“Thanks, Melody, you’re the best. I swear I won’t make a habit of this. I want to make sure you and Kai don’t resent working for Perry and me, but it was hard to turn down the double pay,” Kahoni said.
“It’s fine.”
“It’s only a four-hour charter, and I’m thinking, based on the last few days of fishing, you could head toward the Pinnacle and see if you have any luck. If not, you could head to the Penguin Bank.”
Elodie and Kai both nodded in agreement.
“The Pinnacle?” Mustang asked.
Kahoni explained. “Yeah, it’s a section of ocean that’s fairly shallow compared to fishing toward Kaena Point. Those areas also aren’t too far from some of the FADs; fish aggression devices placed by the state of Hawaii.”
Mustang shook his head. “Do I want to know what those are?” he asked. It was obvious he knew next to nothing about deep-sea fishing. Yeah, he enjoyed going out now and then, especially with his team, but he didn’t pay attention to the details.
“They’re buoys the state puts out to attract schools of tuna and other fish. I personally think it’s kind of cheating, but hey, it certainly helps us find fish for the guests to catch, so I’m not complaining. It’s not good business for someone to pay a premium to rent a boat and come up empty-handed,” Elodie explained.
“I guess it wouldn’t be,” Mustang agreed.
“Right, so it’s settled. I appreciate your willingness to work on your day off. I swear I’ll make it up to you,” Kahoni said. “But the good news is that you should be done by noon rather than two or three.”
“Mahalo,” Kai told his boss. “I’m all done cleaning up out here.”
“And I was just about finished inside,” Elodie added.
“You two go,” Kahoni said with a grin. “Melody, I know you’re probably anxious to spend time with your man, and the waves are calling you, Kai. I’ll finish up here.”
“Hang loose!” Kai said, flashing the shaka hand gesture at Kahoni. Then he grabbed his bag and was headed down the dock.
“See you later!” Elodie told her boss and grabbed her own backpack. Mustang took it from her and put his hand on the small of her back as they walked off the boat.
It was so good to be back, and to be with Elodie, it was hard for Mustang to keep his hand from straying into dangerous territory. She looked so good after he’d spent two weeks in Africa. She was wearing another pair of cheap flip-flops she’d bought at an ABC Store—one of her favorite places to shop—a pink tank top with a giant white hibiscus flower on the front, and board shorts that went to her knees. Her black hair was up in a messy bun, and his fingers itched to take it down.
She lifted her chin to look up at him, and Mustang couldn’t help but notice the spatter of freckles across her nose, and that she looked tanner. Of course, being out in the sun every day would bring out the pigment in her skin. He probably wouldn’t have noticed if he’d been gone for a short while. It was only by being apart that he noticed the small changes since they’d last been together.
“You look good,” he blurted.
She smiled up at him. “Oh, yeah, after being in the wind and salt all day, I’m sure I’m ready for my walk down the runway.”
Mustang caught her arm and stopped her. They were standing in the middle of the dock, but he couldn’t wait a second longer. He lowered his head and kissed her as if his life depended on it.
She immediately gave control over to him, which just spurred him on more. He’d missed her terribly, and having her in his arms again was almost overwhelming. How had he lived without her in his life for so long? He didn’t really understand how just being around her made all his troubles and worries seem so minuscule, but it did.
When they both had to take a breath, Mustang stared down at her, trying to memorize everything about her. The flecks of green in her brown eyes. The small wrinkle lines at the edges of her eyes. The way she licked her lips sensuously when she was turned on or wanted him to kiss her. “I missed you,” he said quietly.
“I think I missed you more. Your apartment is very quiet without you there.”
“I’m here now.”
“Yeah, you are. And speaking of your apartment, I should probably tell you that when I’m stressed, I cook. And before you ask, no, nothing weird happened here. I didn’t sense anyone following me or anything like that. I had no bad vibes, but I was worried about you and the guys. I couldn’t help but stress about something going wrong on your mission. So there’s enough food in your freezer to feed us for weeks. Oh! I know, we could bring some to the others! I’m sure Slate wouldn’t mind getting a casserole. And Midas might like the meatloaf I made.”
Mustang leaned down and kissed her again. She was smiling at first, and he loved feeling her happiness on his lips. He pulled back and took her hand and continued toward his truck. “No one’s getting my food,” he told her. “I’m not ready to share all that deliciousness with my team yet.”
Elodie giggled. “It’s only food, Scott, we can make more.”
“Nope. You made it, it’s mine.”
“You’re selfish, you know that?” she asked with a grin.
“When it comes to you and your food? Absolutely,” he said without remorse. “What else did you do while I was gone?”
Mustang made sure to check out the area as he approached his truck. Nothing stood out as being suspicious. There were groups of people walking around the docks, to and from the boats, a couple of men with fishing poles set up at the end of one of the docks and, as always, a few homeless men and women hanging around in the grassy areas under the trees nearby.
He held open Elodie’s door for her and waited until she got settled, then walked quickly around the truck to the driver’s side.
When he put on his seat belt, he glanced over at Elodie and saw she was staring at him with a huge grin on her face. “What?”
“Nothing. It’s just…you look good. Healthy. I was worried about that.”
“About what?” Mustang asked as he started the truck.
“About you not eating right. Sleeping in the dirt. Pushing yourself too hard.” She shrugged. “I know it’s stupid. You’re a SEAL. You’ve trained to do all that stuff. But that doesn’t mean I don’t worry about it.”
Before he pulled out, Mustang reached over and put his palm on Elodie’s cheek. She immediately leaned against him. “Except for the lying in the dirt part, I worried about the same things with you. I don’t know how it happened, but you’re so far under my skin, El. And I like you there.”
“Same,” she said with a smile.
Mustang ran his thumb over her lips briefly, then forced himself to pull back and concentrate on driving. He could sit there with her all day, but he’d rather get her home.
“So…you didn’t answer my question,” he said. “Anything else interesting happen while I was gone?”
“No,” Elodie said with a shrug. “I worked; some tourists were a pain in the ass, but most were cool. I cooked; I already told you that your freezer is stuffed full. And I may or may not have bought a new chair for your bedroom.”