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“I’ll have whatever you feel like making.” Gunner looked to me. “Whatever he wants, I’ll have some too.”
“Josh, what about some grilled steaks? Does that work for all of you?” I looked around the group. “I’ll bet you two still have room for steak.”
“Always have room for a steak, young man.” Robert put his fork and knife down. “I just finished an appetizer, so I’m ready for more.”
The whole table erupted into laughter. “Should we be worried about Charlie?” I asked.
“No, he went to the main island to see Guy’s daughter. He said he wanted to help out,” Robert answered first. “He doesn’t like sitting around much.”
“Sawyer, lay out your plans and ideas so we can move on this at daybreak,” Gunner said. “So far, all we know is you want to get across the island by land.”
“Full disclosure, I have four or five women coming here for a month. We will have a lot of activities going on.” I stopped when Lou raised his hand. “What is it, Lou?”
“You have five women coming here? What does that mean, exactly?” He folded his hands together, listening. “Are they girlfriends? Are they all for you?”
“Sorry, I’m going too fast. I want to get married. The Hawthorne men have had some good luck finding the right wife through a mail-order bride agency exclusive to the wealthy.” I stopped to look around for responses. “Together with my aunt, four or five women were chosen to come here and see if they are compatible.”
“And how does that bring us to the excursion across the island?” Lou interjected.
“He’s getting to it, Lou, relax and listen, would ya?” Gunner held his hand up to Lou, then gestured for me to continue.
“I’m big on adventure and outdoors, so I thought it would be fun to have a treasure hunt or survival excursion.” I waited to make sure I had them still. “It will be a full day thing with clues and more and at the end we all end up on the other side at the huts. We’ll have a big bonfire and camp out overnight.”
They all stared at me for what felt like forever. “Does everyone understand?” I asked, tentatively.
“One question,” Lou asked finally, “how did you get five women to agree to this? My wife hates outside adventures.”
“It’s easy. They don’t know about it yet.” We all had a good laugh. “Seriously, though, if they can’t or won’t do this, then I know they’re not right for me.”
“That’s not how you fall in love, son. There has to be chemistry, companionship, not just similarities,” Robert added. “That being said, I’m in. If anyone can get this island ready for an adventure, it’s this squadron. Although, the Admiral was always the best at this stuff.”
“Sounds like Charlie is on his way back,” Gunner said into the awkwardness. “Are you planning on doing whatever it takes to make sure these girls are safe?”
“That’s where you come in. I want it to be adventurous, fun, and completely safe.” I smiled. “Can we do that?”
“We can. I think we should make sure they have tracking devices on them and no one goes alone,” Lou said. “In pairs will be okay. Are you wanting walking only, or vehicles?”
“I think I understand what you want.” Gunner stopped Lou. “He wants multiple modes of transportation—ATV’s, kayaks, that kind of thing.”
“That sounds like a fun day,” Charlie said from the edge of the patio. “When do we get started?”
Chapter 59
Jade
I’ll do it. That was the message I left four hours ago. Now I was losing my mind over what I’d done. Her not calling back only made it worse.
Why hasn’t she called me back? Maybe she didn’t get my message. Should I call again?
I paced my father’s room while they came in to do his physical rehab. He was less than agreeable today, so I was glad I was in the room to help when I could. Watching him fight them and go in and out of knowing what was going on was hard enough, but once they left, he fell back into the tremors and sweats.
When will this part of it end for him? What time is it?
“Jade, sweetie, why don’t you go home and shower or just eat some home-cooked food?” Cathy came in to add an injection to his IV. “Dr. Johnson told me to sedate him just a little, so he’s gonna sleep for a few hours.”
“I think I will. I’m feeling all kinds of anxious.” I slid my cell into my pocket and tossed my garbage out. “The usual Cathy, call me for anything.”
“Go on, get out of here.” Cathy pointed to the door. “I won’t be mad if you bring us back something tasty.”
