THIRTY-SIX
Jean stretched out on his bunk, lifting his tablet in front of his face so he could reread the chapter he'd written on Heard Island. The only thing missing from his thesis now was the elusive Atlas Cove rookery.
"So what did you think of dinner?" Audra asked.
It had been her turn to make it, and Jean had dutifully eaten it, though his was all gone now. He couldn't even remember what it tasted like. He couldn't say that, though.
She laughed. "We're a pair, aren't we? The rest of the world is celebrating Valentine's Day with their nearest and dearest, or the people they'd like to be, yet here we are, on an island so isolated that it may as well be a secret known only to penguins and seals. Working!" She waved at her open laptop.
"Valentine's Day?" Jean checked the date on hi
