by Ciara Shayee
~ oOo ~
Throughout her shower, and then while she dried and dressed in a loose summer dress, Indie couldn’t help but fret.
As she tied her still-damp curls back in a loose bun and slid her feet into a pair of flip-flops, she continued to worry.
And as she walked with Grace toward the patio where everybody was gathering for breakfast, she felt as though her heart was going to pound clear out of her chest.
How will he act?
She couldn’t help but nervously fiddle with the soft material of her dress as they rounded the corner into the kitchen, then stepped out onto the patio.
How is Laker going to act around me?
Indie quickly realised she never should have worried. As soon as she stepped outside, Marley charged toward her, crashing into her legs.
“Mummy, you’re up!” she cheered, her arms wound tight around Indie’s thighs as she beamed up at her with a toothy grin.
“I am, baby girl,” Indie sighed, scooping up her daughter and peppering kisses all over her rosy cheeks and button nose. It was their usual morning routine, but it helped that it gave Indie the added bonus of a few extra seconds to compose herself. “Did you have a good sleep?”
“Uh-huh. Really good. Look, Mummy, we’ve got pancakes for breakfast! Laker made mine in a heart shape.”
For the first time since he walked her to her door last night, leaving her with a kiss on her cheek which had left her skin tingling until she fell asleep almost two hours later, Indie looked at Laker. He was sitting at the long table, a plate piled high with pancakes in front of him, Marley’s favoured, pink mosaic plate in the empty spot beside him, Bodhi on his lap merrily slapping at the table while babbling nonsense. Everyone else was there too, though, in that moment, Indie only had eyes for Laker.
He grinned almost bashfully, a single dimple appearing beside his crooked smile. It warmed her to see that she wasn’t the only one a little nervous this morning. He was wearing his trusty backwards cap, so with the sun able to get to his eyes unimpeded, they glowed a beautiful, happy, grassy green.
“Mornin’, bella ragazza. Sweet dreams?”
Indie nodded, settling Marley on her hip as she rounded the table, pausing to press a kiss to her dad’s head before sitting between him and Laker, in the seat Marley had vacated. “Yes, thank you. You?”
He smiled down at her, a mischievous twinkle in his gaze. “The sweetest.”
Her lips parted as a soft huff of breath snuck free, and Indie felt the familiar flush of warmth in her stomach that always appeared when Laker spoke to her in that way—in that husky, yet somehow soft, tone.
“Mummy, look!”
Laker chuckled, focusing on Bodhi as Marley insisted her mother look at her heart-shaped pancake. Knowing glances were shared around the table as they watched the little quartet—Laker, Indie, Marley, and Bodhi—interact within their own little bubble. Grace managed to snap a couple of heart-warming shots, already picturing how they’d look canvased and hung back at home.
“Hey now, Tesoro,” Laker chuckled, drawing Indie’s attention from Marley and the entire bottle of syrup she was trying to pour over her pancake.
“Bababa.”
“All right, enough with the backchat, Tesoro. Here, why don’t you try some of this, huh?”
Bodhi cocked his head, eyeing the spoonful of pureed apple Laker was offering. Then he grinned, flashing his gums, and leaned forward to accept it. Bodhi chomped hard enough on the spoon that Laker let go and it remained there, clamped between his lips.
“He's teething,” Indie commented quietly, having noticed his particularly hard gums a few days previous and the way he suddenly wanted to chew absolutely everything.
Bodhi’s large, blue-green eyes sparkled as he looked around at his laughing family members, the spoon still protruding from his mouth.
“You know, Tesoro, if you want more, you're going to have to give the spoon back.”
Bodhi looked up at Laker, his grin widening enough that the spoon fell into his waiting hand.
“There we go. Good boy.”
Indie watched Laker feed Bodhi the rest of his puree while multi-tasking to eat his pancakes at the same time. His plate, like Marley's, was almost overflowing with syrup.
Within a minute or two of finishing her breakfast, Marley joined forces with Carl-Roman, pestering the adults to hurry so they could go swimming. Archie and Indie were amused to discover that the mischievous children had blackmailed their guileless Papaw the night before, promising to go to sleep if they could swim today.
Once breakfast had been cleared away, the group headed back to their rooms to get the necessary clothes, towels, and floats for the children. For the impatient children, everything took too long.
“Marley Grace Ashby, if you carry on with that attitude we won't be swimming at all. We'll stay here, and everyone else can go,” Indie finally snapped when Marley became increasingly cranky at having to wait for her mother to change Bodhi into his swimsuit—a blue and white romper emblazoned with a smiling, sunglass-wearing crab.
Abashed, Marley ducked her head and sat quietly on the bed until Indie was done. With Bodhi dressed and on her hip, Indie turned back to her daughter. “Now what do you say, baby girl?”
“Sorry, Mummy,” she mumbled, leaping from the bed to wrap her mother's legs in a tight cuddle.
Indie’s stern expression melted away, replaced by a soft smile as she stroked Marley's hair. “Thank you, Marley. Right, shall we go see if everyone else is ready?”
“Yes!” Marley cried, darting out of the bedroom. As Indie laughed and scooped their bundle of towels from the bed she heard Laker talking to Marley in the hall, so she quickened her step, laughing when she spotted the duo.
“Hey, you three all match!”
Laker’s eyes found her, taking a quick wander down over the stretched tank top and short denim skirt she wore, warming the skin everywhere they touched. Then he grinned, setting every bit of her on fire.
“We sure do. Looks like it's stripes day today, huh?” He swung Marley up into his arms, tickling the shell of her ear and making noisy raspberries against her neck.
Indie couldn't help but smile, watching them. Laker had chosen a pair of navy and white striped board shorts, while Marley was sporting her favourite swimming costume. It, too, was striped in navy and white, but unlike Laker’s shorts, it bore tiny red bows on the front of each shoulder strap, and a matching, larger one on the back. With Bodhi’s nautical themed outfit fitting right in with them, Indie was the odd one out in her pink top and grey denim.
“Laker?” Marley asked, cupping his beard-covered jaw between her small palms.
“Yes, Little Sweet?”
“Can we go now? Pretty please?”
Laughing, he leaned in to give her an Eskimo kiss. “Well, as you asked so nicely! C’mon, Pie, let's go get our girl swimming.”
As Indie trailed after Marley and Laker with Bodhi chatting away to himself, she couldn't help but feel warmed by his use of the words ‘our girl’ and the sight of his easy interaction with Marley.
If she wasn't head over heels for Laker yet, Marley sure was.
~ oOo ~
When she imagined this trip, Indie had pictured the children splashing in the pool, sun-drenched picnics on the patio, and glorious sunsets with Laker by her side.
All her expectations had been blown out of the water.
“Mummy, look at me!”
Smiling, Indie turned in the water, with Bodhi squealing in her arms, to watch as Marley jumped off the side of the pool into Laker’s waiting arms. When she popped out of the water, a bright grin on her face, Indie felt a lump lodge itself in her throat.
She’s never looked so happy.
“Well done, baby girl! You’re so brave!”
Proud as punch, Marley clung onto Laker’s back as he swam them over to Indie and Bodhi. “Do you wanna jump in, Mummy? Laker will catch you.”
Laker shot Indie a wink. “Always ha
ppy to catch you, Pie.”
Indie felt her cheeks flush despite the chill of the water she was standing in. “Uh, I’m o-okay. Maybe later.”
Marley shrugged, spinning herself around Laker’s torso so she was clinging to his broad shoulders. “I’m gonna dunk you,” she told him seriously, glee colouring her sweet tone.
Laker played ball—of course, he did—and let her push him under the water over and over, pretending to cough and splutter every time he popped back up. Bodhi was delighted by all the splashing, chubby hands hitting the surface of the water and his gummy grin wider than ever as he watched his sister’s shenanigans.
They stayed this way for a long while—until Indie’s fingers began to prune and Bodhi started to shiver. Glancing over at the rest of the gang spread around the pool on loungers or towels, she called out to Grace. “Please can you toss Bodhi’s towel over, Grace?”
“Sure!” Grace scooped the hooded Tigger towel from the bag beside her and trotted over to the side of the pool, taking Bodhi from Indie’s arms so she could climb out unimpeded.
Deciding to forego the ladder, Indie pushed up on the edge of the pool with her arms, the heat of Laker’s eyes at her back making her smile shyly as she glanced over her shoulder and caught him staring.
Using his distraction, Marley hopped neatly on his back and dunked his head and shoulders under the water with a cheer.
~ oOo ~
“It's okay, Little Sweet. You're so, so close. Just a little more practice.”
Marley growled, slapping her hands on the surface of the water. “I'm never gonna get it.”
Indie watched from her sun lounger with a small, sympathetic smile on her face, Bodhi nestled in her arms chugging his bottle. Even after she and Bodhi left the water, Marley and Laker had stayed in the pool to work on her swimming. So far, Marley was doing amazingly well. She was, however, increasingly frustrated that she was still wearing her life vest while Carl-Roman splashed around without his.
Laker lifted her into the air, bringing her back down with a loud splash. It made her smile despite her best efforts to hold onto her scowl, and he chuckled, holding her out in front of him.
Indie tried valiantly to keep her focus on Marley—not Laker’s toned, tanned, muscular chest. She managed it…mostly. The soft flush infusing her cheeks gave away her wandering eyes, much to the amusement of Grace, Sarah, Heidi, and Pippa.
“Look, Little Sweet, you've only been learning for a couple of weeks. You're already doing amazingly well, okay? A bit more practice and you'll basically be a fish.”
Marley snorted, still trying to cling to her frustration.
Grinning, Laker leaned forward, raised her out of the water, and blew loud raspberries all over her exposed belly. She flailed her arms and legs, squealing and laughing hysterically. He finally let her down when she panted her surrender.
“Are you going to stop being a grouch?”
Marley sighed, her smile wide. “Okay, Laker.”
“Bene! Shall we get out for a bit and have some lunch, Little Sweet? We're all wrinkly, and my tummy is getting angry, it's so empty!”
As Marley paddled backwards, Laker following, she snickered. “Your tummy can't be empty already! You ate a million pancakes for breakfast.”
“Well, I'm a growing boy! I need lots and lots of pancakes to get big, strong, and handsome.”
Indie sighed, the sound long and girly, as she watched Laker swoop Marley out of the water to sit on the edge of the pool, neatly lifting himself out to join her with just his arms. His biceps flexed, firm chest straining as it was revealed to her eyes. She couldn't help but follow the water rivulets as they trailed down from his hair, over his broad shoulders, down his defined pectorals, washboard abs, to the beginnings of the ‘V’ that tapered down into his board shorts.
Her tongue darted out to lick her lips, the resulting peals of laughter from Grace, Sarah, Heidi, and Pippa drawing Marley and Laker’s attention.
“What's funny, ladies?” he asked with a cocked head and raised eyebrows, sauntering over with Marley's hand in his.
The sight was as adorable as it was heart melting.
The tall, bearded, muscular hero with his pretty baby princess.
“Nothing, dear,” Sarah chortled, her smile soft and placating when he sank into a crouch at the foot of Indie’s lounger and looked at his aunt, searching for the cause of Indie’s obvious embarrassment. Her cheeks flamed crimson at his perusal.
“Mummy, Laker’s tummy is hungry. Please, can we have some snacks?”
“O-of course, baby girl. Help yourself. They're in that bag, there.”
Laker deftly untied the loop in the bag handles, fishing out two packets of Marley's favourite snack.
“Fruit wheels! Yummy.”
Marley loved the stretchy fruit snacks, and Indie preferred her eating them to the chocolatey biscuits she'd gotten a touch addicted to back in Montana at the safe house.
“Mimi, can I sit with you, please?”
Sarah beamed, taking the Paw Patrol towel Laker handed her and holding it out. “I'd love for you to sit with me, sweet girl. Come here—let's get you all warm and dry.”
Marley bundled herself into the big, fluffy towel, then happily curled up between Sarah’s legs and leaned back against her chest to eat her treat.
Laker smiled at the sight. Not for the first time, he wondered why they hadn’t brought a brood of their own into the world. They would have made amazing parents to a gaggle of their own little McKinleys. Seeing Sarah wistfully dote upon Marley, Bodhi, Carl-Roman, and Chase just about broke his heart.
Reagan’s muttered curse a few minutes later attracted everybody's attention to him and the phone in his hand. He sat back heavily, the plastic chair creaking beneath his bulk.
“Ooh, Pawpaw, you need to give a pound to the swear jar!” Carl-Roman crowed gleefully.
Mustering a smile for his grandson, Reagan promised to add it to the tally they had running while they were away. Surmising he obviously had something unpleasant to share, Heidi and Pippa bribed Marley and Carl-Roman with promises of ice lollies, leading them towards the little outhouse where the freezer and inflatables resided.
Indie and Grace sat forward, the rest of the group readying themselves for whatever Reagan had to say.
“All right, so I've just had an email from Riley. He's got some news. Are you ready?”
“Dad, please, just…”
Reagan nodded grimly, reading the message from his screen exactly how Riley had written it.
“Hey guys, I hope you're all loving your vacation. Indie and Grace—your gifts are waiting at home for you. I hope you'll like them. Marley—yours is extra special, and you'll get it when you get home. I know you’ll love it.”
Reagan paused, shooting cursory glances at his daughter and niece. “This is where he explains what's been going on back home.”
Clearing his throat, Reagan resumed reading. “I hate to disturb you with this during your vacation, but we’re in a bit of a time crunch. We've identified the accomplice. We believe his name is Remi Wilson. We’ve got the picture Indie drew for comparison but we can’t locate the man himself, so I’ve attached some images for the girls to look at. I completely understand if you’d rather wait until you’re home. Just let me know either way.”
Reagan looked at his daughter, then at Grace. “What do you think, girls? Do you want to wait?”
The girls shared a loaded look. It was resolute—they knew they shared the same opinion without having to speak.
“No, we’ll do it now. The sooner we get it over with, the sooner Riley can track this guy down,” Grace spoke for both of them, her tone final.
With a proud smile, Reagan nodded. “Alrighty then. Uh, he also says…” He scrolled down, continuing to read. “Ryan, I’ve got the information you requested. It’ll be waiting for you when you return.” Reagan shot Ryan an openly curious glance, but dropped his gaze when the young man simply nodded, clearly not wanting to shar
e. “He finishes with, ‘I hope you’re all having an amazing time. You all deserve it. Be very jealous of me, sitting in my cold office in New York with rain pouring outside.’”
“Oh, yeah,” Laker snickered. “We’re super jealous.”
Reagan grinned in agreement. “I have some more information to go through with you, but that can wait until after your vacation. It’s not important, but it’s all good news for the case. I’ll video call you when you’re back and settled in at home again. For now, enjoy the sun and forget about everything back home.” With a huff, he lowered his phone. His expression was pensive. “All right. Photos. Do you girls want to look here, or…? We can go inside?”
“No, it’s fine, Uncle Ray,” Grace murmured, leaving her lounger to join Indie. They sat side-by-side, Bodhi sleeping soundly against his mother’s chest as she inhaled deeply, preparing herself to see a face she’d never thought she’d have to see again.
“Ready?”
“Yeah, Dad. It’s okay.”
Reagan tapped on his screen a few times, then frowned as he turned it toward Indie and Grace.
They both sighed and nodded in unison.
“That’s him. That’s the other guy,” Grace murmured.
The girls leaned into one another as Reagan stood, wandering off to call Riley just as Heidi and Pippa returned with Marley and Carl-Roman.
“Oh, baby girl,” Indie laughed quietly, mindful of Bodhi sleeping against her. “Did you have a chocolate ice cream, by any chance?”
Marley grinned, her smile ringed with chocolate, azure eyes sparkling with happiness. Her hair had dried in manic curls the same colour as her cold treat; she looked the epitome of a happy child. It was all Indie had ever wanted for her baby—to feel safe, loved, healthy, and happy.
“I did, Mummy! How’d you know?”
Indie laughed, scooping one of Bodhi’s toys from the mat on the floor and handing it over; Marley giggled, looking at her face in the mirror attached to one of the tentacles attached to the toy octopus.
“It looks like I’ve got a beard!”
Laker chuckled, “Well, Little Sweet, you have it all over your face! C’mere—let’s get you clean. Give it five minutes, and we can go in the pool again, si?”