Maximiliano was confident they would find fallen coconuts beneath the palm trees, but wasn’t as sure as he’d claimed about animals in the thick jungle. Monkeys were a harmless nuisance. Wild boar were unlikely to come to salt water. Snakes were the only creatures he’d feared since childhood.
They found a gap in the seemingly impenetrable wall of foliage and crept to a small clearing. It was almost too cool after the scorching sun. He removed his jacket and draped it over Heidi’s shivering shoulders.
She nodded gratefully but the faraway look in her eyes indicated she was nearing the limit of her endurance.
He didn’t have to crawl far before he found a couple of coconuts. He was adept at breaking upon the stubborn fruit—with a machete. All he had was his dagger which wouldn’t have enough weight to do the job. Foraging further afield produced a rock he hoped would work and a large philodendron leaf.
Heidi swayed trance-like, watching him strike the center of the coconut, turning it as he went. When milk dripped out of the first crack, he held it over the leaf.
It didn’t take long for the coconut to break in two after he pounded along the crack. Some of the milk escaped into the leaf, but he deftly separated the two halves so most of it stayed in the shell.
She drank greedily from the half he gave her and he quenched his own thirst from the other. He tipped the milk from the leaf into her empty shell then chipped away at the inside of his own shell with his dagger. They chewed every last shred of the coconut before she crawled over to lean against him. “In Denmark, we call this a picnic,” she murmured.
“Same thing in Spanish,” he replied, but she’d already dozed off.
He pulled the edges of his jacket closed to cover the tempting nipples pouting against the flimsy nightdress, and gathered her into his embrace. They’d have to find better shelter before nightfall but, for the moment, he was content to let her sleep.
* * *
The sun was still high in the sky when Heidi awoke. Panic surged at the realization she was alone. She scrambled to her feet and fought her way out of the foliage. The tide had gone out a long way, leaving theJuanalying completely on her side, high and dry on the rocks.
Her throat tightened when she caught sight of Maximiliano making his way back to the beach, the strap of her portmanteau slung around his body. He’d risked danger to retrieve her meager belongings but, at least now, she could get rid of the tattered and stained nightdress.
She hurried across the hot sand. “Thank you,” she gushed, linking his arm. “But you shouldn’t have risked your life for it.”
They crawled into their clearing where he divested himself of the strap and opened the wet bag. She knelt beside him, feeling like a child at Yuletide, full of expectation, though she knew what was inside. Or thought she did. He pulled out several shirts and a pair of pantaloons. “I deemed it safe enough to search for a few things since the tide had receded so far out.”
Next came her pistol, then a second one and a horn of powder. “Hopefully still dry inside,” he said. “There’s round-shot in the bottom of the bag.”
Two pineapples followed. She began to wonder if he’d retrieved anything of hers.
“I couldn’t find the shoes you lost,” he told her.
“There should be another pair in the bag,” she assured him.
She rummaged about, pulling out wet clothing and the sensible Danish shoes. “I didn’t have time to pack much,” she explained when he smiled at the pink bloomers.
His eyes widened when she retrieved the smalletuiof sewing needles.
“I don’t suppose these will be of much use here,” she lamented.
“On the contrary. Gatito taught me how to make a compass with a needle. Keep them safe.”
At the bottom of the bag was a sack she didn’t recognize. “What’s this?”
A frown replaced the smile as he grabbed it from her. “It’s mine,” he growled.
A shiver stole over her. Maximiliano the Hero had suddenly turned back into Lázaro the Pirate.
Where Are We?
It didn’t take long for Heidi’s wet clothing to dry in the sun. Maximiliano left her alone in the clearing so she could have privacy to dress. He smiled at the memory of pink bloomers and her equally pink blush. He wouldn’t be able to look at her again without his mind wandering to visions of her shapely bottom in the old-fashioned underwear.
He regretted the guarded suspicion that had replaced trust in her eyes. Other than his crew, few people trusted Lázaro, even the women whose families he’d helped feed with proceeds from his plundering. He’d alienated Heidi for the sake of plunder he might never be able to make use of. He wasn’t sure what had come over him. Bank notes, jewelry and coin were of no good to them here.
They might need money if they escaped, or were rescued, although rescue would bring its own complications…And why was he thinking in terms of “they”? Heidi would no doubt be glad to see the last of him, especially after his outburst.
He’d deliberately left the sack in the clearing, suspecting her curiosity would compel her to look inside. He didn’t want her to think he was hiding anything.