1
Kayla
After experiencing one of my greatest fears come to life and making it out alive, there’s only one place to go. Home. Still, moving back to Westmount Island after promising myself I would only stay long enough to visit my sisters isn’t an easy decision to accept.
Yet here I am, standing in the early morning light on the dock of the ferry carrying me back to the small-town life I had once hoped to escape. I haven’t been back in months; not since my twin sister Ella married the man of her dreams, Marcus. I’m happy for them, he’s a great guy and I’ve never seen my shy sister so happy. She loves Westmount Island and the quiet life she lives.
But not me. I’ve been itching to leave the island ever since I was a teenager and fell in love with photography. Traveling the world these past five years since I graduated from college has been a dream come true and there is no way I would be giving it up now if it weren’t for what happened a couple of months ago. I just have to keep reminding myself this is temporary. I just need to come home for a while, to let the memories of what happened fade a bit before I go back out there.
My sisters don’t know I’m coming back for more than just a short visit; I haven’t been able to tell them what happened. After all, admitting that I was trapped in a cave because of a rockslide and it was almost a full day before they could get me and my co-worker out isn’t exactly something you can do over email.
So here I am, heading home on the advice of the therapist I spoke to after my rescue. I have to admit, for all that I swore I would never come back to the island for longer than a week, I’m okay with the idea of spending a few months in a quiet, safe, small town. When you’ve been all around the world in some of the harshest environments, you start to see some benefit to the peace and quiet of home. But I already signed a contract to do a shoot in Asia for an adventure-seeker magazine in a few short months, so I don’t have long to enjoy the quiet.
The trip from the mainland over to Westmount Island is just under an hour long. Which means I have approximately half an hour left before I have to face my sisters. I know Ella will realize something’s wrong right away, call it twin intuition or something. But Tawny, my oldest sister, she’s the worrier. Once she hears what happened, I wouldn’t be surprised if she starts scheming to keep me on the island permanently.
I’m lost in thought, trying to figure out how to tell them about the cave-in, when something bumps into my legs.
“Ooops, sowwy.”
I look down to see a head of curly hair, bright blue eyes, and a gap-toothed smile looking back at me. I can’t help but smile back.
“All good, bud.”
I glance up to see if I can figure out who’s with the adorable little guy, but there’s no one else out on the deck with me.
“Where’s your grownup?” I ask, as I keep scanning to see if I can find his parents.
“Lookin’ fo me,” he says, and the fact that he can’t seem to pronounce the letter ‘r’ makes my heart melt.
“Okay, ummm, are you playing a game?”
Now the little dude is looking sheepish. I’m pretty sure that face means he isn’t supposed to be wandering around alone. Makes sense, a ferry isn’t exactly a safe place for a small child to run around by themselves.
“I dunno,” he replies with a shrug.
Just as I’m about to grab my bag and take the kid to find a crew member who could locate his parents, a deep voice calls out.
“Toby? Toby!” A tall man runs over, bends down and picks up the kid, and crushes him tightly to his chest, turning away from me. All I can see is wavy hair, the color of milk chocolate, peeking out from under a backwards baseball hat, and a muscular back with a grey T-shirt stretched over it. And woah. Even from behind, this guy’s body is bangin’.
“Toby, you can’t scare me like that, dude. You promised you would stay in your seat while I grabbed snacks. What were you thinking, walking outside by yourself?!”
Damn, that voice should be narrating romance novels or something. It’s rich and sexy, and making me feel all shivery inside. Can a voice be sexy? I guess so, because his absolutely is. He still hasn’t acknowledged me, and I’m starting to feel a bit weird just standing here.
“I was just about to take him inside to find a crew member,” I say, haltingly. Not sure why, but I want him to know I was going to take care of the freaking-cute little kid.
Finally, he turns to me, adjusting Toby to sit on his hip, and I have to catch myself before I stumble. He is, without a doubt, the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen. And I met the Hemsworth brothers when I was shooting in Australia two years ago.
“Thank you,” he says gratefully, before he looks at Toby. “What do you say to this nice lady?”
Toby gives me another grin. “Thanks, nice lady.”
The veritable god in front of me rolls his eyes affectionately, before holding out one of his hands to me.
“I’m Sam, and this monster is my son, Toby. Thanks again for your help.”
I shake his hand, still dumbfounded by how smokin’ hot this guy is.
“Kayla, and it was no problem. I barely did anything,” I mumble. Good grief, this isn’t me. Ella is the awkward one. I’m the confident, free spirit who isn’t afraid of anything. At least I used to be.
