“It’s gorgeous,” I murmured, a little overwhelmed by the beauty of nature around me.
Jake looked over at me with a smile. “Let’s hope it’s full of fish too.”
Hiking up our pant legs, we waded out into the water. It was surprisingly warm, like a bath. Makeshift spears in hand, we wandered out in separate directions. Divide and conquer: that was our best chance at success. The clear water made it easy to spot what was around me, and so far, that was nothing. I stepped lightly on the sandy floor, careful to not disturb the sand too much so I didn’t disrupt my vision. My eyes grew weary as I studied the water for any sign of movement, and I had to remind myself to blink. I tried not to think about how vitally important our quest for food was—that just made me anxious. Instead, I pretended it was only a bit of sport, a lazy afternoon spent fishing in a refreshing cove of beautiful water. Yes, that was far less stressful.
I waded deeper into the water, until my pants were soaked to my midthigh. I instantly regretted wearing them, but taking my pants off around Jake seemed like a bad idea. I glanced over at him to see if he’d had any luck yet. He had his spear poised high like mine, ready for the attack. As I watched, he plunged it into the water. It came back empty, but it heartened me that he’d spotted something. That meant there really were fish in here.
Returning my attention to the water around me, I swept my gaze back and forth, looking for anything out of the ordinary. And that was when I spotted it—a swirl of sand and a streak of color. I drove my spear into the water, even though I knew I wasn’t fast enough to catch the darting animal. My spear struck sand instead of flesh, so I quickly pulled it out again and continued the hunt.
My stomach churned with hunger as the day wore on, and as Jake and I came up empty time and time again, I tried not to let this futile attempt at fishing frustrate me. But I’d spotted—and missed—at least a dozen fish. They were so fast, so at ease in their natural environment, that catching them this way seemed impossible. We needed rods, hooks, and fishing line, or maybe a net. Anything but these caveman-like spears.
Just as I was about to yell across the cove to Jake, tell him this was pointless, I spotted movement close to me and struck. I was fully expecting to hit the ocean floor again—that was all I’d been able to hit so far—so when I felt the spear pierce something soft, I froze with shock. The water swirled with red. The vivid color jerked me back to the moment, and I yanked the spear out of the water. A brightly colored, medium-size fish was stuck to the prongs. It was a beautiful creature, and I felt guilty for ending its life, but it was food, and I was so hungry.
“Jake! I got one!”
I looked at him as he looked at me, and even from our distance, I could see his radiant smile. He pointed to the beach, and I waded back with my victory. My first of three. “You’re a natural at this,” Jake said when he finally gave up for the day and joined me. He hadn’t managed to catch any.
“I guess they just like me,” I said, small giggles escaping me. The idea of something in my stomach made me feel lighter than air.
“Understandable,” Jake said, smiling warmly. “You’re very likable.”
Warmth rushed through me as I locked eyes with him. There was a look on his face that jolted my heart into overdrive, made my breath quicken and my nerves tingle with anticipation—pride, admiration, and something much fonder.
Tension built between us, until Jake nervously cleared his throat. “We should, uh, get back to camp,” he said, indicating back into the woods. “Cook these babies up.”
The sparks between us fizzled, filling me with relief. But then the realization that our battle for food was only half-won made me frown. “How do we do that? We don’t have any matches.”
Jake grimaced. It was an expression that didn’t fill me with confidence. “We’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way . . . and pray it works.”
God, I was so sick of doing things the old-fashioned way. But we didn’t have a choice. “Great. Lead on.”
Chapter Ten
Jake trudged back to camp, and I followed him. There was a strange blend of gloom and happiness rumbling in my empty stomach. I wanted to believe we could do this—because look at everything we’d managed so far—but somehow this seemed like the hardest task of all. But on the bright side, once we were able to tackle building fires, everything else would fall into place, and life would almost seem easy again. And then maybe we could address the fact that there was fire between us, roiling under the surface. I was worried that it might explode on us if we weren’t careful.
We began building a firepit when we got back to our “home away from home.” Using our hands, we dug out a clean spot, then ringed it with large rocks that took forever to find. I was getting really worried about how long everything was taking—because what if lighting the fire took hours? I wanted to eat sometime today, and if it took too long, I just might eat the fish raw. Then I’d probably throw up.
Eventually we had everything we needed stacked in the firepit. All that was left was a flame. After finding a dead, dry log and a stick, Jake blew out a long breath. “Okay. Nothing to this,” he said to himself. “Just work it back and forth in your palms, gently blow when there’s a spark, stick it in the pocket of logs when there’s a flame. No problem. You got this.”
I smiled at his pep talk. “You do have this. Not a problem.”
Jake gave me a half-hearted smile, then started rubbing the stick between his hands. I eagerly stared at the connection point. I think a part of me expected the magic to happen instantly. If he could actually do this, I just might tackle him in a bear hug, then kiss him all over. Maybe not. That sounded far too appealing. I would definitely give him a squeeze, though.
I stared at the moving stick so long I started falling into a trance. Disappointment began flooding me as time marched on and nothing happened. Maybe it wasn’t actually possible to start a fire this way. Maybe it was all lies and false hope. Maybe we truly were doomed. No. I needed to keep the faith. This would work.
Not able to watch anymore, I decided to get the fish ready. When this did work, I wanted to be able to plop them right on the fire. Using the stone knife Jake had fashioned this morning, I removed the heads, scaled the fish, and opened up the bellies to take out the guts. It was difficult without the proper equipment, but I managed to get the job done.
I’d just finished when I heard Jake make an excited sort of squeal. “Oh God, oh my God . . .”
I looked over to see a thin stream of smoke curling into the air. As I held my breath, Jake gently blew on the scant embers he’d created through friction. I quickly said every prayer I knew. The small spark suddenly morphed into a bright flame. Jake quickly and gently laid it in the waiting hole under the logs. He blew on it some more, encouraging the tiny flame to taste the logs above it. The flame obeyed, and soon a healthy fire was licking the logs, eating its meal as voraciously as we were about to eat ours.
“Oh my God,” I said, finally releasing my pent-up breath. “You did it!”
I dropped my rock knife next to the dismembered fish bodies and flung my arms around him. “You saved us, yet again,” I murmured, feeling tears of relief prick my eyes as the distinct scent of a campfire filled my nose.
Jake squeezed me back, then gently pulled away to look at me. “I didn’t save us alone, Valerie. You saved us too. You got the food, and without that, we’d have nothing.” His praise filled me with joy and peace, and again, that feeling began swelling between us as we stared at each other. Comfort, attraction, anticipation—it was thick in the air, nearly as obvious as the smell of the smoke. Moments passed, and he was still staring at me with those penetrating green eyes, still holding me tightly. I wanted to say something, but there was nothing to say. Jake belonged with Kylie.
I timidly stepped away from him, and he awkwardly dropped his hands to his sides. Throwing on a tight smile, he exhaled a shaky breath. “Let’s, uh . . . eat,” he said, waving at the fire.
God, I couldn�
�t wait to eat. And because of us, that was finally going to happen. I just needed to let go of the memory of his arms around me so I could focus on cooking, and that was surprisingly difficult to do. It had felt so right being in his arms.
Our dinner was the best thing I’d ever tasted. Better than any upscale restaurant I’d ever been to, better than anything I’d made with Chef Sinclair. When we were done, I finally felt satisfied. It was amazing how having food in your stomach could make everything else seem okay.
Jake let out a content sigh once he was done. “That was so good,” he said, smiling over at me.
“The best,” I agreed.
His smile quickly shifted to a frown. “It took forever, though. We didn’t have time to set up a bonfire beacon.” He glanced up at the dark treetops and sighed.
“There’s always tomorrow,” I said. That was one thing we had in abundance—tomorrows. But Jake was right about the fishing taking a long time. “Maybe we should split up the tasks. I’ll go fishing tomorrow, while you set up the beacon.”
His eyes lowered back to mine. “I guess that makes sense. You have proven to be better at it than I am.” His grin turned crooked, charming. “All right, sounds good. Tomorrow I’ll work on starting a really big fire. Should be fun.”
Laughing at his comment, I tossed the inedible pieces of my fish into the fire. The flames were mesmerizing, the heat comforting. I felt like I could have stared into the shifting colors for hours, but the day had been surprisingly exhausting, and I was definitely ready for bed.
I excused myself to use the ladies’ room, then crawled into our makeshift bed. Jake took care of the fire, then joined me. It was a little chilly after the warmth of the fire, and I found myself scooting into his body, my entire side touching his entire side. I wished he would put his arm around me, pull me in close. Purely for his body heat. Okay, not for that reason. Even though I knew it was wrong, I craved a connection to him, longed for contact. But that road just led to heartache. And I had enough aches at the moment.
With a sigh, I turned onto my side, away from him.
“Good night, Valerie,” he said into the quiet of the night.
Even though I didn’t want it to happen, my lips curled into a smile, and I inched my back closer to his. “Good night, Jake.”
I almost felt normal in the morning. Even more so when I finally realized I could do the one thing I’d been wanting to do for a long time. “After fishing, I’m going to take a bath,” I stated, a bright smile on my face.
“Be careful,” Jake responded, a crease on his brow. “We don’t know what types of wild animals are on this island with us.”
“I will, but I think it will be fine. It’s not that far from camp, and so far, we haven’t come across anything on this trail.”
“Yeah, but I thought I heard pigs last night.”
My grin widened. “Pigs? Like bacon?” That sounded amazing.
He grinned at my enthusiasm, but it quickly fell off him. “Wild pigs are actually quite dangerous. You don’t want to come across a group of them without protection.” He rubbed his jaw as he thought. “I should make some spears out of stone, just in case.” He paused to nod. “Yeah, I’ll do that after making the bonfire.”
He seemed excited to get started on his day, eager to be doing something useful. I wondered if that was because of the situation, or if he was just a genuinely productive guy. There were things about Jake I just didn’t know yet . . . things my sister probably knew. But I supposed now was as good of a time as any to find out.
“So how do you know about all of this survival stuff anyway?” I asked as I sat on a rock beside him.
He cringed as he looked up at me. “Does it seem like I know what I’m doing? I suppose that’s good, but I’ll be honest—I’m winging it.”
That wasn’t exactly the answer I’d wanted to hear, but I had to give him points for being honest. And “winging it” was working so far; we’d made it through some pretty dire situations.
Jake shrugged as he watched my reaction. “I’ve always been pretty good at problem-solving, and I watch a lot of documentaries on stuff like this.”
I raised an eyebrow at that. “TV? That’s how you’re keeping us alive?”
He grimaced again, and I laughed. Lightly laying a hand on his arm, I told him, “So long as it works, it doesn’t matter where you learned it.”
Jake silently studied me, his smile warm, his eyes soft. The look on his face pulled at something inside me, an ache for attention, a need to feel appreciated and desired by him. It was getting harder to ignore the ache, but for the sake of my sister, I had to.
Removing my hand from his warm skin, I told him, “I should go get started on that fish. I do not want to go hungry again. That sucked.”
Jake made a jerking motion, like he’d been under a spell and was suddenly snapping out of it. The reaction made a flicker of that ache return, but I forcefully squashed it down. Jake shifted his gaze to the dormant fire. “Yeah, I should go too.” His eyes returned to mine. They were concerned this time. “Please be careful, okay?”
I gave him a smile as I stood up. “Always.”
After leaving his side, I made my way to the lagoon. I thought I’d be trying to spear some food all day, but it went easier this time. I was getting better already. Once I had enough fish for us to eat for the day, I went back to camp. Jake was gone, working on the bonfire, presumably. Even though we were in the middle of a forest, camp was quiet without him. Lonely.
I wanted to go bathe, but I really had no idea what to do with the fish. I couldn’t exactly hold them all day. Underneath something heavy seemed the safest place for them, so I wrapped them in some large leaves, then stacked a bunch of rocks on top of them in a pyramid shape. That wouldn’t keep out truly hungry animals, but maybe they’d still be there when I returned from the waterfall.
When I got to the picturesque pool around the gushing waterfall, I instantly began stripping off my clothes. The fresh water was calling my name. I paused before ripping off my shirt and instinctively looked around. With the way things often were between Jake and me—with the longing gazes and anticipatory tension—I didn’t want to be caught getting naked by him.
From the edge of my vision, I saw something odd in the sky. Smoke. A lot of smoke. I smiled as I realized that meant Jake had successfully lit a bonfire beacon. The chances of anyone seeing it were dreadfully low, but it did give me a surprising amount of hope. At least we were trying.
Feeling better knowing exactly where Jake was, I tore off my shirt and then the rest of my clothes. I tiptoed into the water, carrying my clothes with me. Maybe I could try washing some of the grime off against some rocks. Not a great solution but better than nothing. The water was freezing, much colder than the relatively warm ocean water, but it was a hot, humid day, and it felt wonderfully refreshing against my bare skin. When the water was up to my waist, I held my breath and sat down, taking my clothes with me. My entire body being enclosed in the frigidness made a small squeal escape me, but then I sighed and relaxed back into the water. It was heaven.
I took some time to attempt to clean my clothes with large rocks on the bottom of the pond. It didn’t make much of a difference, but I felt like they were cleaner. After wading over to the shore, I set them on some rocks to dry, then dived under the water and swam to the deepest part. I ran my fingers through my hair as I floated on my back, washing away the sweat, grime, and leaves. I instantly felt more human.
After relaxing for a few moments, curiosity began to eat at me. Could I stand directly beneath the waterfall? Use it as a shower? I swam over there but soon discovered it was too deep. Wondering how deep it was, I dived under the surface, hands outstretched, searching for the bottom. I didn’t touch the ground, but I did feel something . . . odd. Almost branch-like, but harder, like stone. Maybe it was something Jake could use as a tool. Making spears out of stone sounded awful. Grabbing the odd material, I tried to surface. I couldn’t. The thing was stuc
k. I resurfaced for some air, then tried again.
This time, I felt more of the oddly hard, thin material. I felt up the strange surface until I felt something that was soft and felt strangely like . . . clothes. My eyes shot open as panic flared up my spine. The water was murky here, dark from the depths and the swirling mud from the waterfall current above me, but I could clearly make out the silhouette of a skeleton.
Priding myself on not screaming, I shot up to the surface, then swam far away from the long-dead body.
“Valerie? You okay? You look freaked out.”
I jerked my head around to where Jake was standing at the edge of the pond, some stout branches in his hand. For a moment, surprise that he was here—while I was naked—made me forget my discovery. My heart started pounding, and an odd desire to have him with me absorbed my every thought. Shaking my head, I forced aside the feeling and told him what I’d found. “There’s a body in the water. An old one.”
His eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed in disbelief. “Really? Are you sure?”
He dropped his branches . . . then stripped off his shirt. It was hard to keep treading water as his bare body suddenly came into view. Sweet Jesus, I hadn’t been ready to see him half-naked again in all his defined-ab glory. And that tattoo . . . he was too far away for me to read it, but the sexiness of the script was making me feel overheated. “What are you doing?” I sputtered.
“I’m going to go look at the body.” He paused, like he’d just now realized I wasn’t wearing any clothes. “I won’t look at you . . . I promise.”
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