What I didn’t say was that this wasn’t really an emergency and night was fast approaching.It was doubtful the Coast Guard would send out a rescue boat before morning.There might be time to get to the mainland by dark, but a round trip was out of the question.
I snuck a glance at Kimberly from under the cover of the fallen tree.Then again, would it be so terrible to be stranded here with her for the night?I could think of worse fates.I couldn’t wait to see how the she-god with the sense of humor decided to play this one.
“Do you think they’ll send out a boat this late in the day?I mean, it’s not really an emergency and I imagine it might be safer for them to wait until morning.”Kimberly scratched Diego behind the ears.
Smartanddrop-dead gorgeous.How lucky could I get?“Good point.I guess we’ll find out if and when I manage to raise them on the radio.”I set the system up on one of the flat rocks and turned to give her my best he-man smile as I fit the headphones over my ears.“Here goes nothing.”
The first couple of channels only pulled up static, but with a bit of dial twisting and fine tuning, I managed to connect to the local Coast Guard station.A brief conversation let me know the she-god did have a smattering of compassion.
I turned to Kimberly, trying not to look too smug.“Good news and bad news.Which do you want first?”
“What’s the good news?”
“They’ll be able to send a vet team out at first light to look after the bear.They’re using one I’ve worked with before.I know they’ll be discreet, and I told the dispatcher I’d already been in contact with a conservation officer who wants to keep it quiet for now, so they won’t take that any further.”
“Glad to be useful, but that’s good.”Those adorable eyebrows of hers arched skyward.“So what’s the bad news?”
“The vet team will be on the same boat they are sending out to pick us up in the morning.There’s a lot of shallow reefs around here and since, as you pointed out, we’re not in any danger they don’t want to risk equipment or lives trying to get through to us in the dark.The waters up close around this island haven’t been very well charted, and they think it would be better to approach in daylight.”
“So we have to spend the night?”
Odd.She didn’t sound any more upset at the prospect than I was.“You’re okay with that?”
Kimberly crinkled her nose.“Well, it would have been nice to get home to a hot shower, but I’m sure we’ll be fine.Getting pissed is hardly going to help anything at this point, is it?We can build a fire to keep warm, and the weather looks like it’ll hold.”
I hadn’t even considered weather.Out here on the coast it could change pretty quickly, but right now it was warm and dry.“Fire.Good plan.There are enough dry twigs and sticks around to keep one going.”A nasty thought occurred.“Hopefully there’s some matches in that emergency kit in the boat.”
“If not, we can go grab the ones out of the kayak.I have a drybag in the aft portal with some supplies in it.Matches.Dry fruit.That sort of thing.If he’s lucky, there might even be some kibble in there for Diego.”
I nodded.“The beach would make a good campsite, but if the poachers happen to be anywhere around they’d see a fire out there in the open.I think we better scavenge what we need from our respective boats and find a clearing somewhere farther inland to spend the night.”
“Good point.How far is it to get back to the kayak?”
I squinted thoughtfully.“Not too far, if we follow the shoreline back around.We’d better hurry though.We don’t want to get caught when the tide comes in.”
“Amen to that.What do we need to take from here?”
“The radio.The medi-kit.The emergency kit.”I rummaged around in the boat, coming up with a couple of life jackets, and an emergency flare.
“Life jackets?”Kimberly looked skeptical.
“They make good pillows.Trust me on this one.The ground is going to get plenty hard by morning.”
“Good point.”She grabbed the life jackets and slung them across her back.“How about you get the radio back in its case and I’ll take this stuff?”
“Already on it.”I carefully packed the radio back into its mobile case and stood up.“And we’re ready to go.”
Kimberly looked amused.“Then lead the way.”
I grinned.“Okay then.Follow me.”
I set a steady pace but not too fast.We still had an hour or so of daylight, and it wouldn’t help anything if one of us slipped and twisted an ankle.The dog was a helpful addition to the team, forging ahead of us, making sure no wildlife was waiting in ambush and occasionally leading us on little detours that were mystifying in purpose.
I was pretty sure Diego had received military training at some point.He responded instantly to the hand signals and gestures that military training would have taught him.“Your dog is very well trained.”
“Yes.I think he must have been well cared for at some point.My ex picked him up from a shelter, and he was tagged as a stray that no one ever came to claim.He didn’t have a tattoo, and they couldn’t find a chip either.The shelter staff told me it’s often like that, which is why it is so important to have a permanent ID source on an animal.Tags are all very good and well, but if the dog loses its collar, it loses any chance of finding its way home.”
Woof!
