Chapter 6
Chapter Six
“The beach is a little dirty since the storm,” Hunter explained when we walked out of the shade of the last palm. “I haven’t cleaned it yet, but you can see why I don’t mind calling it home.”
“Oh wow,” I murmured.
Even with lumps of washed-up seaweed, plastic human trash, and driftwood peppered across the white sand, it was out-of-this-world beautiful.
The crystal-clear blue water and palm-fringed coast was nothing like I had seen before.
It was like what you would see an influencer post with the hashtags #tropicalparadise #nofilter.
Unreal beauty, unbelievable tranquility, and unarguably not my home.
My eyes scanned for the bright green bag with my father’s urn, hoping it was among the washed-up litter. It wasn’t.
I took off my fancy flip-flops and moseyed ankle-deep into the water. Turning my attention to the rocky borders, I asked, “Do you think the Bloody Mary crashed on those rocks?”
“If it had, more debris would have washed up. I think your sailboat sank a few miles away from here.”
My heart broke for the millionth time at the thought of Bambi being lost somewhere out there.
Maybe she caught the life ring or something else from the Bloody Mary, and as Hunter had said, a passing boat had picked her up and brought her to safety.
Holding on to this hope, I willed myself not to cry.
I had to focus on the present moment, on something that was in my control: get acquainted with my island mate and then help him to fix the boat and get the hell out of here.
I walked back to where Hunter sat on the sand next to my shoes, arms resting on his bent knees, and found a spot near him.
“Tell me more about yourself,” I said. “You said your uncle lived here before. Why?”
He plucked a seashell out of the sand, brought his arm around, and sent the shell flying into the water.
“I moved from Atlanta here to work with Edward. I was in between jobs. His business was booming, and he needed help. We worked half a year during the busy season, and the other half we just enjoyed a slow life in paradise. Sleep, fish, snorkel, take it easy. We worked together for five years until he passed away. Now I run a deep-sea fishing business.” He winced, squinting at the dock where his boat’s white side barely peaked above the surface.
“Well, as you can see, my business is closed for the unforeseeable future.”
A breeze blew the loose strands of my hair, gently brushing my face.
I inhaled the salty air, concentrating on the sound of small waves that refused to stop kissing the shoreline and chewed my bottom lip, taking in Hunter’s features.
Perhaps he had a totally different personality from me.
Something or someone rubbed him wrong in his past, and he was so fed up with people that he would rather play Cast Away for six months.
I could see myself leading a slower-paced life on a tropical island like St. John.
I’d have a simple job, like running a trinket shop in a touristy area.
I couldn’t imagine living in total isolation with no connection to other people.
Of course, I spent close to two years barely leaving my house.
But I had work Zoom meetings, and Tina visited me at least once a week, and that should count as staying in touch with the world.
“Sounds nice, but doesn’t it get boring?” I asked. “What about modern comforts? Internet? Electricity?”
Hunter rubbed his freshly shaven chin. Light freckles speckled his cheekbones and all the way past the crinkles by his eyes.
“I’m getting there. I already ordered solar panels.
It will be a nice place once I fix it up.
” He looked over his shoulder at the hut tucked in the woods.
“Keep in mind that this wasn’t my home until recently.
I lived on the Nauti Guy, where I had all the modern comforts a guy needs. ”
“A naughty guy?” I arched an eyebrow. “Sounds like a brothel.”
He chuckled, rolling dry seaweed in his palms. “Nauti like nautical. Edward came up with the name.”
“Edward sounds like a fun man to hang out with.”
“He was,” Hunter said, with a ghost of a smile. “There isn’t a day I don’t miss him.”
“I know the feeling.”
I missed my parents every day too. Burying myself under a lot of work was the easiest escape for me.
It didn’t help I also lived in their house.
More often than not, when I thought grief and I, at last, had called a truce, a simple item like my mother’s favorite margarita pitcher I came across while rummaging around for a Tupperware would send me into the dismal vacuum.
And it had felt like I wouldn’t ever find my way back.
One of the agreements I made with Tina was that while I sailed, she would pack everything up, move it to storage, and then put the house on the market.
If I truly wanted a new beginning for myself, I had to let go of everything that was old me.
I pulled my knees closer and rested my cheek on them, my face to Hunter. “What did you do before you moved here?”
“I was an on-call doc for a mobster,” he said, with a twinkle in his eyes.
I shook my head, suppressing a smile. “No, you weren’t. You said you were a drug driver.”
“That was my job, too.” Hunter laughed, the sound rich and free, and my heart fluttered again. “Before I was laid off, I worked in finance.”
I shifted my legs in the white sand and formed a mound with my feet. “Sorry about that.”
“That’s all right. I didn’t enjoy my job and I’m in the better place now. Anyway, you see those rocks.” Hunter pointed at the sizable stones in the water about three hundred feet away from the beach. “Most of them have poisonous sea urchins. Four out of five people die from their toxins.”
Jesus, I could have died during the storm if a wave slammed me into one of those. I shuddered at that thought. “Do these urchins wash up on the beach?”
“I’ve never seen them anywhere but on those rocks.”
At least now I could go in the water. Knee-high.
“Is there anything else poisonous here?”
He gestured toward the right side of the bay, where a set of dark rocks lurked. “There are snakes. I call them Medusa snakes because they turn you into stone.”
A prickle crept up my spine, one vertebra at a time. I stared at Hunter with my eyes wider than a pufferfish. “What, and I can’t stress this enough, the fuck?”
“Their venom temporary paralyzes you. The bite won’t kill you, but it’s hard to swim when you’re paralyzed.”
“They’re water snakes?”
“Sort of. They live on rocks near the water. Over there. It’s the only place I’ve seen them.
They don’t swim in the ocean or really go on sand.
Until we figure out my boat situation, don’t go there.
But if we’re stuck here for a month or longer, you need to build an immunity to their venom, and the only way to do that is to let them bite you.
” He brought his arms up so I could see them.
“You see these little scars on my forearms and my ankles? The snakes have bitten me a dozen times, and now it just hurts a bit. Like a bee sting.”
I scuffed. “A bee doesn’t leave a scar. How about I’ll stay away from that area.”
“It can save your life.”
“How and why?”
His eyes swiped over my face. “Let’s say something happens to me and I die—”
“Let’s hope not.”
“But if something goes wrong and I’m not around when a snake bites you while you are in the water, you will drown.”
First an outhouse, then a freezing lake instead of a shower, and now killer sea urchins, and fucking snakes.
Out of all living creatures, snakes—and Phill—were my least favorite.
Soon, there wouldn’t be enough fingers to count reasons to despise this island.
My eyes scanned the beach, my mind searched for a better subject, but it kept tripping over the snakes.
What a stupid idea—getting bitten on purpose.
I really hoped that the boat under the water in the bay was fixable, and I wouldn’t be here for long.
We sat in silence for countless heartbeats, my face warmed by the morning sun. I finally came up with a question. “Do you have a family in Atlanta?”
“I never knew my father.” Hunter stared ahead into the ocean. “My mother joined a hippie cult and left me when I was nine.”
“That sucks.” I frowned. “Who did you live with?”
“Edward and Annie.”
“I thought your uncle lived here?”
“Once I left for college, Annie divorced Edward, and he moved out here.” Hunter looked at me. “What about you? Any friends back in Miami?”
“I have a few friends. Well, acquaintances,” I said. My heart lurched, and I added, “Tina is my only real friend. She’s a large part of the reason I’m in this mess.”
Tina was a hand that reached down and pulled me back up—a little forcefully, perhaps, but she didn’t know any other way.
One morning, she barged into my house and literally tackled me to the floor and pulled my sweats off.
I thought she’d gone mad. Tina proclaimed she wasn’t leaving until I agreed to change my life.
She wanted her friend back, and I’d turned into some rat that just sat in the house and only went out to get the mail once a week.
I wasn’t even going grocery shopping anymore.
Thanks to DoorDash and Instacart, everything was delivered to me.
Dammit to hell, those convenient services.
We fell silent again, watching the sapphire water for a few minutes. Hunter glanced at me from time to time but said nothing. Then, at last, he rose to his feet. “Come on, Wonder Woman, I’ll show you my junk.”
I blinked a few times, suppressing a laugh. “Don’t you think we should have at least one proper date and maybe kiss first?”
He opened his mouth and then closed it. A flush rose on his face and he laughed and goddamnit that pulled on the strings of my soul.
“You know what I meant—the washed-up trash,” he clarified, offering me both hands.
“Let’s take a look at your junk then.” I released a short, laughing breath and pressed my small palms into his large ones, my skin warmed at our contact. “It better be impressive.”
He smiled wide, his cheeks showcasing dimples. “I’ve never had any complaints.”