Page 15 of Dauntless

Joe hummed.

We continued along the jetty.

“You know,” I said as we walked, “this really is a beautiful place.”

The sea glittered behind us.Ahead of us, the island rose out of the water, green and vibrant.The white sandstone cottages of the village shone in the sunlight.To the east, on the point, the lighthouse jutted into the sky.To the west, the island’s green meadows vanished underneath a forest of pines.

Maybe dark things had happened here once, but it was peaceful now, and beautiful.

“It really is,” Joe agreed with a smile.

“I mean,” I said, returning his smile with a cheeky one of my own, “apart from the assault and the theft.And the death threats.”

Joking about it made it fine, right?

Look at me, grinning at the fact I could have been murdered last night, and pretending my knees don’t go wobbly the second I think about it!

Joking about it meant that I’d be able to sleep tonight, and not lie awake panicking at every unfamiliar sound.

“Oh, you could get those anywhere,” he said airily, the smartarse.

“What, anyone?Or me personally?”I elbowed him and grimaced.“No, don’t answer that, please.If I can’t leave Dauntless with my laptop in one piece, I’d at least like to keep my dignity intact.”

Joe huffed out a laugh that didn’t quite ring true, and my stomach fluttered as I wondered if it was because I’d mentioned leaving Dauntless.Like, I wasn’t the only one feeling this tentative connection between us, right?It sparked into life every time I forgot to be scared for my life.So, not as often as I would have liked, honestly.Unless I was imagining it, and what I thought was chemistry was actually a concussion combined with some sort of hero worship for the guy who’d made sure I was okay.After all, I hardly knew Joe, and that was fine.But as our gazes caught and held for a moment, I knew that I wanted to know him better than I did.Nothing else about this place made any fucking sense at all, except that part.I liked Joe, I trusted him.

“Eddie,” I heard my dad say in my head.“Son.Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”It was the same thing he’d asked after I’d signed up for footy, moved in with Kyle, that arsehole, when I barely knew him, and announced I was going to be a historian.But he’d been mostly worried about the Kyle thing.“How can you trust someone you don’t even know?”

I ignored Imaginary But Accurately Portrayed Dad.So what if he’d been right about Kyle and I’d been wrong?That didn’t mean I was wrong about Joe.I liked him, and yeah, I trusted him too—possibly—and not just because he was the least awful person on the island.I liked him and trusted him because of what he’d shown me of himself so far, not just because the rest of the islanders had their thumbs pressed on the scales of hostility and made him look great in comparison.Red Joe seemed like he’d look pretty great all on his own.

Joe smiled at me as we walked back down the jetty.Hiccup met us at the end, shaking bursts of water from her coat.

“So who are we going to talk to next?”I asked as we followed the harbour wall around to end of the main street.

“Short Clarry,” Joe said.“Clarence Finch.He’s the mayor.Except…” He checked his watch.“Except it’s almost lunchtime, which means he’ll be down for his nap.”

“You really do know everyone, don’t you?”

“There are three hundred people on this island, Eddie.It’s not that much of an accomplishment.”

“Plus, you’re their king,” I reminded him.

“I’m really not.”He rolled his eyes, but I liked to think his tone was fond.“Come on, we’ll go home and have some lunch, and come back this afternoon to talk to Clarry.”

“Yeah.”I shook my head.“I should check my stuff is dry too, and go and see the tent.It’s not going to storm again tonight, is it?”

“No, not tonight.”

“Good, because it’s going to be creepy enough staying in that tent after what happened last night.”

“So don’t,” Joe said.

My heart beat a little faster.“What?”

“I’ve got a perfectly good couch,” he said, a faint blush darkening his cheeks above his beard.“Actually, you could sleep in Amy’s room if you want to stay.”

“Are you serious?”I asked hopefully.

“Of course.How long are you on the island for?”

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