Like he always had been.
And now he was gone. The tightness in Brandon’s chest made it difficult to breathe and he stared out at the island until the pressure eased. The bushes were a little bigger than he remembered. When he was sure his emotions were under control, Brandon returned to where the others had left their things. They were all in the water, his family splashing and playing, and Amy and Sam floating nearby chatting. The pull of jealousy was unwelcome. Sam didn’t know anyone here and Brandon should be pleased Amy was talking to him. Still he quickly stripped off his shirt and joined them in the water. Both Sam and Amy looked at him with levels of concern. “I’m fine.”
“Never doubted it,” Sam said, and Amy smiled at him.
Below the surface of the water, she wore a simple black bikini and he wished he hadn’t been so distracted when he’d first arrived so he could have seen it above the water.
“What’s the island?” Sam asked.
“Retribution Island. No one lives there.”
“So what’s with all the Retribution names? Someone all fire and brimstone name the places?”
“Everything is named after the ship which brought people here,” Brandon told him. “It wrecked off the island during a cyclone.”
“An auspicious start.”
He’d never thought of it that way. The stories his father had told him had been filled with hardship and dedication, the motto to work hard to fulfil your dreams.
Next to them, Lara begged to play Marco Polo. He hadn’t played the game since he was a kid.
Georgie was the first to agree. “Come on, you three. Join us. The more the better.”
“I’m in,” Sam called and slapped Brandon on the back. “Come on.”
Brandon wanted to be part of something normal like this, something which made him feel closer to his family. He needed it after today. He waded forward but when Amy hung back, he held out a hand to her. “You playing?”
“All right.” She slipped her hand into his and joined the group.
Georgie set out the boundaries of the playing area from the mangroves on one side and the road on the other, so they didn’t spread out too far and declared if a person was waist deep it counted as being a fish out of water. She went first, closing her eyes, and soon the air was filled with cries of Marco and echoes of Polo.
He smiled as Lara swam closer to Georgie and almost danced in her excitement at the game. She reminded him of Charlie who always pushed the edge of how close he could get without being caught.
The ache wasn’t quite so painful this time.
He was so busy watching the others he hadn’t processed Georgie getting closer to him. She was almost within touching distance when he realised and at his next ‘Polo’ call, she lunged and tagged him. With a grin she opened her eyes.
“I thought the army would have taught you to evade better than that.”
He rolled his eyes and then scanned to see where everyone was before he closed them. As he called his Marco, he moved towards Amy. She was the only one he wanted to get his hands on. He could distinguish her call from the others and though she didn’t stay still, he followed her easily enough. Frantic splashing told him he was getting closer and he lunged, his hand brushing soft, cool skin and he opened his eyes. “Got you.”
She was eye to eye with him and her lips parted, water running down her breasts. Time stopped. He hadn’t considered what he would do after he caught her. He tugged her closer and she pressed up against him, her breasts firm against his chest.
“Let her go, Uncle Brandon. It’s her turn to be it,” Lara called.
Amy blinked and pushed him away, her face flushing red as she glanced around. The others watched them with amused expressions.
Amy started calling and moved away from him. Sam sidled up. “She’s worth coming home to.”
Brandon glared at him.
Sam held up his hands. “I’m just saying. You’ve got a beautiful home here, mate. I might even consider moving up.”
He glanced at his friend, but he seemed serious. “What about Izzy?”
“I’m not planning to move in with her indefinitely. Only until she gets a handle on being a single mum.”
“What would you do?”
