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Asia turned back to the window. It was still gray and cloudy, with a lot of misty fog hanging low. The surf was still up and churning, and she could see the beach below was littered with driftwood and storm debris.
A few minutes later, the men returned.
“How is it?” she asked.
Stan pulled his poncho off. “Not too bad. A bunch of palm fronds littered everywhere, but that’s to be expected. No flooding up here to be seen. Though that probably doesn’t hold true down in the town.”
Dusty strolled over to her. “As steep and winding as the roads are around here, they’re probably treacherous as hell right now.”
Stan nodded. “May even be some downed trees blocking our way. I can siphon the gas out of the pickup, but I don’t want to use it all. We’re gonna need it to get out of here. Eventually, we’re going to need to go out to get more for that generator.”
“Unless the power comes back on,” Asia suggested, hopefully.
Dusty leaned on the frame of the French doors, staring outside. “Islands like these, it could take a while.” He turned to Asia. “The rain is barely a drizzle right now. Want to see if we can get down the trail to the beach and check it out?”
“I’d love to, if you think it’s safe.”
“Right. Your ankle. I wouldn’t want you to reinjure it.”
“If I’m careful, and hold on to you, I think I’ll be fine.” She stepped closer. “Besides, I’d really like to get some air and see what damage there is.”
“Okay.” He turned to Stan. “Toss me your poncho.”
He did, and Dusty tugged it over Asia’s head.
“You two lovebirds have fun,” Stan teased as they walked outside.
The path was steep, but there were wooden timbers put in as steps and they were solid and not very slippery once they kicked aside the palm fronds. Dusty held her hand and helped her over some large branches and down the steeper areas.
When they got down to the sand, there was a lot of debris washed up, most of it driftwood and seaweed.
They walked along the beach and could see the lights of the city in the distance.
“Looks like the town still has power,” Dusty murmured.
“Guess so. How will you get more fuel for the generator?” Asia asked, her hand in his.
“We’ll have to find some.”
“I suppose that means a trip into town.”
“Probably. Unless we can get a boat ride. The road down might be blocked or hazardous.” He met her eyes. “Whatever we do, I think it’s important we stay together. If Stan were to head out alone, I wouldn’t be able to help him if he went off the road or hit a tree.”
“Maybe you should go with him.”
“That leaves you here alone, and that’s not an option.”
“I would feel better if we all stayed together, like you said.”
“I’ll talk it over with Stan. Maybe we can find a vehicle up here at another property that’s vacant. We could ‘borrow’ the gas out of it.” He grinned.
“You mean steal.”
“Hey, us Navy SEALs learn to be resourceful. Mission objective is all that counts. How we do it isn’t as important.”
“Well, you’re a civilian now. You have to play by the rules just like everyone else.”
He huffed a laugh. “Tri Star doesn’t play by the rules very often. We get the job done any way available.”
