Cross Drop by Elizabeth Hartey

Author:Elizabeth Hartey [Hartey, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Limitless Publishing LLC
Published: 2018-06-18T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Nikki

When we get to Stave Island, we bring down and secure the sails, and Dalt anchors the boat just off the sandy beachside of the island. The island is beautiful, tranquil. It’s like Dalt and I are the only two people in the world. Except I still haven’t told him about the tiny human we made together and the guilt keeps jolting me out of the blissful peace the environment is providing. The most important thing to Dalt is honesty and trust. I can’t think of anything that would be more of a breach in trust than this. I have to find the right words.

“You okay?” Dalt’s arms wrapping around my waist from behind me startles me out of my thoughts. “Wow. Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“You didn’t scare me.” I drop my head back onto his chest. “I was just thinking.”

“Thinking about what?” He keeps his arms wrapped around me and gently rocks us, matching the lulling movements of the anchored boat.

‘How beautiful all of this is.”

“The island?”

“The island, the ocean, the day, you. Everything’s so beautiful, perfect.”

“It is,” he whispers in my ear.

“But I was also thinking about something your father said.”

“Dammit, Nik!” He spins me around in his arms so we’re face to face. “Forget everything that asshole said. It’s not important. It was all lies.”

I cup his cheek with my hand. “I know everything he said about the engagement and the money was lies but some of what he said is true.”

“No!” He grabs my hand, holding it onto his cheek and squeezes, like he’s trying to press the condemnation of his father into my fingers. “Everything that comes out of his mouth is bullshit lies.”

“Except the part about our lives having been different.”

“No, our lives—”

“Dalt.” I cup his face between both of my hands to force him to look straight into my eyes. “Our lives were very different. You had everything, and like I said, I had nothing. There were times after my dad died I was lucky if I had a decent pair of shoes to wear to school.”

“Those things mean nothing, Nik. Hear me. Feel me.” He places my hand on his chest. “This is me, babe. I’m just me. We have each other now. It’s all we need, all we’ll ever need.” If I ever had any doubt of loving this man, the beseeching expression in his eyes right now has crushed all uncertainty.

“I know.” I wrap my arms around his neck and feather a kiss across his lips. “But all this has me realizing things I never thought about before. Even though we were poor, my life wasn’t deprived. Except for the awful blip in our lives known as Bert, I believe we were rich in the most important sense. We lived a beautiful, clean, simple life and we loved each other. Growing up with my little family on the farm was an amazing experience.”

“I get that, Nik. Except for the crap you had to go through with Bert, I never thought your life was anything but beautiful.

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