Page 10 of All Along

His brow wrinkles in confusion. “Um, pretty sure we’re on the island now.”

“I’m not here permanently.”

“You’re going to lick your wounds here and then leave? Harsh.”

“I’m not licking my wounds.”

He raises an eyebrow.

“I’m healing my wounds.”

He nods. “Good.”

“And then I’m returning to active duty.”

He motions to my leg. “With your injury?”

I grit my teeth as another spark of pain erupts in my leg. “Yes.”

“Don’t you want out? Aren’t you done with putting your life in danger?”

I thought I was done. I thought I was ready to return to the island and prove to Maya that I’m the man she wants. But then the enemy showed me I was wrong. I’m not ready yet.

I grunt since I’m not explaining any of my past or present to Hudson. He’s only inside this cabin speaking to me now because I’m an idiot who didn’t lock my door behind me.

“Message received.” He stands and makes his way to the door. He opens it but glances over his shoulder at me before leaving. “The love of a good woman can cure a lot of what’s ailing you.”

I scowl at him. He doesn’t have the first clue what’s ailing me. He’s a football legend. He doesn’t know how it feels to be a nobody. To be told you’ll never amount to anything. To be denied the one thing you want in life.

He sighs again before shutting the door behind him.

His visit has taught me one thing. Lock the damn door.

Chapter 5

“It’s cute how you think I’ll give up.” ~ Maya

Maya

Iglance down at the food on my kitchen counter. Fried chicken? Check. Caramel popcorn? Check. Bags of M&Ms? Check. Plus, bread, cheese, and cold cuts.

This should do Caleb for at least a few days. I know he hasn’t been going grocery shopping – someone would have seen him and I would have heard about it via the smuggler’s grapevine – and he hasn’t been getting his groceries delivered. There is no grocery delivery service on Smuggler’s Island.

I pack everything into a picnic basket. Time to commence Operation Find Out Why Caleb Thinks Everyone In His Life Is Better Without Him. Step one. Get him to talk to me. Step two. Think of a better name for this operation.

I carry the picnic basket to the car but before I switch on the engine, I check the Where Is Sammy? app. Sammy, the seal, isn’t as much of a bother this time of year. When it gets chilly and the tourists don’t visit, he tends to behave but it’s better to be safe than sorry.

There have been no sightings of him on the road toHideaway Haven Resort.Good. I’m off.

To make things clear, I am not a stalker. Did I snoop around to find out where Caleb is staying? I did. But it’s for his own good, which disqualifies me as a stalker.

I turn onto the unpaved driveway leading to Caleb’s cabin. Actually, the cabin belongs to Hudson. He bought all of the land surrounding his resort to ensure no one would build a housing settlement nearby. A useless endeavor since the smugglers on the island would never have allowed a housing settlement anyway.

I hit a bump and my head nearly crashes into the ceiling of my car. I slow down to navigate the rest of the way to the cabin.

The tension in my shoulders releases when I reach the cabin and notice a truck parked in front of it and the lights on inside. Caleb’s home.

Don’t get me wrong. I would have dropped the food off for him regardless of whether he was home or not. But I want to see him. I want to feast my eyes on the man I’ve been missing for twelve long years. Letters, emails, and the extremely rare Facetime chat are no substitute for the flesh and blood man.

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