Page 86 of Caught Up In You (Indigo Royal Resort)
“Morning, Uncle Miller. Wasn’t expecting to see you up for breakfast this early. Didn’t you do dinner last night?” Drea said, crossing over to where her favorite uncle was pulling pans of muffins out of the massive industrial oven.
Although singling him out wasn’t fair, since she loved all three of the men who raised her more than anything, there was an extra special place in her heart for Uncle Miller. Maybe it was because he had been her dad’s best friend, or because he was the one who had apparently been insistent that he and his brothers still be the ones to raise her, or maybe it was just his signature “magic muffins,” the ones that always landed their resort on annual lists of best hotel restaurants. Uncle Vaughn, who was the general manager of the Indigo Royal, had always been the serious and strict one, pushing her to study and learn everything she could, instilling in her discipline and routine, but also always challenging her to try something new. Uncle Grayson, who she had always just called “Uncle Gray,” had taken on the role of fun uncle, from the funny voices he gave to her stuffed animals when she was little to teaching her how to sail, rock climb, and any number of other outdoor activities he was in charge of as activities director for the resort.
But it had been Uncle Miller who had been the biggest influence on her growing up. He’d handled the meals, bedtimes, and all the day-to-day school and extracurricular stuff. He’d been the one nursing her back to health when she was down with the flu (although Uncle Gray wasn’t ever going to let anyone forget the one time he’d been the puke receptacle when she brought home the stomach bug in the third grade). He’d been the one who very awkwardly tried to explain feminine products and “the change,” as he called it, to her after an embarrassing gym class incident, before running to Vaughn’s long-time girlfriend Simone and begging her to please take over before he scarred Drea for life. He’d been the one who had modeled love and loyalty and been her rock as she figured out the world. He also happened to be the most incredible chef, and made muffins that were simply to die for.
“I did. But Rafe’s kiddo isn’t feeling so hot so I told him to take the morning off. I remember the days of trying to wrestle a sick little one to sleep and then being up at the crack of dawn to scramble eggs,” he said with a laugh. His tall frame required that he squat down all the way to pull out another pan of muffins, and Drea noticed there was a little more gray starting to appear in his dark hair. “You just come from the beach?”
“Gym actually. We’re running a Turtle Cove trip this morning, so I wanted to make sure I was back and showered in plenty of time. There’s a lot to do on Turtle Cove mornings and while it’s not that I don’t trust Dalton…” she trailed off.
“Sometimes ‘living your best life’ doesn't always equate with being punctual.”
Drea just laughed. “That’s one way of putting it. Okay, I’m off. Love you!”
“Love you too, baby girl!”
Kyle Egan ran through the morning checklist as he got the boats ready for the day. He didn’t need to ready all thre
e of the catamarans, but he’d had to make the quick trip to get gas for the Runnin’ Down a Dream, so he figured he might as well gas up the Livin’ on a Prayer and the Don’t Stop Believin’ while he was at it. He laughed to himself as he poured the gas into the fifty-two-foot day-sail catamaran; the fleet of classic rock namesakes might not match the uber posh Indigo Royal Resort on paper, but once you were on site you understood exactly why the owner-slash-operator brother trio had turned to the classic rock gods for inspiration. Everything about this high-class establishment was about enjoying the moment and living life to the fullest. One didn’t get to be consistently voted one of the best resorts in the Virgin Islands by not having any fun.
Just as he was checking off the last of the items, his first mate, Dalton Sutherland, casually strolled down the pier carrying a handle of rum in each hand. Kyle looked down at his watch to see that Dalton was about fifteen minutes earlier than he had expected.
“You didn’t sleep in your own bed last night, did you?” Kyle asked, grinning at Dalton.
“Now, whatever would make you say that?” Dalton drawled, his southern accent coming off strong, as he smirked in response.
“Because you’re here on time. You know I think you’re the best first mate I could ask for, but you only show up on time when you need to make a quick exit in the morning.”
“Hey now, I resemble that comment!” Dalton said, owning up to the accusation as he handed Kyle one of the handles of rum and climbed up into the catamaran.
“You resemble what comment?” said a sweet voice that sent a flood of warmth down Kyle’s whole body. He looked up to see Drea walking toward them with the stack of paperwork in hand. Her chestnut-brown corkscrew curls were still slightly wet from her morning shower and her makeup-free face radiated with an energy that was so uniquely Drea. She looked so damn cute in her running shorts and tank top, and Kyle didn’t dare allow himself to linger on the thoughts of what could be if acknowledged all the things she made him feel.
“Dalton was the picture of punctuality today,” Kyle said, giving Drea a ‘you know what that means’ look.
Drea groaned. “Ugh...please just don’t let her have been one of our guests.”
“Excuse you, I have standards, you know!”
“Do you, though?”
Dalton simply shrugged, not even bothering to look remotely guilty. “I didn’t say they were high standards.” He held out a hand and helped her step into the boat. She smiled at him and rolled her eyes playfully. “You know I would never do anything to jeopardize you, your uncles, or this establishment.”
“Yes,” Kyle injected. “Because that would mean he’d have to go home and get a real job.”
They all erupted into laughter as Dalton tapped his nose with his index finger to indicate that Kyle was exactly right. As if taking that as his cue, Dalton headed below deck to start pulling up the life jackets and snorkel gear for the tour. Still shaking her head and laughing, Drea looked up at Kyle, the sparkle in her eyes sending a shot straight to his gut. He smiled back, secretly hoping it would keep the sparkle there just a little longer.
“Ready for another awesome day?” he asked.
“Are you kidding? You know Turtle Cove is my favorite.” She flipped through the papers she was holding as she hopped down to the lower deck to the u-shaped bar where she spent most of her time while they were out with guests. “Still time for some last-minute changes, but if these numbers stick, we should only have about thirty-five on today’s tour, so, perfect size for the cove.”
The Runnin’ Down a Dream had a limit of fifty-five guests, but all three members of its crew much preferred to get nowhere near that number. With that many guests, to only the three of them, it was like herding toddlers. Add in the danger of the water and of course, the rum punch, and it made for more chaos than it was worth. Well, that was until they saw the tip jar at the end of the excursion.
“Well, if that’s all we have to deal with, maybe I’ll tell Dalton he’s stuck on deck duty and I’ll hop into the water to come play,” he said, giving her a little wink.
“Don’t you dare tease me like that, Kyle Egan! Don’t get me all excited about my favorite person coming to play in my favorite place and then back out on me.” Drea pointed her finger at him accusingly and attempted to glare at him, only to have the edges of her mouth curve up slightly, giving away her amusement.
“I’m just gonna leave the whole ‘playing in my favorite place’ thing alone,” he mused, climbing up the three little steps from the main deck into the captain’s perch.
“Kyle!”
