Stranded in Paradise by Lori Copeland

the door a fraction.
    Oh, great. The wren. What was she doing here? And in a bathrobe? He averted his gaze to the floor.
    â€œMr. McConnell? I’m sorry to bother you but—”
    Carter opened the door wider and Tess stepped back, clearly startled. They stared at each other. Finally Carter prompted. “How did you find me here? Are you following me?”
    She stood speechless. Her lips moved but no sound came out. “You’re Carter McConnell?” He nodded his head.
    â€œHow dare you!” she sputtered. “I am not the kind of person who follows total strangers! Besides, you were staying at the Pioneer Inn.”
    He leaned on the doorsill, still fighting sleep. “I thought I was staying at the Pioneer Inn. Some mix-up with the reservations—computer glitch. I move to the Pioneer tomorrow night.” He yawned, running his hand through his tousled hair. “So, what do you want if you’re not stalking me?”
    â€œThe airline delivered your bags to my room by mistake — I thought you’d want to have them right away. Of course, I wouldn’t have disturbed you had I known . . .”
    He glanced from the towel on her head down to her bare feet. Her left ankle and foot looked like an over-inflated water balloon. “ That’s looking worse.” He pointed at her foot. “What was your name?”
    â€œTess Nelson,” she spurted. “And I’ll thank you to mind your own business.” She turned and marched toward her room. Carter tugged his luggage into his room and then dropped across the bed and fell asleep before he could think another thought.

4
    â€œLooks like that storm is intensifying, Erin,” the radio announcer began. Tess lifted her head to see what time it was—7:12. “The meteorologists are picking out names as this baby grows, with sustained winds up to fifty miles per hour. We’re on standby here in Maui but who knows if she’ll change directions.”
    She turned off the alarm. So much for sleeping in today. If she were home she’d already be on her snack break. She stuffed the thought aside. She was on vacation. She was going to enjoy.
    As she stepped out of bed the pain in her foot surged. She needed to find a doctor and see about getting a contact lens, but not before she got ahold of Beeg.
    Picking up her cell phone and address book she called Beeg’s home number again. The answering machine picked up. When it beeped, Tess said, “Hey, Beeg, I’m here in Maui but I seem to keep missing you. Call me on my cell phone . . .” She hung up and stared at her phone. Where could Beeg be? It wasn’t as if she didn’t expect her to come.
    Padding to the bathroom, she brushed her teeth and then took out a brush and started in on her hair. A big clump of hair dropped into the sink. She looked at it in disgust. She’d have to wear a hat today, definitely.

    â€œThis is not my idea of the perfect vacation.” Tess exited the hotel in search of an eye and foot doctor. She’d decided to stop back at the airport to rent a car too, since she hadn’t gotten ahold of Beeg and taking taxis everywhere was getting quite costly.
    Once that was taken care of it was time to attend to her injuries. Her ankle now looked like a bloated corpse, and the sprain needed a doctor’s attention.
    Thirty minutes later she was sitting in a clinic, fanning herself with a coverless issue of People magazine— recently and thoroughly mangled by the four-year-old sitting next to her.
    A nurse appeared through an outer door. “Ms. Nelson?”
    â€œMe.” Tess laid the magazine aside and stood up and hobbled to follow the white uniform. Upon entering examining room 4, she was sat on a narrow table with a long strip of white paper where the nurse efficiently recorded her blood pressure and temperature. Stripping the sphygmomanometer off, she then scribbled notes before positioning a