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Restless. On edge. I needed to move. To remind myself of what was real and what was fantasy. My palm skated over the prominent swell of my belly as the baby kicked, and relief flooded my veins as that one thing grounded me.
I still couldn’t shake the lingering sense of unease after a cool shower and fresh change of clothes which included another of Caleb’s heavy sweaters. Needing some way to burn off this energy while he slept, I wandered outside, my feet leading me down the path to the beach.
“I wondered if I’d be seeing you again.”
The unexpected voice, when I hadn’t noticed another living soul so far, forced a shocked cry from my lips. I spun around, one hand curled protectively around my belly, the other clutching the amulet Natalie had given me. I hadn’t taken the necklace off since she’d gifted it to me.
I eyed the young girl I’d met before. Kelly. She was wearing the same shawl and dress as the last time I’d seen her. “Jesus Christ, you need a fucking bell.”
“I wasn’t after scaring you, Sunday. I did wave as you passed by, but you seemed a fair bit lost in your thoughts. Is something the matter with you?”
“Just bad dreams.”
“Oh, aye, I’ve had my share of those. It was always worse before a storm. Me Ma would tell me a story to send me off to sleep when the nightmares got especially bad.”
Yeah, well. My mom’s the one who gives me nightmares, so...
“Do you know when the supply boat is coming?” I asked, changing the subject. I didn’t want to think about mothers or dreams anymore.
“Soon. The boatman should arrive any day now.” She glanced at the horizon, her young face turning pensive as she eyed the gray clouds. “Though a storm is coming. Might be bad, from the looks of it.”
Fucking great. I wondered if Caleb had prepared for something like this? Was there enough food if access to the island was cut off? If the boat was lost at sea? Or worse, the boatman in his thrall ended up dead?
What would Caleb do? Swim?
I let out a tight, nearly hysterical laugh as the image of Caleb swimming to the mainland hit me. He probably would, knowing that stubborn and determined man. And I’d be right there with him, clinging to his neck like a half-drowned backpack.
“Do you get storms often?” I turned my focus to Kelly, but she was gone again.
“You really need to work on your social skills!” I shouted down the beach. “These Irish goodbyes of yours leave a whole lot to be desired. No one likes standing around talking to themselves...”
Realizing I was doing just that and that it was only a small step above creating invisible boyfriends to talk to, I bit off a muttered curse and turned away from the water. In addition to the dark clouds looming, the afternoon sunlight had turned a dim, sickly green unlike anything I’d ever seen before.
My lower back ached as the unease from my dream flared up. The need to return to Caleb was a strong, insistent thrum in my veins. I knew he’d keep me safe from whatever threat headed our way. Storm or otherwise. Caleb had proven that he’d never let anything happen to me. Regardless of his abduction plot.
Instead of climbing the steep hill that would take me directly to my sleeping vampire, I opted for the more gentle slope which meandered through the village. I couldn’t handle more than that. Not with this basketball belly making me waddle like a fucking duck. Because make no mistake, I was waddling.
I swore this baby had grown so much quicker than I thought she should. I’d seen pregnant women. Done my research. By my count, I shouldn’t be this big. In the shower, I noticed my belly button had popped, and my skin was stretched tight over the taut dome of my pregnancy. I looked nearly full-term.
“There’s only one of you in there, right?” As if she heard me, little Elvira fluttered.
Cradling my belly, I continued onward through the village. My breath came in labored huffs, and I was eyeing the last stretch of my hike with a growing sense of ire. What I needed was a golf cart. No. What I needed was to be far away from Ireland and its stupid rolling hills and rocky cliffs. Who thought bringing a pregnant woman to a place like this was a good idea? Oh, right. The sneaky fucking priest who wanted to make it impossible for her to run away. Criminal mastermind, that one. A real freaking genius.
My grumbled tirade amused me enough to spur me forward.
“I wouldn’t go that way if I were you. It’s not safe.”
I swallowed back a scream for a second time that day. “What the hell is wrong with you people?”
A tall, spindly man wearing a pair of brown trousers and a cream shirt with dark suspenders tipped his hat at me in belated greeting. His beard was nearly to his collar, wild and bushy. If he’d been twenty years younger, I would have mistaken him for a hipster. “Apologies, miss. It’s only that a storm is coming. You don’t want to be caught out here without cover.”
“I’m on my way home now.”
“You’re sure you don’t want to come inside? You can wait out the storm by my fire. Nothing will happen to you.”
“No, thanks. I’m good. My... fiancé is waiting for me.” A wave of dizziness hit me from out of nowhere, and I had to sit down on the edge of the rock wall bordering the road.
Oh, shit. He’d proposed to me. I accepted. But I’d never said the word out loud. We hadn’t talked about it again. I think part of me passed it off as something done in the heat of an emotional moment.
