Chapter Sixty-One

Jade steadied a foot on the side of the boat, clutched the wooden post with one hand, and then maneuvered herself onto the dock with the help of Miguel. Her hair, which she had fought to keep pulled back against the strong wind, was disheveled and tangled from the boat ride. She spat out a strand that had been caught in her mouth and walked to the edge of the pier, studying the scenery. A little way up the shoreline, on the top of a hill covered in the undergrowth of botanical plants and an orchard of fruit trees, there was a white-washed stucco house with a  rustic-red, terracotta rooftop. Along the face of the house, she could see a blackened hollow where the front door should've been and several sets of opened shutters that allowed panels of sheer white curtains to escape out into the breeze.

Miguel guardedly looked behind him, noticing that she had suddenly stopped and was now squatting on the edge of the pier. He patiently watched as she gripped a sneaker