Page 43 of Escape to the Sun

9

The next morning, the clouds were quickly gathering to the west as Heather did her best to load her guests and all their things into the boat as quickly as possible. It was a lot harder to say good-bye to Sandy and Miranda than she thought it would be. Probably because they’d been with her for two weeks, they were her first real guests, and their departure was more rushed than she’d like it to be. That was why it was so hard. It wouldn’t always be so hard.

At least that’s what she kept telling herself.

“I’m so sorry you have to go like this.” Heather hugged Miranda tight. “If I would have known yesterday was going to be your last day, we would have done something special.”

“It’s okay.” Miranda smiled and her whole face lit up. “This absolutely was the best vacation.”

“It was,” Sandy agreed. “I have never felt so totally relaxed and at peace with life. This place is pure magic.”

“Agreed.”

Heather hugged Sandy next. “I am going to miss you both, so much. Thank you for being my first guests and letting me break myself in on you.”

Miranda waved her away. “You don’t need any practice at all. You’re a natural.”

“Isn’t she?” Ash walked by the dock and dropped a quick kiss on her cheek as he moved on, loaded down with more bags.

As soon as he was out of earshot, or maybe not, Sandy leaned in and whisper-yelled, “If I wasn’t married, I’d definitely give you a run for your money.”

“You wouldn’t stand a chance.” Miranda gave her friend a playful shove. “Haven’t you seen the way he looks at her?”

“True.” Sandy clutched her hands together and pretended to swoon. “Maybe one day…”

“I’ll be sure to tell your husband that you’re keeping your options open.” They both laughed and gave Heather one more hug before they climbed into the boat.

“We should get going,” Ash called across the dock to her, where he was adjusting a rope. The wind was starting to pick up and she knew he was right. If they didn’t get going soon, the weather might get too wild for a safe trip. As it was, it was probably going to be a wet ride into town.

“Just give me one second.” She held up a finger and ignored Ash when he tried to disagree. She turned and almost ran into the new couple who’d only just arrived and now had to leave so quickly. “I’m so sorry your trip was cut short,” she said to the woman. “It’s really too bad.”

The woman waved her hand in dismissal. “It’s just the weather and Lord knows we can’t control that.”

“Besides,” her husband said. “It’s all part of the experience. We’re at the mercy of this beautiful world.”

Heather nodded. It was kind of a hippie way to look at things, but they were right. “Well, I’m sure glad you got at least one day out here.”

“Us too.”

Heather left them to load up into the boat and ran down the dock into the kitchen to find an old tarp or even some garbage bags to provide some type of shelter from the open boat. After a quick dig around, she grabbed some old plastic tablecloths and turned to run back out to the boat where everyone was waiting. With her hands full, she didn’t even look up until she ran straight into a very solid and very familiar chest.

“Slow down.” Ash laughed and tightened his arms around her shoulders.

Her body reacted immediately to his touch. It was insane to her that she could feel both completely safe and very much in danger by his proximity. She looked up into his eyes. “I wanted to make sure I got this to you, and I know you were getting ready to leave.”

He kissed her forehead gently. “I wouldn’t leave without saying good-bye.”

She knew that. Well, she thought she knew that. She also knew that she was about to prepare for the first storm she’d ever had to deal with at Casa del Sol and she had no idea what to expect.

“I do have to get going, though. The wind is getting serious and it’s going to be a rough trip.”

She opened her mouth to interject, but he silenced her with a quick kiss before he continued. “It’ll be safe. Don’t worry. Just rough. And rainy.”

Heather held up the tablecloths in a lame gesture. “It’s not much. But maybe they’ll help keep you a little dry.”

Ash smiled. “They’ll be great. At the very least, they might be able to keep some water off the bags.”

He took Heather’s hand and they walked outside again. The wind whipped her hair against her face. They were running out of time. Ash took the tablecloths from her and handed them down to the passengers, who tucked them around their bags as much as possible. He turned to her, held her face in her hands and kissed her hard. “You need to close up the shutters and secure the swim ladders, okay? And then all you need to do is stay warm and dry and ride it out. I’ll be back tomorrow.”

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