The island was slightly larger than it looked from the shore, and consisted of a beach around a small copse of trees. In the middle of the trees was a picnic table, and someone had laid out a breakfast consisting of assorted pastries and a pitcher of orange juice. Kitsune went up and sniffed around the table, but Jackie was nowhere in sight.

I frowned. “All right, so it was wrong of me to get upset, and I already apologized for that. But it seems like you’re not angry anymore, so how about showing yourself? Or are you planning to keep me here as a pet like Kitsune?”

“It wouldn’t be that bad a place to be kept, would it?” her voice said into my left ear, as she hugged me around the waist. It was just a quick squeeze; she let go and moved on past me to pour the orange juice.

“Maybe not, but there are still people who’d worry about me,” I said.

“It was just an idea.” She grinned at me. “C’mon, have some breakfast.”

I sat down across from her. “I guess I don’t mind if I do.” We each took a pastry.