"Yes, hi," Lucy said. She gave him a little wave.
"It's complicated," Eren said. "Look, I wasn't planning on bringing her here. It just happened. She's sworn to secrecy. She isn't going to tell anyone about you."
"And you can't tell anyone about me either," Lucy said. Her voice cracked a little.
The stranger barked an abrupt, rusty laugh. "So that's how it is, huh? You just can't stop picking up strays, can you, Eren?" He looked like he was thinking for a moment, and then held out a hand. "Dane."
Eren looked surprised—like he hadn't expected Dane (if that was his real name) to introduce himself at all, so maybe it was okay. And Eren already knew her name, so there was next to no chance he wasn't going to slip up at some point. "Lucy," she said, and shook hands. Dane had a firm, callused grip.
"Now that we've got that out of the way, let's get all of this up to the cabin," Eren said.
Dane surveyed the heap of supplies on the floor. "What is all this? I asked for a coffeemaker and some flour. This isn't necessary."
"I don't know the next time I'll be able to make it back out this way. You want to live on fish all summer?"
"I'm perfectly fine eating nothing but fish." Dane shouldered a cooler. Eren picked up another and tossed it to him. Dane caught it in his other arm like it weighed nothing.
This couldn't be too hard, right? Lucy felt as if she ought to help. She stooped and got a grip on a box, then almost fell on her butt when she realized it was much heavier than it looked.
"Don't pick it up like that." Eren's voice was brusque, but his hands were gentle, one at the small of her back and the other touching her arm. "You'll hurt your back. You should pick it up with your knees."
"Sorry," Lucy said, too embarrassed to admit that she wasn't used to picking up things at all. Not anything heavy. There was always someone to do it for her. "Can you ... show me?"
She was afraid of being laughed at, but Eren nodded seriously and bent his knees. "Hands under, secure grip, lift straight up." He demonstrated and then turned and held out the box. It took her a moment to realize what he wanted, but once she did, she provided her arms and he placed the box in her hands. She staggered a little under its weight.
"Thank you," she said. "You weren't doing it like that earlier, though."
"What?" He seemed briefly thrown for a moment.
"You and Dane were just tossing the boxes around like they didn't weigh anything."
"Oh." He actually blushed. "I'm not used to working with people who—don't have the experience we have." He seemed to shift gears in mid-sentence, as if he had meant to say something else. "You're pretty strong, though. You're not having any trouble, right?"
"Nope," Lucy assured him. Now that she had her balance, she was holding the box without any trouble.
"Good job. You take the box, and I'll gather up the loose stuff."
Lucy was feeling confident right up until she got to the edge of the deck. She hesitated, looking nervously at the rock that she was going to have to step onto. The boat's railing rolled gently against the rock, now in close contact, now separating a little so there was a gap with water between. The guys had just stepped easily from the deck to the rock, as if the water wasn't even there. But with her hands full, she could vividly imagine her foot slipping off the rock, tumbling into the water, sinking down ...
Eren noticed her distress immediately. "Here," he said, setting down his load. He stepped to the shore, then reached out to take the box. After putting it down, he took hold of her hands in his big, strong ones.
"Jump," he said.
She kicked off, and Eren whisked her to the solid ground. Lucy wobbled a little. Eren held her until she was stable, and she gazed up at him, breathless. His eyes were the exact color of the summer sky, a deep and perfect blue.
"Good?" he asked, and she nodded.
Good? Better than good.
"Okay," he said, and let go with a suddenness that made her sway a little. While she was still getting her breath back, he loaded himself up like a packhorse and started up the trail to the cabin, where Dane was waiting for them under the trees.
Lucy picked up her box and followed them. Her heart was beating rapidly in a way that had nothing to do with the jump off the boat.
The trail to the cabin was steep and narrow, winding between pine trees. Rock showed through a very thin layer of soil. She didn't know how anything could grow here, but there was moss under the trees, and wildflowers and heather in the open places. It was actually very beautiful. The ocean spread around them, glittering in the sun. When she looked back, the boat looked like a toy bobbing in its small harbor.
The guys reached the cabin ahead of her. There was a tidy little yard with some split wood, lending its fragrance to the air. The cabin had looked ramshackle from a distance, but up close it was nicely built and snug, just small.
The door stood open, so Lucy followed the guys in. She set down her box just inside the door and looked around.