the boat and find the right island. There are several around here, only a few miles apart, I’m sure we’re close.” He turned to head back into the woods. “No need to go back through, I guess. Let’s just walk the beach until we get to the other side.”
“Yeah, that works.” I dropped the bag and dug into the pocket to find my sunscreen. “But I gotta put more of this shit on, or I’ll blister within ten minutes now that we’re out in the sun.”
Rafa eyed the bottle in my hand. “Oh, yeah, sure. Good idea. You don’t want to be working with a bad burn.” He waited until I’d reapplied, and then we took off along the beach.
An hour later, I was hot, tired, and pissed. And two trips around the island had proven we were screwed.
“Damn it all to fuck. We’ve walked the perimeter of this island twice, and there’s no fucking boat.” I shouldn’t have yelled at Rafa, but my day had started like shit and was only getting worse.
“I mean, I thought I put it into Park. Can boats roll away?” Rafa gave me a glance that told how worried he was.
“Did you anchor it?” I worked hard to keep my voice level.
“No?” Rafa bit his lip.
I ran a hand over my face and focused on the horizon. “Well, that’s probably why the goddamn boat is floating about a mile out.” My shoulders slouched, and all the hopes I had for this job floated away like the boat.
Chapter 2
Rafa
“FUCK, MAN, I’m so sorry.” I held my head in my hands and pushed the sweaty hair off my forehead. “My dad is right. I’m a worthless piece of shit. I can’t do anything right.”
“Nah, don’t think like that.” Lucas sighed, probably trying to make me feel better, but I knew he was pissed. “I mean someone is bound to miss you pretty soon, and they’ll send someone for you, right?”
I shook my head. “No. No one knows where I’m at. Last I told my dad and brother was that I was going to spend some time in town with some friends for a few days.”
Lucas looked at me in shock. “No one knows you took the boat out? No one knows that you were bringing me out to the island?”
I shook my head again. “I mean, I left the obligatory note, but Dad and Caesar are at the job site. Whoever is covering the office will eventually find it.” My brows raised hopefully. “Doesn’t someone know where you are?”
Lucas fisted his hands in his strawberry-blond hair and growled. “No. No one knows where I’m at. Since Robert left the business, I work by myself. No one knew I was coming on this job. I didn’t even tell my mom and dad because I was afraid I wouldn’t get it and let them down. Again.” He yanked his phone from a pocket and squinted at the screen in the bright sunlight. “Of course, there’s no damn signal way out in the middle of the ocean.”
“Well, shit. What are we going to do?” My gaze traveled out to the boat that seemed to be even farther away. The radio on the boat was only helpful if we had access to it.
“The way I see it, there’s only one thing we can do.” Lucas gazed at me pointedly.
For a brief moment I waited for him to go on, but when he continued to stare at me with his eyebrows raised, I realized he was referring to me doing something.
“Oh no,” I started. “I’m scared to death of deep water. I’m not swimming out there to get that boat.” My head shook like a bobblehead, and I backed farther away from the water with each word I spoke.
“Look you seem like a good kid,” Lucas began, “but you got us into this mess, you need to get us out of this mess. It’s probably already too late for me to get this job. I need to get off this damn island so I can get other jobs.”
“Fine!” I shucked my sandals, my shirt, and my shorts and stood at the edge of the water, already breathing heavily. “If I have an anxiety attack halfway out and I die, I’m blaming you.” I began wading into the water. Luckily it was warm. I had barely made it to where the water was above my waist, and my heart was already about to pound out of my chest. Seriously this wasn’t just fear; I had an actual phobia of deep water. But Lucas was right: I had gotten us into this mess; I needed to get us out.
“Have you ever swum a great distance?” Lucas hollered from the beach behind me.
I stopped wading deeper and looked back, keeping my balance as the gentle waves rocked against my back. “No!” I called out. “Usually when a person has a fear of something, they stay away from it.” I felt like I was going to puke. Or hyperventilate. Or puke, then hyperventilate.
“Do you think you can swim that far?” Lucas continued his incessant questioning from the safety of the shore.
“I don’t know. I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?” I let my fear turn to anger toward Lucas when in reality my anger should have been directed at myself. I carried on wading from the beach and scanned the horizon for the boat. In the next hundred feet or so, the water would be above my head and I would have to start swimming. My teeth began to chatter, and I felt like I was about to swallow my tongue. Was the roaring in my ears from fear or from the vast open sea about to swallow me whole? I stood paralyzed as soft waves knocked into me. In my head I could picture myself lifting my feet and beginning the strokes that would take me to the boat. But my body was completely frozen. I couldn’t have started swimming to the boat if a gun had been pointed at my head.
“Rafa! Get out of the water!” Lucas’s voice came from behind me, but the words didn’t really register. “Rafa! I’m not kidding. Get out of the fucking water now!”
In a complete daze brought on by extreme fear, I turned slowly back toward the land and saw Lucas waving his arms as his words floated over the waves. I didn’t understand why he would be calling me out of the water and back toward the shore when our boat, the only way we could get off the island, was floating about a mile out on the sea. But I began a zombielike walk back to the shore.
When the water was about knee-high, Lucas splashed into the surf and grabbed me by the elbow before pulling me to dry land.
Adrenaline and anxiety mixed in my body and left me feeling light-headed. I dropped to the sand in wet boxers and pushed wet hair from my face. When my brain finally registered that I needed to breathe, the air was pulled into my lungs in huge gasping gulps.
“Holy shit, man! Did you see that? Did you see them?” Lucas was yelling while he scanned the water and pointed.
“See what?” I asked feeling bone tired and ready to collapse into a deep sleep right on the warm sand.
“Sharks, man! There are actual sharks out there. I swear to God I saw sharks.” Lucas gestured at the water. “I saw at least five dorsal fins as you were making your way out.”
“Oh, hell no! Look, you gotta know I want to get off this island as much as any other stranded gay man. Lack of clothing, proper skin care, good food, and fabulous music is a nightmare. But me plus deep water already don’t mix. Throw in sharks, and that’s definitely not going to happen.”
“I completely understand.” Lucas dropped to the sand, beside me. “You were really brave for at least trying. I can’t even swim, th
ere’s no way I would’ve even attempted getting out there to the boat.” Lucas hung his head but not before I could see the blush fill his face.
Glad to know I wasn’t the only one not able to save us, I shrugged. “Nothing to be ashamed of,” I said as I stood and brushed the sand from my wet boxers. “Damn, I hate sand.” Crooks and crevices filled with sand was not my idea of a good time. Plus, sand and salt did nothing for my hair. I glanced at Lucas. He was a total hunk. All muscled and burly with that pale, freckled skin and soft strawberry-blond hair peppering his body. The setting and amenities sucked, but the company was maybe just right.
“I guess we should head into the middle of the island, see what kind of water and food we can find, and figure out a plan. What do you think?” Lucas thumbed back at the jungle.
“Yeah, probably our best bet. There has to be water on this island or no one would’ve built the tree house. And with all the vegetation, there has to be food of some sort. Guess we get to play Swiss Family Robinson for a little while.”
Not gonna lie. I had screwed up. Big-time. We were fucked. And I was seriously scared shitless. But I flashed hottie Lucas a killer smile, and we began our journey into the jungle.
Chapter 3
Lucas
SHIT, SHIT, shit.
I missed out on a pretty big job.
I was stranded on some tropical island.
My fellow castaway was fucking gorgeous. Cute as fuck. Adorable. Funny. And pretty darn easy to talk to.
Okay, maybe that was only a double shit rather than a triple shit.
But the first two on the list were slightly overshadowing the last one.
We needed shelter and water. And food. Then we needed a plan.
“Let’s head to that old tree house. Maybe we can fix it up enough for a make-do shelter.” I spoke somewhat absentmindedly as we trekked through the vegetation, still thinking more about water and food and fire. “We need to get a plan in place, at least for tonight, before it gets dark.”