I give him a glare while he writes on his chart. “You’re not writing that down, are you?”
“No, I’m writing ‘likely elevated due to stress of situation.’”
“Thank you.”
“She must come from quite a powerful family,” he tells me. “No way would the powers that be let normal people come along for a search and rescue.”
I chew on my lip for a second, relief washing over me that I didn’t tell her I love her, or worse, ask her to stay. Suddenly desperate to get away from here, I say, “Can we skip the hospital part? We’re both in good health.”
“No can do,” Pete answers. “You know the protocol on missing persons. We land on the hospital roof or I’ll have my ass handed to me. It’s going to be a total circus when we get there, by the way. This reporter is only one of hundreds that have invaded since you two went missing. Paige must be one very important woman to get all this attention.”
“She is,” I answer. She doesn’t seem to know it, but she’s a very important person, especially to me.
“Well, I best go get Ms. VIP so I can check her vitals too.”
And just like that, the dream ends and reality devours all the hopes I was allowing to grow in my mind. “I need to go grab a few things from the house, if that’s okay.”
“Sure thing,” Pete tells me. “But make it fast. Otherwise it’ll look like I don’t take my job seriously.”
“You don’t.”
“Hey, I found you, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, but it took you almost two weeks,” I call over my shoulder while I walk back to the house. In the distance, I hear her dad’s voice, and he doesn’t sound happy. Although I can’t blame him. I wouldn’t be happy to find my daughter naked with some stranger either.
“…worried sick about you, and you’ve been out here doing God knows what with that … that float plane pilot.”
“Phillip, who cares? She’s alive! Our little girl is alive!” her mom says.
When I get back inside, I let out a huge breath. I am not ready for this. I should’ve figured out how to play this, but I was too busy enjoying the moment. Now I have no idea what to do. I quickly change out of my wet shorts into some dry cargo pants and a t-shirt. Looking around, I see all the signs of a happy relationship. A small vase with bright pink hibiscus flowers that we found when we were out looking for mangoes yesterday morning, our lunch dishes drying on the rack next to the sink, the deck of cards waiting for our next round of poker. I walk over to the table and rip the paper we were using to keep score off the pad, then pocket it.
After that, I toss my things into my backpack and make my way to the bedroom to throw Paige’s stuff in hersuitcase. I’m just zipping it up when she walks into the room. “Oh, wow, you’re fast.”
“Yup. We need to hurry so we don’t get the boys in trouble.” I point to a pair of panties, a bra and a sundress that I left out of the suitcase. “I thought you might want to change into something dry.”
“Thanks.” She gives me an awkward look and gestures to the door with her head.
“Really? We’ve been nude for days and suddenly you’re shy?” I ask, letting the right side of my mouth curve up.
She blushes a little. “Well, now my parents are here. And your Coast Guard friends.”
“Okay, that makes no sense at all, but I’m just going to go with it anyway.” I close the door, then say, “If you want, I’ll turn around, but I’m not leaving. I don’t want to miss a second more with you than I have to.”
I turn and face the corner, listening to the rustling of fabric. “Did Pete check your vitals already?”
“Yes, I’m in perfect health.”
“That’s good. For some unknown reason, my blood pressure is a little high.”
She laughs a little, then says, “I wonder why. Okay, you can turn around now.”
When I do, we lock eyes and just stare at each other. Her gaze is intense, as if she wants to say something important but doesn’t know how. “Listen, I?—”
“Paige? What are you doing?” Her father’s voice comes from the front room.
She sighs and calls, “Just gathering my things.”
I open the door in time to see him on the other side, his jaw set as he looks at me. Somehow, even though I’m a few inches taller than him, he’s able to look down on me. He looks past me to the bed and gestures to the suitcase. “I’ll take that.”
