Page 59 of Hunted (Desert Island Duet #2)

“I think we’re getting pretty good at surprises now. Are you really that shocked?”

I chuckle at Bower’s words and shake my head. “I guess not. You’re pretty good at distractions, too.”

“Are you okay if I remove the old one so we can replace it?” Weston asks as he moves behind the original grave marker. I nod my head. The old one was already wearing out and was becoming hard to read. This new one would last a very, very long time.

The guys take their time, refusing my help, saying that I did this once and don’t have to do it again. I don’t argue because I feel a little emotionally overwhelmed, so I sit back against a tree in the shade and watch.

When they’re finally done, I say goodbye then the guys lead me back towards the beach.

“Eep!” I jump in surprise when I hear the noise, my head shooting up to scan the trees. But I don’t see him anywhere .

“It might not have been him,” Kingsley says, trying to not let me get my hopes up.

I slowly nod, but I know that trill. I could always pick it out amongst the other lemurs, even now, two years later.

“Eep!” It calls again and I take a few steps towards the noise as my eyes try to locate him in the trees.

“Mo-Mo? Is that you, buddy?”

Suddenly he drops out of the tree, landing on my chest and my arms rush up to catch him.

“Mo-Mo! It’s really you!”

He starts making a bunch of noise as his arms flail around, then he hugs me and nuzzles my neck. He quickly pulls back and runs around my neck several times, making me laugh before he jumps back into the tree.

“Hey! Where are you going?!” I ask in disappointment. Sure, he was happy to see me, but that whole thing lasted less than a minute. I expected a little more from him after two years apart.

I stare into the trees in the direction he went, my hope dwindling with each second that passes. Reece places his hands on my shoulders from behind. “It’s a good thing. It means he’s doing well here.”

I don’t answer as I wait. That’s not like the Mo-Mo I remember. He wouldn’t run away so quickly. But maybe he’s mad at me? For leaving him?

Just as I’m about to turn away, I hear movement in the trees again. “Mo-Mo?”

I wait with bated breath until I see him jumping from branch to branch towards me. Only, he’s not alone this time. My eyes widen when I realize he’s brought his family .

Sam drops down on the branch in front of us first. He trills then jumps onto Bower’s shoulder, surprising all of us, then holds his little fist out towards him. I laugh as Bower gives him a gentle fist bump.

“You remember me?” Bower asks in awe.

Dean and Coco drop down onto a branch next, jumping up and down in excitement.

“Hey guys! I missed you! I’m glad to see you’re all doing okay,” I tell them excitedly as I fist bump them both slowly. “Where did Mo-Mo go?” I ask, my eyes scanning the tree.

I catch him sitting one branch up, holding something. “What’cha got there, little buddy?” I ask, and he slowly climbs down to sit between Coco and Dean holding something to his chest.

I tilt my head as I try to get a good look and slowly he lowers his arm, revealing a tiny baby lemur. “Ohmygod!” I gasp, my hands flying to my mouth, so I don’t scream in excitement and scare them.

“Mo-Mo! You have a baby! And he’s soooo cute!” I don’t want to upset them, so I decide not to pet him. I’m not sure how territorial and protective lemurs might be about their young.

But Mo-Mo seems to make the decision for me as he hugs his baby to his chest with one arm and leaps onto my shoulder. “Eep!”

“Well… if you insist.” Slowly, I reach up and run the back of my finger down the baby's side. “He’s so cute!” I whisper, not wanting to frighten him. Of course, I’m just assuming he’s a boy, I can’t actually tell.

I hear the click of a camera and glance at Bower who’s holding his phone up towards us, clearing taking photos. I smile as he takes a few more shots, then he tells me, “You have to name him.”

“I do?”

“Of course, you named the rest of the family. You can’t stop now. ”

“Hmm,” I say, my eyes looking back down at the little guy. “How about Donald? Donny for short.”

“It’s perfect,” Reece says with a smile. “You named Mo-Mo after me, it makes sense you name his son after your dad.”

“You just don’t want to be the only one she named a lemur after,” Bower says with a laugh, startling Sam, who jumps back into the tree.

“You know me naming him Mo-Mo wasn’t an insult to you, right?” I ask, this not being the first time it’s been brought up.

“I know, darling, he’s just teasing me.”

“I just missed you, and he became my best friend here. Well… him and Steve.”

“You should be happy she didn’t call the rock Mo-Mo,” Bower says with a laugh.

Reece tries to smack him, but he jumps out of the way. Mo-Mo trills then jumps back beside Coco and hands her the baby. Her and Dean disappear in the tree as Mo-Mo turns back to face me.

“Eep? ”

“Yeah, I’m going to be going again soon. This isn’t my home anymore. But we’ll visit again. I miss you little buddy,” I tell him, wiping a stray tear from my eye. He jumps up to give me another nuzzle then jumps back into the trees in the direction his family went without a backwards glance.

Kingsley puts his arm around my shoulders and leads me behind the others as we head towards the beach. “You okay, sweetheart?”

“Yeah,” I say, wiping the tears from my face. “Happy tears… mostly. I miss him, but I’m glad to see he’s doing well and has a family of his own. Does that make sense?”

“He probably feels the same way.” I consider that for a moment and decide he’s probably right.

Mo-Mo definitely seemed happy to see me, but it’s clear his family is the most important thing to him now, just like mine is to me.

Maybe me being gone allowed him to fully commit to his family, and that’s why they never had a baby before.

“Hey, what’s that?” I ask, pointing to a small structure on the other side of the woodpile that most definitely wasn’t there two years ago.

It is a thin metal frame with four posts that come to a point at about twenty-five feet up, almost like a tiny cell phone tower.

“That… is a beacon,” Reece says as we head in its direction. When we stop in front of it, I notice a large metal cabinet on the bottom with some words carved into the door.

I move closer and read aloud.

“Stranded? Open for help!”

I find the bolt holding it shut and open it up. A laminated piece of paper sits on top, and I pick it up to read it.

“Welcome to Danvers Island. If you should find yourself stranded here, don’t fear. Inside is a satellite phone to call for help. You’ll also find some rations, a flask for water, some emergency supplies, and a map.”

I look inside and see all the things mentioned, plus a wind-up lantern, a large knife, and a first aid kit.

I pull out the map and see it’s pretty basic but points out the waterfall with fresh water, the boar territory, different places they’ll find fruit, the old camp, and a warning about Fang’s territory in the North.

“This is pretty in depth. You guys remembered all of this? You never even saw Fang.” I sniffle at the thought of all the effort they put into this. So nobody else would end up stranded here like I was .

“We each remembered different parts of it. We would have asked you, but we wanted it to be a surprise,” Kingsley explains.

“This way, nobody will ever be stranded here again,” Reece says as I place the map back inside and he latches it closed again.

“Wait! It’s missing something.” I run over the edge of the jungle and look around until I find what I want. It’s a small rock, smaller than Steve, but a good starter size. “Here!” I jog back over and show them the rock. “Anyone have a sharpie?”

“How about a knife?” Weston asks, pulling his switchblade from his pocket.

“Perfect!” I try to take it from him, but he pulls it back and holds out his hand for the rock.

“I’ll do it, tell me what name to carve.”

“Let’s name him… Steve Jr!”

He smirks and starts carving as I watch in excitement.

I don’t know why this excites me. Knowing that this rock might be found by somebody who needs a friend at the lowest point in their life, maybe?

But they won't be stranded here for long, thanks to the new tower and satellite phone the guys had installed.

“Are you allowed to build that here? Didn't you say this is technically owned by Madagascar now?” I ask, turning to Reece.

"Actually, that was another surprise we had for you.”

I frown up at him in confusion. “What is?”

“It took a few months of paperwork and a little help from a well-connected lawyer in Antananarivo, but we were able to secure a ninety-nine-year lease on this island.”

My eyes widen in surprise. “You bought this island? ”

“Technically, we don’t own it, but it’s ours in every way that matters. Short of destroying the wildlife or setting it on fire, we can do what we like. We could even build a vacation home here if we want."

“Wow… That’s… You’re…” I jump up and wrap my arms around Reece’s neck, and he catches me easily. “Thank you.”

“Anything for you, my darling, Darla.”

“I take it you like the surprise?” Bower asks as I unlatch myself from Reece and plant my feet back on the ground.

“I love it. Although I’m not sure I'd want to vacation here. I’m happy we came back, and that you built this safety tower, but it still feels… unsafe? Like it’s easy to become stuck here again. If the tower was gone and the chopper, we’d be stranded here right now.”

“Maybe…” Reece says, glancing out into the ocean. “But we have about eight contingency plans in place. If we’re gone for more than fifteen hours, the first rescue team will be sent out.”

“I guess that does make me feel a little more relaxed.”

“I know what else could help!” Bower says, suddenly scooping me up and carrying me around the woodpile.

“Bower! Where are we going?” I laugh as he carries me through the sand.

“You’ll see.”