As far as being lost at sea went, Tex thought that things could have been worse.

It was a warm night, and they seemed fairly stable on the shard of decking that had survived the explosion. After a short time, the moon, half full, rose to cast a silver-blue sheen over everything.

“I don’t think Fred is going to answer,” Laura said, puzzled. “I… guess I should call the… what are they called here? Is it 9-1-1?”

“It’s 9-1-1,” Tex assured her. “And they have an English support line. It’s the Civil Guard, they have a coast guard division. Are you sure he saw it? The Mr. Shifter final awards are tonight, so maybe he didn’t hear the phone ring.”

Laura shrugged under his arm. “The phone says he did. I don’t know why it would say he had, if he hadn’t.” She opened the phone to show him, and nearly dropped it as the sliver of boat took an unexpected lurch.

She squeaked and grabbed it hard, and Tex watched the line of texts spin backwards as her finger slid across the touchscreen. She started to scroll forward again, and slowed down, reading the backchat.

“What is it?” Tex asked, feeling her stiffen.

“This… this conversation. Fred and Jenny.” Laura’s voice caught in her throat.

Tex tried to guess why it was making her sound so strangled. “Were they having an affair?”

“Ew, no! He was a friend of our dad’s! But…”

She let her breath out in a rush and sucked it back in. “He knew that Jenny was planning to use my car, and that she wouldn’t be at work that morning. She texted and let him know, and even said he’d be by to pick up a package before she left. I slept through all that… but… he knew. He knew I wasn’t Jenny. This whole time, he’s known I wasn’t Jenny.”

“That’s a little… odd,” Tex agreed.

“He could have tampered with my car,” Laura said softly. “He’s good with electronics, I bet he could have done something to make it go off that curve and look like an accident. He could have rigged at bomb on my laptop, too. And the boat.”

Tex had to unclench his fists, consumed with protective rage. “Why would he want you dead?”

Laura gave a hiccup of laughter and shrugged. “He’s the closest thing to family we have. Had. I thought we could trust him. I was this close to telling him who I was, about a hundred times on this trip. The only reason I hadn’t is that I was afraid he would be terrible about keeping a secret, he’s so trusting and honest.” She snorted. “I guess he was better at keeping secrets than I gave him credit for.”

She went rigid again. “My parents… my parents died in a car crash. He was up for the partnership my dad got just a few weeks earlier. You don’t think he could have done that?” She sounded shaken to the core.

“I’ll find out, if I have to rip off his face to make him talk,” Tex snarled, hearing how ridiculous it sounded.

Laura’s answering laugh was strained. “Right now, I will settle for solid land under my feet again,” she said plaintively. “Gory revenge can wait.”

The phone, even though it declared a few percent battery remaining, gave a chirp of protest and shut down. The sudden darkness was stark.

Laura shivered, and Tex wrapped his arms around her, willing more of his warmth into her. He couldn’t imagine how it felt, finding out someone she’d trusted had betrayed her.

“I wonder where the otter went,” Laura said softly.

“I guess it figured it had done its duty by saving us,” Tex shrugged.

There was a streak of light at the horizon, and just as Tex was wondering if he’d imagined it, a star of light exploded in the sky above it, followed by a distant boom.

“We’re missing the fireworks!” Laura said with a little laugh.

“You kidding?” Tex said, determined to maintain morale. “We have the best seats in the house. From the resort, there’d be palm trees marring up the view. Everyone fighting over the best chairs.”

“Jessica Linn would be drunk and bitchy,” Laura chuckled. “I’d be sorely tempted to tip her into the pool.”

“I think that’s an excellent idea,” Tex agreed. “Wish I thought of it sooner.”

The first fireworks were swiftly followed by more. It was a great show, with swirling white candles, and trailing golden globes. A series of red crackers looked a little like a dragon before fading into smoke.

“They’ll be having a bonfire on the beach now,” Laura said wistfully. “It must be past midnight.”

“I’d be set up at the beach bar,” Tex said. “And no one would be able to understand that no, I don’t have anything on tap there. And no, I didn’t haul down the entire collection of single malt scotches. Bastian is probably already out of tiny umbrellas.”

“Who do you think won the Mr. World Shifter competition?”

“Mr. Brazil,” Tex guessed. “He took the Mr. Speed contest without trouble, and his speech was lovely.”

“Nah,” Laura said. “He just didn’t have the same charisma as some of the others. And Mr. India was a better speaker.”

A green shower of sparkles lit up the water in reflections, followed by a rainbow of explosions and a coil of white, sizzling lights.

“Mr. Ireland got the most popular votes,” Tex said thoughtfully.

“That will get him the Mr. Internet title, but it won’t win him the Mr. Shifter title,” Laura said decisively. “His speech went over on the time, so he probably lost points for it. I desperately hope Mr. Canada goes away without placing. I can’t believe he won the swimsuit portion.”

An amethyst waterfall of spinning lights sparkled off of the waves.

“I wouldn’t discount Mr. South Africa,” Tex said. “He was in second for the race.”

“You were keeping pretty close tabs on these standings,” Laura observed wryly.

“It was a little hard to miss what was going on, even if I was being distracted by the hottest thing I’d ever seen in life,” Tex told her.

Laura waited a beat, then teased, “You mean Mr. Brazil, right?”

“I mean, you, you sexy vixen,” Tex told her, managing to goose her with one quick arm.

She squeaked and giggled, nearly capsizing them.

They stilled, watching the fireworks continue to dazzle the sky, and Laura poked Tex. “Why haven’t you ever sung to me?”

Tex blinked. “Sung to you?”

“Everyone tells me you’re a great singer and guitar player, but you’ve never played me anything.” Tex could tell that the whine to her voice was for mostly for show, but he wondered if there wasn’t a little real hurt down underneath it.

“I thought you didn’t like country music,” he said, not entirely truthfully. Really, he cared what she thought, and didn’t want to be a disappointment to her.

She poked him. “So sing me something that doesn’t have stolen pickups and run-over dogs in it.”

Tex cleared his throat, feeling suddenly vulnerable. It was odd not to have his guitar under his fingers. He wracked his brain for an appropriate song, something not too sad or depressing, then chuckled and set a beat on the fiberglass beneath them with his fingers.

“Love is a burnin' thing

And it makes a fiery ring

Bound by wild desire

I fell into a ring of fire…”

Laura joined him for the chorus, and fireworks continued to light the sky. She had a husky voice, not trained, but it was a good mix for Tex’s.

“I fell into a burnin' ring of fire

I went down, down, down

And the flames went higher

And it burns, burns, burns

The ring of fire, the ring of fire…”

They may not ever be contenders for a reality talent show, Tex thought, but after the Mr. World Shifter contest, he wasn’t sure he’d ever do that kind of thing anyway.

For the moment, this was perfect, singing only for his mate. Laura was finally relaxed next to him, and Tex was singing the last few repeats of the ring of fire, not wanting to break the spell, before he recognized that one of the blaze of fireworks… wasn’t fireworks at all.

“That’s Bastian,” he said, with sudden relief, pointing.

Something dark was flying near the surface of the water, periodically lighting the area with flame. The finale of the fireworks, a chaotic, brilliant, flower garden of light, lit up the top of its wings. It was obviously a dragon, skimming just above the water in a search pattern.