Page 43 of Unspoken Love

Great, she’d need another shower, she thought as she continued. The heat of the day hit her when she stepped out—or rather, practically fell out—onto a sandy beach.

“What?” She blinked a few times, letting the sunlight hit her face as she looked up, way up, the sheer rock face.

She could only see the top of the lighthouse from here. This was a part of the beach she hadn’t been to before. She realized that it was cut off on both sides from the rest of the beaches by massive sheer rock walls.

There was also no way up to the house from here. No way to escape, except back into the hidden passages.

Where had Nate gone? She spun in circles. She was alone on the beach. There wasn’t even another set of footprints in the sand.

Who had caused that shadow?

Feeling a shiver race across her body, she wrapped her arms around herself and quickly rushed back into the shelter of the passageway.

Was someone else in there? Maybe it had just been her eyes playing tricks? A bird or a cloud that had caused the shadow?

She double-checked that she was really alone as she made her way back up to her room, following the route that she had taken.

When she stepped back into her closet, she could clearly hear Nate downstairs, still cooking.

Stripping her now dirty clothes off, she grabbed her towel and stepped back into the shower to rinse off the dust and sand.

When she finally went downstairs, she was wearing another clean tank top and shorts. She’d braided her long wet hair so she didn’t have use the blow dryer, which was too loud for her implant still.

“Hey.” Nate was just setting a large plate of eggs down at the kitchen table. His eyes scanned over her and then he frowned. “You’re bleeding.” He rushed over and touched her shoulder lightly, then grabbed a napkin and held it to the spot. “Did you do this yesterday when you passed out?”

“No.” She took the napkin from him and held it to her shoulder. When she looked at it, it was nothing more than a small scratch. “I must have scratched it on the walls.”

“The walls?” He frowned and started opening cupboards. “I saw a first aid kit…” He found it and then walked over to her with a Band-Aid. “Here.” He nudged her until she was sitting down, then carefully applied the thing to her shoulder.

“The hidden passage. I thought…” she started but stopped. “I found another passage leading down to the beach. To a private beach area.”

He stilled and frowned at her. “You decided to just go exploring a cave? Now? Alone?”

She shrugged. “I thought I heard something. Honestly, the passageway door was open, and I thought that you had taken the time to check it out while I was showering.”

His eyebrows shot up and he was quiet for a moment. “You can show me after breakfast. For now”—he motioned to the food—“how about we eat?”

They sat at the kitchen table while Nate watched her like she might keel over again at any second, which—honestly—made her feel comforted and slightly annoyed that she was so fragile. He cared. Deeply. And she hated to admit it, but that was something she was going to have to get used to.

Chapter Fourteen

“Iswear I didn’t go looking for trouble,” Faye said as Nate set two empty plates on the table and poured their orange juice. Her voice was light, almost teasing, but he could still hear the hint of guilt behind it. “I just thought it was you that opened the doorway.”

He slid into the chair across from her, giving her a pointed look. “I get it,” he said, grabbing a spoon and scooping eggs onto her plate.

“I don’t know how the door got opened.” She tilted her head. “Maybe the wind?” It was the first time that morning she’d sounded fully like herself, and the sound helped ease the knot that had settled in his chest since yesterday. She obviously liked a good mystery.

“You weren’t afraid?” he asked.

“No, but lesson learned.” She motioned to her shoulder. “Exploring ancient secret passageways probably shouldn’t be a solo activity.”

They ate while she filled him in on the tunnel in more detail. Nate had made scrambled eggs using herbs from the little garden beds that sat outside the back door. He had helped Max build the raised beds for his sister so she could plant herbs, tomatoes, and some other basics.

He’d cut thick slices of sourdough and toasted them, then topped each with some of his favorite local honey. He’d also sliced up apples, oranges, and bananas, tossing in a handful of pecans and walnuts for good measure.

Simple yet fulfilling breakfast.

“You’re kind of amazing, you know that?” she murmured between bites, her tone softer now.