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“We built a fire to boil water,” I tell him. “We found a few things to tide us over.”
“Good.” He turns to the taller man with a short-clipped gray beard. “This is Dr. Jarvis, the attending physician for our cruises. Do you mind if he checks you out?”
Bailey and I glance at each other. “Sure,” I say. “Bailey has a cut on her arm, but we found the first aid kit.”
The four of us walk back to the fire. Dr. Jarvis listens to Bailey’s breathing and checks her pupils. He peels back the gauze. “We’ll treat this once we’re back on board.”
“Are we riding back with you to the ship?” I ask.
“No choice. We can’t bring anything bigger with the dock as it is,” Mory says. “Nobody will be visiting this island for quite a while. You’re lucky you’re okay. We didn’t know what we’d find.”
“We took cover in the hut,” I say.
Dr. Jarvis turns to it. “The one without a roof?”
“Better than the one that totally collapsed.” I gesture to the pile of bamboo that once housed the bathrooms.
Mory shakes his head. “This was a colossal oversight. We will be reviewing our evacuation procedures to ensure we account for all passengers.”
“That’s good to hear.” While the doctor asks me to breathe deeply, Bailey heads into the shed to gather her things. She’s hanging onto one of our towels. A souvenir, I guess.
“I’m going to take a few pictures,” Mory says. “Document the damage. Then we’ll head back.”
Dr. Jarvis, Bailey, and I walk to the boat while Mory wanders the beach, snapping shots with his phone.
It’s a tight fit, but we squeeze on the two seats as Mory pushes the small boat out into the waters. Dr. Jarvis drops the motor back into the sea once we’re deep enough.
Gradually, the ship grows closer and closer.
Several people wait on the side dock where the larger boat is moored to the yacht.
A few are in Blue Sapphire uniforms, but I also recognize Sarah and her husband Caleb. Gloria stands nearby, her hands tightly clasped together.
When we’re in earshot, Sarah calls out, “What the hell, Rhett! I knew you were sick of us, but seriously!”
I reach over to squeeze Bailey’s hand, then realize this is going to be new to the staff. Everyone aboard that ship knows I fired her. That she sneaked onto the cruise. They will expect that we’ve been at each other’s throats the whole time.
Probably no one could have predicted what actually happened on that island.
It already feels like a far-off dream.
We approach the open side of the ship, and Mory tosses the lead line to the crew. Within seconds, we are up against the dock, and the crew members reach for Bailey to help her out.
“My word,” Gloria says. “I thought you were both dead.”
Bailey turns to me as I step onto the ship, her eyebrows raised. She knows our rescue will be a big deal.
I try to downplay what happened. “It was just a bonus experience,” I tell Gloria. “Only available for the boss.”
“And stowaways,” Bailey adds.
But as everyone watches us, I can see her changing. The presence of people we know, who have opinions about our histories, who might be making judgments about our situation, has altered the easy camaraderie from the island.
“I was so damn worried,” Sarah says. “When you wouldn’t answer the door, then you didn’t show up in the Bahamas, I insisted we go back and check your room.”
So, she was the one to figure it out.
I keep an eye on Bailey, who seems to be shrinking in on herself. “Thanks,” I say. “Without you, we would’ve been there another day at least.”
