Galloway ran a hand over his face, shedding any remaining sleepiness. “We’ll fix it.”
“How?” I stroked her hair, never breaking the trance I’d put her in. “We don’t have any presents, no cake, no friends to invite.”
He stood to his tall height, ideas blazing in his eyes. “Leave it to me.”
“But—”
“No buts. I’ll fix this.” He left without another word, slipping wordlessly into the dawn.
Chapter Forty-Four
...............................................
G A L L O W A Y
......
I WAS AN only child, but that didn’t mean I didn’t know how to throw a party.
Back in the day, I was the quiet kid at school but the one everyone turned up to his shindigs. My parents had always encouraged my popularity by ensuring I had brothers and sisters in the form of friends, even though they’d tried for another child and failed.
And I didn’t take their efforts for granted.
I hosted like a king.
I mastered the art of small talk.
I bridged the gap between cliquey groups and hard-to-break gangs.
But that was before I went to prison. The day the lock slammed shut, my willingness to reach out to others and find friendly ground disappeared.
I thought I’d lost the desire forever. But that was before Estelle crashed into my life (literally).
Glancing at the pinking sky, I estimated I had a couple of hours before sunup. Estelle would keep the kids in bed and I would do my best to give Pippa the best eighth birthday she could ever have.
.............................
Sweat ran down my naked back as I ducked into the hut and froze at the heart-twisting sight of Estelle fast asleep wrapped around Pippa while Conner slept at the bottom of his sister’s bed like a small tabby cat.
Despite puberty hitting and Conner’s hormone swings (not to mention the body odour as testosterone kicked in) he was still a caring brother who would give anything to protect his flesh and blood.
Just like I’ll do anything to protect Estelle.
Chugging some water from one of our always-full bottles, I cleared my throat.
One by one, three pairs of eyes opened, harpooning my chest and ensuring I would never be free of these people.
Clapping my hands, I smiled at Pippa. “Can the birthday girl please follow me? I think there might be a surprise for her outside.”
Instantly, Pippa's tanned, skinny face lit up like a damn survival flare (if only we had one of those).
She leapt from Estelle’s embrace and charged toward me. “Really? What?”
“You’ll have to wait and see, impatient Pippi.” I wrapped my arms around her, scooped her up, and carried her outside.
“What is it? Where?” She bounced in my arms.
The extra weight and uncoordinated balance hurt my barely-healed bones. My shin was the one part that felt semi-ordinary. The bone had a bump but it was strong. My foot was still mottled with bruising, but at least, the metacarpals had healed enough to wriggle my toes (ignoring the ache, of course).
However, my ankle was a bitch.
It’d knitted together but not correctly. It wasn’t perfectly straight and the joint where my leg became my foot wasn’t normal. I didn’t let Estelle know how badly it hurt to have something so broken—not just temporarily but permanently.
I could walk but not run. I could move but never fly.
I was damaged goods.
But despite the ache every time I put weight on it, I wouldn’t put Pippa down for all the diamonds in the world.
Squinting against bright sunlight as I stepped onto the beach, I said, “First, let’s start this party off with a bang. What do you say?”
Her response was slapping a wet kiss on my scruffy cheek. “I say yes!”
I couldn’t move for a moment. Her tiny lips stole every motor control.
Footsteps sounded behind me as Estelle and Conner joined us in the hot morning.
Estelle wore her black bikini (which threatened to make me hard remembering the night I’d taken it off her) and Conner opted for his shorts with a baseball cap. All of us had stark hipbones, angular ribs, and the elongated skinniness of no fat reserves.
But to me...they were beyond beautiful.
Putting Pippa down, I turned to the largest bonfire I’d ever created. I hadn’t lit it, but it was stacked and ready, symbolising the start of a new year of her life.
Turning to the group, I held up an already flaming stick from the fire pit we never let go out. Passing it to Pippa, I said, “Go ahead, birthday girl.”
She took it, her face dancing with flames. Carefully, she shoved the stick in the heaped twigs and branches, doing what I taught her when dealing with fire and dangerous things.
She was more responsible than any kid her age.
She could make a brand new blaze from my broken glasses (I’d taught the kids just in case anything ever happened to Estelle and me) and she could fish better than any angler. Plus, she’d learned from Estelle how best to trial food and prepare new edibles to avoid gastric complications.
I’m so damn proud of her.
Of all of them.
The fire crackled and spread, greedily transforming dormant fuel into heat and light.
Estelle came closer, looping her fingers through mine.
I hissed a little at the wound on my palm.
Narrowing her eyes, she held up our linked hands and gasped. “You’re bleeding.”
“It’s nothing. Just a nick.”
“Now what did you do? You’re always blooming bleeding.”
“Blooming?”
“Don’t change the subject. How did you do this one?”
Her concern avalanched me in love. I kissed her. “You’ll see.”
Her face scrunched as if to argue, but then she softened, trusting me.
Trust.
An intangible emotion that carried no price or guarantee but was the most valuable thing a person could earn.
The rest of the morning passed in an idyllic cloud as I guided Pippa around the beach to sandcastles engraved with Happy Birthday, seaweed streamers on trees for decoration, and even a shell pile with eight small sticks acting as a birthday cake and candles for wishes.
In the damp sand, I’d scratched good tidings and what I wanted to come true for her. I gave her a knotted vine bracelet that I’d hastily made as one of her presents, and when we finally sat down to eat a breakfast of clams and roasted crabs, Pippa complained her cheeks ached from smiling and proceeded to make my life complete when she announced it was the best birthday she’d ever had.
Estelle couldn’t stop touching me. Her eyes burned with desire and her bikini top failed to hide the hard pinpricks of her nipples.
She wanted me.
I wanted her.
Our failed coupling was forgotten.
Sitting beneath our umbrella tree, we all relaxed in the shade. Sliding my arm around Estelle’s sun-warmed waist, I hugged her close. “Tonight. Once the kids are in bed, come find me in the bamboo grove.”
She sucked in a breath as I kissed the sharp lines of her collarbone. It was my favourite part of her. The one area of her body that made me so damn hard. Sure, I loved her tits and ass, but there was something so femininely sensuous about her collarbone, looking like wings beneath her skin.
She nodded quickly as Conner threw a crab claw in our direction. “Like you said...it’s a date.”
My cock twitched in happy anticipation. “You damn well bet it’s a date.” Letting her go, I focused on the teen. “What was the flying food for?”
Conner squinted. “Oh, I dunno. For doing all this for Pip. For being the best uncle ever and for raising the bar high for when I turn fourteen. I expect the same treatment.”
Estelle shuddered beside me. I didn’t know if it was pride for me earning the title of Uncle or the fear that we would still be here when he turned fourteen. We’d
already been here for too long. How much more time would pass before we were found?
Chuckling to ward off such thoughts (confused that they weren’t as depressed as they should’ve been), I called Pippa over who was playing with the pile of shells I’d made into her birthday cake. “Pip. I have one last thing for you. Do you want it?”
Her copper hair caught the sunlight, looking as beautiful as burning fire. “Yes.”
“You sure?”
“Yes! Very, very sure.” She dashed to stand in front of me. “Please? Please, can I have it?”
Swallowing my smile, I joked, “I dunno. Have you been a good girl?”
The best. I couldn't ask for more if you’d been custom born for me.
“Yes. At least...I think so.”
“Don’t give it to her, G. There’s room for improvement.” Conner chortled, choking on a piece of crab.
Serves him right.
Pippa scowled. “Hush up, Co. I’ve been good. Haven’t I, Stelly?”
Estelle pointed at her chest. “You’re asking me? I think it’s up to G to decide. After all, he’s the one with the gift.”
I couldn’t stop laughing as Pippa draped her arms around my shoulders and kissed my cheek. “Please, G? I’ve been good, and if I haven’t, I’ll be better if you give me my present.” She kissed me again. “I promise, promise, promise.”
“Fine. Begging isn’t necessary.” Pulling my surprise from behind my back, I handed it to her. I hadn’t wrapped it...not that we had any pretty paper to wrap with. But I hadn’t bothered with a leaf or anything.
Maybe, I should’ve.
Crap, I really should’ve wrapped it.
Nerves fluttered in my gut. I’d done my best. I’d sharpened the Swiss Army knife and spent most of the morning trying not to screw up.
It wasn’t pretty.
It wasn’t perfect.
But it was the best I could do...for now.
I tensed, seeing every flaw on the copied face of her favourite stuffed kitten, Puffin.
“Oh, my...” Pippa smoothed the carved creature in her hands. “It’s amazing!”
Hardly.
But the gratefulness in which she accepted my haphazardly rudimentary gift threatened to unravel what resemblance I had left as a man. A convicted man. A felon.
For so many years, I’d allowed only hate and anger to control me. Now, here in a different type of imprisonment, I found love and hope fuelled me with no greater power.
I smiled. “Happy Birthday, Pippi.”
Estelle gasped. “Galloway...” Her eyes watered. “That’s...it’s beautiful.”
“Pfft. It sucks. But it’s my first attempt. Next one, I’ll do better.”
“You always say that. And I keep saying that I love your first endeavours.”
Love.
My heart skipped a beat at the thought of ever earning such feelings.
“I don’t want a second one.” Pippa hugged the wooden figurine, complete with indented tail and carved whiskers. “I want this one. I love it.” Pippa rained my cheeks in kisses. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. It’s perfect.”
I laughed, waving her away. “Well, I’m glad you like it. You’re welcome.”
She took off, parading it in front of Conner, doing her best to make him jealous.
Connor had a point. What the hell could I make for the teen when he turned fourteen? He wouldn’t exactly settle for a crappily carved kitty.
Estelle snuggled closer, her lips brushing my ear. “That’s how you cut yourself. Carving that?”
I nodded, flushing with heat. “Yep.”
“I love it, Galloway. Seriously. You made her so happy today. Thank you.” Her finger tipped my chin, guiding my face to her. I obeyed the fluttering touch, bowing my head to kiss her.
We kissed for a long time.
We kissed for the shortest time.
But I fell just as hard regardless.
I loved this woman.
And I didn’t know how much longer I could avoid telling her.
I didn’t know what held me back. She already knew the depth of feelings (how could she not with the way I watched her) but I wanted the moment to be perfect. I wanted her to know that I didn’t just love her for being here but because she was mine forever.
Tonight.
Perhaps tonight, I would finally be able to tell her.
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For the rest of the afternoon, Pippa played with her carved cat, now named Mr. Whisker Wood, and Conner invented a new relay game where they chased each other on the beach, swam in the ocean, and flew through the sky like birds rather than stranded children.
The sun glided across the sky, illuminating us with happiness before finally descending and snuffing itself out on the sea-owned horizon.
As dusk turned to darkness and dinner was eaten and cleaned away, Estelle stood and looked at the tired children with such love in her eyes, I swore a cluster of planets existed in her gaze.
It was more than just love. It was contentment. Satisfaction. Fulfilment.
Who would’ve thought such things existed in the middle of nowhere.
We were all drowsy from eating, and my eyes turned heavy. However, the moment the kids were asleep, I had grand plans of what I would do to transform the bamboo grove before Estelle joined me.
I had a gift for Estelle, too, and it wasn’t just in my shorts.
Estelle shifted, pushing herself up onto her elbows and shaking her hair over her shoulders to tangle in the sand. She looked like a mermaid who’d climbed from the ocean for one magical evening. She looked otherworldly...like she would vanish just like every other mythical creature in the storybooks.
Scooting into sitting position, she twirled her fingers.
She’s nervous...why?
Keeping her eyes down, Estelle murmured, “I have one more gift for you, Pip. If that’s okay?”
Pippa sat up from sprawling on the flax blanket by the fire. Her little face turned solemn. “You’re going to sing for me?”
My heart stopped beating.
Ever since Estelle let it slip that she was a songwriter, she’d refused to tell me more, constantly changing the subject as if it was unimportant to our current situation. But I wasn’t above admitting I followed her sometimes when she thought she was alone. I saw her scribbling in her notebook. I listened covertly when she hummed certain lines and sang gentle lullabies to send the kids to sleep.
I stole her secrets one by one until I knew how passionate she was about music. And what a talented singer she truly was.
Not that I could tell her.
I wasn’t supposed to know.
To hear her finally give up this part of her coveted life would be the greatest gift.
Estelle clasped her hands, unsuccessfully hiding her shaking fingers. “Yes, if you’ll let me.”
Pippa dug her heels into the sand, hugging her knees. “I’d love it. Please.”
“Do you want a song you know or an original?”
Pippa chewed her bottom lip, full of seriousness. “Could you sing one about me? About us?”
I couldn’t move as Estelle glanced at me before straightening her spine. She looked petrified but resolute as if she’d hidden this part of herself for too long and no longer could.
Sing for me.
Please, God, sing.
“I can. The lyrics belong to a song I’ve tentatively labelled Sand Solitude. I can sing that if you want.”
Pippa shifted to her stomach, resting her chin on her upturned hands. “I’d like that. Pretty please, sing that one.”
Conner mimicked his sister, holding his face to listen. “I’m down with that one, too. Rock on, Stelly.”
Estelle smiled tightly, her concentration inward.
I, on the other hand, couldn’t move, locked into my recline with my legs splayed and elbows dug into the beach behind me. I had an awful fear that if I moved, I’d spook her and she wouldn’t sing.
I nee
d her to sing.
Already, my cock twitched at the epic joy of finally hearing her. I’d be in huge trouble before the song was over.
I wanted her beyond anything.
If she sang for me...I doubted I’d be able to stand for a month.
For the longest second, she didn’t move.
But then, heaven happened.
She closed her eyes and let herself come alive. She transformed from the girl I’d fallen in love with to a goddess framed by fire and marked by ambrosia itself.
Her husky voice held the melody better than any instrument, so fresh and pure, so dark and sexy. Lyrics and verses tumbled from her mouth, wrapping around us like our green fishing net, capturing us forever.
In that single moment, there was no place on earth I would rather be.
“Once there was a little girl who played upon the shore. Her parents loved her deeply, her brother so completely, and her world was magical more and more.
Once there was a young girl who crashed upon the beach. Her past no longer relevant, her old life beyond negligent, and her world now full of prayers and beseech.
But there she found salvation.
In the form of unwanted vacation.
By a man sworn to damnation.
And a woman with no foundation.
Once there was a little girl who swam within the waves. Her smiles hardly changing, her happiness darkly raging, and her world now black and brave.
Once there was a young girl who flew above the earth. Her soul was free, her future at sea, and her world vastly different in wealth and worth.
But there she found salvation.
In the form of unwanted vacation.
By a man sworn to damnation.
And a woman with no foundation.
Once there was a little girl who harnessed hell itself. Her past long forgotten, her will never rotten, and her world full of tempest and war with herself.
Once there was a young girl who fought against death for life. Her soul will survive, her future will revive, and her world will finally be free of hardship and strife.”
And that was how Estelle stole everything and made me hers.
For eternity.
Chapter Forty-Five