Without You

“Oh my gosh, there it is!” Lex shouted as she popped up out of the cabin. “I haven’t been on that island in so long. Oh, Will, I wish you could see Mr. Shelton’s home. It’s breathtaking. I haven’t seen it since I was eleven, I think. The last hurricane did some damage to it, but that thing was built to last.”

I just grinned and pulled her next to me.

Jonathon gave me a wink as he made his way over to the private dock. “That’s Kip, Mr. Shelton’s ranch hand. He’ll be taking care of y’all while I hang out here.”

Reaching out to shake Jonathon’s hand, I said, “Sounds good. Thank you so much, Jonathon.”

Lex shook his hand next and said, “Thank you so much. I’m looking forward to the trip back at night.”

“Will and Alex? I’m Kip,” he said as he helped Lex out off the yacht.

“Hello, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Lex looked around.

Reaching out and shaking Kip’s hand, I introduced myself and said, “Thank you so much for taking the time to do all of this.”

Lex had already begun walking off down the beach. I smiled as I watched her.

“She is totally clueless, isn’t she?” Kip asked.

I rocked back and forth on my feet. I was proud of the fact that I had been able to keep this surprise from her. “Totally clueless.”

“If you want to take advantage of asking her at sunset, I suggest we head up to the house and start with dinner. My wife, Cassie, did all the decorations. Mr. Shelton is thinking of having weddings at the house, and when he saw how Cassie had done up the place for y’all, he said he was one step closer to that.” Kip had a huge smile on his face.

“Does she do party-planning?” I asked.

“Nah, she’s just a rancher’s wife stuck on an island and bored out of her mind. If Mr. Shelton did this, it would make her so happy and give her something to do.”

I let out a sigh. “So, tonight’s like a test run?”

Kip chuckled. “No pressure, but yes. I hope y’all like what Cassie has done.”

“We’re going to love it.” I looked back at Lex as she stood with her feet at the edge of the water. “Lex!” I called out.

When she looked at me, I waved for her to come back. She picked up her flip-flops and headed back over to the dock.

Alex

When Will called me back over to the dock, I had a feeling something was going down. “I thought we were gonna walk along the beach?”

The smile that spread across Will’s face caused my heart to drop to the ground. I wanted to push my legs together or have him take me off somewhere to have his wicked way with me.

“Alex, we’re heading up to the house,” Kip said.

I jumped up and down. “Really? Is Mr. Shelton here?”

Kip didn’t answer as he walked over to his truck and opened the passenger door for me. I slipped my flip-flops on and made my way over to the truck. Will got in and slid in next to me. Kip started off toward the house.

“Oh, Will, wait to you see this house. It sits on the highest point of the island, and the view is amazing. I can remember being little and dreaming of a house like this one. It’s rustic—or at least, it was when I was here last.”

Kip nodded his head. “You have a good memory, Alex. The log cabin was built back in the early nineteen hundreds for hunting. A few presidents have graced the island with their presence.”

“LBJ stayed there. Colt stayed in the room he stayed in,” I said.

Will grabbed my hand. He began rubbing his thumb back and forth quickly as we drove to the house. I’d peek over every once in a while, and he was just staring out the window.

“Will? Are you okay? You just don’t seem like yourself.”

Will turned quickly and looked at me. “What? Baby, I’m totally fine. I think I might have just gotten a little seasick, that’s all.”

I gave him a gentle kiss on the lips. He placed his hand behind my neck and deepened the kiss a little too much. I pulled back and motioned for Will to remember that Kip was in the truck.

“Here we are,” Kip said as he parked the truck.

Will jumped out, and I slid over and took his hand. We followed Kip up the stairs.

A beautiful older woman with red hair greeted us at the door. “Will, Alex, it’s such a pleasure to meet you.”

I smiled and nodded my head. Okay, this is getting weird.

I peeked up at Will, and he was smiling at the lady.

He is up to something.

“I’m Cassie, Kip’s wife. Let me show you where you’re going to have dinner.”