When they'd finished the last of that tasty pink nectar, out of nowhere one of the women who'd set up earlier appeared with a fresh batch. Taryn thought she'd make an inquiry.
"Can you tell me the best direction for a walk along the beach tonight?" She explained to Cole, "I want to take some night shots."
"A full moon will be out," the woman said, refilling their glasses. "Either stretch is free from outcrops. There are more turtle nests down that way." She slanted her head toward their right. "You might even see a batch hatching."
Taryn sat straighter. "Really?"
She'd seen a turtle nest hatching on YouTube. The sand had bubbled then a circle overflowed with tiny flippers and shells pushing themselves out into the world. A nest was supposed to contain from fifty to over two hundred eggs. Now that was a big family.
"Throw a blanket out high on the beach and you might get lucky," the woman said, setting down the carafe. "But don't use a torch or flashlight. That confuses hatchlings." Swinging back her heavy fall of brunette hair, she again gestured down the beach. "You'll see the nests. The children mark them off."
Cole seemed interested, too. "You really think we might see some hatch?"
"Female turtles like to return to the same nesting ground, and that section is popular." After the woman had replaced used plates for clean, she ended, "Don't forget a blanket. Sea breezes can be cool at night."
As the woman headed off, Taryn sized Cole up. "So you like turtles, huh?"
"Tate's grade is signed up in some conservation program about them."
"Hopefully we'll get lucky and snap some close-up shots he can take to class." She pushed back her chair. "Think I might take the opportunity to catch up with that woman and get her ideas on other spots to check out while we're here."
"You'll find me on hammock duty."
As he got to his feet, too, and stretched those magnificent arms at angles above his head, Taryn pressed her lips together then said it anyway. He looked so striking yet relaxed. So unlike his usual blustering self.
"Maybe you shouldn't take a real vacation. It might feel so good, you'd never want to come back."
"Leave someone else in charge permanently?" Intentional or not, his fingers brushed hers as he passed. "Dream on."
* * *
"I've got blankets."
Cole glanced over from where he lay, swaying, half-asleep. Taryn stood a few feet away on the verandah, a stack of blankets in her arms. Rousing himself, he rocked out of the hammock onto his feet.
"Was that an invitation?" he asked.
"You said you liked turtles."
"I said Tate liked them." But, seriously, who didn't like turtles? He moved closer. "You won't be disappointed if nothing happens?"
"But something might happen."
Taking in the confident curve of her grin and - in that pink cotton slip of a dress - her other curves, too, he had to agree. Something might happen, and not just on the turtle front. But did he really want to put them both in that situation...alone on a secluded beach for an undefined amount of time, and with bedcoverings to boot?
Taking the blankets, Cole supposed the answer was an unconditional yes.
A few moments later, they were wandering down the beach with a full moon hanging high in its starry night sky.
"That woman was telling me how well this island does through visitors like us," she said. "They have a joint council and apparently invest the revenue wisely."
"Maybe they should spend some on decent public transportation and fixing up that welcome sign."
"Oh, Cole, it's all part of the charm. If you've stayed at one five-star, you've stayed at them all. But you'll never forget that taxi ride."
He winced. "Neither will my shoulder."
They came across a spot where a number of thigh-high stakes were erected and red tape wound around the wood. Protected areas for turtle nests.
Cole surveyed the surrounds - gently sloping dunes, soft sand, idyllic view. He laid out one of the blankets. "Looks like this is our base."
The blanket-covered dune made for one very comfortable backrest. Reclined side by side, he cast the other blanket over Taryn's bare legs. That woman was right. He found the breeze off the water refreshing, but Taryn might think it cool.
After several minutes of listening to water wash on the shore and foliage clattering behind them, he asked, "What do you think would be their favorite time to break out? Don't babies usually come around two in the morning?"
The breeze caught her soft laugh and carried it away. "Can you imagine them all asleep safe in their shells waiting for the right moment? And so many of them." She frowned. "Do you think mother turtles ever wonder how their babies make out?"
He grinned to assure her. "No, I don't."
Her gaze dropped and grew distant, then she said, "I wonder how Muffin and her big belly are holding up."