Stranded Read online

  Stranded

  CHANCE CARTER

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Billionaire’s Playmate

  The Baby Favor

  Bridesmaid For Hire

  Her Baby Donor

  First Time Lucky

  Royal Engagement

  Free Story Offer!

  STRANDED

  CHANCE CARTER

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  Copyright © 2018 Chance Carter

  ISBN: 978-1-77382-021-7

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to my diamonds.

  I love you all.

  Chapter 1

  “So where are you off to, Beautiful?”

  Joss looked up from her book, ‘Wild Food and Medicinal Plants of the South Pacific’, meeting her driver’s eyes in the rear view mirror. He offered her a cheeky wink, as though hoping his weak compliment would make her drop her panties right there and then. He was not bad looking, so she could only assume his charm had worked once or twice before.

  “Vatuvara,” she replied, looking back down to her book in an attempt to avoid the flirtatious small talk that would inevitably follow if she maintained eye contact.

  “Exotic. Where’s that, sexy?” he asked, undeterred.

  “Fiji Islands,” she shrugged, searching for the paragraph she’d paused at. Most people would find the subject matter dry and uninteresting, but Joss was fascinated with the material. As a survival enthusiast, and an Instructor at Alderleaf Wilderness College, it wasn’t surprising that this particular book was in her hands, but the truth was, she was reading for pleasure, not business. She was obsessed with the study of botany.

  “Wow, that’s a long way to venture on your own. Are you traveling for work?” he said, either ignoring her ‘not interested’ signals, or too self-absorbed to care. She was certain it was the latter.

  Joss sighed, and met his gaze again, wondering if he planned to chit-chat the entire ninety minutes, from Monroe to the Sea-Tac airport. Sure, he was hot, and most women would be happy to schmooze with him, but Joss was a social introvert, and for the most part, a little shy. She forced herself to be friendly in social situations, or when teaching, so most people considered her out-going, but the truth was, she preferred solitude. Her alone time was precious to her. She would use it to recharge her batteries, and she had been counting on the travel time to do just that. That is before she was hauled into the crazy festivities of Hannah’s wedding.

  Surrendering to the conversation, she placed her book back into her carry on bag. “Yes and no,” she admitted, certain he wouldn’t spare her anyway. “My friend is getting married on Monday and I’m a bridesmaid.”

  “And that’s work?” he chuckled, trying to catch her eye again.

  Joss grinned back and shrugged. “If you knew Hannah, you would understand,” she giggled, thinking of her crazy friend, “but no, I’m actually participating in a five day survival course in Vanua Levu, after the wedding. Work is paying for it.”

  “Sounds intriguing. What exactly do you do for a living?”

  “I’m a Certified Survival Instructor. I teach at Alderleaf,” she explained, checking the time on her watch. It was a paracord survival watch, complete with a whistle, fire starter, compass, and a thermometer, among other useful things. It was ugly but functional. Her father had presented it to her just before she left to hike the Pacific Crest Trail a few years earlier. She treasured the gift because it was the last thing he ever gave to her, and his way of saying that he supported her choices, as unconventional as they were. God, she missed him.

  “Wow, that’s cool. How did you fall into that?” he asked, genuinely impressed, as though suddenly realizing she might be more than just a pretty face.

  “It’s a long story,” Joss shrugged, hoping he wouldn’t want to hear it.

  “We have time,” he teased, flashing her another playboy grin, perhaps hoping he’d wear her down. Joss shook her head at him and chuckled, (almost) immune to his charms.

  “My Dad and I used to go camping when I was a kid. I loved it, being out in the middle of no where, surrounded by nature, relying only on our wits and creativity. I felt more at home in the woods with him than I did anywhere else,” she smiled, her voice thick with recollection. “It was so much fun to be around him, without the stressors of everyday life wearing him down, you know?”

  “Sounds like a great dad.”

  “He was...” she whispered, grief catching in her throat. She briefly met his eyes before dropping her head. “He died several years ago. Heart attack.”

  “Sorry.”

  “Anyway,” she continued, casually bypassing the condolences, “when it was time to pick a career, I wanted to be out in nature, but my pragmatic mother talked me into nursing. I had a strong penchant for the sciences and she was insistent that I pursue a sensible career, something that would serve me long term and offer a decent wage, something with a suitable pension package. She had me planning my retirement before I even started working.”

  “Ah, and you were too obedient to say no?” he grinned, as though imagining her submissive.

  Joss laughed and nodded her head. “Something like that. Mary was not a woman you wanted to argue with, trust me. So I did it. I enrolled at Seattle U, excelled through school, and soared through every term on the Dean’s list, but right before I graduated, I walked away from it all.”

  “Really?” he chimed in, curious by the admission.

  Joss hesitated for a moment, wondering why she was sharing so much with him. It was so out of character for her, but she’d already gone this far and she decided to continue. Hell, she’d probably never see him again, she thought.

  “Yeah, I really did. I went through a pretty rough break up and was frigging miserable. Actually I was suffering from depression and my doctor put me on some heavy duty prescriptions. To put it mildly, the drugs made me feel like the walking dead. Truthfully, I felt like I had no control over my own life, and the depression was a symptom of my own despair. At the risk of sounding melodramatic, switching gears may have saved my life.”

  “What did your Mom say?”

  “She wasn’t happy, but by then it didn’t matter anymore. She and my father split up and Mary moved to another state to shack up with her then lover. We’ve been estranged ever since.”

  “That’s rough,” he offered uncomfortably. Joss wondered coyly if he was regretting making small with her after all. In her experience, men acted like they wanted to know you, but then squirmed in their seats when the story wasn’t easily digestible. They wanted the history to be as pretty as the face they were flirting with.

  “It was,” she smirked privately, knowing she should let the poor sap off the hook. “Anyway, as soon as I left university,
I flushed my meds and went on a sabbatical of sorts. Took that summer to hike the Pacific Coast Trail from border to border, Mexico right up to Canada. Did it in four and a half months.”

  He looked at her reflection in the mirror, unable to mask his surprise. “Shit, no kidding?”

  “No kidding. Solo trip too. By the time I hit the Oregon/Washington border, I knew what I had to do. I spent the next few years earning my accreditation. Alderleaf hired me on as an instructor soon after, and I have been with them ever since.”

  “That’s cool. So like if we were lost in the woods together, you could build us a cabin and keep us alive, and shit? Cook up some squirrel, maybe knit us a cozy blanket we could snuggle under?” he teased, easing back into the flirtation. It seemed to be his comfort zone, she noted, wishing she had not put her book away.

  “Sure,” she offered flatly, wondering just how far Romeo would push his impromptu seduction if she’d let him. It always surprised her, even now, when men came on to her. She didn’t consider herself all that beautiful and yet for some reason, they still seemed to hit on her. She certainly didn’t primp the way most women did. She rarely wore make up, and her long, blond hair spent more time tied back in a pony tail than coiffed. In fact, Hannah teased her that she’d be wearing more cosmetics the day of the wedding than she had worn in her whole life, combined. That was probably the truth. She was a tomboy, through and through, but it served her need for solitude, whether she liked it or not.

  It wasn’t that Joss wasn’t interested in men, quite the contrary. She wanted the fairytale romance just as much as the next girl, but aside from her father, men always seemed to disappoint her. Things would start off great, but would never last. Her mother used to tell her that boys were intimidated by her intelligence. She would say, ‘Jocelyn, it wouldn’t hurt you to dumb it down a little around the opposite sex. Boys don’t want women to be smarter than they are.’

  That used to drive Joss crazy. Why would a man want a woman pretending to be something she wasn’t? And why would she want any man that would want that? She held out hope for years that her mother was wrong, but at 31, and hopelessly single, she was starting to wonder. Still, she knew that she came across as too serious, even bitchy sometimes, but she dreamed that the right guy would see past all that and bring out her wild, playful side. She knew it was in there. Aside from being bright, she did have a healthy, sexy imagination. She had just built up a lot of walls.

  “Have you ever had to use your survival skills? I mean outside of teaching?” he asked, pulling her back from her thoughts.

  “Sure, a few times, on the PCT. It can be dangerous out in the back country if you don’t know what you’re doing,” she admitted, her eyes looking ahead on the highway. They were getting close to the Airport Expressway, much to her dismay. She was excited to see Hannah again, but flying made her anxious.

  It had been almost a year since she had seen her friend. The last time they were together, Hannah announced her engagement and asked Joss to stand up for her. At first Joss declined, uncertain she would have time for all the festivities and responsibilities that came with the position, but Hannah assured her that there would be none of that to worry about. They were planning a destination wedding in an exotic locale, and all the fun would be during the week of the wedding. Joss accepted, in spite of her fear of flying. She would just have to suck it up if she wanted to be beside her best friend when she tied the knot.

  They met at S.U., college roommates, and were inseparable all through school. Hannah was a wild child, always partying and having fun. She insisted on bringing out Joss’s playful side, and thank goodness she did, or Joss would’ve spent the entire four years with her nose in her books. No one could loosen Joss up like Hannah! By the same token, Hannah needed Joss’ sensibility and work ethic to help her stay focused. They’d been a good team and Joss adored her. Hannah had been there for her during some tough times, in particular that last year of university, and the terrible loss that Joss had endured.

  “We’ll be pulling into departures in about 5 minutes,” he said, glancing over his shoulder to merge. Once he shifted the Cadillac into the proper lane, he casually handed her his cellphone. “Give me your digits. Maybe we can hook up when you get back from your trip,” he offered casually, as though there was no doubt that she would comply.

  “I’m Brandon, by the way. My friends call me B.”

  Joss stared at his phone, brows raised, but did nothing, trying unsuccessfully to hide her astonishment. Did he really think she would just roll over and lift her petticoats for him? After only a few minutes of flirting? Cute, but lazy, she thought, turning her head away.

  “I’m too busy to date, besides, don’t you live in Seattle?” she declined, watching the airport closing in.

  “Yeah, so what. We’re only an hour apart. You can come visit me, I have a spare room,” he winked, turning up the charm.

  “I’m not much of a city girl.”

  “Come on, I’m harmless” he urged, gesturing her to take his phone. “We’ll have fun! I’m just a normal guy, I promise.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of. Normal doesn’t work for me, B.”

  Chapter 2

  It was hot. Not Southern California hot. More torrid, like from the depths of Hades, hot. It made Charles wish he’d opted for Bermuda shorts and a t-shirt instead of his business suit and tie. He hadn’t really thought it through, how fucking humid it would be in Fiji, which was not surprising, given that his brain was ninety percent focused on business, a hundred percent of the time.

  He made his way to the taxi stand, dragging his luggage behind him, hoping that an air conditioned car would be available to take him to the transfer station. He was told it was about 4 miles from the Nadi International Airport. From there, he could catch his flight to his destination via seaplane.

  He was traveling to a private island to research a location for a resort his company was planning to build. The South Pacific was booming. Up until recently, much of the area catered to the very wealthy, but his company, looking to diversify, was planning on building an all inclusive resort that was both enticing and affordable for middle income travelers. They were a lucrative demographic. His company was successful because it followed the money, and the travel industry was exploding.

  He could have sent someone else but he didn’t, for three reasons. One, he was on a much needed break, so while it was a working vacation, it was also only a three on the stress scale, a business trip that he could blend with a little R&R. Given the chaos of his life, a three was as good as a zero. His doctor would be pleased.

  At 45, Charles was saddled with a few health problems, all of which were stress related. Nine months earlier, he’d suffered a mild heart attack which scared the shit out of him. He took it easy for a month or so, but gradually the demands of work, once again, took precedence over his health. It was hard to avoid, seeing that he was the founder and CEO of a multi-billion dollar corporation. Needless to say, he was pulled in a million directions.

  “Sir, can I help you?” a young porter called out, waving him over. Charles, waved back and quickly approached the podium where the young man was posted.

  “Hi there,” he greeted, loosening his tie, “I need a shuttle to the docks of Island Air Transfer?”

  “Yes sir, what time is your flight scheduled?”

  “Scheduled?”

  “Yes, yes. Did you pre-book your transfer?” the porter asked, picking up his clip board. “What is your name, sir?”

  “Charles Reid. It’s doubtful that a pre-booking was scheduled. I was told that I could just go to the main office at the docks and get on a transfer flight once I arrived?” Charles insisted nervously, uncomfortable that things might not go as planned. He should have known better.

  “It’s possible, but unlikely. The airlines are tracking a large tropical storm system that’s due to make landfall in a few days. It’s created quite a sense of urgency with travelers. The chances of you getting on
a flight without pre-booking is slim,” the porter advised, looking up from his notes. “Perhaps you could go back inside the airport and use the complimentary wifi to book a transfer? You may be lucky and get one for tomorrow?”

  “You’re kidding, right?” Charles argued, the heat suddenly even more unbearable. “Can you please double check the list, just in case?”

  It was unlikely his name was on it, because Charles had booked the trip himself, insisting he could handle it when his personal assistant offered to take care of everything. Charles wanted anonymity on the trip, and some much needed privacy. The second reason he was traveling solo was that he didn’t want anyone to know the location of the property he was researching. He was certain there was a mole in his company, a rodent selling information to his competitors, and he wasn’t taking any chances. This location was a well guarded secret, and for good reason. It was prime real estate, soon to be on the market, and he was the first to see it.

  “Sorry, I don’t see your name Mr. Reid. Please, go back inside the airport, sir, please. The longer you delay, the harder it will be to find a flight.”

  Charles nodded his assent, albeit miserably, and stepped out of the way. He hated being at the mercy of fate, and a tropical storm definitely threw a wrench into his plans. He quickly made his way back into the airport, grateful for the cool air. Although it seemed stuffy when he waded through customs earlier, it was definitely more refreshing than the air outside.

  He found a seat and fished his cell phone out of his jacket, turning it off airplane mode and quickly connecting to Wifi. Within several minutes he found the website for Island Air Transfer and tried to reserve the next available flight. To his dismay, they appeared to be booked solid. After several attempts, he grumbled to himself and dialed their number, hoping that a real person could offer him better news.

  They didn’t. After ten minutes of calmly persuading, pleading, and coaxing, he was no better off than when he started. They couldn’t help him.

  “Sir, may I make a suggestion?” the pleasant, young woman on the other end of the line offered.