“I’m such a ninny,” she said apologetically as the adrenaline began to ebb.
“You’re not,” Neal chided. “Look where you are, what you’re doing! You got us firewood in the dark, and ate a granola bar crawling with ants.”
“It’s easy to be brave for you,” Mary said thoughtfully. “You needed me.”
Neal’s arms tightened around her.
“Besides, I was really hungry,” she teased. “And ants are probably good protein.”
“I am going to spend the entire afternoon at the buffet when we get back,” Neal agreed.
Mary was silent for a moment. “What are we going to do when we get back?” she asked solemnly.
“Buffet,” Neal repeated. “All of it, if Chef doesn’t stop me.”
Mary hit him gently in the arm. “I meant after that. I’m supposed to fly home tomorrow morning.”
Neal stilled against her, and the waves seemed very loud in his silence.
Mary turned in the circle of his arms so she could look into his face, squinting against the bright sunlight that dazzled off the water at them.
“I love you, Neal, and I think you are well on your way towards healing, but you’ve got a lot of unfinished business. Your military unit thinks that you’re dead, and you have a family who doesn’t know what happened to you. You want revenge that you’ll probably never get, and even your wolf can’t heal everything you’ve been through.”
She watched his face flit through a dozen expressions as he took in her words.
Acceptance was the final look, and Neal drew her close again. “You’re right, of course. I have a lot of things to work through, and I don’t know how it will all shake out. But if you’ll have me…”
“I will,” Mary said emphatically.
“... I’ll go wherever you are.”
“I have a tiny apartment in a tiny town where I have the extra glamorous job of teaching math to middle school students in the throes of puberty. Would you be happy there?”
“I’d be happy anywhere I could be with you.” Neal scooped her up and kissed her they were both dizzy.
“When do you think they’ll find us?” Mary asked when they had broken apart, smiling foolishly at each other.
That struck the smile from Neal’s face. “Could be late today, or even tomorrow,” he surmised. “Travis took the boat to the mainland overnight, so it may not be afternoon until they get out on the water, unless they call in for help earlier.”
“Could we swim back by ourselves?” Mary suggested nervously. It wasn’t as terrifying as she had expected here in the water, and she knew she was a strong swimmer, but the ocean was more alive than any pool she had ever been, and she had no idea how far it would be along the coast to the resort.
Neal considered. “It’s a fair way,” he said reluctantly. “And there are a few places we’d have to swing out pretty far to avoid rocks. We’d be better off staying where we are and waiting for them to come for us.”
Mary smiled slowly, actually pleased by the idea. The cove, now that Neal was no longer at death’s door, was a pleasant little oasis. If they could both shift, they could drink the water from the waterfall, and Mary suspected she could forage for food as a deer, as Neal could as a wolf.
Now that it was sunny and perfect, it was almost better here than at the resort.
Mary’s stomach grumbled.
Almost.
Chapter Twenty-Six
They swam back to shore with easy strokes, pausing to embrace and kiss at lazy intervals, enjoying the sparkle on the water and the musical sound of waves on the shore. As if to apologize for the earlier rain, the day was crystal clear and gorgeous, with just enough of a cool breeze to keep the heat of the sun from being oppressive.
Halfway back, Neal took Mary’s arm and pointed.
She squeaked in alarm and clung to him, but gradually relaxed as the turtle under the water swam closer to investigate them and then moved on. A jellyfish got the same reaction, and a school of fish earned only giggles as she swam backwards away from them.