Jax bowed to Brenda regally. "Welcome to our new home, princess." Then he crossed his legs and sat down on the sand.

"What do you mean, our new home?" she asked nervously.

He rubbed his forehead, which was beginning to ache. "I mean that we’re stuck here, since our means of transportation home obviously got shot to h*ll when it exploded."

"What happened?" Brenda asked meekly. At his shocked look, she hurried to add, "I don’t mean when the plane exploded. I mean – what happened that made us crash?"

Jax sifted through the sand on the beach with his fingers. "Well, actually, we DIDN’T crash since I am such an EXCELLENT pilot. We had to make a FORCED LANDING because we got caught between some cross currents and an unexpected windstorm. Then the hydraulic system failed." Brenda looked at him blankly, and he realized she didn’t understand the term. "Usually the landing gear comes out automatically, but I think the fluid was leaking and the "automatic" part didn’t work. I managed to pull some switches and get the gear lowered manually, but then after we landed, I smelled the fluid leaking. It’s very flammable, and that’s what probably caused the explosion."

Brenda tried to understand. "Did you get to send out an SOS or anything before we cra…" she saw his look of disdain, "….made our emergency landing?"

"No," he said sadly. "There was too much static on the airwaves for me to send a mayday."

"Do you have any idea where we are?"

Jax sighed. "Actually, yes, but it won’t help us much. The storm blew us off course some, but we’re probably on an atoll in the South Pacific."

"An atoll?"

"Yeah – an island formed when an volcano on the Pacific ridge erupts. There are hundreds of thousands of them in the South Pacific."

"That doesn’t sound very promising for us to be rescued. Does this atoll have a name?"

"Probably only one that geologists or map-makers know." He looked at the sky and then pointed. "I figure Pitcairn Island is that way," he looked in the opposite direction, "and Tahiti is that way."

They both sat there in silence for a few more minutes, and then Brenda let out a long sigh. "Well, probably when the plane doesn’t arrive on time, they’ll send out some search planes. But in the meantime, you might as well get going and do like you said."

Jax looked at her with a crooked grin. "Excuse me?"

Brenda waved her hand as though dismissing him. "You know – go ahead and find food and water and set up our camp." She looked at the sky. "You’re probably right – it doesn’t look like it will be long before it’s dark."

"Well, thank you for that brilliant deduction," Jax said sarcastically. He looked her up and down and it made her uncomfortable. "I should have known you would be one of THOSE types by that femi-Nazi power suit you have on."

"What do you mean – THOSE TYPES?" Brenda said in a huffy tone, putting her hands on her hips in righteous indignation as she sat in the sand.

"I mean," Jax said, putting his hands on his hips to echo and taunt her, "that you are all for feminine equality in the boardroom and in the paycheck, but when it comes to getting your hands dirty, you’d still rather have a MAN do it because it’s HIS job."

Color rushed to Brenda’s face. "Well, Ace, I guess my initial opinion of you as a gentleman was wrong!" She struggled to get to her feet in the soft sand. "Tell you what," she said, gesturing at the empty beach. "Why don’t I just go off and find my own little section of this rock and plant myself there until the search planes find us? That way, I won’t need you to do anything for poor little me at all!" She turned to stalk away proudly, but turned back once more as an afterthought. "But, if it’s not TOO MUCH TROUBLE, could you manage to remember to tell the rescuers that I’M here too!"

Having defended her feminine gender and sensibilities, Brenda turned to walk away, but forgot about the sprained ankle. She got about four steps in the sand without shoes before the ankle gave way and she began to fall.

"Whoa, there, princess!" Jax leapt to his feet and caught her before she sat down hard in the sand again. He had one arm under her arms and the other under her knees in a split second, and she found herself cradled against his chest again. "As much as I admire your brave speech, I don’t think you’d better try going too far on that ankle."

Jax carried her back to the spot where they began and sat her gently on the log. "My turn now. Let me see the ankle."

Brenda looked at him suspiciously. "What do you mean, your turn now?"

Jax smiled, and sat Indian-style on the beach at her feet again. "I mean, you brought me back and took care of this little bump on my noggin’ before." He shed his blazer, and Brenda had to stop herself from gasping aloud at his broad chest, enhanced by the way the cotton shirt clung to him with perspiration. He reached for her ankle, and before she could object, he took it in his hands and gently began probing the bone.

She winced once. "How do you know what you’re looking for?"

"I’m no doctor, but you don’t get to be a pilot without knowing some basic first aid. And I’ve been a pilot for a long time." He pressed once more on the side of her ankle. "Hurt there?" She shook her head. "Well, I don’t think you broke it," he said, putting it back on the sand gently. "But you probably should try to keep it elevated and maybe we can take down the swelling a little." He looked around and saw her slip laying near the log.

He got up quickly and before she could protest, had picked it up. "Isn’t this what you used for my…." As she blushed profusely, he held it up and saw exactly what it was. He smiled, and when she saw the dimple and cleft in his chin, she melted a little. He didn’t say another word, but went down to the water’s edge, wet it, and brought it back to wrap around her ankle.

Once he had finished, he sat back on the sand by her feet. She shifted a little on the log, but rewarded him with a brilliant smile. "I’m sorry I was so upset before. I just don’t usually get trapped on a tropical island and get scared out of my wits on a regular basis." She looked down briefly, but then back up into his eyes. "Thanks, Jax."

His face paled. "What did you call me?"

"Jax. That’s your name, isn’t it?"

He nodded wordlessly. "Yeah, but how did you …."

She began to giggle. "Well, I always was a fan of Nancy Drew when I was a kid. Obviously, reading all of those books made me a keen detective. I learned to make careful observations, I learned to search relentlessly for clues….And I learned to read names on nametags!" He looked back at the blazer sheepishly, and then tapped his forehead, saluting her resourcefulness.

"That’s kind of a funny name, isn’t it? Jax, with an X?" Brenda asked with a charming smile. Jax inhaled a little. {Here it comes. She knows who I am after all. But maybe not…}

He decided to see if she really knew his identity. "I just really dislike my first name. It’s a nickname." Since she seemed to accept that explanation, he decided to turn the tables and put the focus on her. To her discomfort, he stared at her chest, and she looked down for a minute, fearing that something was showing that shouldn’t have been. "What?"

"Well, since I don’t see you wearing a name tag, and I’ve never read Nancy Drew, I’m afraid I’m going to have to resort to more conventional methods and just ask – what’s your name?"

She blushed a little, and he was surprised that there were women left in the world who still blushed. "It’s Brenda – Brenda Barrett."

"Well, Brenda, pleased to meet you." He extended his hand to her in friendship, and she was surprised when she took it and a spark seemed to flow from his body to hers. She raised her eyes to meet his, and saw that he was a little unnerved by the contact, too. They held the handshake for a few more seconds, and then he cleared his throat and dropped her hand. "Uh, what brought you to Australia, Brenda?"

"I was on a job," she explained. "I model part-time, and my boss called me to do a quick modeling shoot there." At his curious look, she went on. "I model for Deception perfume. Ever heard of it?"

"No, can’t say that I have. But I don’t buy much perfume," Jax replied. He stared down at the sand again. {Great, I’m stranded for God knows how long with an air-head model. We can talk about mascara to pass the time of day.}

She interrupted his reveries. "Guess I don’t have to ask you what brought you to Australia, mate. That’s some accent you’ve got."

He smiled and looked down at the sand. "Not really. I live in Los Angeles now. I spent some years in Australia when I was growing up, and the accent just kind of hung on, I guess."

"So – you were visiting family here and just agreed to take this job and fly back to get back home, huh?" Brenda chuckled a little. "Guess it’s kind of convenient – get where you’re going and earn your living, too."

{She really doesn’t know who I am. Good.} "Yeah, something like that," he returned. His head was beginning to throb in earnest now, and he rubbed his forehead with his fingers.

Brenda nodded inanely. {Think of something intelligent to say, Brenda!} She noticed him rubbing his head, and she sat up straight. "Oh, I’ve got something for a headache in my totebag." She went to stand up and then as pain shot through her leg, she sat back down again. "….if you’ll get it for me."

Jax looked around, and when Brenda pointed down the beach, he got up to retrieve it. He went to lift it, but had forgotten how much it weighed and had to bend at the knees and shift to finally lift it off the sand. He ended up half-dragging, half-carrying it back to where she sat. "Bloody hell, what have you got in here, princess? Bricks?"

She pulled it over to where she sat on the log. "No, silly. Just some things that we actually might find useful here in our little corner of the world." She began rifling through the bag, calling out the names of the items as she found them. "Two bottles of rum, some wine and cheese sets – I think they have burgundy, but I’m not sure…."

"Obviously you models believe in strong liquid refreshment," Jax said snidely.

She put her hands on her hips again. "No, Ace. It was Christmas, and my boss at Deception gave me some of the gifts that we got from our retailers to bring back home with me." She kept looking through the bag and reciting the contents. "Some fabric that my boss gave me – she knows that sewing is kind of a hobby of mine --, and a small tool kit." She looked up at him and caught his glance of disbelief. "I own a record company back in LA with my best friend, and when we go with a group on a concert date, you never know when you’ll have to fix a broken speaker or take apart an amp."

"You own a record company, too? Guess you don’t have to worry about what to do with your free time, do you?" Then he looked more closely at the tool kit. "Actually, though, this might come in handy – you never know what kind of temporary housing we might to have rig up." He craned his head to look further into the bag. "Anything else in there? Like some signal flares?"

"No, that’s about all," she said, but then she lowered her head. "Except for my purse."

"Your purse, too?" Jax shook his head in amazement. "Admirable, princess. I take my hat off to you for being able to carry that infernal thing at all. Had I known everything in there, I would have filed a flight plan for a heavier aircraft."

She shot him a glare and pulled out a small leather bag. She began to dig in it, but suddenly his hand shot out and grabbed it from her. "Hey!" she shouted. "It’s MY purse!"

"We’ll be here all day before you find the pain medicine." He took the purse and dumped its contents on the sand between them. A Tylenol bottle rolled into the V of his legs. She gave him an "I told you so" look, and he picked up the bottle and pried the lid off. After shaking a few of the pills into his hand, he thought for a minute and then put all but one back.

"What are you doing? I thought your head hurt."

"We’d better save them. We’ll be here for God knows how long, and we might need them for something else. I’ve suffered through worse. One will help."

Brenda shivered a little at the thought that either one of them might become seriously ill or injured before they were rescued. After he had managed to down the Tylenol without water, he began to sift through the rest of the items from her purse.

"Hmmm….. a compact, lipstick, blusher…." He held up a wand of mascara and looked at it curiously. "More make-up stuff, tissues, more make-up stuff, wallet, passport, cell phone, more make-up stuff…."

Brenda was about to correct Jax about the exact nature of the "make-up stuff" when, to her horror, his hand froze over a tampon. She prayed that he wouldn’t, but he did.

He held it up in the air like some kind of trophy. "Well, no wonder you’re so out of sorts." He grinned at her. "Geez, if you’re this grouchy during that time of the month, I hate to think what it must be like to be around you with PMS…"

Brenda almost shot up off the log. "If you say one more word that’s even remotely chauvinistic about that time of the month, you’ll have a few less of those sparkling teeth in that rude mouth of yours!" He chuckled at her ire, and then she relaxed on the log and folded her arms. "And for your information, it is NOT that time of the month for me. I just like to be prepared."

Jax smiled and scooped up all the items, dumping them back into the bag. He did stop for a moment when he spotted one item glinting in the sunlight. "Now…wait a minute. THERE’S something useful." He picked up a nail file. "With any luck, I’ll be able to use this little gem to catch our breakfast tomorrow morning."

Brenda watched as he stood up and brushed his sandy hands together and put them on his hips. "You must feel better."

He looked around them carefully. "Not really, but unfortunately my headache won’t keep it from getting dark around here really fast. I think I’ll go do what you mentioned a while ago and find out exactly what kind of accommodations I can set up for us on this rock."

As he began to stride away from her, Brenda tried to stand. "Wait! I’m coming with you!"

Jax looked back in surprise. "Why? What do you think you’re going to do?"

Brenda began to hobble over to where he stood. "I don’t know, something maybe. Maybe I just want to see the rest of the island." She looked off into the distance, and she could see the beginnings of dusk already turning the horizon to a brilliant shade of purple.

"You just stay there for now. I’m just going to see if I can get near the wreckage of the plane yet. Maybe I can find some stuff that we might be able to salvage…some flares, or something." At her worried look, he came back a few steps. "Sit down on the log. I’ll be within your sight the whole time."

Brenda finally nodded and sat back down. She watched him trot slowly down the beach, stopping for a moment to pick something up off the sand. Then he began to make his way toward where the wreckage of the Lear still smoldered. She saw him put his arm up to his forehead, and then after a few more steps forward, she saw him began to back away and come back towards her. She let out a long sigh of relief before he got back to her.

{What would I have done if I had been here alone? I’m already frantic just at the thought that the man would be out of my sight. Get a grip, Brenda. You’re capable. You’re part owner of a successful record company. You can do this.} But she still had a smile for him when he returned. The smile widened when he dropped her shoes in front of her.

"My shoes!" She fingered them as though they were made out of gold.

"Yeah," he smirked. "A fat lot of good they’ll do you here, princess, but there they are."

She immediately leaned down and put them back on. As she straightened up again, she saw he was already beginning to leave her. "Wait a minute! Are you leaving again?"

"I’m just going to do a little bit of exploring. I won’t be gone long."

Brenda looked at the darkening horizon. "Yeah, but it will be dark soon. I’ll come along."

She struggled to get to her feet, and finally was able to stand on her own and looked at him triumphantly. "See, I can do it! My ankle is better!"

Then, she tried to take a step, and immediately sank down into the soft sand again as her ankle gave way. Jax was back at her side to help her back onto the log. As she looked back up at him again, he was standing with his hands on his hips staring curiously into her eyes. "You REALLY don’t want to be left here alone, do you? What’s the problem? Are you afraid of the dark?"

He began to chuckle and raised one eyebrow, but then at the panicked look in her eye, he realized that he must have come too close to the truth. He doubted that she was truly afraid of the dark, but she was obviously afraid of being left alone – or afraid of something connected with the dark. For some reason that was unknown to him, her terror made him feel male and protective, and he relented.

"OK, you can come along, but it’s on my terms."

Brenda sighed in relief. "OK, I agree – I think. What are they?"

He crouched down. "First of all – we get rid of these!" He took the shoes back off her feet and cast them as far as he could into the surf.

Her face fell. "Hey, you Neanderthal! Why did you bring them back to me if you were going to get rid of them after all?" The hint of tears glimmered in her eyes, and he realized that to her, the shoes represented civilization on this barren rock. He crouched down in front of her.

"Look, princess, I admire you for being able to walk in those contraptions in the first place. But the fashion police won’t be visiting us anytime soon, and walking in your bare feet will be much better for your ankle." He stood back up as she sniffed. "Although I don’t exactly think walking of any kind is good for you right now, but since you seem bloody determined to do it…."

He put his hands on his hips and looked around once more. "Alright, if you insist on coming with me – but just don’t make too many sudden movements." She looked at him with curiosity, but then he extended both hands to her. "Come on, take my hands. I want you to stand on the log, if you can stand at all."

She placed her hands in his, and they were both struck by the contrast. His were large and capable, and hers petite and dainty. Their eyes met again, just for a split second, but then whatever spark had been there vanished. He helped her balance on the log, and continued to hold her hands until she felt comfortable enough to stand by herself. She nodded her readiness to him, and he dropped her hands.

He turned around to put his back to her, and she realized his plan. "OK, Brenda, put your arms around my neck and then hoist yourself up on my back." She slipped her arms around his neck, and immediately noticed his scent – male, and physical, and strangely attractive. The position put her head right next to the nape of his neck, and she could see the short, blonde hairs that were curling with perspiration from the exertion.

"Now, wrap your legs around my waist from the back, and I’ll put my arms around them." She did as instructed, and soon was riding piggyback down the beach. As he walked briskly, she bounced on his back, and they both soon became aware of the intimacy of their position. He could feel her feminine softness bouncing against his lower back, and he had to deliberately think of other things so as not to become distracted.

Brenda was finding her own distractions, being held by a man so strong and obviously virile. His physical type was the exact opposite of Sonny -–tall, broad-shouldered, and muscular. She could feel his chest muscles working overtime, holding her weight but keeping him upright. Finally she knew she had to think of something to talk about or go insane.

"So, what exactly are we looking for?"

"Well, something that we can use for shelter, for one thing," he replied. "You can get some pretty nasty tropical storms around here, and although I’ve done my fair share of sleeping in the rain, I don’t like to make a habit of it. And the most important thing we need to search for is water."

"Water?" Brenda almost laughed. "With the whole Pacific Ocean out there, you’re worried about water?"

Jax stopped. "We can’t DRINK the ocean water, Brenda. We have to find some kind of sheltered place that might collect some of the rain water. Although your rum and wine might give us a good buzz, it won’t last long if that’s all we have to drink. And although the cheese and crackers will help for tonight, I have to find some place to do some fishing for future meals."

The enormity of her situation was beginning to sink in. Just that morning, Brenda had been on the telephone with Lois, arguing about one temperamental artist and his demands for an upcoming concert tour. Then, she had flown off the handle when the usual hair stylist hadn’t shown up at the photo shoot, and her hair didn’t look exactly right to her. Now, those things seemed sadly trivial. {This should teach you a lesson, Brenda. Appreciate things while you have them. Didn’t you already learn that lesson when you lost Julia?}

As she rode on his back down the beach, she prayed for enough days to prove that she really would try this time to appreciate life for what it held. If they were ever rescued.

To be continued…..