by T. Cobbin
Larry had told her that she could use the main house, especially the large fireplace, being it was the only source of hot water, but she would also have her own small apartment at the top of the house. He had warned her that the weather in winter could be pretty harsh and she would need to keep the fire in the main living room continually going. She was informed that the owner of the house would supply constant wood supplies throughout the year to keep her in firewood. Larry also cautioned her the owner would sometimes make sporadic visits.
Twenty-four hours after receiving the acceptance email, Danielle met Larry for the key to the house along with instructions on how to get to the island. Larry had offered to escort her to the house and show her around, but she’d thanked the man politely and made her way by herself. In the whole five years she’d been on Vanish Isle she had yet to meet the owner.
The house was old and didn’t have central heating, but when the living room fireplace was lit, it heated a small boiler behind the flume that kept the bite of winter out of the house as well as hot water supplied. As Larry had promised, the owner kept a steady flow of logs delivered to the island to be stored or used throughout the year.
Since arriving at the island Danielle had only made two trips to the mainland—the quick trip when she’d registered Ollie’s birth, which was required by law, and then once when he was ill and needed medical treatment. Ollie would have no memory of that, he had known nothing but the island.
She hadn’t even left the island to give birth. She’d thought about it when she’d read the numerous reading material she’d bought about pregnancy and childbirth. But in the end she found and hired a lovely pair of midwives who came to the island once a month to see her. Eve and Ivy were wonderful. When Danielle had first contacted Eve she had told Danielle it wasn’t wise to just have one midwife. One would be needed for the mother and the other was for the child. That way if anything did go wrong with either mother or child, both would be taken care of.
As the birth drew near it was decided that Eve and Ivy would come stay with Danielle as the cold and snow would make the journey over in an emergency rather difficult. They ended up staying two weeks. Danielle accompanied them back to the mainland where she said her goodbyes and thank yous. Then she quickly registered Ollie’s birth and was back home in the warm before tea.
“Mummy, look at me,” her son called out, running ahead and trying to do cartwheels. It was his latest fad since she’d shown him a week before. She giggled when he flopped on his bottom. Quickly, and no surprise to her, he immediately got up and tried to cartwheel again.
Through emails, the owner of the island promised to have food delivered once a fortnight, along with a few other essential things—free of charge. If she wanted anything else, all she had to do was send him an email and he’d buy it, get it delivered, and take the balance out of her wages. This helped since she had limited internet on her phone, being so far out from the mainland that she only just managed to use it on a good day.
Danielle didn’t use a lot of her wages, resulting in her saving quite a bit of money. She still had what Kevin had given her in the suitcase secretly hidden away in her room, but she was keeping that in case of an emergency. Most of the money she earned went on such things as Christmas and birthdays, as well as small surprises for her son. Since her baby was born, the owner had surprisingly added an extra something for her son in her shopping delivery. Sometimes it was merely a small bag of sweets or a new coloring book, but there was always something.
As they drew near the pier, Danielle felt a little fear, as she always did, that someone—no, not someone, Master—was waiting there for her. Not as much as when she’d first moved here, but it was still there. The fear would always be there for as long as she lived. If what Kevin said was true, Master might never stop looking for her, and coming so close to the pier every few weeks was a constant reminder that she could be found. Glancing toward her son, Danielle knew she had a lot to lose. She’d die before he could take her son or herself again.
“Mummy!” her son squealed. “Look at that.” Ollie pointed and ran toward the jetty.
Danielle’s steps faltered before picking up again. On the land near the dock was a large hut. She had never met the person who delivered their goods, but whoever brought them always placed the items inside the hut to protect them from the elements. This time, however, Danielle was surprised to see a large child’s red ride-on tractor and trailer outside the hut.
“Is that for me? Is that my surprise? Can I sit on it, Mum? Pleasssee.” Ollie was now hopping around excitedly.
Danielle had no idea why a gift such as this would be there. Ollie’s birthday was three months away. It was the same for Christmas. It was only the middle of September. All she’d asked for was a new game this fortnight for her boy. This certainly wasn’t what she’d ordered.
“Ollie, it isn’t your birthday for three solid months yet.”
A white card was attached to the large toy. Picking it up, she read the message written in perfect handwritten calligraphy.
Ollie, I know it’s early for a birthday gift, but with the winter drawing in, you won’t have much time to use this. It might help you and your mum with the shopping. Leo.
Leo Silverback was the owner of the island. He had sent many things over the years for both herself and her son, but never anything as big as what stood in front of her, and definitely not unless it was a special occasion.
Ollie danced eagerly around her and the tractor trailer. “Is it? Is it? Is it for me?” he asked without taking a breath.
Had Leo sent this because she’d mentioned her son hated picking up the shopping with her? It had been a passing comment in an email, she hadn’t meant anything by it. She’d have to send another letter now, saying both thank you and also making sure he knew she wasn’t asking for something like this.
“Mummy?”
Danielle lowered the card from her eyesight at her son’s questioning voice. “It’s yours, baby,” she told him, still surprised; she couldn’t believe a man would do this for her son, for someone he’d never met. “Leo sent it. He said you can help mummy with the shopping now.”
“Huh? Why wiff da shopping?” A puzzled look overcame his chubby, little face.
Each time she looked at him, he seemed to have grown just a little bit more. This year freckles had started to show on his nose, tiny brown dots that now looked like dirty smudges running together. Watching her son dancing around like someone standing on hot coals, she often wondered if being so alone on this island with just his mother and not mixing with other children would damage him. But what else could she do?
“Yep, Leo’s note says you might want to use that to help me with the shopping.”
She walked into the hut and picked up a small box and placed it on the toy trailer. Ollie climbed onto the tractor and look at her expectantly. She chuckled and nodded, knowing exactly what her son was asking. With his feet on the pedals and pride on his face, he promptly started peddling along the path toward the house. Leo was right, shopping days were going to be different, for a while anyway.
Quickly turning back to the hut, she picked up another box and followed her son toward home. She would come back to get the rest later on when he was asleep.
* * * *
Leo Silverback stepped out of the freezing water and felt refreshed for the first time in months, even while icy winds battered his naked body. He turned around to see the ocean he’d just swum in. If he was human, he’d never be able to swim from the mainland to here. The strong currents and the icy water would have either drowned him or frozen his dangly parts. Being a shifter, he had a higher temperature than humans, enough so that he enjoyed the swim he’d just taken in the frigid ocean.
Shaking the excess water from his hair, he looked around.
His home. His island.
It was somewhere far enough away from human, prying eyes that he could be himself and not hide the fact he was a shifter. Closing his eyes and
inhaling, he drew the scent of the land deep into his body and soul. Yes. Home. Although… Now, there was another wonderful, enticing aroma mixed in with the lay of the land. It smelled like peaches and strawberry. Opening his eyes, Leo shrugged the scent off; it must belong to his house sitter.
Larry, his estate agent, had sent him all the potentials who’d come forward for house sitting. Due to a mistake on Larry’s part—he’d only put the ad for a house sitter in one paper instead of several—only two people had applied. Danielle Knight and Percy Batting, the latter being a writer who wanted some peace and quiet.
But it was Danielle who had drawn Leo’s attention. Judging by the photo Larry had taken of her, she was petite. She had long, black hair and beautiful lavender-colored eyes, but Leo couldn’t help but notice the fear and worry in them. She’d written on her questionnaire that she was looking for some solitude time away after a bad relationship break up. But the look in her eyes told a different story and that it wasn’t the reason she was seeking the job. Even with a CV that had virtually nothing much on it and the fact she was pregnant to boot, he’d given her the job.
Five years later, she was still there and, from what she said about herself and son in her emails, thriving. He always looked forward to each email she sent. As time went past, small snippets of herself shone through them. She always spoke of her son, and her love for him was obvious.
Turning his thoughts back to his home and island, Leo told himself again that it was really time to wind his work in the city down and come home. He had more than enough money to live comfortably.
The night was young and he hadn’t been able to allow his gorilla to be free in months, so he decided to shift and prowl his island for a while before settling in for the night. The whole idea of coming home was his gorilla’s. His beast had gradually been withdrawing deep inside his mind, getting fed up with being around the scents and sounds of the city.
Leo mentally withdrew to the back of his mind, allowing his gorilla to come forth. He had watched his shift many times before with a mirror, and even after thirty-nine years, he still found it as fascinating as the first time he’d seen it. First the air shimmered around him, then his muscles grew, and jet-black hair sprung from the pores of his arms and legs. It wasn’t more than thirty seconds before a five-hundred-pound silverback gorilla appeared on two feet where he’d been standing on two human legs.
Leo’s gorilla roared, allowing the air from his lungs to soar through his vocal cords. His large fists pounded on his chest, filling the air with a drum-like beat. Then, with a jump, he ran with all his mighty muscles around the island. Leo could feel his beast’s utter enjoyment at being free. It relished the wind drifting amongst his fur, and when he roamed closer to the ocean, it felt the chilled sea breeze and smelled the salt in the air.
Leo wondered again how he had waited so long before he came home. He really must tie up his city businesses or find decent managers. There was no doubt in his mind now, it was time to come home.
Drawing closer to his house, the gorilla stopped at Leo’s request so he could admire it. It was an old place and totally off the grid, no internet or cable. It had no central heating, although he had installed indoor plumbing when his father had given him the place as a gift. Leo had the money to update his house so it had everything, but then it wouldn’t be the place he called home. He didn’t want to change the place too much, and anyway, being a shifter, he didn’t need central heating. An open fire at night was all he needed.
Leo did, however, get electricity brought over to the island. It had cost a small fortune, but it was worth it for some creature comforts. He’d also updated the kitchen to have the most up-to-date amenities, but the one thing he didn’t change was the four plate, wood burning stove. It always reminded him of his mother and the many days he’d watched her cook.
Walking toward the house, Leo’s beast paused outside the mudroom door and retreated to the back of their mind, allowing his human side to take over. With a quick shift, Leo stood seven-foot-tall in his human form and headed inside his home.
Chapter 2
A loud, roaring noise had Danielle sitting up and awake in seconds. What the hell? Had she really heard that or was it a figment of her imagination? When she’d first come to live on the island she had often had nightmares. Memories of Master and Kevin had swamped her brain before she placed them behind a wall in her mind.
She sat in bed, not daring to move in case she missed something. She listened to the night, to the house. When silence greeted her, her fear ebbed slowly to a coping level where she could find the courage to lift the covers and climb from her bed.
Pulling on a dressing gown, Danielle tiptoed across the wooden floor toward the bedroom door. She always left it ajar. Not only did it make it easier to hear both her son and the house, but since her captivity she found closing herself in any room was claustrophobic. Looking into the hallway, she was relieved to see it as empty as it sounded.
Moving more confidently, she stepped toward her son’s bedroom and pushed his door open a touch. Mussed-up light brown hair peeked from above the quilt that slowly moved up and down with his breathing. He’d sleep through an earthquake she was sure. Closing his door, she decided to head to the kitchen and make herself some warm milk. It would probably be a while before she could get back to sleep.
Danielle didn’t need to turn the lights on as she moved through the house. She knew every nook and cranny of the place, right down to the three creaking steps in the staircase. Dodging the steps so not to wake her son, she made her way downstairs and along the hallways to the kitchen.
She passed the living area and noticed the fire still going. She hadn’t looked at her watch—which was upstairs beside her bed—but with the fire still burning quite bright, it meant it was probably only about midnight. If it was any later, the fire would be much dimmer, and by morning it would be just embers.
Turning the kitchen light on, Danielle walked across the cold tile floor, the slight chill making her shiver. After filling a cup with milk, she placed it in the microwave. A minute and a half later, she pulled the mug out and cupped it in her hands.
A sound had her halting, the cup an inch from her lips. Was that the mudroom outside door? She paused, listening. Another bump. The first thought that went through her mind was Master had finally found her. Her heart hammered in her chest, and perspiration dampened her top lip and forehead. Her second thought was of Ollie and getting him to safety.
Putting the cup of warm milk on the countertop as quietly as she could, she tiptoed toward the kitchen door. Then she heard another bump followed by a whispered male curse. She exhaled when she heard the whisper. Violet had been so attuned to Master’s voice that even with the quiet mutter she’d heard, she immediately knew whoever was now in the mudroom, it wasn’t him. Ollie’s new tractor and trailer now sat against one of the walls near the door. She couldn’t leave it outside in the elements, so had tucked it away in the mudroom. She assumed whoever this male was had hit his shin on Ollie’s toy.
Although relieved to discover the intruder wasn’t Master, she still had a problem—someone was in the house. Suddenly, she felt a whole lot braver, and she looked around for some kind of weapon. Seeing a rolling pin laying on the counter, she picked it up. She couldn’t call the police to help her, because they were too far away, so it was down to either flight-or-fight. She’d done enough fleeing; she needed to be brave for her son now.
With her heart still thundering heavily against her rib cage, she moved back toward the closed kitchen door. She couldn’t hear anything, so she pressed her ear against the wood. She heard the creak from the rusty, old hinges belonging to a wooden box that held nothing but some men’s clothes. They’d been a bit on the musty side when she’d moved in, so she’d laundered them and placed them back.
She heard another creak from the hinges and a slight bump as the box lid was shut. She then heard more shuffling. Enough was enough. She reached for the door handle, in
haled deeply, and turned it and tugged the door open while holding the rolling pin up before her in an attacking mode.
“Who are you, and what do you want?” she called out, pleased she hadn’t stumbled her words and actually sounded brave.
She touched the light switch with her free hand and turned the mudroom light on. Flashing stars danced before her eyes, causing her to see a huge, dark shadow looming over her. Her first thought was oh my God, and her second one was oh shit! Her third told her to run.
Swallowing and ignoring her urge to flee, she placed all her courage into her words and spoke. “Don’t come any closer,” she warned, and swung the rolling pin left and right in the air.
“Whoa!” a deep, male, panicked voice shouted. “I’m not here to harm you, Danielle. I’m Leo, the owner.”
The arm holding the rolling pin froze in the air before slowly lowering. Shit! She’d just threatened the man who basically gave her a home. Why hadn’t she remembered he would come home? The next year of her life swam before her eyes. Getting fired, getting kicked off the island, looking for a new place, living in a small bed-and-breakfast while she hunted… All kinds of dreadful scenarios.
Finally, she spoke. “Leo? Really? Oh God, I’m so sorry. Y…you umm, you scared the crap out of me.”
Suddenly, she felt so foolish. Who would come all the way out to the island to rob it? Larry had said the owner would turn up for visits on the spur-of-the-moment, and this was how she greeted him? But she hadn’t known it was him, and surely he couldn’t blame her for protecting both home and child?
“It’s okay,” Leo said, holding his hands up in a placating manner. I could have warned you before I came here. But to be honest, I didn’t know I was coming myself until I stepped into my car and drove to the mainland docks.”
