Free Rub It In by Kira Sinclair Page A

water. Beneath the cutoff jean shorts and stretch-necked T-shirt, she wore her bathing suit. Including yesterday, she could count on one hand the number of times she’d worn the thing since coming to the island.
    Over the next few days she planned to remedy that.
    Starting with a hike out to the waterfall tucked into the heart of the jungle on the uninhabited side of the island. How many times had she heard the guests gushing about the beauty of the secluded spot? How many times had she pointed a couple to the head of the path and promised them a wonderful time?
    The problem was she had to take everyone else’s assurances of that because she’d never made the time to go there herself. As if she ever had an afternoon free for hiking. Or a massage or a ballroom lesson or a few quiet hours on the beach.
    She flung the pack over one shoulder. Habit had her reaching for the two-way radio that sat on the charger on the small table next to the door. Her fingers brushed across the plastic before she caught herself. Pulling her hand back and cradling it against her body as if it had been burned, she stared at the thing.
    Taking it would be smart. It was unusual for anyone to get lost out in the jungle, but it did happen. Just a few months ago, Colt and Lena, guests who were being photographed for an Escape ad campaign, had been stuck out there overnight. And she was hiking alone. Being able to contact Xavier if there was an emergency wouldn’t be a bad idea.
    And if anything else came across the radio, she’d simply turn the volume down. She didn’t have to respond or pay attention.
    Reaching out with a lightning motion, Marcy palmed the thing and stuffed it into the front pocket before she could change her mind.
    A few minutes later the soft trill of birds and the muted chatter of unseen animals welcomed her. It was decidedly cooler beneath the cover of the trees—not that the days were sweltering or anything. While fall didn’t bring the change of seasons she’d grown used to in New York, there was a difference, however small.
    The biggest problem they had at this time of year was hurricanes, which was one of the reasons they always closed the resort during the fall. While they offered lots of discounts to appeal to frugal travelers, quite a few of them resisted the Caribbean and the potential for their dream vacation to turn into a nightmare with torrential rains and damaging winds. So it wasn’t difficult for the resort to carve out two weeks for routine maintenance and repairs, as well as staff vacations.
    They’d been lucky lately and hadn’t dealt with any major storms in several years. But she knew the island had taken some pretty major hits in the past. The resort had even been closed at one time because of damage the previous owner couldn’t afford to fix.
    But Marcy wasn’t worried about storms, not surrounded by the thickness of the jungle. The tension that had stretched across her shoulders began to ease. She took a deep breath and held it in her lungs. Everything smelled moist, green and vibrant.
    The sudden urge to hurry overtook her and she began to run. The balls of her feet barely touched the ground before springing up again. The exercise felt great, something she’d definitely been neglecting in her work-focused fog. Her muscles protested after a little while—there was no question she was slightly out of shape.
    She was going to fix that, though, as soon as she got back to New York. She was going to make a few changes in her priorities, starting with taking better care of herself. Although she had to admit staring at the nondescript walls of a gym would have little appeal after the natural beauty of the jungle.
    Marcy heard the waterfall long before she saw it. The path became lighter and lighter, making her realize just how dark and dense the jungle had been around her. Breaking through the opening at the end of the path, she stopped to take it all in.
    Despite the force of the water breaking