Sunny
So entranced by the idyllic scene, she didn’t hear the patter of small footsteps until a voice piped up behind her.
She twisted to see Hailey in rumpled pajamas, tousled hair wild as a dandelion puff, rubbing sleepy eyes with tiny fists. Maddie appeared a moment later, equally adorable in her mussed state.
The girls scrambled onto the dock, cuddling into her sides with an innocent trust and familiarity that tugged at her heart.
She held them tight, temporarily not an employee but simply part of this loving little tribe. The melancholy ache of her own lonely and turbulent childhood felt very distant right now. Dare she say it, but it felt like she was home.
“Wow, it’s so pretty!” Maddie whispered in awe at the streaks of fiery pink and orange painting the horizon. “It looks like the whole world is being born.”
Sunny swallowed hard against the sudden lump in her throat. The child had a poetic soul.
“Yes, it does, baby. That’s exactly what it looks like,” she said. “A fresh start for everyone.”
After once again strolling the coastline and indulging in an extravagant breakfast buffet, the day was a kaleidoscope of new pleasures for Sunny, Liam and the girls.
They visited the protected Anse Chastanet reef to snorkel and witness the underwater rainbow of tropical fish and iridescent coral gardens mere yards from shore.
“I want to be a mermaid and live down there forever!” Hailey squealed, eyes wide behind her snorkel mask as a kaleidoscope of neon angelfish flitted past in the water below her.
Sunny beamed, equally enthralled by the vibrant sea kingdom as she grasped the young girl’s hand. This place was truly magical.
Next they boarded a tour boat that took them to the base of the majestic Piton waterfall, which cascaded over a lush green cliff face.
As they drew closer, the thundering deluge in the turquoise pool below was deafening.
Sunny leaned over the railing, marveling at the shimmering liquid curtain until the mist coated her face with a refreshing sheen.
Liam and the girls followed suit, descending into fits of giggles.
Later in the day, while wandering the colorful textile stalls of Castries Central Market, Sunny gasped upon turning around. Hailey had vanished from her side in the churning crowd. Panic gripped her throat as she scanned around desperately.
“Hailey? Hailey!” Sunny shouted over the din, clutching Maddie’s hand tightly.
Then a terrified scream pierced the air from a nearby alley.
Sunny’s blood turned to ice before she sprinted toward the sound, Maddie in tow.
They rounded the corner to find Hailey cowering against a dumpster, a feral stray dog baring its teeth mere feet away.
Sunny shoved Maddie behind her and snatched up a fallen crate, brandishing it like a lion-tamer.
“Get back! Go on, get!” she roared, stomping toward the mangy canine.
It barked and snapped, but finally relented under Sunny’s ferocious glare and makeshift weapon. With a whimper of defeat, it turned tail and fled down the alley.
“Hailey, baby, are you okay?” Sunny dropped the crate and gathered the sobbing little girl into her arms, cradling her tight. “It’s alright, you’re safe now. But you can’t go wandering off like that.”
“Sorry,” mumbled Hailey. “I just wanted to see where daddy was.”
Sunny carried Hailey from the alley to find Liam sprinting toward them, his face twisted with concern.
“What happened? Is she hurt?” he asked.
“She’s okay, just shaken up,” Sunny assured him, stroking Hailey’s hair. “Let’s go back and get some ice cream, yeah? It’s been a long day.”
Liam nodded in agreement.
At the villa, Hailey recounted the scary incident through hitching breaths while Sunny treated her scraped knee.
“I’m so sorry, Liam,” said Sunny, guilt tearing at her. “She was there one moment and when I went to pay for Maddie’s cap she’d gone. I’ll understand if you…”
There it was again. That familiar feeling of not being good enough. Of not deserving to be here. That good things don’t come to her. Not without a sting in the tail.
“Hey.” Liam cut her off. “From the way Hailey tells it, you saved the day. These things happen, Sunny. It’s life.”
That night after another sumptuous beachside dinner of seafood, wild rice and yams, spiced okra and tropical fruits, Liam pulled Sunny aside after the exhausted girls had been put to bed. His calloused palm cradled her jaw, tilting her face up to his with smoldering intensity.
“Thank you…for today,” he rumbled in that decadent baritone. “You’re so good with the girls. I trust you completely with them,” he reassured.
Sunny’s throat grew tight at the naked emotion shining in his blue eyes. The incident with the dog had been playing on her mind all evening. She could have kicked herself for being so careless. But Liam was being so understanding. She covered his hand with her own, relishing the coarse warmth.
“If anything had happened. I couldn’t…I just couldn’t…”
The guilt and fear tore at her again. Tears stung her eyes.
“Sssshh,” whispered Liam. “Everything’s fine now. We all mistakes. It’s how we bounce back that matters.”
Emotions were high. The night air was sultry. An undeniable mutual longing thrummed between their bodies. Liam’s arm wound around her lower back, pressing her against his solid form as his mouth descended to find hers.
She welcomed his reassuring lips, his tongue, his taste.
They stumbled back to the villa in a heated tangle of fevered kisses. Somehow they made it behind closed doors without waking the sleeping children. Clothes were shed in a flurry of want and need, two souls ravenous to join as one.
Liam’s palms blazed across Sunny’s hyper-sensitive skin as she wrapped her legs around his hips. He slowly entered her welcoming warmth as she arched her back. Their rhythm built in sensual waves, like the tide that lapped against the white sand just outside their beach bungalow.
All Sunny’s stresses and worries dissolved into shuddering bliss as their sighs and gasps mingled with the rhythmic lapping of the ocean outside. For one perfect, crystalline moment, nothing else existed beyond the sanctuary of Liam’s sweet kiss and their joined flesh.
Later, spent and glowing from their exertions, Sunny blinked up at the ceiling fan’s languorous rotations. Liam nuzzled her hair, murmuring sweet endearments as his fingers traced patterns across her damp back.
In the hazy afterglow, surrounded by Liam’s earthy, reassuring scent, Sunny felt a sense of calm wash over her.
This beautiful, sacred place and Liam’s unguarded affection had helped to soothe her soul.
She thought about how far she had come from the insecure orphan who had been tossed and buffeted by the currents of a turbulent life.
For the first time in a long while, she drifted off to sleep undisturbed by ghosts of the past.
In the early hours of the morning Sunny awoke to find Liam’s side of the bed vacant and cool.
She frowned, disappointed to have missed his warmth for a few more hours before the girls stirred.
She tossed and turned for a while, not able to find her sleep again.
She decided a stroll outside might just do the trick.
Down the beach, she discovered Liam sitting alone on the dock, elbows braced on knees as he gazed across the rippling azure expanse. His posture was slouched with fatigue or some deeper, unseen burden.
Sunny hesitated, uncertain if her presence would be welcome. But something in Liam’s dejected pose tugged her forward until she sank onto the weathered boards beside him.
He glanced over with a weary half-smile.
“Sorry, I needed some air. Clear my head,” he said.
“Of course.”
She rested her palm over the back of his hand. The simple grounding contact seemed to fortify him.
Liam exhaled a shuddering breath and turned his roughened palm to lace their fingers.
“This trip,” he began, “…it feels so…so… complete, like things are in balance again. I’m not sure if I’m making any sense here.”
Sunny tightened the grip on his hand.
“It makes sense, Liam. I think I understand what you’re trying to say.”
“The last time I remember feeling this way, was when…” he continued, but then trailed off.
His voice was thick with emotion, and Sunny squeezed his hand further in silent reassurance.
He was thinking about Kate, she reasoned.
About his previous life. About the girls.
About all the adventures they had shared.
His eyes betrayed a heady mix of emotions.
Guilt. Apprehension. Fear. Hope. It was hard to discern exactly what he was thinking and feeling.
“Stay with me, Sunny,” he rasped. “However this crazy journey ends, don’t go.”
He sounded almost afraid at the prospect of her leaving. Of having to face more loss. More emptiness.
She just sat close to him, hand in hand, watching the huge blazing Sun rise over the horizon. She had no plans to go anywhere.