Andrew groaned.“Do we have to?”
Oliver bit down on his annoyance.“Yes.I’m sorry you’ve not been well, but you can see what can happen if the wreck isn’t guarded.”
“Someone could come while we’re in town now.”
It would take an incredible amount of cheek to raid the wreck in the middle of the day, but Andrew had a point.
“I’m sticking around for a while,” Dot said, coming out of the cabin.“I’ve got some work to do out here.”
Oliver frowned, but it was Sam who said what he was thinking.“You shouldn’t be out here by yourself.”
“I’ll be fine.My team knows where I am.”
“Sherlock can stay with you,” Sam insisted.
“Sherlock needs to help you with the boat,” Dot replied.
“I’ll stay.”Oliver regretted the words, the moment they came out.Stupid.His feelings for Dot were what had got them into this mess.Still, he pushed forward.“My team can pack my bag, and we already have enough groceries for the week in the fridge.”
Dot scowled.
“Great idea,” Sam agreed.“If Dot needs to return earlier, she can bring you back with her.”
“I’m doing police work.Oliver can’t come with me.”
“Let’s chat.”Sam motioned Dot away from the others and they stood at the stern of the boat, murmuring.
Although Sam hadn’t been in Retribution Bay very long, he seemed to know Dot well.Oliver shook his head and smothered his jealousy.Sam had also told him about his partner, Penelope, and his tone was always full of love and admiration.
Finally they returned and Dot said, “Get what you need.You’re coming with me.”If her happiness about the idea could be rated from one to ten, hers would be minus ten.
Could she be any clearer in her disinterest?
Her body might react to him, but she didn’t want him.
He needed to move on and stop hurting himself like this.Oliver grabbed his backpack, giving instructions to his students.
“It won’t take us long to prepare the boat,” Sam said as he handed them both a sandwich.“We should be back in a couple of hours.”
“Great.See you then.”He climbed into the police boat and grabbed the rope Sherlock threw him.They motored towards one of the other islands.“What do you need to do?”
She barely glanced at him.“I didn’t have time to finish searching the islands the other day.”
Despite the sun blaring down on them, the chill factor on the boat was extra high.Oliver sat in the seat next to Dot, but small talk would be too difficult over the engine noise, and he wasn’t sure what he wanted to say.
Dot checked the depth of the water, peering over the bow to spot coral as they approached the first island.
“Want me to be spotter?”
She nodded.“I want to circumnavigate the island.”
He climbed onto the bow and, using hand signals, navigated them around the first island with its sandy shore and dense bushes, and then onto the next, slightly larger island, further away from the shore.He peered onto the beach.“Are those footprints?”
Dot had binoculars out and was scanning the island.She nodded.“See if you can find us a way to the shore.”
Further around on the end of the island, he found them a gap in the reef.As the boat rubbed against the sand, he jumped off, pulling it further up, hoping Dot wouldn’t strand him here.
Dot handed him his pack as she joined him on the shore.“You can stay here.”
