Sun-Kissed Secret Baby by Leigh Jenkins

Chapter 20

“Wow,” Sadie commented enthusiastically. “Digging for Easter eggs in the sand. Who’da thunk it, huh?”

Allie, Sadie, and a couple of other parents were standing on the beach, looking on at the activities on Easter Sunday morning. Kids from the camp as well as the village scampered about, sending sand flying everywhere as they dug, searching beneath upturned boats and poking through the shrubbery, looking for goodies.

“You’d think all that chocolate would melt into pudding by now,” Sadie added, shaking her head. “How hot it is and all.” She wasn’t wrong. It was still early morning, but the heat was already deadly.

Allie shook her head and pointed to Charlie and Sue-Anne, who were in place outside the rec cabin with a large cooler. “Daria tells me the buried eggs are plastic. When they’ve collected as many as they can, they can swap them out for the candy they’re keeping chilled over there.”

“Oh.” Sadie gave her a happy grin. “That makes sense.” Then she added with sympathy, “So, Daria’s talking to you again?”

She was, and Allie’s relief was enormous. It had been a hard couple of days, and now that the ice had thawed, she intended for it to stay that way.

“Well, she sure does look happy,” Sadie said contentedly, as Daria and Lauren both spotted a brightly colored egg near a mooring pole and lunged for it at the same time, screaming scandalously.

It was true. In the past couple of days, Daria had come alive, and Allie knew that, apart from her thorough enjoyment of the camp, her newfound self-confidence and cheerfulness had come from one single source: Sam.

She thought again of the way things had ended between her and Sam last night, with her stumbling off, flushed and bothered, practically running away from him after he’d kissed her. She knew he hadn’t been pressing for more; that didn’t strike her as something Sam would do. But wasn’t kissing him devastating enough? Wasn’t the likelihood great that if she had let him kiss her a second time, hold her, even, he would have messed with her mind, to a point where she’d never see her way clear to unscrambling it?

And as for Ryan, oh, God, Sam had seen her in an uncomfortable position, literally backed against the wall, looking so weak that he’d assumed she wasn’t capable of defending herself, or extricating herself from that mess.

He thought she was helpless and stupid… not to mention a total slut.

Cringgee.

“That man of yours sure is generous,” Sadia complimented.

“He’s not my man,” she denied automatically.

“Baby-daddy, then,” Sadie amended with a grin. The freckles on her nose danced. “Could you believe the spread he’s set out here?”

Sadie wasn’t wrong. At five in the morning, well before the sun came up, about two hundred parishioners from the churches in the village: Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Protestants of all flavors, had trooped past a row of lit flaming torches to take seats for the yearly ecumenical Easter sunrise service. Not only had Sam allowed them to assemble on his beachfront, but he had paid for tents, chairs, sound system, and rows of gorgeous floral arrangements, especially glorious, long-stemmed white, yellow, and orange Easter lilies.

Allie had sat respectfully in the back, enjoying the live choir, and then, as the service culminated, looked on in awe as the sun rose over the cliffs to the east, bathing the entire ceremony in a golden glow.

They were then invited to feast on an Easter breakfast, served by pleasant, uniformed staff from laden tables. And now, the children were being entertained, all thanks to Sam.

Allie was overcome just thinking about it. She watched him standing a way off, surrounded by churchgoers, chatting with the pastor, and again was amazed at how beautiful he was, not just physically, but in character. Here was a man who was willing to rescue a woman, even when she was being churlish and trying to send him away. A man who dug deep into his pocket to host the people of his village, to make dozens of children smile on this holiest of holy mornings.

How the hell did she imagine she could escape a powerhouse like that?

Sadie was still talking, so Allie dragged her thoughts and attention back to her.

“You could do a whole lot worse, you know,” she was saying. “And if you can’t see that, you’re an idiot.”

Allie couldn’t decide whether to be offended or to agree with her. She watched as Daria and Lauren ran up to Sam with their little baskets of goodies, holding them up for his inspection. He went through the treats with exaggerated care, seeming to compliment them on their excellent egg-nabbing skills. Daria said something and he laughed and reached out and tugged on her hair. Daria put her hand up as if to pull the lock out of his grasp, but instead her fingers closed over his.

The two of them appeared to be encased in their own private bubble, cut off from the world, existing in their own personal space.

Allie felt a series of emotions, one by one, hitting her with great force, like being assaulted by waves and knocked over again and again, before she had time to get back on her feet. Sheer joy at seeing Daria so happy, relief that she and Sam really liked each other, fear about what was going to happen when their stay was up, and she and her daughter would have to go home again, back to hunting for a new job, back to reality.

And, of course, the monster whose name she couldn’t deny, but didn’t dare to name out loud: jealousy. What if her daughter was slipping away? What if that circle that held her and Sam within its protective borders was impermeable, and Allie wasn’t allowed to breach it?

Would she be left standing in the cold? Despite the glorious warmth, she shivered, feeling the hairs on her arms stand up.

I’m in so much trouble,she thought.

The girls came running up breathlessly, holding out their loot for inspection. In exchange for their plastic eggs, they’d filled their pails with chocolates and candy, little plastic bags full of tokens for the arcade games in the rec room back at the resort, as well as comic books and sparkly markers.

“You guys made out like bandits!” Sadie enthused, and Allie managed to echo those noises, even though her head was filled with the roaring sound of worries and warnings. In too deep, a voice said. Both of you.

“So, where you guys going now?” Sadie asked meaningfully, eying the activity down on the beach. The crowd was thinning and churchgoers, having eaten their fill, were all trooping past ‘Mr. Sam’ to thank him and say their goodbyes. He looked up and caught her eyes, nodding warmly. It was clear that he expected to speak with her, but Allie felt she didn’t have what it took right now.

So she nodded back at him and looked away, slipping her arm around Daria’s shoulders. “I think we’ll go back to our cabin awhile, enjoy our holiday quietly. Maybe if the girls are up to it, we could have dinner or something?” She silently pled with Sadie not to say anything incriminating or inflammatory that might lead to Daria piping up again.

“Oh.” Sadie’s eyes flashed in Sam’s direction for just a moment, and then her characteristic broad smile was back on her face. “Sure, luvvie. We’ll see you guys later. Have a good one.”

“You too.” She put her arm around Daria’s shoulder and together they walked up the slope in the direction of the cabins.

Until she rounded the corner and lost sight of the sea, she could feel the sting and tingle of a pair of green eyes on her.