Chapter Seven
Ryland
I looked up at the sky. If there really was a deity up there, she definitely had a sense of humor, and right now she was amusing herself by making sure everything that could go wrong with my day, did.
The boat that I’d been counting on to get Kimberly and me safely back to the mainland before dark had the trunk of a tree resting across the center of it.
A very large tree.
And it wasn’t really resting across so much as crashing through the center of the boat.
I knew Kimberly had sighted the boat when she let out a loud gasp.
I glanced over at her. Hands on her hips, she shook her head as she surveyed the damage.
“You managed to tie your boat beside the one tree on the entire island that was just ready to fall down? There hasn’t been the slightest whisper of a breeze today, let alone enough of a wind to blow down a mature tree.
It was probably felled by an overachieving chipmunk.
Now how are we going to get off this island? ”
“Good question.” I clambered awkwardly down the hill to the boat, favoring my injured arm, and pulled the radio case out of the bow.
Opening it up, I checked the equipment inside.
Surprisingly, at least that had survived the attack by tree-zilla.
“The radio is still in operating condition. Give me a few minutes to set it up and I’ll call the Coast Guard for help. ”
What I didn’t say was that this wasn’t really an emergency and night was fast approaching. It was doubtful the Coast Guard would send out a rescue boat before morning. There might be time to get to the mainland by dark, but a round trip was out of the question.
I snuck a glance at Kimberly from under the cover of the fallen tree. Then again, would it be so terrible to be stranded here with her for the night? I could think of worse fates. I couldn’t wait to see how the she-god with the sense of humor decided to play this one.
“Do you think they’ll send out a boat this late in the day? I mean, it’s not really an emergency and I imagine it might be safer for them to wait until morning.” Kimberly scratched Diego behind the ears.
Smart and drop-dead gorgeous. How lucky could I get? “Good point. I guess we’ll find out if and when I manage to raise them on the radio.” I set the system up on one of the flat rocks and turned to give her my best he-man smile as I fit the headphones over my ears. “Here goes nothing.”
The first couple of channels only pulled up static, but with a bit of dial twisting and fine tuning, I managed to connect to the local Coast Guard station. A brief conversation let me know the she-god did have a smattering of compassion.
I turned to Kimberly, trying not to look too smug. “Good news and bad news. Which do you want first?”
“What’s the good news?”
“They’ll be able to send a vet team out at first light to look after the bear.
They’re using one I’ve worked with before.
I know they’ll be discreet, and I told the dispatcher I’d already been in contact with a conservation officer who wants to keep it quiet for now, so they won’t take that any further. ”
“Glad to be useful, but that’s good.” Those adorable eyebrows of hers arched skyward. “So what’s the bad news?”
“The vet team will be on the same boat they are sending out to pick us up in the morning. There’s a lot of shallow reefs around here and since, as you pointed out, we’re not in any danger they don’t want to risk equipment or lives trying to get through to us in the dark.
The waters up close around this island haven’t been very well charted, and they think it would be better to approach in daylight. ”
“So we have to spend the night?”
Odd. She didn’t sound any more upset at the prospect than I was. “You’re okay with that?”
Kimberly crinkled her nose. “Well, it would have been nice to get home to a hot shower, but I’m sure we’ll be fine. Getting pissed is hardly going to help anything at this point, is it? We can build a fire to keep warm, and the weather looks like it’ll hold.”
I hadn’t even considered weather. Out here on the coast it could change pretty quickly, but right now it was warm and dry. “Fire. Good plan. There are enough dry twigs and sticks around to keep one going.” A nasty thought occurred. “Hopefully there’s some matches in that emergency kit in the boat.”
“If not, we can go grab the ones out of the kayak. I have a drybag in the aft portal with some supplies in it. Matches. Dry fruit. That sort of thing. If he’s lucky, there might even be some kibble in there for Diego.”
I nodded. “The beach would make a good campsite, but if the poachers happen to be anywhere around they’d see a fire out there in the open. I think we better scavenge what we need from our respective boats and find a clearing somewhere farther inland to spend the night.”
“Good point. How far is it to get back to the kayak?”
I squinted thoughtfully. “Not too far, if we follow the shoreline back around. We’d better hurry though. We don’t want to get caught when the tide comes in.”
“Amen to that. What do we need to take from here?”
“The radio. The medi-kit. The emergency kit.” I rummaged around in the boat, coming up with a couple of life jackets, and an emergency flare.
“Life jackets?” Kimberly looked skeptical.
“They make good pillows. Trust me on this one. The ground is going to get plenty hard by morning.”
“Good point.” She grabbed the life jackets and slung them across her back. “How about you get the radio back in its case and I’ll take this stuff?”
“Already on it.” I carefully packed the radio back into its mobile case and stood up. “And we’re ready to go.”
Kimberly looked amused. “Then lead the way.”
I grinned. “Okay then. Follow me.”
I set a steady pace but not too fast. We still had an hour or so of daylight, and it wouldn’t help anything if one of us slipped and twisted an ankle.
The dog was a helpful addition to the team, forging ahead of us, making sure no wildlife was waiting in ambush and occasionally leading us on little detours that were mystifying in purpose.
I was pretty sure Diego had received military training at some point. He responded instantly to the hand signals and gestures that military training would have taught him. “Your dog is very well trained.”
“Yes. I think he must have been well cared for at some point. My ex picked him up from a shelter, and he was tagged as a stray that no one ever came to claim. He didn’t have a tattoo, and they couldn’t find a chip either.
The shelter staff told me it’s often like that, which is why it is so important to have a permanent ID source on an animal.
Tags are all very good and well, but if the dog loses its collar, it loses any chance of finding its way home. ”
Woof!
Diego let out a loud, deep-throated growl.
I immediately dropped to the ground, motioning Kimberly to do the same.
The dog was staring intently out at the ocean, which didn’t give me a warm, fuzzy feeling.
It had already been the day from hell, my arm was starting to feel like it had been on the losing end of a fight with a meat grinder, and I really didn’t feel like going another round or two with those damn poachers.
Right now, I’d just as soon shoot them all and to hell with due process of the law. Enough already.
We stayed perfectly still, staring out at the endless expanse of ocean. It was probably nerves that made us all jump so badly when the whale breached, sending spouts of water high up in the air.
Diego let out another throaty growl, and both Kimberly and I broke out in laughter as the tension broke. A whale. Of course, the dog would consider the large mammal a threat.
The dog gave us a reproachful look and plunked himself down on his haunches.
“I’m sorry, fella.” Kimberly raised her arm to give him a scratch behind his ears. “We’re all a little bit overwhelmed here, and we thought the bad guys had come back. A whale is a much better alternative.”
“Much better.” I agreed one hundred percent. “How about we go get those emergency supplies and find ourselves a place to bed down for the night?”
“Sounds like a plan to me.” Kimberly got back to her feet, and motioned Diego to resume his position on point.
* * *
Kimberly
With the supplies in his well-stocked medi-kit, I helped Ryland disinfect and properly bandage his arm before finding a comfy spot to sit down out of the way.
Ryland used a tarp to improvise a roof over the sleeping area.
He’d padded the ground with a layer of pine needles, covering them with the solar blanket from his emergency kit.
As promised, the life jackets were being pressed into service as pillows and a second solar blanket would do to cover us while we slept.
I just had one question, and I wasn’t sure how to ask without sounding like an idiot. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what I hoped the answer would be. “Ryland?”
He looked up, his eyebrow lifted. “Yes?”
I avoided meeting his gaze. “How come there’s only one bed?”
That irresistible grin lit up his face. “Sadly, it’s not what you might think, or what I might hope for. One of us needs to keep watch so we’ll take turns sleeping. Hence, only one bed. It’ll keep warm when we switch positions.”
I tried to hide my disappointment. After all, Diego was a damned good watchdog. He’d let us know if there were any threats.
The big mutt looked like he’d read my mind. He sat in the center of the clearing, his huge ears swiveling at every sound from the surrounding bushes. I was sure he’d give us plenty of warning if anything dangerous came within hearing distance of our little camp.
I tried to sound matter of fact. “So, you and I are going to take turns standing guard?”
He glanced at his wrist. “Yes. I’ll take the first turn since if the poachers come back, it will probably be sooner rather than later. It’s almost dark now, so I’ll wake you up at midnight and we can switch.”