Pinky Promises (The Promises #1)

by Ciara Shayee

  Turning from one of his favourite girls to the other, Laker grinned and leaned in to peer out the window. There were clouds in all different shades of white and grey, the ground disappearing rapidly as they raced ever upward into the sky. The sun was high in its perch, sunlight making the clouds glow white the higher up they flew.

  Marley sighed, the sound sweet and relaxed.

  “Are you okay, Little Sweet?”

  She glanced up at him. “Laker, I’m glad you didn’t go without us.”

  A jolt of happiness spread through his veins as he took in her precious face. She had a sweet button nose, Cupid’s bow mouth, and sun-freckled cheeks framed by bouncy, chocolate ringlets. Marley’s eyes were her defining feature though. Wide, bright, and expressive beyond comprehension, her gaze was just as enrapturing as her mother’s. A year with her family had lent her a new wisdom and sense of intelligence, but her innocence still shone through in her guileless eyes and loving spirit. As Laker gazed down at Marley with love swelling in his chest, he realised that all the things Andy and Sarah had told him over the years, all the diatribes about the love he would feel for his children if he ever had them, were true.

  Marley wasn’t his child, and Bodhi wasn’t either. But as Marley offered him a cheeky smile and Bodhi shifted in his lap to reach up and stroke his beard, Laker was absolutely certain that he knew what his aunt and uncle meant. The love for his Little Sweet and Tesoro was all-encompassing and overwhelming in its warmth.

  “I’m glad, too. Thank you for coming with me, Little Sweet.”

  “S’okay.” Marley leaned in to Eskimo kiss her brother, then caught Indie’s gaze. “Mamma, can I have my colouring book? Please?”

  “Of course, baby. One second…” Indie dug through her bag, fishing out a box of crayons and Marley’s colouring book. Once Marley was sitting comfortably with her fold-out table pulled down, Indie passed them across Laker and Bodhi.

  “Thank you, Mamma.”

  “MammamaMA!”

  “All right, big guy,” Indie laughed at her rowdy son, taking him from Laker’s lap when he reached for her. She stood him on her knees, smiling when he immediately started bobbing up and down on his chunky legs. “He loves doing this,” she murmured.

  Laker grinned, asking, “Do you think he’ll be walking soon?”

  “Probably.” She sighed wistfully. “He’s already crawling really well. He’ll probably start complaining soon that he wants to get down to crawl around.”

  “And I’ve seen him pull himself up, so it won’t be long before he’s walking along stuff, if not just full-on running everywhere.”

  Laker almost welled up thinking about the first time he’d seen Bodhi pull himself up.

  “Laker, look! Quick, come here!”

  Laker quickly set down the orange juice he’d been pouring and stepped into the living room, a huge, crooked grin spreading across his face when he spotted Marley and Bodhi. They were exactly where he’d left them a few minutes ago—both laying on their backs on the floor, their heads parallel so they could ‘talk’ to one another.

  As he watched, Bodhi rolled himself over onto his belly, planking with a big, two-toothy grin for his beloved sister before he pushed up on his hands and knees and took off toward the coffee table. It had been pushed out of the way while the babies, Carl-Roman, and Marley played, but Carl-Roman and Chase had gone home now, leaving Marley and Bodhi to roll around to their hearts content. Apparently, Bodhi was bored with staying still.

  “Watch this, Laker. It’s so cool.”

  Laker chuckled, in love with how much Marley adored her baby brother. His eyes were trained on Bodhi as he stopped in front of the coffee table, looking up at it for a few seconds before sitting back on his legs and contemplating his task. With a determined little frown on his face he reached up, grabbing at the edge of the table. Once he had a firm grip, he grunted and pulled hard until he was on his feet, clutching at the table-top with both hands as he turned to shoot his sister a wide, proud smile.

  “Well done, baby Beesy!” she cooed, using the nickname she and Laker had coined and everyone else had copied. “You’re so clever—yes, you are, yes, you are.”

  Marley planted loud kisses all over Bodhi’s head and face, tickling his chubby belly until he gave her the full-on belly chuckles she was hoping for, dropping back to the carpet to roll around on his back with his legs kicking in delight.

  Later that day, Indie cried with laughter when Laker showed her the video he’d managed to take of Marley tickling Bodhi, then she’d informed him that he absolutely had to send it to her along with the two photos he’d taken. The first was of Marley and Bodhi lying beside one another, Marley’s arm tucked around Bodhi. The second was of the duo curled together on the sofa an hour later, fast asleep and angelic with relaxed faces and crazy curly hair.

  “La-la!”

  Laker was pulled from his memories by Bodhi’s cheerful call. He grinned at the baby boy as Indie leaned in to kiss his mop of curls before passing him over. “I’m convinced he’s trying to say your name,” she murmured.

  “Ah, he’s just vocalising. Isn’t that what Sarah said? That they all start doing this at his age?”

  “Yeah, but he’s almost got ‘Mars’ down, and he only ever makes that ‘la’ noise when he wants you.” A strange, wistful, almost sad look crossed Indie’s face as she watched Bodhi lean in to bump his forehead against Laker’s, the baby’s hearty giggles drawing more than a few smiles from the passengers sitting nearby as Laker blew raspberries against his sweet, button nose.

  It was such a beautiful sight—albeit, a bitter-sweet one.

  Not for the first time, Indie foolishly wished that Laker could’ve been the father of her babies. He was so wonderful with them both, and they adored him. He was a brilliant man, inside and out, and it made her sad to think that her son and daughter would never get to feel the unconditional love of a dad. Sure, they had lots of family members and friends doting on them, but it wasn’t the same. Indie got choked up thinking of her dad and the bond she shared with him, knowing Marley and Bodhi wouldn’t get to experience that for themselves.

  Indie sighed, pretending to hunt through her bag when Laker shot her a questioning glance.

  Her subconscious had been getting louder and louder in recent weeks; ever since their return from Italy, Indie had been realising what an idiot she was.

  Laker’s love shone through in everything he did. He woke early every morning and wandered down the street from his aunt and uncle’s house to Reagan’s, where he would either take over with Bodhi’s first feed if Indie was feeding him downstairs or make a start on breakfast so she’d have less to do once Bodhi had finished. Now that Bodhi was on solids as well as his bottles, there was a lot more mess—Laker often took care of it while she cleaned Bodhi.

  Then, Marley would join them in the kitchen. Usually, she scaled Laker and ‘helped’ him prepare whatever breakfast he’d started.

  Indie had a framed drawing of her on Laker’s hip, still dressed in her Dalmatian print pyjamas as they cooked pancakes together. Laker was sporting only a pair of cropped, grey sweatpants and the slippers Marley picked out for him for his birthday back in April. Marley had her head resting against his shoulder, her little arm wrapped tight around his back.

  Every time Indie looked at the image on the wall above Marley's bed, she was hit with a pang of longing.

  He loves them… just like he loves you! the ever-present voice called from the back of her mind.

  She had to admit her subconscious painted a pretty picture. A sweet family unit—two parents and their two babies.

  A dad for Marley and Bodhi.

  But it wasn't that simple, was it? Could it possibly be as easy as Indie’s mind accepting what her heart was already trying to tell her?

  Sometimes, while she watched her babies growing increasingly enamoured of Laker, Indie thought that it might be.

  “Mamma, look! I drew us.”

  Indie pulled her
head from the clouds and peered around Laker to better see Marley's latest artwork; inwardly, she sighed. Outwardly, Indie plastered a smile across her face.

  “That's brilliant, baby girl. Well done!”

  Marley had drawn her favourite subjects. Laker and Indie were in the middle, holding hands of course, with Marley on his hip, Bodhi on his mother’s. They were all smiling goofily and surrounded by lots of red and pink hearts.

  “This is ‘cause we all love each other lots and lots,” Marley added seriously, pointing to the hearts. “Right?”

  Out of the corner of her eyes, Indie saw Laker’s grin—his whole face lit up as his dimples popped. “We sure do, Little Sweet.”

  He leaned over, pressing a kiss to her curly mop before giving Bodhi the same treatment against his nose. Bodhi found this hilarious and laughed loudly as he tugged on Laker’s face.

  Oh God, what is this man trying to do to me? Indie thought with a rising sense of resignation and dawning awareness. I don't stand a chance against sights like this.

  ~ oOo ~

  “Laker, look! It's your house! I can see it! I can see it!”

  Marley bounced in her seat, pointing at the looming house as it came into view.

  Beside Indie in the front seat, Laker chuckled and nodded. “Well done, Little Sweet. You saw it first; that means you win a prize. What do you want as your reward?”

  “Hmmm…”

  Indie twisted, eyeing her daughter’s pensive expression before quickly checking on Bodhi. He was fast asleep in his car seat, snoring softly.

  “You can always tell us later, Little Sweet. You don't have to decide now.”

  “‘Kay. I'll tell you later.”

  They arrived at the garage, Laker using the fob from the door compartment to open the door before driving into the empty space. One of his neighbours, and good friends, had brought his car to the airport so they wouldn't have to wait for a cab or queue for a rental. Now, at almost seven p.m. and after travelling for so long, he was ready to fall into bed and sleep for a week.

  “Alright, everybody out.”

  Indie released Marley from her car-seat, meeting Laker at the boot. He was carrying a sleepy Bodhi in one arm, the changing bag over the other. Laker’s smile was soft as he eyed Marley, who was obviously tired, and her equally weary mother.

  “Are you hungry? I’m going to run to the hospital and see Nonna and Nonno, but we can eat first if you want to.”

  “I'm okay. Baby girl, are you hungry?”

  Marley frowned, holding her tummy. “Only a little bit.”

  “All right, new plan. How about I show you where the snacks are and then once I’m back from the hospital, we build a fort and have a picnic inside? Then, when we're tired, we're already in bed.”

  “Yeah, a fort! Mamma, can we build a fort?”

  Indie was exhausted—from the stress of waking yesterday to news of Laker’s imminent departure; from trying to act upbeat about it even though the mere idea of him leaving was tearing her apart; from the sleepless night; then the panicked rush to the airport to try and catch Laker before he left.

  All she really wanted was to crawl into a bed somewhere, anywhere, and snuggle her babies.

  A blanket fort full of her three favourite people sounded perfect for that.

  “Sounds great to me!”

  Marley cheered, bouncing a little. Seeing his sister obviously excited, Bodhi let out a high-pitched squeal and clapped his hands together as Laker carried him toward the house.

  “All right, Tesoro. I'm going as quick as I can!” Laker chuckled, expertly juggling the baby, bag, and his keys.

  Indie trailed behind with Marley, unable to look away from the sight of Laker looking so domestic as he grinned at Bodhi, his Tesoro—his treasure.

  “Killing me,” she mumbled under her breath, looking down at her feet and willing the butterflies flapping about in her stomach to settle down.

  Marley tapped her mother's face, frowning with a slight tilt to her head. “What did you say, Mamma?”

  Beet-red in the face, Indie refused to look at Laker—she could feel his gaze on her—and simply told her daughter, “Nothing, baby girl. Look, shall we go inside? Laker’s going in.”

  With Marley's attention successfully diverted, Indie breathed a sigh of relief and followed Laker into the house.

  ~ oOo ~

  As promised, Laker showed them where to find drinks and snacks—although Marley remembered where most things were from their trip earlier in the year—before heading out to the hospital. It was late, so he wouldn’t be able to stay long, but he wanted to check in with his nonna and see his nonno, even just briefly.

  When he returned, he was sombre and his eyes were rimmed with red. Indie didn’t get a chance to ask too many questions before the children were diving on him and Marley announced that she was ‘really hungry now, Laker’, so they made their way to the kitchen and put the smile back on his face by being their usual goofy, silly selves.

  “Mm-mm-mmm. Dee-licious!”

  Indie and Laker couldn’t help but laugh as they watched Marley suck syrup from her tiny fingers. As usual, she'd drowned her pancakes. Indie had warned him to watch her with the bottle while she took Bodhi to change his nappy, but when she'd returned, she found a sheepish Laker and a very pleased Marley holding a plate of syrup with a side of pancake.

  “I'm glad it was up to your standards, Little Sweet!”

  “Don't tell Pawpaw, but your pancakes are the best in the whole world, ever!”

  Indie snorted, wiping Bodhi’s face with a wet wipe before handing him his stuffed teddy bear. He flopped back into his sleep nest, content to suckle his beloved binky and cuddle his bear. His mother knew, thanks to his droopy eyes and minimal complaints about being set down, that it wouldn't be long before he crashed.

  As she glanced over at Marley, Indie also knew it likely wouldn't be long before she, too, was asleep—even after the mountain of sugar she'd consumed.

  Speaking of sugar…

  “C’mon baby girl, let's go get your teeth brushed and jammies on.”

  Marley hopped up, following her mother from the impressive blanket fort—Marley and Laker had erected it while Indie fed Bodhi. It took up almost the entire living room and was filled with two twin mattresses covered with any and all blankets or throws they'd been able to find. They'd also scoured the nearby bedrooms for a mountain of pillows, and Laker had removed the fairy lights from the mantle to cast a soft glow inside the tent. They were clipped to the sheet with pegs, which were also what they’d used to keep the edges of the blankets attached to the chairs forming the structure. It was almost womb-like—cosy and comfortable without being restrictive. Even Laker could sit up without crouching, though the top of his scruffy, chocolate ‘do brushed the ‘roof’ on occasion if he ventured too near to the sides.

  Indie and Marley made it to the bathroom without any wrong turns. Indie pulled the small, metal bin over to the sink, using it as a step-stool for Marley so she could reach the taps. Fishing through the toiletry bag she’d packed in a panic, she found Marley’s 101 Dalmatians singing toothbrush and strawberry flavoured toothpaste. Because Marley always liked to use half a tube, given the chance, she quickly put the pea-sized dollop on the end of the brush and passed it to her before she could protest. Thankfully, Marley was tired enough, and eager enough to get back to Laker and Bodhi in the fort, that she didn’t argue and pushed the button to start the musical brush, scrubbing her teeth just like she’d been shown.

  “Mamma, I like it here,” she garbled a few seconds later around the end of the red toothbrush.

  Indie, perched on the edge of the tub, smiled softly. “I do, too, baby girl.”

  “And I love Laker lots.”

  Her mother’s smile turned wistful. There's that longing again. “I know you do. He loves you, too.”

  Marley scrubbed her teeth for a few more seconds. “Mamma, Laker loves you, too. Auntie Grace and Uncle Ry said it. I heard them.” She
cocked her head, foam bursting from her mouth, blue-green eyes questioning. “Do you love Laker?”

  “Uh, I—Marley, it's not that…” Blowing out a long breath, Indie raked a hand through her hair. Marley’s earnest expression broke her. “Of course I do.”

  It was impossible to miss the way the little girl’s expression brightened at her admission. “You do?”

  More than I can explain to you, baby girl. “Don’t forget your front teeth,” Indie murmured, smiling when Marley returned her gaze to the mirror to brush her front teeth.

  Laker lowered his hand, letting his fist fall to his side. He stepped away from the bathroom door and sighed, reaching up to remove his cap and run his free hand through his hair.

  “Of course I do.”

  “Of course I do.”

  “Of course I do.”

  “She does?” Laker whispered, unable to stifle the smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

  Hearing Indie telling Marley to dry her face on the hand towel, he quickly hustled back to the living room with the covers he’d gone to retrieve from his room. He’d just settled on the floor outside the tent, after peeking in to check on Bodhi, who was fast asleep just as he was when Laker had left him, when Indie and Marley appeared in the doorway.

  She frowned. “What are you doing out there?”

  “I didn’t know if you’d be comfortable with me,” he waved toward the tent, abruptly feeling a bit stupid. “You know, sleeping in there with you guys.”

  Marley shot a withering look at Laker before rolling her eyes and clambering into the tent. “C’mon, Laker! You’re being silly!”

  Indie’s expression switched from confused to frustrated within a second; he grinned, knowing how much she hated the eye-rolling.

  “She’s right—you are being silly. Of course, you can stay in there with us.”

  Warmth bloomed in Laker’s chest. He’d wanted to camp inside the fort with his three favourite people, of course, but he hadn’t wanted to presume Indie would be comfortable with that arrangement.