Savanna opened her eyes slowly. The small amount of light made her wince and groan. She tried to sit up, but the room spun. God, what happened to me? Every part of her body ached. And she was cold. Her head pounded the longer she tried to move, but the light hurt her worse than anything. She shut her eyes against the illumination.
“Hey, hey. Don’t try to move,” a male voice said next to her. Savanna wanted to open her eyes again, but she didn’t want to be stabbed with the light, so she kept them closed. “You got a pretty nasty bump on the head.”
“Where am I?”
“What’s the last thing you remember?”
She had been on the dock, getting ready for a party. Then there was cold and darkness. She tried to recall more, but it was all a blur. “I was getting ready to do a bridal shower on this charter boat and then...I don’t know.”
Something touched her forehead. A soft, cool cloth eased her anxiety. “You’re very lucky to be alive. You’ve been unconscious for a couple of days. A storm blew up two nights ago, and it still hasn’t calmed down enough for me to get you some help. I’ve been making sure you’ve stayed with us. Drink this.”
A cup was placed against her mouth. Her savior’s hand slipped underneath her head and lifted it. The small pressure made her head spin, but her throat was dry. When the cool water spilled over her lips, Savanna swallowed a bit of it before hot bile crept up her throat, and she had to lie her head back down. After a few long, drawn out breaths, she was able to beat the nausea. “Thank you,” she forced out.
“It’s fine. From what I can guess, you have a concussion. It’s going to be tough for you to raise your head, you’ll feel queasy, maybe lose a bit of your memory, and see stars, but that seems to be the worst of your injuries. You have a few scrapes and bruises from where you fell off the boat.”
“I fell off a boat?” How had she fallen off the ship? What happened with the party? “I was booked to do readings for a huge bridal shower on a charter boat. I went down to the marina and then...” She tried to think of what happened after that, but she wasn’t sure.
“It’s okay. Memory loss is one of the side effects of a concussion.”
“How do you know so much about concussions?” She tried to open one of her eyes to look at the man who had saved her. The light speared her pupil, and she hissed in a quick breath.
“I haven’t always been a lighthouse keeper,” he chuckled.
She heard regret and longing in the chuckle and in his response. There was something else, too, but her brain was too foggy to catch it. “Oh, my head!” Savanna squeezed her eyes shut. Itchy fabric touched her bare skin. When she felt her torso, she couldn’t find her clothes, not even her bra and panties. “Where are my clothes?” she said, wincing at the panic in her voice.
“Don’t worry. I didn’t take advantage of you. You came in here soaking wet and cold to the bone. I took your clothes off to dry them and make sure you were getting warmer. Once you were, I undressed the rest of you to make sure that you were not hurt anywhere else. I washed everything so you would have something to wear. You don’t have to worry about me getting frisky with you. I’m an honorable man.”
“Yeah, sure you are.” She pulled her hand out from underneath the blankets and touched her hair. The air was warm outside of the blankets. Savanna raked her fingers through her hair and caught the spot where she had banged her skull. She winced when she felt the other jagged lines on her cheeks and forehead. “How bad is it?”
“Your face?”
“Yeah.”
“Nothing that won’t heal. I didn’t see any broken bones. You might have pulled or strained something. Can you open your eyes for a second?”
She shook her head. “No. The light hurts too much.”
“Okay. What’s your name?”
“Savanna Collins. Who are you?”
“I’m Drake.”
“Just Drake. No last name, like Cher or Madonna?”
“I just go by Drake. I’m...the lighthouse keeper.”
She snuggled under the blankets. Her stomach growled, and she had the urge to use the bathroom. The idea of getting up and actually moving made her woozy. Hearing him say he was the lighthouse keeper made her realize where she was. The lighthouse on Finger Island. It had always been a mystery who ran it and who kept it up. Now she was inside of it, and she wondered what the man who rescued her looked like. “It’s nice to meet you. Thank you for saving my life. Although I hate to ask you, can you help me to the bathroom?” She doubted that anyone wanted to hear that question. “I don’t need any help in that department, but any kind of light hurts my eyes. If you could just show me where it is.”
“Right. It’s not far. Hold on.” Savanna heard shuffling. Drake returned and put something soft in her hand. “This is one of my shirts. It should fit you. I’m going to help you put it on, okay?”
She wasn’t sure she liked the idea of him seeing her naked, but he had already undressed her. Cool air caressed her when Drake pulled back the covers. She tried to sit up, but even the slightest movement made her head spin. Although the calling to use the facilities was stronger than her head twisting around. She bit her tongue and fought everything until she planted her feet on the floor, only to find it was cold. She nearly curled her feet back up underneath her, but she forced herself through it and opened the garment he had given her. The shirt was made with soft fabric, cotton, she assumed, and she slipped it over her body. Her hands shook when she tried to button it. Savanna was able to get it over her breasts, but it didn’t go all over her stomach. She hated that she hadn’t kept up going to the gym. It had gone to the wayside, but she did intend to get into shape. Her weight was something of a lifelong fight. Being partially covered was better than nothing. She kept her eyes closed and he wrapped his arm around her waist. Drake led her a few feet until they stopped again.
“Just go straight ahead. Are you hungry?”
“A little. Although I don’t know how much I can eat.”
“I’ll put something on and we can see.”
“Thanks.” She went into bathroom and stood for a moment, feeling the world shift as though she would keel over. Before she did, Savanna grabbed onto the sink. Using her hands, she found the toilet. Once Savanna was done, she opened her eyes and discovered it was dark enough, with only a small sliver of light that she was able to tolerate. It wasn’t much to see by, but it gave her a bit of perspective. Savanna saw her scratched her face in the faint darkness. She gripped the sink and knew it was time to sit back down.
Savanna clutched the doorjamb and took two deep breaths to brace herself for the slicing of the light that would assail her eyeballs. However, when she stepped back into the main room, the light was low enough it didn’t hurt. The fire had died down. She made out the man who had rescued her as he stood by the hearth. With the low light his form was silhouetted in shadow. He was tall, even though he appeared to be slouching. Drake was muscular as well. His clothes stretched over his frame. If the room hadn’t started spinning, then she would have peered further into the shadows. She tried to move toward him, but stumbled. Drake rushed forward and caught her, leading her back to the bed. He helped her down and sat beside her on the bed. His hand rested on her thigh and his fingers trailed along her flesh for a brief moment. She shivered, and a tingle seared her nerves.
“You need to be careful. Your head.” He stood up and retrieved something in the corner.
Drake brought a cup back to her. It smelled like chicken. After a couple of sips, she couldn’t stomach any more. “Thanks, but here. I can’t.” She handed it back to him.
“Lost your appetite?”
“Yes. My head.”
He set the cup on a small, bedside table and flashed her a smile. “You need to lie down. Tomorrow the weather should be calm enough so we can bring you back to the mainland and get to a doctor.”
“How do we do that?”
“There’s a boat. The nearest phone is at the Blackmores. There’s a walkway across the rocks. I think it will be quickest.”
“Really? I’ve never seen one.”
“Not many realize it’s there. I’ll show you.”
“Thank you. I’m sure you’ll be happy to be rid of me and get your bed back.”
“It’s not a problem. Just be glad I was here to rescue you. Now get some sleep.”
She nodded and snuggled underneath the covers. Once the warmth enveloped her, she stared at the coals. Their orange glow whispered to her the longer she gazed at them. This wasn’t the first time she thought she heard them talking, but who would believe that if she ever admitted it? Has to be the bump on the head. Savanna watched their radiance until her eyes drooped and she fell asleep, dreaming about great flying beasts.