“Ma’am, I’ll keep my hands off mine if you’ll do the same.”
“Fair enough.” She jumped out onto the beach, her boots packing earth, green work pants tucked into the tops. “My name is Jocelyn Pearson-Stewart. I own a small sugarcane plantation nearby.”
The woman didn’t have a local accent, instead sounded like an American.
She smiled as if understanding the unspoken question. “I’m from Miami originally. It would be nice if you would speak. Just let me know if you need a ride or not, and then I can head home.”
“How did you find me?” A movement out of the corner of his eyes flashed, and damn it, Amelia stepped out with Joshua. He wanted to tell her that just because this Jocelyn person appeared to be in her fifties didn’t mean they should lower their guard.
“I heard your gunshot,” the woman—Jocelyn something-or-another—said, her eyes skipping over his bare chest to the torn-up strips of shirt in Amelia’s fist. “Is everything all right?”
“A snake went after her little boy.” He wasn’t sure why he’d called Joshua her son rather than nephew, but it seemed smart to go that route, to keep the connection tighter. “But he’s fine. The snake’s dead, and while she got bitten, there’s a blessing in it all, since you heard the gunfire.”
Hitching Joshua onto her hip, Amelia walked to Hugh’s side, watching the woman in the Jeep with that lawyerly look of hers. “If you could take us to the capital, I can’t tell you how much we would appreciate it.”
Jocelyn shook her head slowly. “I’m sorry, but the roads in and out of the city have been closed. I’m afraid even your uniform, sir, won’t gain us access, even if I did have enough fuel, which I don’t. The aftershocks took out bridges, and the access ways that are left are being checked for structural integrity. But I can take you all back to my place.”
What she said made sense, but that didn’t mean it was true. It also didn’t mean they had a lot of choices. He could walk the rest of the way with a kid and a woman who was probably going to be okay from a snakebite and hope that the bridges were open. Hope? He hadn’t had a lot of luck with that.
“We would appreciate the hospitality and the use of a phone. I need to check in with my unit. Amelia has family that will be worried about her.”
“Absolutely. Anything I have at my house, you’re welcome to use.”
Amelia looked at him, her eyes questioning. He nodded and gestured to the Jeep. He knew he could outdraw the woman if he had to. He smiled his thanks at Jocelyn as Amelia and Joshua settled into the front seat of the Jeep. Then he swung around into the back, standing. Ready.
Jocelyn rammed the Jeep into gear and pulled a three-point turn on the sand, just out of reach of the rolling waves. “And your names are?” She smiled at the baby. “Since you’re going to be my guests and all.”
“I’m Amelia. This is Joshua. Thank you for your help.”
Jocelyn met his eyes in the rearview mirror. “And you, handsome marine?”
Marine? He almost rose to the bait to snap back—until he saw the twinkle in the woman’s eyes. “I’m Hugh.”
“Nice to meet you, Hugh.” Laughing softly, the woman steered onto a narrow road back into the jungle.
He turned on his mental GPS as she drove away from the beach—away from the direction of Oliver and Tandi’s crash site. The woman drove like a speed demon racing along the dirt road like it was the f**king autobahn as she talked with Amelia, shifted gear, and drank from her water bottle all at once.
The Jeep was a working vehicle and a real mess. Tools rattled in the box beside him. Papers were stuffed in the console. And a silver angel swayed from her rearview mirror.
“I would imagine it’s been difficult for you out here alone with such a little child. How did you say you became lost out here?”
He tensed in response to the question, ready to jump in.
Amelia turned toward her without missing a beat. “I was out walking with my son when the earthquake hit. We got cut off from help. I wandered around lost. We probably would have died out there if he hadn’t found us.”
Her lie fell out of her mouth so easily he would have believed her if he hadn’t known better. She’d seemed so trusting as she walked out of the jungle to his side. Of course now that he thought about it, that latest aftershock may have put her as on edge as he was. Although even on edge, she was keeping her wits enough to play it close to the vest—as he was.
The Jeep jostled over another dip in the dirt road, sugarcane fields on either side of them until they entered a clearing with a small homestead fenced off. Thick vines grew over most of the length, muted the harsh metal. Jocelyn reached down to her keys and thumbed a remote that opened the main gate. The graveled drive led up to a beige stucco house on stilts as protection from hurricane floods, even though they weren’t on the beach. It wasn’t a plantation home, but it sure wasn’t a shack. Porches circled the entire place. Plenty of means to leave quickly if he needed to, not far to scale down.
Hugh scanned the outbuildings—a shed and a large barn that appeared to serve as a garage. A couple of RVs were parked alongside as well. It seemed some people had taken refuge at her place. Her family, maybe? Or some locals? But it certainly wasn’t the jam-packed mayhem they’d left behind in the city. And everything here seemed intact.
He could treat Amelia’s hand, give her and Joshua both a chance to clean up, eat, and sleep. They would all definitely be more comfortable here than in a jungle lean-to or a cottage halfway sliding off the edge of a bluff, assuming trouble didn’t follow them to Jocelyn Pearson-Stewart’s doorstep.
They might have a few more amenities here for the night. But he still wasn’t letting Joshua or Amelia out of his sight.
Chapter 12
The late-afternoon breeze curled over Amelia as she sat cross-legged on the porch floor, rolling a ball back and forth with Joshua. She could grow seriously addicted to staying out on this porch. Safe. Peaceful. And relatively clean, thanks to a quick sink rinse-off and change of clothes. Although God, she couldn’t wait for a shower after they all ate dinner, while there was still daylight to stream through the open floor plan.