I looked around for my keys. ‘I’ll be there as soon as I can.’
‘No, it’s cold. Stay put. I can come and see you. I just need Jim to take me for a quick detour first.’
‘Where?’
‘Hospital. But before you panic, it’s nothing. Just a dislocated shoulder.’
‘That’s not nothing,’ I growled at him sternly.
‘I’m alive,’ he said softly. ‘And I get to see you again. That’s all that matters.’
‘How aboutyoustay put,’ I told him. ‘And I’ll be there as quick as I can to take you to the hospital myself.’
He chuckled, and it was music to my ears.
‘Fine,’ he said. ‘But can we stop for a coffee on the way?’
I threw on my boots, jacket and hat, grabbed my keys and got in the car. Dawn was just breaking. The storm had worn itself out, leaving a bruised sky and a choppy ocean. Pulling into the docks I saw him straight away. My tired eyes drank in the sight of him, his oilskins around his waist, slumped against the hood of Jim’s truck. He looked tired, exhausted and in pain, but none of that mattered because he was safe. He heard the sound of my car and looked up, his eyes searching. When he saw me, he smiled.
I didn’t even bother parking, but the dock was pretty deserted anyway. I just pulled the car to a screeching stop a few meters away from him and was out the door before the sound of the engine had even died away.
‘Jonah.’
‘Mae,’ he said, pushing off the hood of the truck and reaching for me. I ran to him, and he caught me in his arms. ‘You have no idea how many times I imagined this exact scenario last night,’ he breathed into my hair. ‘It got me through the storm.’
I squeezed my arms around his waist and he winced, sucking in air sharply.
‘I’m sorry.’ My eyes scanned over him, making sure he was still all in one piece. ‘Are you OK?’
‘I am now.’
‘Your arm.’
‘Is still attached. Right now, the only first-aid treatment I need is to hold you.’
I buried myself against his chest, inhaling the salty, sweaty smell of him. I felt him bury his face in my hair, breathing in the smell of me.
‘We’re like a couple of silkworms,’ I joked, feeling my voice tremble as the adrenaline of the night eased away. I tilted my head to look up at him. Reached up and rubbed the stubble of his beard.
He looked understandably confused. ‘Maybe I knocked my head too,’ he confessed. ‘Because I have no idea what you’re talking about.’
‘Silkworms,’ I repeated. ‘They use smell to identify their mate. Can smell each other from miles away.’
He pouted. ‘Are you saying I stink?’
I laughed. ‘Honestly? A little. But you still smell good to me.’
His eyebrow arched. ‘Better than fry bread?’
I pulled a face. ‘Nothing is better than fry bread.’
His turn to laugh. ‘Good girl. You’re learning.’
‘I know it’s not quite Christmas yet,’ I said, feeling emotions well up inside my chest. ‘But you’re the best early Christmas present I could have ever hoped for.’
He looked sheepish. ‘That’s good to hear, because I haven’t had time to go shopping for you yet.’
‘You don’t need to buy me anything. All I care about is that you’re home safe. Come on, let’s get you to hospital and then home to bed.’
