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him. “What?”
    “You heard me. That could have been poison ivy.” He smirked.
“I guess you weren’t paying attention when you went camping with the Girl
Scouts.”
    She straightened but refused to tell him that her troop had
never made it out of the church basement where their meetings were held. The
wildest activity they participated in was making holly-covered wreaths before
Christmas. “I just forgot. Sorry.”
    Maybe she should make herself one of those fishing poles so
she could catch something in the ocean for their meal. She marched off in the
direction of the tree house. Aside from the spool of thread, maybe she could
find other items that would aid in her search for food.
    Somehow she’d gotten turned around and couldn’t find her way
back to the clearing under the treetop dwelling. She didn’t particularly want
Chase to know her plan since he’d no doubt copy her ideas.
    Stepping between two pine trees, she pushed some fallen
branches out of the way and walked right into a human skeleton.

Chapter Five
     
    Diana’s scream was like a million-volt current straight to
Chase’s heart. He followed the sound and found her between a stand of trees,
trembling like a loose bolt on a rollercoaster track. She lunged into his arms
and buried her head against his chest.
    “I’m here.” He petted her hair, tried to calm her down
enough so she’d tell him what had frightened here.
    Backing away a little, she looked up into his eyes and
struggled to pull in a breath. “U-under the leaves.”
    He moved her aside then took a few steps in the direction in
which she was pointing. He started to root through the brush but stopped when
she let out a terrified cry.
    He faced her and gave her what he hoped was a reassuring
nod. “Is it an animal?”
    She shook her head and shuddered. “A skeleton.”
    Was she really this upset over some rodent bones? He
squeezed her upper arm, rubbed his hand up and down over her silky skin. “It’s
okay.” Then he returned to the pile of leafy branches and rooted through it. He
caught sight of what appeared to be a skeletal human foot. He clenched his jaw
so he didn’t gasp and scare her even more. No wonder she was so upset.
    He delved into the mass of foliage deeper, cleared away all
the obstructions until he could visualize the entire skeleton. “Well, at least
this answers the question of what happened to the resident of the tree house. A
body doesn’t decompose overnight, you know. He could have died…years ago.” But
he wondered how the person had perished. He scanned the skull, the rib cage and
the arms and legs but he didn’t notice any holes or breaks in the bones. Could
have been anything but he was a little relieved to see nothing obvious around
the scene like a spear or a bullet.
    Diana took a step closer and some of the tight lines around
her mouth eased. “I guess you’re right.” But she didn’t look totally convinced.
    He took her shoulders and met her stare. “We are not going
to die, understand?” He waited for her tentative nod before continuing. “I will
protect you from lizards, snakes, spiders and anything else nature throws at
us. I promise.”
    He released her then rubbed his hands together. “Let’s get
back to work unless you’re going to quit on me and give me the opportunity to
ravage that gorgeous body of yours.”
    That won him a smile. “Not on your life.”
    “Have it your way. The sooner we get food and drink in the
works, the sooner we can start work on an SOS sign and some sort of shelter for
the night.” He recovered the bones then backed away. “Stay near the shore,
would you?” He prayed they’d be rescued before the shelter was needed but he
refused to take any chances. The discovery of the skeleton emphasized the
urgency of his mission.
    * * * * *
    Diana handed Chase a half shell that she’d filled with
coconut water as the sun slowly sank on the horizon. He tasted the drink then
winked at her. “Delicious, but we’ll