Lorelei manoeuvred herself upright using the pillows for help. Her neck was a bit better after the ibuprofen, and she drank the rest of the water in her bottle before she went around the edge of the raft.

Taron dug furiously, slinging sand in every direction as he deepened the hole he was working on.

"What's up?" she asked.

"I've hit something metal. Looks like a propeller from what I'm uncovering. There was another plane crash here. Our mystery lady might be a survivor."

"Then why didn't she stick around?" Lorelei wondered.

"I have no idea. Come around here. Look at this." Taron pointed into the oblong hole he excavated. "This prop is off a turbo engine plane. Probably a twin."

The blade was rusted and bent. Lorelei shook her head. "Is this a coincidence? Or is it more? I'm probably not thinking straight, but two on the same island?"

"Coincidence is more likely. We were in a jet, and this was was part of a much slower, smaller airplane. I wonder how long she's been here?"

"Who knows. How long would it take for metal to rust like that?" Lorelei groaned as she questioned her instinctive deduction of deeper trouble. Heckleson and his threats jumped to the front of her list of suspects.

"It could happen quickly with the salt water and if storms and high tides were a problem. The rust is mostly along the cracks in the coating. Those clouds are still building out there and they're getting closer. I'm going for driftwood. We need to get a fire going and see if we can keep it from going out."

"We're going to find her tomorrow." Lorelei stated. "If she survived for any length of time, there's a water source. And she's got some outdoor skills. Andy, my other great nephew has them too. I know it can be done."

Taron nodded. "I agree. How's your neck?" He jammed the oar he was using into the sand.

"Better. It's down from a six to a two for pain. I expect it will be worse tomorrow and then it will slowly get better."

"So, you said earlier. There's a story there too," Taron wrapped and arm around her shoulders. She barely resisted leaning her cheek against his chest as they made their way back into the shelter.

He remembers my comment. I haven't had anyone pay attention to me like this in way too long.

"How do you feel about digging out a bit of a fire pit just over there. The prevailing wind was behind us, which made the landing a whole lot harder. We might end up a bit smoky in here, but it will keep the bugs away."

Lorelei nodded. "I can give it a try. Go get the driftwood. Hopefully, it's dry enough to burn easily," she said ruefully.

"Depends on whether or not these storms are normal every day or not. I'm choosing to think not. There was a bit of a low pressure over the Gulf when I checked the weather during flight planning. This is likely not the norm."

Taron pulled her into a hug, and she reached up to smooth his hair out of his eyes. He was due for a cut and the short blond strands were long enough to show a hint of natural waviness. His eyes caught hers before he spoke, "You're doing great you know."

"And you're my hero. Thank you again for taking care of me and saving us." She placed her hands on either side of his face, standing on the tips of her toes. She wasn't short at a shade over five foot nine inches, but he met her halfway. His kiss a gentle promise, he whispered in her ear.

"I had a vested interest, you know," his tone teased her.

"No kidding." She giggled as she pulled away. "If we stay like this, we won't be ready for the rain. The sun's going down fast."

"Survival first, I guess. I really want to see where this goes."

"Me too." She pushed him toward the rocks at the end of the beach. "Just as well we hit that palm." Lorelei gestured toward the massive trunk on the other side of the wrecked jet."

"We would have stopped in time, but yeah, it was a tight landing. Don't remind me. I'll be seeing it in my dreams for a long time, Lore." Taron wrapped her in another quick hug and turned to stride down the beach.

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

Taron dropped his first bundle of driftwood on the sand. Kneeling, he began snapping smaller branches off the bigger pieces. The paper chart backups to the electronic version of airport approaches were fine for kindling. No need to keep them, this jet wasn't going anywhere.

"Do you still have those pieces of plug?" Lorelei asked. "I have a small plastic bag we can put them in."

"I'll have to scrape more of them out of the wing. It's easy on the broken side. Great thinking. That kind of evidence deteriorates and disappears with wind and rain. I'll get more of it right away. By the way, nice fire pit."

"Not much of a job really. My neck got much better when my painkiller kicked in all the way. Used one of the oars and dragged a few stones over from the base of the rocks."

Lorelei grabbed his hand before he could stand up again.

"Let me get some aloe gel on your back. I think that's better than suntan lotion now that the sun is playing peekaboo with the clouds. It's starting to cool off." She popped the top of the container open.

Taron grinned at the size of the bottle. "How often do you get sunburned?"

"I don't burn. You'll see, I'm going to turn dark brown inside of a few days. It's for my sister's grandchildren. Brady, the pilot want to be, is a red head to boot."

He plopped down cross-legged, and she rose to her knees behind him. The gel was close to cold on his back, and he realized she wasn't kidding about the burn. Her fingers felt like heaven as she massaged the gel into his skin with gentle pressure.

Good thing I didn't strip down further. I'm thinking the boxers are going to be enough during the day if we stay on the beach. I can't wait to see what she's wearing under that business suit.

"The wind's picking up. Let's get that fire started." Taron rolled back up into a squat.

"Is the saying true?" Lorelei asked.

"Which one?

"Red sky at night, sailor's delight, but I don't think we're getting a good sunset. I can see lightning in those clouds."

"It holds true most of the time. Clever, putting all these rocks around the sides too. Gives us a bit of a wind break while we get this going."

"Reflects heat into our shelter too. I'm hoping the wind isn't too bad with that storm. Brady's cousin Kehlani is the one who knows even more than Andy about survival stuff. She taught me how to make these firepits. You were longer than I thought getting the wood."

He put the crumpled charts onto the stones. Following them with small kindling, he built a pyramid with plenty of space for airflow. Adding bigger pieces for the next layer Taron left the biggest logs for later.

"Did you find the Firestarter?"

Lore nodded. "Here." She handed him the ultra light package.

"Thanks." He pulled the rod and stainless steel striker out of its carrying pouch. Two quickly drawn sparks hit the paper igniting into tiny flames. The swirling breeze did the rest and the kindling ignited almost instantly.

"Neat trick."

"It is. As to why I was so long, I think I found a water source trickling through those rocks. It's a bit of a climb, and I'll have to test it to see if it's potable."

"Nice. Next problem. What do we do when the chocolate bars and jerky run out?"

"Hopefully, nothing. The call I make tomorrow will get help to us. But it might be a few days. I have our last known location from the computers on board. I'm not willing to call anyone in your life right now. I'm calling my buddies. They're home on furlough. I was heading out to meet them as soon as I dropped you off."

"I was thinking crabs. There were a bunch of them in the tide pools over there." Lorelei sounded smug as she revealed her discovery.

"Great idea. We've got a pot to boil water in. We can use sea water to do it. Best shrimp I ever had was on the tailgate of my mother's truck cooked in a huge caldron. Shared it with some road trippers from Canada." He salivated at the thought, and realized he was famished.

"Do we have enough wood for tonight?"

"I need to drag a couple of bigger logs over here, but I'm losing it here. I'm pretty much done for. Finally losing all my energy."

Lorelei reached over to pat his thigh. "Get the wood. Let's attack the jerky. There's half a dozen packages right next to the pile of seat cushions. I hope you like spice. Some of it is habanera. I can't wait to see what it's like."

Her hand was like brand where she touched him.

Am I going to be able to keep my hands off her? Is she on the same page as me there? I guess I let her take the lead.