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Fully relieved and eager to get back to the house, I went back to the open door of the plane and slid down the blown-up slide once again. It was amazing that the thing had remained attached, but it was built to withstand a lot of abuse. I stood up when I reached the bottom and brushed sand off the back of my pants.
“You didn’t happen to find any booze in there, did you? There’s none in the house.”
The unexpected sound of Hayden’s deep, masculine voice startled me. Clutching my chest, I glared at him as he walked closer, coming from the direction of the house.
“You just scared the hell out of me!” I snapped, but he just grinned, too damn handsome for his own good.
“Feeling jumpy?” he asked, much too cheerfully. “I guess a plane crash will do that to you.”
“But not to you?” I sounded just as annoyed as I felt, but I couldn’t help it. I was feeling on edge, and his easy-going attitude just made me feel neurotic.
“Why do you think I want the alcohol?” he asked with a light laugh. “This isn’t exactly like the vacations my family usually takes.”
I rolled my eyes. “Well, I’m sure that you’ll manage without getting trashed. I doubt it’ll take long for a rescue team to arrive once we contact the mainland.”
Hayden cringed and rubbed the back of his neck. “About that…”
“What is it?”
“I got the electricity back up and running this morning, but the radio wouldn’t work, so I did some investigating. It turns out the storm knocked out the transmitter station, so we’ll have to wait until someone comes looking for us. We can’t call anyone.”
I just stared at him for a long moment as that news sank in, that we were stranded . . . for who knew how long.
“Y-you’re kidding right?” I stammered, praying it wasn’t true. “Is this another lame joke?”
“Hey, my jokes aren’t lame,” he refuted, looking offended, though his blue eyes sparkled with humor. “You get comedic gold from me. But no, I’m not kidding.”
“But I can’t possibly stay here until someone shows up with no contact with the outside world,” I said, feeling my anger rising right along with my frustration. “My mom will freak out if she doesn’t hear from me. Oh my God, she’s probably already so worried…”
“This isn’t my fault, Rylee,” Hayden replied, jamming his hands on his lean hips, his earlier good mood squashed by my irritable attitude. “And you know, I have a family that will be worried about me, too.”
His words shamed me . . . because they were true. I had only been thinking of myself, and that wasn’t right. Even worse, Iwassort of blaming him for the situation in my mind, which he didn’t deserve. He was right about any of this being his fault, and I was taking my fear and anxiety out on him.
I felt my face flush in embarrassment. “Sorry, I just—”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, cutting me off with a wave of his hand. “I’m not thrilled about this either, but we have to play the hand we’re dealt.”
He was right, and I promised myself that I would try not to freak out about our current circumstance. Besides, looking around this island during the day made me realize that we were in a paradise. Storm damage aside, I could see the potential of this place for a vacation destination.
I exhaled a deep breath, resolved to be more . . . civil with Hayden. “So, how are Dale and Sandra doing?”
Hayden grinned. “Better than us. They’ve decided to treat this little getaway like a second honeymoon.”
“You’re kidding,” I said, starting to walk toward the house, carrying my luggage.
Hayden put a hand on my arm to stop me. “No, again, I’m not joking. And you probably don’t want to go to the house right now.”
I frowned up at him. “Why not?”
“I was beingliteral. Sandra is bed-ridden because her ankle is still sore, so the two of them are taking advantage of the king-sized accommodation, if you know what I mean.”
“So, they’re…” I trailed off, looking toward the house.
“Yep,” Hayden said, amusement in his voice. “And they aren’t being quiet about it, either.”
“Oh…”
I sighed and cast my eyes around, taking in our surroundings. I wasn’t sure what to do while I was waiting for them to be done. “How long do you think they’ll be?”
