Stranded with the Hidden Billionaire Read online

  In the end, she decided to rely on the power of the antibiotics and check his wound again when it wasn’t pitch black. She wanted to see the skin and leg in regular light, not this weak, flickering flashlight light that was more yellow than anything.

  “You’re taking more antibiotics in a few hours,” she said, folding the flaps of his pantleg over his leg again.

  “I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

  “The only thing you should be sure of, Holden, is that you’re not getting off this mountain without help.”

  He sighed and looked away, which Eden took as the perfect time to plunge them back into blackness.

  A few beats of silence passed, and then he asked, “How’s Orchid these days?”

  “Good,” she said, scooting back until she leaned against the wall too, right beside him. “With the right counseling, she’s been doing really well.”

  “I’m glad.”

  “So you and Dean are still best friends,” she said, not really asking.

  “Yeah,” Holden said with a chuckle. “Though I’m considering trading him out for someone else.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “He keeps trying to set me up with someone.”

  Eden couldn’t help the splash of laughter that filled the cave. She clapped a hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry,” she said, still giggling. “That just sounded so funny.”

  Thankfully, Holden chuckled too. His hand slid down her arm, and his fingers threaded right between hers. Easily, the way they always had.

  She sobered instantly, her heart now booming so loudly in her chest she was sure Holden could hear it. She could almost feel the weight of his eyes as he searched the darkness for hers, and she closed her eyes and just breathed.

  “So you’re not interested in dating?” she asked, her voice much too high to play off as casual.

  “Depends,” he said, his voice throaty and low.

  Eden didn’t know what else to say, and thankfully, Holden said, “I feel woozy and weird.”

  “Probably all the water, mixed with the pills,” she said. “Try to go to sleep.” She hoped and prayed he wouldn’t throw up. In their cramped space and with the limited sight, she didn’t need to navigate around that.

  He groaned, and she shifted so he could lean into her more. “Come on,” she said, removing her hand from his so she could lift her arm over his shoulders. “Lie down more. It’s okay. Lean into me.”

  “I’m sorry,” he slurred.

  “It’s not your fault,” she said, reaching over to stroke his hair off his forehead. Holden had always had amazing hair, and she worked the dirt out of the front part of it as his breathing deepened.

  “I miss you,” she whispered into the resulting silence, and then she closed her eyes too. Sleep took a long time to claim her, as her mind felt like it had been lit up with a dozen light bulbs.

  But eventually, the warmth of Holden’s body against hers lulled her back toward unconsciousness.

  She didn’t dare go all the way under, in case he woke again and needed something. The heat of his body concerned her, and she thought through her nursing education, trying to find the solution to his health problems.

  No matter what, when she got back to her house, she was stocking her hiking backpack with more food, more medicine, more of everything.

  Chapter Six

  A fire raged through Holden’s body, consuming his flesh and making him sweat. He crawled toward the open rectangle of light ahead, because surely it would be cool there. The blue sky called to him, and though his throat felt like he’d swallowed half of the ocean’s sand, he continued forward.

  There’d be water in the blue sky doorway too. He just knew it.

  “Holden,” a woman said, and he imagined her to be wearing a beautiful, flowing, violet dress. “Wake up.”

  She didn’t sound very nice, and Holden flinched away from the voice.

  “Holden.” Something wet and cool touched his face, and his eyes opened, the rectangle disappearing. “Wake up, Holden.” A sob filled his ears, and everything rushed forward.

  “Eden?” His voice sounded rusty, and his throat felt like fire.

  “Holden.” Relief filled her voice, and she came into his line of sight. “I have a little more water here. You need to drink, and you need to take more meds.”

  “I can’t,” he said, lifting his hand to wave her away. He just needed to get to that blue sky.

  She touched his forehead again with a wet cloth, and he realized she’d sacrificed some of their water to make a cold compress. “You’re on fire,” she said. “Swallow these now.”

  Holden did what she said, because he was tired of arguing. Tired of being in this cave. Tired of fighting with his shareholder board about company policies and payroll and what direction they should take next. Tired of so many things.

  He opened his eyes again, his mind a little clearer. “We’re stuck in a cave.”

  “Yes,” she said. “Sort of. It’s only closed here at the back. It’s not a real cave.”

  Sunlight beckoned to him, just like in the dream. “Is someone coming? Have you talked to anyone today?” He pushed himself to a sitting position and recognized the pins and needles in his back and legs. “I need to get up.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Everything is falling asleep,” he said, looking at Eden. The sunlight illuminated her, showing him all the dirt on her face and in her hair. But she was absolutely beautiful to him. He reached out and touched her face, cupping her cheek in his palm. “Please help me get up. I just need to take a few steps. Or even just lean against the wall for a minute.”

  Already his breath was coming quicker, but he sucked in and held all the air in his lungs while Eden positioned herself to help him stand up. Together, they achieved the feat, and he put his weight on his left leg and leaned against the wall beside him.

  The blood started flowing through his body better, and sweet relief entered his mind and body. “Those pills work fast,” he said.

  “I couldn’t wake you up,” she said. “You have an infection raging through your body. We need to do something about it really soon, or you could lose your leg.”

  Holden looked down at his leg. “All right. What do we need to do then?” He noticed she hadn’t answered him about if she’d gotten ahold of someone or not.

  “I think I should just…lance it.”

  Holden reached up to the cut on his forehead, and his skin felt hot to his own touch. “Okay,” he said. “Let’s do it.”

  “Are you sure?”

  He met her eye, wishing things between them had ended differently last time. Could he tell her that? She’d let him hold her hand last night, and then he’d settled into her embrace to sleep.

  That’s because she’s worried about you, he told himself.

  “I trust you,” he said, and the hard lines in her face softened. She bent to get something out of her pack, and she smartly didn’t show it to him.

  She knelt in front of him with the words, “Don’t kick me,” and tucked his ripped pantleg out of the way.

  His stomach writhed, as he’d swallowed all those pills without eating. But he wasn’t going to ask her for more of her food. He’d already taken so much from her. Now, and five years ago.

  He pressed his eyes closed and tried to grip the rock beside him. Because this was going to hurt. Everything in him felt strung tight, and Eden still didn’t touch him. Just when he felt like he was about to snap, more pain than he’d ever experienced shot through his whole body.

  He cried out against his will, and Eden put pressure on his leg. “I’m sorry,” she said, her voice too high. “I’m sorry. Sorry, sorry, sorry.”

  Holden grunted and groaned, needing to get away from the pain. But it radiated everywhere, and he did have to work hard not to kick her.

  “I’ve got it,” she said. “I’m sorry, just a little bit more. It’s coming out. There’s definite infection here, but it’s draining. I’ve got it, H
olden. This is good.” She kept talking, telling him about some training she did years ago.

  He knew she was trying to distract him, but it wasn’t really working. The pain settled to a dull ache, and for a minute he thought he was actually feeling better. That was probably because when she’d stabbed him, it had hurt so dang bad.

  “I’ve got it all,” she said. “I hope. I’m bandaging it now. We’ll keep an eye on your fever and hopefully you’ll start to feel better quickly.”

  “So someone’s not coming today,” he said, opening his eyes and looking down at her. She spun in his vision until he blinked her into one single person.

  “Iris said the landslide covered the road. They’re working on clearing it, but it probably won’t be until tomorrow.”

  Holden didn’t want to say anything, but he felt like he had to. “We need more food.”

  “I’ll see what I can find.”

  “On our slab of rock?” Holden didn’t mean to bite out the words, but he was tired, and hungry, and in a lot of pain. And who knew what his shareholders would do without him there? He didn’t even want to think about it.

  “Yes, Holden,” she said acidly. “On our slab of rock.” She straightened, and she looked tired and hungry and like she’d been crying.

  “I’m—”

  She spun and marched out of the cave before he could finish the apology. He said, “Sorry,” anyway, wishing he could go after her. Honestly, he was worried the outside ledge wouldn’t hold his weight combined with hers, and he had to admit he couldn’t really walk anywhere on his own.

  He couldn’t stay in the half-cave for another minute, so he limped his way out into the fresh air. Instantly, everything was better. Sunlight. Blue sky. He breathed, for maybe the first time since the landslide.

  Hawaii had fruit trees growing everywhere. Surely he and Eden could find something to eat. Thinking of Eden, he glanced around for her, and she stood way over by the edge, facing the ocean.

  Even though he couldn’t see her face, he sensed a vulnerability in her, and he hated that he’d snapped at her. He stepped over to her, the ground steady and secure. “I’m sorry, Eden,” he said.

  “You need to eat.”

  He couldn’t disagree, but he didn’t know what to do about it. “My leg feels better,” he said. “And I’m pretty sure I passed some fruit trees on the way up.”

  She looked at him, her oceanic eyes searching his. “And how do you plan to get across that gap?” She nodded to it. “Because if we can do that, we can get down. We don’t need fruit.”

  “What about up then?” he asked, turning back to the cave area. He walked that way, taking short then big steps, a strange sort of gait. He glanced down at the pile of debris from the path above, but he edged past it and the rock overhang where he’d hid from the rain.

  Sure enough, the path continued even if it was a bit muddy and littered with branches and rocks. “We can keep going up,” he called to Eden.

  She joined him, her worry like waves in the atmosphere. “What if there’s no shelter further up?”

  “Do you think it will rain?”

  “It better,” she said, glancing up into the cloudless sky. “We don’t have any drinking water. Well, we have a few swallows left, but no way to cap it.”

  She didn’t say he’d lost the bottle, but he heard it in her words anyway. “I think we go up,” he said. “You’ve been up here, right? Isn’t there a spring?”

  “That’s miles up there,” she said. “Like, almost to the top.”

  “Let’s go, then.”

  “Holden, you can barely walk.”

  He looked at her, his desire to do what she wanted and make her happy warring with his hunger and thirst. “Eden, we can’t stay here. I know they say to find a safe spot and stay there until you’re found, but we’re not really lost. They just can’t get to us. And we have to eat and drink.” Holden faced the path he’d been walking yesterday when the mountain had fallen. “I don’t think we have a choice. There’s no food and no water here.”

  He touched her arm. “I’ll be slow, but you can go ahead of me.” Her eyes locked onto his, and he saw the worry there. “I can do this.”

  Eden’s eyes closed in a slow blink, and she tipped up to kiss him on the cheek. “I know you can. Let me get the backpack.”

  Holden watched her duck back into the cave area, the spot where her lips had touched burning hotter with every passing moment.

  Eden returned, her backpack in place. “Okay. Ready?”

  “Yes,” he said.

  “If you need to stop, say something. If something hurts, say something. If—”

  “Eden,” he said. “Everything hurts. I promise you I’ll let you know if I need to take a break.” He swept his eyes down her body. “I can’t believe you’re not more hurt.”

  “My back hurts,” she admitted. “And my elbow.” She glanced down at her feet. “And my ankle.”

  For some reason, this made Holden feel better. At least he wasn’t the only broken one. “So we’ll both go slow and say when we need a break.”

  “Deal.” She smiled at him, and Holden couldn’t remember the last time that had happened. His heart skipped around inside his chest, and he let Eden go ahead of him. He glanced at his watch, surprised to see it was just after nine o’clock in the morning. He hadn’t realized he’d slept so late, and he thought his fever had kept him down longer than he’d intended.

  The meeting had probably started a few minutes ago too, and he thought of Joan, the eagle-eyed woman who seemed to disagree with everything he’d done since taking over the company after his mother’s death.

  But his idea of what Explore Getaway Bay should do was completely different than Joan’s. She only cared about money, and he cared about the service, the employees, and the product they were putting out.

  If that cost him a few more dollars, so be it. He had plenty.

  He stepped as quickly as he could, but he gave up worrying if he was holding Eden back or not. She went at her speed, stopping to wait for him on her own timetable. When he wanted to stop, he did. His tongue felt like a sponge in his mouth, and he told himself they’d reach the top eventually.

  They’d been walking for an hour and a half when Eden yelled, “Holden!” with pure excitement in her voice. He looked up from the ground, where he’d been keeping his attention during the climb.

  He couldn’t see her up ahead, so he called, “What?” and kept walking. Glance down, step. Glance up. He’d only taken a few steps this way when Eden appeared, waving both of her hands above her head.

  “Sea grapes and bananas!” She ran back toward him, and he noticed her limping too. But her excitement and the prospect of food had him moving faster than normal.

  Eden reached him and handed him a short, stubby banana, very unlike the ones he bought in the grocery store, but exactly like a wild banana should be. “Come on,” she said. “There’s lots more, and I think I saw a mango tree too.”

  Her eyes shone with excitement, and for the first time since the landslide, Holden actually thought he could have a second chance with the woman who’d never truly given him back his heart.

  Chapter Seven

  Eden knew she should eat slower, but she couldn’t seem to get her mouth to obey her brain. That happened a lot, honestly, and her mouth sometimes got her in trouble. But beside her, Holden was eating through his seventh piece of fruit, with the pile in front of them getting smaller every minute.

  Food.

  They had food.

  Yes, they still needed water, but Eden estimated they probably had another three or four hours to the spring. The rate they climbed certainly wasn’t fast, but she could do it. She could get water and bring it back to him if she had to.

  The weather was playing nice—or nasty. She couldn’t decide. Depending on how she looked at it determined how she felt. She’d love to be able to just collect rainwater, but that meant staying down in the cave instead of eating up here in the wild fru
it trees.

  There had been a mango tree, and she’d managed to knock down eight of them. She put the last sea grape she could possibly eat in her mouth, spit out the stone, and sighed as she leaned against the tree trunk.

  “So now we won’t die,” she said. Sure, they might run into a feral pig or goat, but it wasn’t like Getaway Bay played home to cougars or lions. Their biggest danger remained Holden’s leg, and she glanced down to his calf. “How’s your leg?”

  “It feels okay, actually,” he said, looking at her as he licked mango juice from his fingers.

  Eden’s whole body turned blazing hot, as if someone had poured gasoline down her throat and tossed a match in afterward.

  Probably because she knew what it felt like to be kissed with that mouth. She tore her eyes from him and looked out into the wilderness. They’d moved around the mountain now, so the ocean sat behind them, but the view before her was still spectacular. If she looked carefully enough, she could see the black ribbon of highway that came around from the cattle ranch.

  “Do you miss the ranch?” she asked, suddenly nostalgic for the time she’d spent there with him.

  “A little,” he said, which in Holden-speak really meant a lot.

  “Your dad must’ve given it to Lincoln.”

  “He did, yes,” he said. “I got some percentage of his wealth in a buy-out.”

  Eden nodded though she was a bit surprised. Holden and his father hadn’t gotten along back when she’d last dated him.

  “He did it out of loyalty to my mother, if you can believe that.”

  “I don’t know what to believe,” Eden said, cutting a look at him out of the corner of her eye. She didn’t know his father personally. Only what Holden had told her, and she knew he carried emotional trauma from feelings of abandonment. She knew he’d protected his mother fiercely, and she’d always liked that about Holden.

  His intensity was as attractive to her as it was maddening at times.