Page 25 of Examining Ella

“The island isn’t too big,” the captain told Bryan. “And there’s folks watching them the whole way.”

Bryan nodded that he was okay with it.

“You aren’t riding, too?” Ella asked.

Just then, a big group of Littles came flooding onto the scene, chatting and giggling as they climbed in the go-karts.

“We’ll leave this for all you cuties,” Bryan said. “You just buckle up tight. Obey the rules. And stay on the path. Got it?”

“Yes, sir,” she said submissively.

“Good girl,” he said with a wink.

The men stepped back, waved goodbye, and watched as the workers came by to ensure all harnesses were safely strapped in place.

“There’s a good place just up there where we can watch if you want,” Captain Reagan said.

“I’ll follow you. Might grab one of those drinks on our way,” Bryan said, looking at a stand up ahead that advertised the fruity concoction of Aruba Ariba.

“Don’t mind if I do,” the captain said.

A moment later, with drinks in hand, they walked through the powdery sand to a little wooden deck that had bar tables and chairs. The go-kart track hugged it, and it would give them a nice view of their little cuties.

That is, if the cuties stayed on the track.

But as it turned out, fate—and a healthy dose of naughtiness—had other plans.

Chapter Sixteen

The go-karts shot forward like rockets, their tires kicking up sand as they left the starting line.

“Woohoo!” Ella yelled.

The island whipped by at a blurring speed. Her hair flew back as she zipped past a palm tree. The track curved left, taking her to the ocean’s lip. She got so close, in fact, that a bit of salty water sprayed onto her, causing her to howl with laughter.

The curve continued a few more yards before leveling out and sending her back toward the center of the island. She wasn’t in first place, but she wasn’t last, either. Winning didn’t matter, though. She was just enjoying the thrilling ride.

For those few moments, she didn’t have a care in the world. She wasn’t concerned about her weight. Her business wasn’t laying heavily on her mind. She wasn’t terrified to be so far away from her kids. She was simply living in the moment, zipping around that magnificent island in the go-kart, living life to its fullest.

She was almost finished with one lap when she saw Bryan and Captain Reagan sitting at a tall bar table, smiling as the Littles approached. They both raised their drinks in a toast.

Ella took one hand off the steering wheel and waved back.

She kept going. People had stopped near the side of the track to watch and cheer the drivers on. A few Littles could be overhead begging their respective Mommies and Daddies for a turn in the cars.

Then Ella overheard something else.

It was the blond woman again. She was wearing nothing but a white bikini and a sheer coverup. Her assets were on display.

“He’s over there,” she told a friend. “Sitting with the captain…”

That’s all Ella caught as she zoomed by.

“Oh, hell no!” Ella said. “She’s not going to move in on him!”

Without thinking about it, she jerked the wheel to the left and veered off the course. A nearby attendant was yelling at her, waving a red flag, but she ignored him and kept going. She spun the wheel into a tight U-turn, sending grainy sand flying up and raining down all around her. She swerved but managed to straighten the vehicle as she headed back the way she’d come. She stayed off the path as to not cause a head-on collision with the other drives. They whipped by to her left, but she was going so fast that they were nothing but a blur.

She needed to hop the go-kart track, though, to cross over to where Bryan and the captain were. She had to reach them before that woman did! She wasn’t sure what the woman wanted, but it couldn’t be good!

---