Free The Magic in her Gift by Missy Martine Page A

table, managing to give
Mel a small smile she didn’t feel. “That was my fiancé calling from
the states.”
    “ It must be hard to be
separated from the one you love. You must miss him a great
deal.”
    Sara thought about that statement. Her
cold hands clasped together as she forced a smile and gave a
hesitant nod. “Yes, it’s difficult being without someone you
love.”
    Mel smiled and put his coffee cup in
the sink. “Elias told me you’re new to this area. I thought you
might be interested in taking a boat tour of the islands with me
today.”
    Sara’s eyes closed briefly and then she
gave Mel a wide grin. “I can’t tell you how much I’d enjoy
that.”
    He nodded. “Then let’s go.”
     
    An hour later Sara stood next to Mel as
he expertly guided the small motor boat around the island. Palm
trees gently swaying in the breeze littered the horizon. She could
hear the loud cries of tropical birds, but had no luck spotting
them in the thick foliage.
    “ Look over there.” Mel
pointed to an area out at sea. “Watch closely.”
    Sara focused her gaze in the direction
he indicated and then gasped when a huge spray of water shot up
into the sky right before a dolphin soared into the air in a
graceful dive. “How come the water shot up before he jumped?” she
asked.
    Mel grinned and winked. “It wasn’t the
dolphin that made the water shoot up.”
    Sara frowned and looked closer. “Wow,”
she cried when a huge whale came lumbering to the
surface.
    Mel laughed. “Yes, it’s a whale. We
also have sharks in these waters. For the most part, hammerhead and
tiger.” He nodded toward the dolphins they could still see playing.
As long as you see those fellows, you don’t have to worry much
about sharks. They’ll steer clear of each other for the most
part.”
    Feeling light and happy, Sara shielded
her eyes from the sun and looked out over the other islands. The
sight of a fluffy, white mushroom-shaped cloud caused goose bumps
to break out all over her arms. “Mel,” she said in a shaky voice,
“what’s that?” Her hand trembled as she pointed toward the ominous
cloud.
    “ Nothing to worry about,
Sara,” Mel chuckled. “It’s a volcano.”
    “ A live volcano?” Sara could
hear the fear in her own voice.
    “ You’re looking at Tinakula.
It’s in Temotu Province. It’s the eastern most island in these
waters.” He slowed the boat to nearly a crawl. “She’s live all
right. Clouds of steam and smoke are pretty constant. It forms
fresh clouds like that one daily.”
    “ Is it
dangerous?”
    “ It can erupt without
warning and sometimes lasts for days.” He put a comforting arm
around her shoulder. “You don’t have anything to worry about.
Anything it spews drops directly into the ocean.”
    Sara trembled at the feel of his warm
skin across her back. “Um, are there any other volcanoes around
here?”
    His arm lifted as he pointed toward
another small group of islands. “Over there are Savo and Simbo.
Both are what we call low scale. They spew streams of hot water and
steam.” He put his hands back on the wheel. “You can hike up to
them if you want. There are lots of hot mud pools around them.
Don’t sophisticated women like you pay big money for mud
baths?”
    “ Sophisticated,” Sara
sputtered. “If sophisticated means wallowing in a mud bath, then
I’m happy being a plain, old country girl.”
    “ I don’t think I’d ever call
you plain, Sara.”
    The heat in Mel’s eyes made
Sara’s nipples tighten painfully. I need
to get a grip on myself. I’ve never felt desire like this except in
my dreams. “Um, Elias said there were
opportunities for scuba diving here.”
    “ There are.” Mel frowned.
“But I don’t recommend it.”
    “ Why not?” she
asked.
    “ Too many World War II ships
sank in this area. You’re right smack in the middle of what
historians say was the bloodiest and longest campaign of the war.
There were over thirty-eight thousand lives lost