He's gorgeous. All those muscles. I had no idea how much thought he puts into making sure I stay safe. Carrying a pistol? A satellite phone. Wow. I mean I know about the life raft for ditching at sea, and it's going to come in handy here. And how did he know I love to take the blame for anything that goes wrong?

Lorelei stayed in the shade under the wing. Taron pulled himself into the plane effortlessly time and again as he brought supplies out. They inflated the life raft and tipped it up on its side leaning against the ailerons and flaps. At least she knew what she was looking at.

"Why are the flaps still down? I guess that's a stupid question, with the crash, but I was just remembering what my oldest great nephew said about making sure to clean up the wings before shutting any airplane down."

Taron flopped down on one of the blankets beside her, staying on his stomach. "How do you know about that? Should you be sitting in the right seat when we're flying?"

She shook her head. "I love our time in the air. It's the only peace I get. It's where I come up with lyrics and melodies for my songs."

"It still might be an idea for some of the shorter flights. Still, who taught you about procedures?"

"Brady. He's my sister's grandson. I bought him a proper set of controls for his flight simulator a few years back. He spends every spare minute on it. He's fifteen now, and he'll be starting flight training any day now. He just doesn't know it yet. It's his birthday on Friday."

"I wish I had someone like you in my life. I'm just about done getting what we need out of the jet. I still have to track down my go bag and my sunglasses. Do you want anything else from in there?"

"My tote bag. You're starting burn. I think I have suntan lotion in there too. I need to quit squinting into the sun as well, so sunglasses too. I'm getting a headache, and I don't know if it's from the sun or wrenching my neck."

"Do you happen to have some painkillers in there too?" Taron asked with a grin.

"Probably. Arianna, swears I carry an entire drugstore in it."

Taron snickered softly as he nodded.

"I want to take a closer look at Gus there. He's been quiet like a good baby, but I don't like the fact that he turned up in your limo. Who put him there? And is he just an innocent medical simulator or is there more to him?"

He propped himself up on his elbows and grabbed the swaddled bundle. Unwrapping it, he examined the soft life like skin looking for the tell tale overlap which indicated hidden screws. Peeling a section back when the seam caught against his fingernail, he discovered a dozen tiny hex screws just above the belly button. Turning the robot, he found they went all the way around the infant like tummy.

"Well?" Lorelei asked.

"He's well made. I can see why you call him a he. Even the foreskin moves. I find it suspicious that he is so temperature sensitive. I've got a small screwdriver kit in that go bag too. I tighten things in the cockpit all the time. No need to bother an AME with small problems like that. If something comes loose quickly and repeatedly, then that's another issue. I'll talk to our maintenance guys right away."

He smoothed the the fake skin down and left Gus on the blanket. The robot began to kick and squirm. "What's with the automatic on? He should stay dormant until one of us hits this." He checked the tiny red button Lorelei told him about and turned it off.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not an expert by any means, but I do want to know what's inside him. He gives me the creeps even if he is a cute little guy."

"That's for later. That and we might get a shower. See the clouds? I'll be back in a minute. I'm bringing our coats. It's going to get colder than you might think when the sun goes down. I need to go look for driftwood to start a fire too."

Lorelei laid a hand on his back. Definitely burning. She could feel the heat. Aloe gel was the answer. She still had everything with her from the last mountain biking weekend with the gang.

"Get my bag, the sweater and jacket I was wearing. Then stop for a bit. Drink a bit of water and have a chocolate bar. I've got my too much sun kit in there," Lorelei suggested.

"Got it. I never figured you for the adventure, action type. Come over to the door and I'll toss your stuff down. Those clouds are building. I'm going to use the oars to help me build some sand up against the bottom part of the raft. Don't want it blowing away. I used some of the cordage to tie it to the flaps you were asking about." He extended his arms push up style and jumped to his feet.

Taron turned and reached down to give Lorelei a hand getting up. Her breath hissed out as he tugged her arm, and he asked, "Your neck?"

Lorelei nodded, her curls bouncing. "I've been through this before. Much as I want a neck brace, you get over it quicker if you stay away from them. But I'm hoping the ibuprofen I stashed in my magic bag," she paused to grin at him, "is still in there. When you spend time with kids, it's kind of a necessity."

When he kept her hand in his, she didn't pull away, giving him a squeeze instead. He led her back to the awkwardly hanging stairs. Peering up, he said, "I'm going to be sore tomorrow. I'm bringing everything else that we can salvage out now."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Is that the last of it?" Lorelei asked.

"That's everything," He dropped the second set of oars to the ground sparing her the painful effort of catching them.

"I have to stop. I really need to rest." She rubbed her neck reflexively. After watching Taron lower himself off the end of the stairs for the last time, she shuffled through the loose sand and eased herself down under the wing.

Taron knelt beside her, piling cushions from the seats in the jet behind her. "There. Just lean back and relax. I'm going to deal with the berms to secure the raft." He dropped a quick kiss on her forehead before disappearing around the brilliant orange inflatable craft.

That's so sweet. He really does care about me. When did I start wondering about more with him? Be honest with yourself Lore. And when did I start thinking about myself by his nickname? He's the only one who calls me that. It's something special between us alone. He's a stunning man.

The swish of shifting sand lulled her, and she watched the bottom of the boat sag toward her. They would need to do the same on this side eventually. She closed her eyes, drifting toward sleep, when a sudden thunk startled her.

Taron's curse took her back to wide awake and she groaned before she heard his stunned question.

"What the hell is this?"