Page 74 of Ace

Rosamie hugged her tight again. “Thank you.”

“I’ll be in touch. Keep that phone.” She hated to leave her again, but the urgency of her and Dex’s situation weighed on her.

Then she and Dex worked their way through the camps on their way to the forest and to the boat. “Didn’t we just do this?” She laughed.

“I’m having déjà vu too. Maybe we shared a dream?”

She shook her head as she climbed into the boat and shifted the trees aside. “Do you think we’re okay out there on open water?”

“I have no idea.”

She shrugged. “Okay let’s get out of here.”

They pushed out onto the open water again. Everything was smooth. The sky was overcast, and the water was empty.

“I suspect it’s calm here because there is all kinds of stuff going on in the news. The papers, social media, the pundits, the powers that be, everyone is in an uproar.”

“True.” She leaned back in her chair, dipping her paddle in. “And here we are.”

“Besides the fact that you got thrown under a pile of rubble from a bomb explosion, we got the better end of the deal.”

She snorted. “Yeah, I don’t know. But I’m ready to put this whole experience behind me. I feel like the villagers are safe now. At minimum, there will be no more international threats coming from the place.”

“I agree. I would be surprised if Mantuk tried that again, at least on Panau.”

“And the villagers know what kind of situation they’re in. Hopefully they’ll steer clear if they can.”

They paddled further out. “How far is it again until we’re out of the no-fly zone?”

“It’s a ways. Why don’t you rest. I can paddle until we hit that current.”

“I forgot about the current. I can paddle until then.”

“I have meds in my rucksack.”

“I’ll be after those in a bit too.”

They were quite for twenty minutes or so. Dex was sifting through all his thoughts, trying to find a way they could make their very separate lives work out.

“You know, I liked being back in Virginia for a bit.”

“Oh yeah?”

“There’s a lot of work to do, and I think it helps when I’m there. Remember all those donations?”

“Right. I forgot about that whole night. What are you saying?”

“I could hold off on my personal visits to the islands and just run things from the States for a while.”

He studied her back. “Gi.”

When she turned around, he saw she was sincere.

“But why would you do that? You love this. You just told me how important this is to you.”

“Do I love it? I was just thinking, while I was covered in rubble, that maybe I don’t love it as much as I thought.” She laughed. “There are plenty of college grads who would eat this stuff up. People who don’t want to settle down.”

“Hold that thought.” He lifted his paddle and the boat kept going. “Perfect timing. We’ve hit the current.” He stood to make his way to his things. “I have something to show you.”

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