Dane poked among the bottles and almost shyly picked out a root beer. Mira cracked open a fruit-flavored soda, and they sat side by side on the rocks while they drank them. Dane sipped from the bottle with his eyes half closed in bliss.
"I don't remember the last time I had one of these," he admitted.
"How do you get supplies out here? Don't tell me your pet orca brings those too."
She immediately worried that the gentle teasing would make him clam up, but instead he smiled. "No, I have a friend who comes out on a boat sometimes and brings me things I need. I don't want to have him bring out anything frivolous, though. It's a long trip, and he's doing me enough of a favor just bringing staples and necessary things."
"Sounds like a good friend." It relieved her to hear that he wasn't completely isolated here.
"He is," Dane said. His smile was beautiful and wistful. Then abruptly he drained his root beer and jumped to his feet. "Mira, may I show you something?"
"Of course," Mira said.
She put their trash in the cooler, replaced the lid to thwart the hungry-looking gulls hanging around, and followed Dane. At first she thought he was headed for the path to the cabin, but instead he carefully made his way down the steep side of the island, just above the rolling waves.
"Careful," he said. "It can be slick." He reached a hand back and offered it to her.
Mira accepted the help. After a few minutes of scrambling, they abruptly came to a cleft in the rocks. It was so narrow she would never have seen it from above, and she doubted that it was possible to even spot it from a boat unless you happened to be directly in front of it. Even then, it would look like little more than a seam in the rocks.
However, it was high enough above the water to be dry. Dane stepped into it. Mira, surprised, followed. It really was a little cave, so narrow she felt wedged in, but it went back into the island for quite a way.
"There's a candle here," Dane said, guiding her fingertips to a small shelf in the rock. "And a lighter. In case you need to go farther in. It doesn't gothatfar back, but it's deeper than it looks."
"Did you make this?" Mira asked. "Or is it natural?"
"Natural. I found it when I was out swim—er—exploring. It's my hiding place. Now you know about it too."
It was the sort of thing that a child might say when playing pirates, but Dane said it with perfect seriousness that sent a chill down her spine. He sounded like a man who genuinely believed that he might need a place to hide someday.
"Thank you," she said. She wasn't sure if that was the right response, but she thought it might be, because his tense shoulders relaxed. "I appreciate you trusting me with this."
They backed out of the cave into the sun. The glinting sunlight on the water seemed even brighter now, but Mira found it easier to retrace their steps now that they were climbing up instead of down. She could see how Dane had taken pains not to leave traces, so she did likewise, carefully bending twigs back into place and trying not to let her shoes scuff the moss on the rocks.
As they regained the trail, Dane abruptly began to speak.
"My buddy, the one I told you about, with the boat—we have a signal. He taps the horn twice as he approaches the island. If someone doesn't do that, it's not him, and you should hide. They might be fine, just tourists or fishing boats. I've seen a few of those. But if they're not, you don't want to find out the hard way."
It sounded completely paranoid. Yet he didn't act like the solitude had driven him crazy. He appeared perfectly sane.
"But why?" Mira asked reasonably. "Why wouldIbe in danger?"
Dane thought about that, seeming to be seriously considering the question. "You probably wouldn't," he said. "But I hate to take the chance."
It was honest—up to a point. But that wasn't enough.
"Dane, listen," Mira said, and he gave her such sudden attentiveness that she could tell he was, indeed, listening. She had never met anyone like him before, someone who paid attention with every line of his body. "You're asking too much. I'm willing to take a lot of things on faith, and I accept that you have secrets you don't want to talk about. But if a boat comes by, a tourist or someone else who can get me off this island or take word of my survival to my family, youcannotexpect me to run and hide without you giving me a reason why."
Dane's face locked down a little. "Yes," he said quietly. "Yes, you're right. I'm sorry. Can we—go back to the ocean to talk about this?"
They were still under the trees, where it was dark and shady. She hadn't noticed, but now realized, that he had been a little more reserved since the cave. An abrupt flash of intuition hit her:He likes open places, not enclosed places.
"Yes, of course," she said.
They returned to the cooler. Mira fished under the sodas and took out two beers. She wasn't generally much of a drinker, but she did like to have a cold beer now and then. Dane took the chill, water-beaded bottle with a nod of thanks.
"Oh, heck," Mira said. "There's no opener."
"I've got that." Dane cracked the top off his, then did hers.
