Barry shook his head and reached across the middle console to take her hand in his.At first, her hand was still before she interlaced their fingers.“Finding you and making sure you were safe was the job.The rest was helping you for my own selfish reasons.”
“Selfish how?”she inquired, rolling her head back on the head rest, a coy smile on her lips.“To keep me out of trouble?”
“To spend time with you,” he corrected.Barry caught Mac smiling out of the corner of his eye.
“To be honest, I’m glad you’re here.”
“Oh yeah.”He smiled, liking that he was wanted.
“Yeah, because I wouldn’t have a clue on how to follow these people or any of that technology stuff.”
Barry’s smile fell.Mac only liked him hanging around because he was handy and not because of him personally?Ouch.
“And,” she added, “I enjoy your company.”
That went a long way in easing his bruised pride.“Even though I don’t know the first thing about sharks?”
“I don’t know the first thing about technology.We’ll both learn from each other.”
“Deal, partner.”
They drove to the north coast and parked in the middle of town in a public parking lot.It was definitely more touristy than the south coastal area.Many of the palm trees had been cut down to make way for two to three-story buildings.Dozens of people walked the streets with shopping bags.
Vendor stands lined the roads with various fares from fish to produce and even palm leave weavers, offering their wares to everyone passing by.
“It’s vastly different from the other side of the island,” Mac pointed out, looking around.
“It is.”It was Vegas-style busy with hundreds of thousands of people walking down the streets and filling the casinos.Not that he spent much time of the strip.He preferred to avoid it when he could, but even outside of sin city, there were still thousands of people.
For as busy as this port was, it was still a fraction of the people he was used to.Though he was starting to appreciate the south side more with only a few people at a time.It was quieter.A different pace of life.No one was in a hurry to get anywhere.It was like life slowed down and took its time.
“So where might Miles go to meet someone?”
Mac gave him a dubious look.“You’re asking me?
“You said you know this part of the island.”
“I do know the island; I don’t know Miles.”
“Alright, let’s start walking around and see if anything stands out.”
“The docks and bars are that way.”Mac pointed down the street to the west.
Then that was where they would head first.Barry took her hand in his and started walking down the sidewalk, looking like a tourist couple.
“Have you always worked on this island?”Barry asked before stopping at a vendor to look at the weaved fish made of leaves to keep up the pretense of a couple milling around and not looking for something in particular.
It took Mac a moment to realize what he was doing before she joined him to point out another one that had been shaped into a round plate.“Since I finished my training.I was at Nassau where a majority of research is done, but there are so many islands to the Caribbean and unexplored areas.I met a boat captain who told me about this island.Once I came here, I never left.”
“Even after the season ends, you stay?”
Mac tugged on his hand to keep walking down the sidewalk.Her eyes scanned the street and cars.If he didn’t know any better, he’d think she was more trained in this scouting than she’d first let on.“I love it here.Travel to the States isn’t easy.I have to charter a boat to the bigger islands.”
“That sounds like an excuse.”
Mac’s lips tightened into a grimace.“It is.Don’t get me wrong, I love my family,” she rushed out to say.“I just don’t always get along with them.No one understands my passion down here, so every time I visit, it becomes an argument.Eventually, I just stopped leaving the island and send cards or have the occasional phone call.”
Barry’s heart went out to Mac.He’d had a similar experience with his family.His family had been supportive of his decision to join the military, but not everyone agreed with his choice.When he lost his arm, more than one person had an ‘I told you so’ look.
