Page 49 of Wayward (Wrecked #4)

Haley

T he sun’s beaming through the window. The frangipani tree brushes lightly against the glass like it’s checking in on me—gentle and persistent, like one of my guys.

It’s weird being here and having glass windows, but I’m not going to complain.

Glass and screens mean less bugs and water in your bed at night.

I stretch my fingers above my head. I should get up.

There’s a soft breeze coming through the open balcony door, carrying with it the scent of saltwater and something sweet, maybe frangipani.

I can hear the distant hum of a boat motor, probably Calvin and Sam out for an early morning fishing trip.

There’s a clicking coming from the outside kitchen.

Dante uses his old potbelly stove as much as our newly finished industrial kitchen.

Easton has been up with the sun, working out in the gym on the lower level.

And Zane, well, he’s probably off sketching somewhere, planning yet another addition to our ever-growing island home.

I’ve been awake for hours, but I don’t want to get up. It’s the fresh air and finally having the house complete, I keep telling myself. But I’ve got a garden to attend to . . .

I swing my legs over the side of the bed, the cool bamboo flooring grounding me as I stand.

Our bedroom is simple, adorned with artwork we’ve collected from various islands and bits of driftwood art that Zane has made.

On the balcony, I look through the jungle palms to the crystal blue water that surrounds our home.

There’s a coffee carafe and a covered bowl filled with fruit.

Dante must have brought them up when I was asleep.

The tang of pomelo and papaya makes my mouth water. The smell reminds me of our first few weeks back here—sticky fingers, barefoot mornings, and laughter echoing through a modern campsite.

The sound of footsteps echoes up the staircase, and I turn to see Easton, his skin glistening with sweat from his workout.

He grins at me, his eyes softening as he takes in my naked torso where my shirt has splayed open.

“Morning, beautiful,” he says, walking over to press a gentle kiss to my forehead. “How are you feeling?”

I smile up at him, leaning into his touch. “Hungry,” I admit with a laugh. “And excited. Nervous too, mixed with a little bit of sad. I’m not ready to go back to the States yet. Two more weeks here doesn’t seem like enough.”

“I know what you mean. But the rainy season waits for no one. We could stay if you want to . . .”

I devour the fruit bowl in seconds.

“No . . . we need to visit people. They’re going to think we dropped off the planet, and I miss Pepper.”

“She would like the new house, but I know she wouldn’t like the plane ride.”

“She’s happy staying with Dante’s mom.”

Easton kisses my neck. “I’m going to shower if you want to?—”

There’s a thud on the bedroom door. “Are you ready?” Zane calls.

“Ready?” I wipe my hands on the cloth napkin that Dante left for me and stand. “Ready for what?”

“Oh, we’ve got a surprise for you.” Zane raises his head to Easton.

“That’s today?”

“Yup, today’s the day. The equipment arrived from the mainland an hour ago.” Zane’s back in the bedroom, rummaging in my drawer. “This should work.” He holds out one of my swim shirts and trunks. The big ones I use when we go snorkeling, when the water’s a little rougher.

“Snorkeling?” I ask, taking them from him. I pull off my pajamas, forgoing a shower if I’m going out into the ocean.

“Something like that.” Easton wiggles his eyebrows.

“What’s the equipment that arrived?” I turn to Dante in the hard-sided tender.

Because there was nothing on the beach. We’re all here.

Calvin’s piloting the boat, and we’re pointed in the direction of chicken and pomelo beach.

“Is it something to do with pruning the trees again?” We had a small crew out last spring to shape them up and teach us how to do it.

“Nope, nothing about the trees. But we could stop by there and get some fruit after if we have time.” Dante kicks his legs up on the bench in front of him. One hand is on my leg, and with the other he holds on to the side of the tender.

We pass the sheer cliff, and when the bay where the Rock Candy was anchored for so long appears, I see the equipment. It’s the flatbed barge they used for laying our pier. It’s anchored near the mouth of the cave. A large crane is attached to it.

“The box!” I cry out. “We’re going to bring up the box?” My breath catches. That box was the ghost of everything we endured, searching for Easton and Calvin. And now it’s going to rise like something out of a dream.

“You ready?” a man with a British accent calls out from the barge. “We’ve got it all hooked up.”

“Ready whenever you are,” Zane says. “You’re sure I can’t film it from underwater?”

“Not when we’re moving it. I’ve got my diver down there, though. He can tape it if you’re willing to let him use the camera. If you don’t mind helping? I’ve only brought my long-time diver and myself, as you requested.”

The diver surfaces and gives us a wave. Calvin, Sam, Easton, and Zane move over to the other vessel, following the barge captain’s directions like they’ve been working together for years.

The box erupts from the water, a reinforced net supporting it, and when it’s slowly placed on the deck of the barge, the barge sinks a good six inches into the water. I catch a look on Calvin’s face. Could it really be treasure?

I grab Dante’s hand. “It must weigh a lot to displace that much water.”

“Gold weighs a lot. Though, so do rocks.” Dante laughs.

“Come on over, we’re going to open it,” Sam yells with cupped hands.

I jump in and swim the short distance to the barge.

The memory of arriving here and having the Rock Candy gone washes over me with each stroke.

The horror of thinking I’d never see either Easton or Calvin again shook me into realizing what I wanted.

It was a real turning point in us becoming a family.

Calvin leans over the barge. I take his hand, and he pulls me out of the water.

Forty-five exhausting minutes later, the crowbars and the guys’ muscles finally beat the box.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” the barge captain says. “I’ve heard the legend. I just never thought it was true.”

Thayer had told me the legend. More than the island being unlucky or cursed.

He said, “The villagers who lived there years ago were massacred. Apparently, one of them went to the mainland and got drunk. Said they found treasure, and they were set for life as soon as the elders divided it up. Instead, a horde of greedy men attacked the island, killing them. But no treasure was found.” Until now.

I shudder. I haven’t thought about Thayer in a long time. While Susan landed in a Swiss jail, nothing happened to Thayer or his dad. Their lawyers got them cleared.

“Ready to watch?” Zane sits next to me with a bowl of popcorn on his lap.

“Ready,” I say. Even after being there when they brought it up, it gives me goosebumps. Our house isn’t extraordinarily large, but we did splurge on a movie room. We’re all snuggled on a large sofa.

Calvin hits play.

A crowbar creaks against the waterlogged wood, and the camera zooms into the golden glowing box. We now know most of the artifacts are from the Zheng empire. Calvin’s voice booms on the recording as he tells everyone not to touch anything.

The barge captain left it for a week but then arranged secret transportation back to the mainland, where a museum is curating and preserving it.

The video switches to the museum curator, talking about the major pieces.

He stops at the handful of coins from 1972.

Whoever sunk the box had a good idea they weren’t going to open it again.

The video has the curator talking in detail about each piece in depth.

Dante’s snoring, his head in my lap, when the video turns off.

“Wake up,” Calvin growls, and he slaps Dante’s foot.

“I wasn’t asleep.” Dante sits up, his eyes flicking to the drool spot on my shorts. “Sorry, Sassy.”

I laugh.

“Right. We have a decision to make. The museum has offered to buy the collection outright from us.” Calvin passes his phone around with the letter from the museum director.

“Damn, that’s twice what we paid for the island.” Zane holds the phone in his hand. I’ve got to admit, I love that he’s finally using terms like "we paid." The majority of the time we were in school, he had an aura of guilt for not having a job while he was taking classes.

“It is.” Easton hands the phone back to Calvin.

I rest my head on Calvin’s shoulder. “We should start a foundation. Help people like Rodel get back on their feet. Help people recover from being trafficked.” We’ve been through storms, both on the water and in our lives.

If we can use this gold to help someone else find their way through a tough time?

I’m all for it. Without Rodel our time aboard the pirate vessel could have ended a very different way.

“That’s an amazing idea, Sassy.” Dante cuddles up to my side.

Easton turns up the lights and opens the blinds. The room fills with the light from the night sky.

“We should take a night stroll.” I squeeze Dante’s hand.

Dante jumps up, but Sam beats him to my side. He grabs a flashlight, and we head down the path to the beach. It’s so bright we don’t really need it.

The big log is still there, shining in the starlight. I’m about to sit when Easton takes my hand. “Or we could take a swim?”

I’m the first to rip off my clothes and race for the surf. It’s quiet tonight, but soon with the rainy season coming, it will change. Our island changes constantly, just like we do. But we adapt.

I never thought I’d survive that shipwreck—let alone build a life from the wreckage. But here we are. Whole. Loved. Free. I didn’t think I could give my heart to one man again, let alone five. But I did. And they gave me theirs in return—fully, fiercely, without fear.

There’s splashing behind me. Easton’s the first to catch up, rolling onto his back and pulling me into his arms. “Got you.”

Sam’s next. Then the others. Soon, we’re our own floating island, bobbing in the dark water, tethered to each other.

We’re going back to the States soon. But part of my heart will always be right here.

This beach is where we landed, broken.

It’s where we healed.

And where we learned how to love.

Thanks of reading! Want to know what happened on the other raft?