Page 11 of Escape to the Sun

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Heather couldn’t rememberthe last time she’d been so relaxed and completely at peace. It was a feeling that was so completely foreign to her. Even when she’d been on the Cassiopeia with Cass and Archer, something still held her back. She tilted her head back a little farther, letting the wind grab the strands of her hair and whip them around her head.

She had no idea where Casa del Sol was, which meant she was totally at the mercy of Ash and wherever he wanted to take her. That probably should have worried her to some degree. Getting into a boat with a total stranger who, besides being extremely sexy, she knew nothing about. As far as she could tell, the man didn’t even own a shirt. Not that she was complaining about that detail.

Yes, she should probably be a little more concerned about her safety, but she wasn’t. Not even a little bit.

If it was up to her, she would ride in that boat for the rest of her life if it meant feeling the way she did at that moment.

She turned around, wanting to somehow tell him that, or share her happiness with him. All Heather could manage was a smile, but it said more than any of the words she could have come up with.

The skin next to his eyes crinkled when he smiled. It was the look of a man who’d seen things and knew how to appreciate the good. For an instant, he looked as if he was going to say something, but then the boat turned sharply. Heather let out a yelp as she bobbled on her perch and turned around again.

The boat was headed toward the shore and a thick growth of mangroves. They were going full speed. She was no expert on boats, but she didn’t have to be to know that if they hit the trees, it would not be good.

She whipped around to tell him to slow down, but he held up one finger to silence her, moments before the boat slowed, and he pointed over her shoulder.

“Look.”

She did.

Directly in front of them was a tunnel through the trees. Ash navigated expertly through the opening and the boat fit perfectly. Once inside the tunnel, Heather tipped her head back and gazed up at the branches that rose up to interweave together like arms creating a perfect canopy over their heads.

She couldn’t see them, but birds sang all around them as they drifted through the tunnel.

“This is…I just…”

“It’s pretty amazing, isn’t it?”

“I don’t feel like that’s enough.” Her voice came out on a breath as a brilliant, blue butterfly floated past. “Ash, it’s…” She turned, the words evaporating on her tongue.

“I know.”

She didn’t want to wish away a second of the magical little tunnel, but it wasn’t nearly as long as she wanted it to be. The boat emerged from the other side of the tunnel and without saying another word, Ash sped up, whisking them away from the mangrove tunnel and toward Casa del Sol.

It only took them another few minutes of weaving through the mangrove maze before a long dock came into view. Soon, Heather could see the grass-thatched huts on the shore, with a few more peeking through the trees farther up the hill.

“Welcome to Casa del Sol,” Ash said behind her.

* * *

“Welcome, welcome.”

The woman running down the dock to greet them must have been in her sixties, but dressed in a flowing skirt with an impressive variety of shell necklaces draped over her chest and the bikini top that was only a slightly darker shade than her deeply tanned skin, she defied her age.

“I was getting worried, Ash.” She scolded him as he pulled alongside the dock and handed her a rope. “It’s getting late.”

“You worry too much.” He hopped out of the boat and gave the woman a big hug. “If you didn’t have such a big order this time, it wouldn’t have taken nearly as long.”

“And I suppose you’re going to tell me you weren’t enjoying the entertainment in town?”

Heather bristled at her choice of words, which was ridiculous considering she’d only just met Ash. She grabbed her backpack and stood as Ash extended a hand down to her.

“You must be Heather.” Before she could even fully set foot on the dock, the woman wrapped her in a surprisingly strong hug. She smelled like a mixture of earth and sea, with a faint undertone of sweet jasmine. Heather immediately felt at home in her embrace, like a familiar auntie. “I’m so happy to have you here, love. I’m Sherri.” She squeezed one more time.

Heather pulled back to look into warm, brown eyes that she could tell at once were full of a lifetime of experience. “I’m so happy to be here.” Surprise tears pricked at the back of her throat. She swallowed hard to keep them away.

“Why don’t we leave Ash here to unload and I’ll show you around Casa del Sol?” She wrapped a thin arm around Heather’s shoulders and guided her down the dock, directly into the first thatched building.

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