Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

***SIMON***

T he next morning Simon stood on the dock holding Kira's hand as they watched a boat approaching the marina, "Oh, I bet that's them," Kira said, a huge smile on her face. "I still can't believe you did this Max, thank you again."

"It seemed like the simplest solution," Max said. "Besides, the island was meant to be a sanctuary. Your family wasn't really in any danger, but close enough."

The boat pulled up a second later, and Simon's stomach began to twist in knots. Being together in the real world seemed so easy in thought, but the reality might be different. Suddenly worried that her parents wouldn't like him, he stood up straighter, sucked his stomach in, and took a deep breath.

"Will you stop worrying," Kira said, smiling up at him. "My parents are nice people. I'm sure they're going to like you."

He was waiting for the boat when it pulled up to the dock, and he secured the lines carefully, then stepped back while Kira's father helped her mother and the baby off the boat. Kira swooped the child out of her mother's arms, giving her a hug at the same time, then kissed her father's cheek before turning to him.

"Simon, I want you to meet my parents," she said, pulling him over. "Dan and Molly, and this little lady is Kiley."

"It's nice to meet you all," he said, making faces at Kiley. "I hope you had a good trip."

Molly studied him for a second, "It was quite the experience," she finally said. "We've never been on a private plane before. It was very luxurious."

"Much better than flying commercial," he said, feeling like an idiot.

Just then, Max stepped up to them, rescuing him, "I'm Max St. Clair, I'm so glad you enjoyed your flight," he said. "I hope you enjoy your stay on the island. Mary Beth has been working day and night to get everything straightened out at home. You should be safe to head back there in a week."

"We can't thank you enough," Dan said. "This will give us some piece of mind, and I know Mary Beth will do all that she can to protect both Kira and Kiley."

"If you guys aren't too tired, I thought we could go down to the beach for a picnic," Kira said. "Then you can go back to your cabin, get unpacked, and rest for a while."

"That sounds wonderful," her mother said. "A picnic on the beach, just the thing to chase away all the bad energy from the other night."

"I'll have to pass," Max said. "I have some things I need to handle. I just wanted to be here to welcome you to the island."

"I hope we'll be seeing you again," Molly said. "We barely got a chance to chat."

"Oh, don't worry, I'll be around," Max said. "But I'm going to leave you in Simon's capable hands."

"The picnic was his idea," Kira said. "He arranged for all the food, so we should be in for a treat. Simon has excellent taste."

When they were all settled on the beach, Molly looked around, "This is very nice," she said. "Thank you, Simon."

"You're welcome. It's such a beautiful place, and the beach is the best part," he said. "And speaking of the beach, I have a little surprise for Kiley."

He got to his feet, reached behind a large bush, and brought out a brightly wrapped basket, "I asked Montgomery to pick up a few things for Kiley when he went to get your parents," he explained, setting the basket down in front of the baby. "You'll probably have to help her open it."

Kiley was already tearing at the paper, "Oh, I guess not," he said, then laughed. "I haven't been around very many kids."

"How old are you?" Dan demanded. "I mean, if you don't mind me asking."

"I don't mind," he said. "I just turned thirty last winter."

Kira shot her dad a dirty look, and he pretended not to notice, "And what do you do for a living?" he asked, then shushed Kira when she started to protest. "A father is allowed to ask these questions."

"Well, sir, to be quite honest with you, I'm currently not employed," he said, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt. "But I'm looking into some options, and I'm sure something will come along soon."

"And what would that something be?" Dan asked. "I just……"

"Dad, that's enough," Kira said. "Stop grilling him and look what he got for Kiley. It's a little life jacket. It's so cute."

Dan grunted, "I don't think a life jacket is supposed to be cute, but it was a good idea," he said, then turned away to watch the surf, mumbling under his breath.

Doing his best to pretend that nothing was wrong, he got down in the sand with Kiley and opened the sand toys, "Safety first, Montgomery taught me that," he said. "Now you won't have to worry if you take her down to the water."

Kiley seemed to think going to the water was a good idea. With the shovel clasped in one hand and the bucket in the other, she slowly crawled toward the ocean. "It looks like someone wants to try it out," Kira said, scooping Kiley up and setting her in her lap. "Help me figure out how to get this on."

***Kira***

"I'm sorry if my parents are being a little hard on you," Kira said when they reached the water. "They're just looking out for me."

"That's okay, I understand," he said. "Besides, they haven't been that bad."

"Yeah, well, it might get worse," she said, wincing. "I guess I should have warned you, but I didn't think they'd act this way."

"Kira, it's okay, I mean it," Simon said. "After everything you've all been through, I can understand why they might be a little wary of me. I don't think it's anything personal. I think they just want to make sure that you're okay."

"I guess you're right," she said, stretching up to give him a kiss. "They just need some time."

"Exactly," Simon said. "I don't want you to worry about me. You should be having fun with Kiley."

The baby was wiggling in her arms and reaching for the water, so she put her down, laughing when Kiley toddled over to the water, then tried to run away when a wave came toward her. It didn't take long for Kiley's fear to evaporate and the three of them were soon splashing around in the waves, the baby laughing and babbling. When Kiley had her fill of the waves, Simon retrieved the sand toys he'd bought for her, and they settled on the sand away from the water.

Simon showed Kiley the shovel and together they filled a bucket with wet sand, then he flipped it over. A second later, the baby used her little fist to destroy the little structure. He laughed and built her another one. This time the destruction was even worse, but it came with so much laughter and giggling, and they both joined in. She watched Simon playing with her daughter for a long time, seeing another side of him, and hope swelled inside her as a future for the three of them suddenly became a reality.

When Kiley grew tired of the game, she started crawling back toward the water, "I've got her," Simon said, jumping to his feet and sweeping Kiley into his arms. Kiley looked surprised at first, and for a second, she thought she was going to cry, but she looked into Simon's eyes and smiled at him. "How about if I take her for a little walk so you can have a few minutes alone with your parents? I'm sure you have some things you'd like to talk about with them without the baby around."

"Are you sure?" she asked. "Toddlers can be a real handful."

"I won't let her out of my sight," Simon said. "I promise she'll be perfectly safe."

"I wasn't worried about her," she said. "I was worried about you."

He laughed, the looked over at the baby, "We're going to be just fine, aren't we, princess?" he said. "This will give the two of us a chance to get to know each other. Now go spend some time with your parents."

Kiley was already babbling at Simon and pointing to the water, "Okay, but if you need help, just yell," she said. "I would like to know exactly what happened with my parents the other night."

By the time she reached her parents, who were sitting in the shade of a big palm tree, Simon and Kiley were walking along the shore, stomping through the waves, her happy laughter carrying all the way to them. The three of them watched for a while, then she turned to her parents, bracing herself for the questions she knew were coming about Simon, including a few she didn't know how she was going to answer.

"Simon seems nice," her mother said, surprising her. "He's not married, is he?"

"No, Mom, he's single, he's never been married and doesn't have any kids of his own," she said. "We've only known each other for a week. I don't even know if we'll see each other when we leave the island, so don't go jumping to any conclusions."

Her father made a sound in the back of his throat, "As long he doesn't have a crazy wife who's going to show up on my doorstep raving like a mad woman," he said, then shook his head. "I'm sorry, Kira, I know you were deceived and lied to, but that woman……"

"No, I'm the one who's sorry, Dad," she said. "I never thought she'd show up at your house. I never would have come on this trip if I'd known that would happen."

"You couldn't have known," her mother said. "None of us really understood how deeply this all affected her. I know I should be angry at her, but I just feel sorry for her. She was ranting and raving about you stealing her baby, she's convinced you somehow managed to steal Kiley from her womb. I don't know if she's dangerous or not, but she needs some professional help."

A new wave of guilt washed over her, and she looked over at Simon and Kiley, still splashing through the waves, "I can't change anything that happened. It wasn't my fault, but I still feel bad for the woman," she said. "And I'm sorry you had to go through that, but I promise Mary Beth will make sure nothing like that ever happens again."

"I just hope you're being more cautious this time," her father said. "Kiley should be your first priority. She's just a baby, and everything you do affects her."

"Dad, I know that, I don't need you to lecture me," she said. "I didn't spend the last year of my life fighting to keep her just to ignore her, and I'm a little insulted that you think that I would. Where is this coming from?"

"Sweetheart, you father is just being a bit over protective," her mother said. "Simon seems nice, and he's……well, not exactly the most handsome man you've ever dated, not that looks matter."

"He doesn't have a job," her father said. "Why doesn't he have a job?"

She knew the conversation was about to get tricky and tried to choose her words carefully, "He's from a wealthy family. Until recently he hasn't needed to work, but he had a falling out with his father and he cut him off."

"Was that supposed to make me feel better?" her father asked. "Kira, something feels off about him. I've been trying to ignore the feeling, but it won't go away. I'm just trying to look out for you."

"I know, Dad," she said, wishing it wasn't so confusing so she could just tell them the truth. "Simon's life is a bit complicated right now, but he really is a good guy. I wouldn't be……involved with him if he wasn't. You're just going to have to trust me. Besides, as I said before, I don't even know if we're going to see each other after we leave the island."

"What do you mean, complicated?" her father asked. "Don't you have enough complications in your life?"

She sighed, "I can see that you're not going to let this go," she said. "But if I tell you the truth, you won't believe me, so can't we just let it be?"

Her father shook his head, "You may be all grown up, but I'm still your father," he said. "It's my job to protect you."

She studied her parents in silence for a minute, trying to come up with the right words to explain what had happened to Simon, but before she could get her thoughts together, a beach ball rolled up to them. Kiley came toddling after the ball, her little arms stretched out to grab it, but she kicked it with her foot instead, and it rolled into her lap.

"Mamma……ball…. play," Kiley said, finally getting her arms around the ball.

She scooped her daughter up into her lap, then looked over at her dad, "Can we talk about this some more later?" she asked. "I know that you're worried, but I promise you, Kiley is still my first priority. I would never do anything that would hurt her."

Her dad didn't look convinced but waved her away, "Go play with Kiley," he said. "We're not going anywhere."