He hustled to catch up. They arrived at the dock, which was now nothing more than a series of gray wood planks nearly submerged in the water. There was no boat, nor were there any other people. Zane now doubted that anyone would be coming for them despite Allison’s family’s concern for her safety. The seas were too rough. It was all too dangerous.
Allison carefully started down the dock and Zane followed right behind her, just in case she slipped. They both pitched to the side with every wave that threatened to swallow up the slick wood planks beneath their feet. Zane again told himself that he would not let anything happen to her. He had to keep Allison safe. Still, he knew that fighting Mother Nature was a losing proposition. If she decided she was going to win, there was not much to be done.
About halfway down the dock, the water was getting even deeper and Allison smartly came to a stop. She took the strip of sarong and wrapped it around the metal pole that moored the structure to the seafloor. On a calm day, this would have been a simple task, but it was pure chaos outside right now. With her hands occupied and the wind threatening to topple her, even while she used her strong legs to brace herself, Zane had no choice but to wrap one arm around her waist, steadying her while pressing his body into hers. She felt too good against him. Too right. And maybe it was the adrenaline coursing through his veins that made him think that if ever there was a time to throw caution to the wind, it was now, when life was hanging in the balance and they had no idea if they were going to survive.
Allison couldn’t take any more of Zane’s hands around her waist. It was too great a reminder of everything she couldn’t have. She pried herself away from him now that the fabric was tied to the dock piling. She ran along the planks, but lost her footing at the very end. With a definitive thud, she landed on her butt. Pain crackled through her hip and down her thigh.
“Dammit!” She scrambled to her knees, embarrassed, frustrated and several other unpleasant emotions. She attempted to stand, but the dock was like a skating rink, and the ocean wasn’t playing nice, either, sloshing water in her face.
“Let me help you.” Zane threaded his hands under her armpits and lifted her to her feet with what seemed like zero effort.
“I can take care of myself.” She twisted her torso and leaped up onto the sand.
“I’m well aware of that. It doesn’t mean I can’t still help you. If anything ever happened to you, Scott would never forgive me.”
Allison was so tired of this. She turned to Zane, planting a single finger in the center of his chest to put him on notice. “I don’t want to hear one more word about what my brother will or will not forgive you for. If I die in this storm—which, for the record, I know I will not—I will take all of the blame. You are officially recused of your bro duties.”
He grabbed her hand with both of his. “But you’ll be dead, so I will definitely get blamed.”
“Then my ghost will haunt you and Scott and make sure you both know it was all me. Now, come on, let’s finish leaving our trail of fabric.” Allison didn’t wait for him to respond and trekked up to the spot where they’d dropped their bags next to the trail that led to the clearing. She tore off another piece of the sarong and handed it to Zane, pointing to a tree branch she couldn’t reach.
He tied it off. “We should go get whatever food we can and bring it up the hill with us.”
She didn’t want to give him any credit at all right now, but that was an excellent call. She hadn’t thought twice about food since yesterday, too miserable over his rejection. “Good idea.”
“Thanks.” He smiled, which seemed like more of an apology than anything.
Allison wasn’t quite ready to accept that from Zane, spoken or otherwise. So she started walking.
They split up back at their cottages, each scavenging for supplies. Allison took a moment to use a pair of scissors she found in her kitchen to cut up the rest of her sarong, but she still managed to return to their meetup spot first with bananas, bread, a flashlight and a blanket.
Zane emerged from his place second. “I brought a bottle of champagne.”
Allison just shook her head. “I’d say you were a numbskull if I didn’t need a drink so badly right now.”
“For what it’s worth, I also brought cheese and crackers, apples and a deck of cards.”
“Great. It’ll be just like summer camp.” Chances were that it might be just as rustic up the hill. She had no idea what they were walking into, whether the solar was connected up there and whether they’d have furniture to sit or sleep on.
They retraced the inland path they had taken yesterday, stopping periodically
