Islands by Samantha Kane

Author:Samantha Kane [Kane, Samantha]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

“Oh excuse me, Mr. Dubois.” Lieutenant Watson looked around the small building they were using as construction headquarters. “Have you seen Commander Conlan? I saw you enter and thought he was here.”

René froze for a moment. But one look at Lieutenant Watson’s face and he relaxed. The man had meant nothing untoward in his comment. He clearly did not know Gabe and René were lovers. Gabe had been back on Île Dorée for three weeks, the three most wonderful weeks of René’s life. Even though they had to hide their affair, he and Gabe had managed to be together every night, sometimes only for an hour, sometimes many more. But always Gabe slipped back to his tent, to rise and pretend that he’d been there all night. How René wished the pretense wasn’t necessary. How he wished that his Gabriel were ready to proclaim René his lover before all the world.

He sighed. There was very little chance of that happening, ever. Gabe was too entrenched in his life, too afraid of losing everything if his feelings for René were exposed. René looked away from the lieutenant. He didn’t even know what Gabe’s feelings were. Did Gabe love him? Or was this just a wartime affair?

He realized the lieutenant was still waiting for an answer. “I have not seen Commander Conlan this morning, Lieutenant Watson. I am sorry.” René was more than sorry, he was worried. The project was almost complete. Gabe would be leaving again soon. René wanted to spend every available minute with him, even if it was only to watch him work.

“I wanted to thank you, Mr. Dubois.” Lieutenant Watson entered the building and threw his cap on the desk there. “Since you decided to cooperate, you’ve helped us get this project completed in record time.”

René turned back to the lieutenant with a wry grin. “I sense a criticism in that thank you, Lieutenant.”

Watson had the grace to blush, but he didn’t apologize. “We would have been on target and not had to work our damn asses off if you’d been on board from the start.”

“I was on board—with the project. Not with its execution.” René spoke coolly.

Watson sighed. “I understand you were concerned. But Commander Conlan hasn’t handled the situation any differently than Commander Warnicki was.”

“True. But I did not trust Lieutenant Commander Warnicki. He cared nothing for Île Dorée, only for his own project record.” Warnicki had arrived on the island boasting that he’d brought in more projects early than any other Seabee staff officer. He’d immediately started scouting for the fastest routes to the building sites and wasn’t overly concerned with cutting down coconut trees and the homes of islanders in order to clear those routes.

Watson sat down and rubbed a hand over his short hair, damp with sweat. The lieutenant was older than Gabe, although he held a lower rank. He was a handsome man and once again René wondered if he was sleeping with Silei.

“All right, Warnicki was an ass. But he’s a damn fine engineer.

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