The Quelling Tide (The Gifted Realm Book 7)

by Jillian Neal

  “Does she feel different to you?”

  “Yeah, she really does.” His little Halia’s rhythms were stronger and clearer than he’d ever felt them before. She did know where she was, and she could feel that Fionna was really truly relaxed and content.

  They spun and tilted again when she felt Dan’s energy moving through her.

  Fionna was ecstatic. Tears of joy rolled down her cheeks as he held her tightly and pushed his loving rhythms to both his wife and his baby girl.

  Sanctuary

  ~End of July~

  Dan held Fionna’s hand as he drove Papa’s old truck out to the airport.

  “We should have borrowed Malani’s Jeep.” Fionna fussed yet again.

  “Baby, the truck is fine. There’s plenty of room for both of my parents, and their luggage will go in the back.” He hated that the only time in the last three months that she had been stressed out was due to his parent’s arrival on the island.

  It was nearing four o’clock, and Dan also regretted the fact that he wasn’t helping Papa take in the kukui nut and awapuhi crops that they’d been working on steadily for the past few days.

  Dan found working the farm and the vast gardens to be extremely cathartic. No one was more surprised by his love of the work than he was, but he deeply enjoyed watching what he’d helped plant in the spring come to fruition. He loved watching Aida water the gardens and tend the flowers.

  The physical labor gave him time to heal, to work through all that had come to pass, all that he’d been through, and all that he felt he’d put Fionna and his girls through. The physical release was extremely healing, more than anything Dan had ever experienced before save for Fionna.

  He enjoyed it all almost as much as he loved watching her bloom and ripen full of his baby, the seed he’d planted on their wedding night. No longer just a tiny bump, Fionna now walked with one hand on her back and one on her belly, which protruded rather significantly.

  Though she never believed him when he told her, Dan was certain he’d never seen anything more beautiful than her full of his baby.

  As he pulled into a parking space, he tried not to chuckle over thoughts of his mother climbing up in Papa’s ancient Ford truck and being taken to the farm and then making the two hour trip to the other side of the island as she’d insisted that she and the Governor were staying at the St. Regis in Princeville.

  He opened Fionna’s door and grinned at how much help she needed getting out.

  “I’m sorry. My center of balance is just a little off.” She clung to his hand as she scooted out of the truck.

  “Sweetheart, it’s my fault you need help, and I love helping you.”

  They walked hand in hand into the LiHue airport moving much slower than they had when they’d arrived months before.

  “Tutu’s packing a picnic for everyone to eat out on Salt Pond.” She sighed as she eased into a seat near the area where the Gifted Senate flights would disembark.

  “That’ll be fun, and Aida can swim a little before bed.” Dan knew she was concerned that his parents wouldn’t like the beachside picnic. “They’re coming to Kauai for vacation, baby, and Salt Pond is beautiful even if it’s not the North shore.” He was unable to believe that anyone, even his own mother, wouldn’t like the Kauai-an shorelines.

  Dan rubbed his hands over her shoulders and wondered what his father would think of the calluses that had developed from his summer working as a farmhand.

  Fionna had informed him the night before as he’d given her a bath and then rocked her body with his own in their bed that she loved the way his rough callused hands moved over her soft silky skin. According to her, most of his calluses had always been on the inside surrounding his heart and his spirit. She thought they were working their way out, so they could be healed.

  Fionna had let the island consume her as she healed from the harrowing months that had preceded their trip. She rarely wore make-up. Her cheeks were pink from the sun. Her skin was slightly darker. Her beautiful body wrapped loosely in sundresses with a flower tucked behind her left ear was how she’d spent most of the summer.

  He was astounded by her natural beauty, and by how the island moved her and Halia. When they were alone in the cottage or even in the yard surrounding their summer home, she was often topless. She let the sunlight and the sea breezes touch her skin and soothe her spirit.

  They would lay in their bed each night with Dan’s hands on her bare stomach. He would talk, and Halia would respond. He watched in awe as he felt his little girl move inside of Fionna.

  A broad grin spread across her face. “She has the hiccups again.” Fionna rubbed her hands over her bump seeming to think her caress would ease Halia’s hiccups.

  Dan seated himself beside her and placed one hand over hers. He felt her stomach jostled rhythmically. Every time he felt Halia move he was overjoyed. It took his breath away.

  “There’s the plane.”

  “Fi, baby, I know sharing this with them isn’t something you really bargained for. I’m sorry.”

  She shook her head though she offered no verbal argument. He knew she was giving away a piece of her soul, and she was sharing it with a woman that hadn’t always been loving or accepting of her.

  He helped her stand and wrapped his arms lovingly around her as he tucked her back to his chest. His hands wrapped around his wife and his baby girl.

  She leaned her head to the side and let him kiss her cheek. “I love you, Maylea.”

  Her energy changed quickly to elation from his vow and his affectionate embrace. He felt a replete grin spread across her face.

  “Of course.” Dan sighed as his parents made their way down the jetway.

  Fionna tried hard not to giggle at the Hawaiian shirt his father was sporting, which was created of the very same fabric that his mother’s long snap front shirt dress. His father had also donned a khaki Australian style sunhat. The band around the crown matched the shirt and dress.

  Mrs. Vindico was carrying the same large straw bag that she’d carried on every vacation Dan recalled from his childhood. He knew the gaudy bag contained a large bottle of water, every edition of Women of the Realm that she’d been able to locate in the house, and her vacation planner. A thick day planner that she used to plan out each and every moment of their day while on vacation.

  Dan had never understood the point of planning out your vacation beyond purchasing plane tickets. Chalking it up to his mother’s inability to relax in any situation, he offered his parents a smile as they neared.

  The memory of he and all three of his sisters scheming together one summer, when they’d been forced to endure a car trip with their parents to the Florida panhandle, had him trying not to laugh.

  He and Lindley had lifted the vacation planner from their mother’s straw bag discreetly. Kara and Meredith had been in charge of hiding it in different places in the station wagon throughout the day.

  Mrs. Vindico had spent the entire day in a tizzy frantically searching for the book. It had culminated with her shrieking angrily at the Governor that they could be missing something on their drive and that she was certain that they were supposed to see a button museum that day with a special display that contained a car covered in buttons, but that their tickets had been in the planner. She’d continued in her rant to conclude that it was the planner she’d ordered from Women of the Realm.

  Dan and his sisters had nearly choked from trying to contain their hysterical laughter as they’d ridden along.

  When they’d arrived at the hotel that evening, the Governor had offered his children a crisp, hundred dollar bill to be divided amongst them if the planner would “magically” reappear.

  “Aloha!” Fionna gave them her sweet grin as she moved towards the Governor and Mrs. Vindico to welcome them to her island.

  “Looks like you might’ve put on a little weight there, sweetheart.” The Governor teased as he hugged Fionna tightly.

  Not certain he would’ve said something like th
at, Dan grimaced as he hugged his mother.

  “Just a little.” Fionna ran her hands over her bump again and smiled sweetly.

  “Son.” Governor Vindico offered Dan his hand.

  “Hey, Dad. Did you have a good flight?” He shook his father’s hand and was then pulled him in for a hug.

  “I really think you should phone Stephen, Arthur. That landing was very rough. Perhaps that pilot team should go for a little more training.” Mrs. Vindico huffed.

  “Marion, they were landing 75 tons of steel on a twenty-five mile island in the middle of the Pacific. I think the fact that we’re here in one piece is remarkable.” The Governor quipped.

  “We brought the truck. We thought we’d show you the farm first. Fi’s Grandmother fixed a picnic to take out to the shore tonight for dinner.” Dan explained hesitantly as they made their way towards the parking lot after retrieving his parent’s luggage.

  “I was thinking we should just rent a car, that way we won’t be in your hair so much.” The Governor offered kindly.

  Fionna looked thrilled with the idea. Dan chuckled discreetly. “Whatever you want.” He gestured towards the car rental area of the airport. “There’s the truck.” He pointed out Papa’s F-100, circa 1976, to his parents.

  He watched his mother’s eyes goggle in horror. “Daniel, you’re not letting Fionna and the baby ride in that.”

  Fionna bit her lips together to keep from guffawing.

  “Mom, that truck is solid steel. It’s probably the safest car on the road, and Fi likes the truck.” He winked at his wife as he recalled the evening they’d spent in the truck a few weeks ago. They’d watched the sun set on Poipu beach. She’d been wearing a bikini with a loose sarong, as she did everyday that they took Aida to one of the many beaches.

  Aida had been invited to a birthday party of one of the little girls in her hula class, and Papa had taken her as he was friends with the little girl’s father.

  Tutu had insisted that Dan and Fionna go out and have some fun. Parked in a discreet cove overlooking the water and the brilliant orange sun that displayed the full spectrum of colors as it sank into the ocean, it had taken Dan a few short minutes to have Fionna out of her bikini and on him.

  “The truck is my favorite. It has plenty of room.” Fionna smirked. Dan couldn’t contain his laughter.

  “We’ll just get a car.” Mrs. Vindico huffed.

  “Great.” Dan waited with Fionna while his father secured an Enclave for the week.

  He helped Fionna back into the truck and waited so his father could follow him back to the farm.

  “Tutu really wants them to stay in one of the guest houses.” Fionna reminded him.

  “I know.” He wondered if he should broach the topic with his parents. Truthfully, he didn’t really want them to stay on the farm. He knew that he was only experiencing a modicum of what Fionna was going through trying to share the very essence of her soul when she didn’t want to, but the farm had quickly become their sanctuary. They’d worked, cooked, eaten nearly every meal together as a family.

  They’d been embraced by not only Fionna’s relatives, but by the community around them. Aida had blossomed before their very eyes. She adored Tutu and Papa and did indeed have tea parties with them most every night.

  At least once a week, she would spend the night with her great-grandparents who spoiled her rotten. On those special evenings, Dan and Fionna would engage in long, intimate love making sessions that often lasted hours. They began with a bath, moved from tender kisses to voracious bites, and then to the all-encompassing love that passed between them as Dan made them one. He permeated her body and her soul as she filled his. They talked, and most importantly they healed and formed an unbreakable bond that ran invincibly through their family.

  Dan didn’t want to share the farm and what it had quickly come to mean to him. He didn’t want to share Fionna or Aida, even with his own parents.

  Fionna would awaken every morning and make coffee, then she and Malani typically attended a maternity yoga class in town together.

  After that, she returned to the farm and helped Tutu turn the plants and flowers that Dan and Papa had harvested that morning into her oils, treatments, scrubs, and ointments.

  There was always time to walk the shorelines or teach Aida to swim in the ocean in the afternoons, and twice a week they would walk hand in hand to take Aida into the small town for a hula lesson, which she loved. They would head over to the coffee shop for coffee and ice cream while Aida danced. Then they would make a trip to the library for Aida to acquire more books before they headed back to the farm.

  Tutu’s shop was open on Fridays. The locals would stop in for her salts, scrubs, oils, teas, and ointments. They came in a steady stream and often Dan and Fionna ran the store, so Tutu and Papa could have a day off as well.

  According to Tutu, the broad grin that spread across Dan’s face whenever Fionna directed someone to the oil of Ohia lehua lubricant had quadrupled their sales from the last several summers.

  Aida’s adorable insistence that the Kukui oil was how Fionna had gotten so beautiful meant that nearly every customer left with a bottle of that as well. Tutu and Papa had enjoyed a very lucrative summer.

  The parking break gave its rapid rhythmic clicks as Dan parked the truck by the farmhouse. He leapt out to help Fionna exit.

  Papa and Aida were seated on the front steps. He was helping her finish the leis she’d been working on for Dan’s parents.

  Aida beamed and held out the identical leis she’d worked so hard on. Dan’s heart swelled. She’d grown at least an inch over the summer. Her eyes no longer held any traces of the dark shadows that her years of not sleeping properly had given her. Tutu’s remedies had cured her dry itchy skin. Her hair was healthy and full, and her smile lit Dan’s soul.

  Papa touched her back urging her on.

  “Aloha!” Aida giggled as she moved to Dan and Fionna who joined her as she made her way towards her grandparents.

  “Well, hey there, sweet girl. My gosh, I hardly recognized you. You’ve grown so much.” Governor Vindico gushed. He leaned down to allow Aida to place the lei around his neck. She repeated the action for Dan’s mother who was studying the farm with a bewildered expression.

  “Aida made them all by herself.” Dan bragged.

  “Papa helped me a little with the ends.” Her confession made Papa chuckle.

  “Papa, these are Dan’s parents, Governor and Mrs. Vindico.” Fionna made introductions.

  “Governor.” Papa extended his hand.

  “Please just call me Arthur.” Governor Vindico shook Papa’s hand heartily.

  Tutu made her way out of the kitchen. “Maylea, my love, I took those nighties off of the line. They were dry, and it looked like rain. I laid them on your bed.” She stated quickly afraid she might forget.

  “Thank you.” Fionna grinned.

  Dan found the balance of life on the Kauai-an farmstead to be intoxicating. The fact that her grandmother had taken in the hand washed lingerie that Fionna had hung on the line to dry was the perfect example of the balance that he knew they would never achieve in D.C.

  She was well aware that Dan and Fionna had a very physical, intimate relationship, but she also knew that it was an important part of their marriage, something that should be cultivated and explored not something that should be hidden away and shamed. She often encouraged them to take a little time for the two of them and to leave Aida in her care. Dan and Fionna always agreed.

  “I’ve gotten our picnic ready. After you show our guests around, Maylea, we’ll head out to the pond.” Tutu chuckled. Salt Pond was far from pond sized.

  “Mrs. Iona.” Governor Vindico offered Tutu his hand and a kind smile.

  Tutu laughed. “Just call me Tutu, Governor. Everyone does.”

  Dan had to grin. He’d never heard anyone refer to Fionna’s grandmother by her surname, or even her first name of Tua.

  “Now, did Dan and Maylea tell you that
Papa and I would love for you to stay with us on the farm. We have a few guest cottages to spare, although if Kai doesn’t relax and leave my poor Malani alone, she’s gonna ship him over here.”

  Dan and Fionna laughed. Malani was nearing her due date, and Kai followed her around like she was a ticking time bomb. He wanted to help her sit, stand, eat, and apparently even knocked on the door to check on her frequent trips to the restroom.

  Fionna had pointed out that Kai only did these things because he adored his wife and his baby, but Malani was extremely uncomfortable and not in the best of moods.

  Dan hoped that he wouldn’t be quite so panicked or overbearing come November, but he did completely understand Kai’s desperation to care for Malani.

  “Aunt Malani’s going to have a baby soon, and I get to hold her.” Aida announced excitedly.

  “Malani has been my best friend since I was born.” Fionna supplied.

  The Vindicos nodded their understanding.

  “Well, we’ve made the kids reservations at the St. Regis with us. It can’t be far from here, just on the North end of the island.” Mrs. Vindico bristled.

  Tutu tried to hide her laughter as she nodded her understanding.

  “Mom, I have told you repeatedly that we have a cottage here. This is where we live, during the summers anyway. We are not staying in Princeville. That would be like you staying at the Holiday Inn in Arlington.” He tried to make his mother see his point of view. “However, if you’d like to accept Tutu and Papa’s hospitality, I can assure you that there isn’t a nicer place to stay in all of Hawaii.”

  Tutu beamed as Papa slapped Dan on the back. “See, Tu. Maylea knew what she was doing when she found aloha.” He winked at Fionna who glowed with his assessment of Dan.

  “Well, why don’t we see this operation?” Governor Vindico took Aida’s hand.

  “We’ll, let Dan and Maylea show you around. I have need of Papa’s assistance before our picnic.” Tutu explained.

  Fionna blushed and shook her head at her grandmother who laughed.

  Dan knew immediately what Tutu needed assistance with as he tried not to guffaw.