"Sure." There was no hesitation in his voice. "I think your cousins will move heaven and earth. But it's a damn big ocean, Lea. It could take some time. Be prepared to settle in and get comfortable waiting."
Her cousins. They would be worried by now. She'd intended to text … and now that wasn't possible. They would know the plane hadn't landed in Sydney. Piper would be so worried. They would be forced to call all of Dane, Cooper, and Landon's relatives to tell them their sons were missing. She knew Dane had a father he didn't talk to anymore. Cooper had a big family scattered all over southern Colorado. What about Landon? "Is there anyone back in the States who's going to be upset? You have to know Talib is going to call your parents."
Lan turned to the fire. "Don't have any."
His parents were gone? "I'm so sorry."
A bitter smile crossed his face. "Don't be. They aren't dead, darlin'. At least I don't think they are. I don't know. My mom ditched me about five minutes after I was born. As for my dad, I don't even know who he is. I'm not even sure my mom did. She got around."
She knew he came from a small Texas town. How hard had it been to be abandoned by the woman who should have loved him above all others? "How old was she?"
"She was all of seventeen when she had me. The way my grandma told it, she tried really hard to get rid of me, but I was dug into that womb."
"Get rid of you?"
Lan turned to her, his face a careful blank. "She tried a homemade abortion. I wasn't part of her plan."
"Oh, Lan." She reached for him, feeling sick, and yet an urge to comfort him all at once.
Then she stopped her hand in midair as she realized that she'd been about to hug him. The sympathetic gesture had come almost instinctively.
Lan turned back to the fire as though he couldn't stand to watch her choose to not touch him. Like other women in his life had rejected him. "It's no big deal. My grandma raised me. We didn't have much, but she made sure I got fed and had clothes."
He'd said absolutely nothing about anyone loving him. "Do you miss her? Is that who Tal will call?"
"She died a couple years back. She wouldn't have really cared. She was a mean old lady. There was a reason my momma wanted to get the hell out of that trailer. My grandma ran off everyone who ever loved her. She never let a day go by where she didn't tell me what a whore my momma turned out to be and that I was an embarrassment. She kept me because righteous women take care of their mistakes."
How hard had it been for his sole guardian to consider him a burden? Lan was so competent. In the course of one day, he'd scouted the perimeter of the island, found food, and set up a desalinization station that was gathering water so they could stock up. He was amazing and he'd always been so deeply kind. She didn't stop this time. If nothing else, he was her friend.
Alea scooted closer to him and placed a hand on his back, leaning her face against his strong upper arm. His skin was warm and smooth, so much softer than she'd imagined, though it covered rock-hard muscle. "You weren't a mistake. I can't imagine any mother not being so proud of you."
He turned slightly, forcing her head up and looking on her with a curious gaze. Slowly, he reached down and brushed away tears she hadn't known she was shedding. "Are those for me?"
She shrugged, then nodded. He wrapped a bulky arm around her and hauled her in close. For a moment, she stiffened, then sank against the heat of his body. And the safety. She felt safe with all of them.
"Don't you cry for me, Princess."
Sometimes when he called her that she could almost believe it was a term of endearment and not merely a title. "Someone should. And I'm not really crying for you. It's not pity. You came from so little and you've turned into a wonderful man."
"Sometimes," he began, staring down at her, "bad things happen to good people, and they still find a way to turn it around. They find a way to be brave. I know you're brave, too. I want you to kiss me, Lea."
So much for his lack of smarts. He was a manipulative bastard. But if she wanted to heal, wanted to move forward and not let the kidnappers beat her, as Piper had pointed out, she had to be willing to take chances. Get out of her comfort zone. Try to be a whole woman. Believe that she could trust them.
Alea closed her eyes and tilted her head up. She could handle this. Landon would never hurt her.
She waited, but nothing happened.
Alea opened her eyes, and found Lan staring down at her. Cooper had moved behind, and she could feel his heat. Dane had edged closer, too. His gaze was fixed on her, smoldering like the nearby fire, as he leaned back against a tree.
"He said he wanted you to kiss him, baby," Dane pointed out. "You have to listen to instructions or there might be consequences."