Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 59739 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 299(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59739 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 299(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
“Well, you know, when you get home you will have all of us. That is something, right?”
He snorts. “We both know, Grace, that none of you will continue talking to me once we’re home. I might be odd, but I’m not stupid.”
Well fuck. That actually hurts that he feels that way.
Before I can answer, Ace appears, covered in dirt, sweat and I don’t even want to know what else. “We’re done. You guys need help?”
Adrian continues what he was doing, as if our conversation never happened. I turn to Ace, and offer a weak smile. “We’re nearly done here, and while it dries, we will have some lunch.”
He glances over at Adrian, then back to me. “You good?”
I nod, stepping closer. “I’m kind of worried about Adrian. He isn’t doing well. He doesn’t really want to go home, he said he has nothing to go home to. It’s sad, and I feel horrible that we haven’t given him the chance to get to know us properly.”
Ace stares over at Adrian, then looks back to me. “Let me have a chat to him, yeah?”
I nod.
He curls his hand around the back of my neck and presses a long kiss to my lips.
“Go back to the ship, start on lunch. We’ll be there soon.”
I offer a more genuine smile this time and then turn and walk away.
The walk to the ship is slow, mostly because I am too distracted thinking about what Adrian said. I wish I had a manual for fixing people. Zeke is already on deck when I get there, shirtless and stretching, his tats look even meaner in the light and the bruises on his face are a stark reminder of what we somehow managed to escape alive.
I salute him and he grins.
He’ll make some girl very happy one day.
When I reach the kitchen, I am shocked by how clean it is. Aggie and Rachel didn’t waste any time getting this ship in order. It smells like bleach, and other chemicals, but it is as clean as it possibly can be and that’s something. Stepping in further, I start going through everything to see what I can prepare. There are options, ones we certainly didn’t think we would see again.
There is bread. There are condiments. Not just one yellow mustard bottle half empty, but mayonnaise, and a jar of pickles that I open just to smell. I find some ham in the fridge, and my mouth waters. It takes every ounce of willpower for me not to shove slice after slice in my mouth. I don’t, because I know we need all of this food to last. So, I take only the smallest amount out, but not before carefully doing a sniff test to make sure it’s safe.
Then, I add cheese and lettuce, plus a bunch of pickles and mustard.
My stomach is rumbling.
I find half a piece of watermelon, some apples and an orange in the fridge, so I cut it all up then place everything on a rusted but clean steel tray on the counter. I arrange it as nicely as I can, then dig through a large fridge in the corner filled with beer, spirits and soda. The pirates might be the scum of this ocean, but they sure as hell make sure they eat and drink well. I don’t even dare think about how they get all this food.
By the time I’m done, I can hear voices on the ship and figure everyone has returned. Tatiana appears at the open door and drops a bag of fish onto the bench and grins. “Productive morning?”
“Somewhat,” I say, smiling. “Help me drag all this out to the deck, would you?”
Within ten minutes we’re all balanced on the deck, stuffing sandwiches into our mouths, and for the first time since this island became our home there isn’t one single person whose eyes aren’t lit up with pure joy. I never thought a sandwich would make me feel so damn content, but eating it, and tasting all the flavours mixing together on my tongue, feels like I have just won the damn lottery.
Adrian is the only one who isn’t sitting with us. Instead, he takes his sandwich and hobbles towards the front of the ship, before finding a crate to carefully lower himself down on.
“Is he good?” I ask Ace.
“He’ll be fine,” Ace mumbles, between mouthfuls.
I hope he’s right.
The food is gone in a matter of minutes, and we are relaxed for maybe the first time since we set foot on this island. Nobody brings up anything heavy. Zeke, who I think might be allergic to sitting still, starts talking about our plan moving forward.
“Here’s the plan,” he tells us. “Once everything has dried, we will set sail. I would guess first light tomorrow. We have enough food and water on board, and Kellen has done a full sweep of the ship to fix anything that could become a problem.”