Prison of the Past
Page 13
I hadn’t moved when Fetch strolled into the house. “Cleo?” He dropped the bags and picked me up off the ground.
“I...” I handed him the letter.
He scanned it. “What the...? You own an island.” He quoted characters from Fantasy Island in his most suave voice, “Dear guests, I’m Mr. Roarke, your host. Welcome to Fantasy Island. I have to be Roarke, I’m too tall to be tattoo, Da plane, Da plane.” He pointed in the sky at an imaginary airplane.
I laughed so hard at him I teeter-tottered and almost lost my balance.
“Be careful my little Weeble Wobble,” he said, taking my hand and guiding me to the bar.
“So what are you going to do with it?”
I shrugged. “I only just found out I had it.”
“Build a resort. A fully self-sustaining resort.” He passed me a bottled water and popped open a beer for himself.
“A resort, huh?” Once he planted the idea in my head it was there. We thought and discussed. He even sketched our ideas, but we didn’t know if the island was even habitable.
The next couple of months grew increasingly more uncomfortable as Baby Raul gained more and more weight. He had less room to swim and complete his acrobatic routine. I tossed and turned most nights from discomfort and sporadic contractions. April twenty-sixth, I woke to a puddle surrounding me. At first I thought it was sweat until I realized it was too broad an area.
“Wake up, wake up.” I hit Fetch in the stomach.
“What?” he said drowsily, with closed eyes.
“The baby.”
“What?” He perked up and stared at the stained, wet sheet. “Your water broke. It’s time.” He leaped out of bed as if someone let a firecracker off under his butt, pulled on a pair of shorts, dropped a shirt over his head, inside out. “Let’s go.”
I watched in amusement.
“Oh, right.” He scurried towards my side of the bed and peeled me off the sheets. Getting on and off the bed was a struggle but I could do it. He pulled my wet gown over my head and dropped a clean one on and lifted me off the bed onto my feet. He guided me towards the door, one hand on the small of my back and the other rolling my suitcase.
“Keys, shoes, my phone.” I chuckled, more water spilling from me with the action.
He bounced around like a Mexican jumping Bean, collecting everything, then pushed me out the door, tucked me into the car, and pulled out of the drive.
I called La Tige who answered on the first ring, almost like he knew tonight was the night.
Twenty minutes later I waddled into the hospital, La Tige and Ashla beating us there. I wasn’t surprised, knowing how La Tige drove. In a blink, I was dropped into a chair and wheeled to a room.
The first couple hours of labor weren’t bad, no more discomfort than the past couple weeks of my life. I used that time to call Kacy, Will, my mother, and Mrs. Childrone. I knew they wouldn’t be here for the birth but that couldn’t be helped; this baby wasn’t waiting. As the hours passed my contractions got stronger. I went from seven to nine in one horrific contraction. With that, the staff surrounded me.
Fetch literally held my hand through the entire birthing process until Baby Raul poked his head out, filled with tufts of black hair, then he kissed me. “You did it.”
Raul wailed loud while the doctor held him in his arms. Fetch cut the umbilical cord and they laid him on my chest and I felt my eyes leak with happiness, searing away my blood and sweat. My little gift from heaven lay against me. Now I knew exactly how my mother felt the day I was born.
Three and a half years later...
From the yacht, the island didn’t look like much. The outside edges all beach with a mountainous area in the middle. Trees and flora so dense it was impossible to tell what wildlife, if any, lived on it. Fetch and I took our first steps onto the beach. The children safely on board the yacht with La Tige and Ashla or, as Raul called them, ‘Tiger and Ash.’ No matter how many times he heard it, La Tige’s blue eyes blazed with happiness. Raul was a big boy at three and Sylvia just under a year.
We scouted the beach, taking plenty of pictures to bring home. We’d been in touch with developers but had to see it for ourselves before we made our decision.
“We’ll build the main resort on the top of the mountain with a gym, a full-service spa, shopping and on top will be a flat roof that contains a 5-star restaurant. Cascading down the mountain will be private cabins and somewhere in there a pool with a waterfall surrounded by greenery and flowers.” Fetch’s eyes fixated on the resort he was imagining.
“How about a daycare? Oh, and we need more restaurants, something for everyone and at least a couple bars,” I added.
His silver eyes flashed in the sun. “We’ll make it self-sustaining; a farm, gardens filled with vegetables and fruits. We’ll only need to get a few items shipped in. And it has to be green with solar power, everything made eco-friendly.” He grabbed me by the hips and lifted me upward then dumped me over his back and spun in circles.
Sand, beach, thick flora, and the Caribbean Sea flashed by my eyes before he slid me down his chest and pressed his lips against mine in a passion-igniting kiss. There would never be a day when I didn’t crave him. We’d enjoy our youth, raise our children, adore our grandchildren and grow old together. He was the perfect man for me.
I hope you have enjoyed Cleo’s journey from distraught, haunted little girl to an adult woman with a fighting spirit. Your reviews are always welcome and read so please follow the link or go back to where you bought this book online and leave one.
If you enjoy Elle’s work, her creative energy and want to keep up with her new releases, events or want to know what she has in plan next, join her mailing list.
Farewell Baby Girl
Baby Girl is my first series and a tough one to finish. For months, the story has played over and over in my head and, every time I sat down to write, something distracted me: like Zombie Girl, or the beginnings of a few other stories. There were many squirrels that crossed my path during this final book, but I set everything aside and finally focused on it, to bring the most fitting ending to Cleo’s journey.
For those of you who have been with the story from the beginning, or have come in at some point in the last few years, thank you for sticking with Cleo and supporting me. Her journey has grown and developed with her. It’s filled with heartbreak, laughter, tears, and mystery, as she figures out who she is and learns how to trust and allow people into her life. She’s not a character who sits back and lets the world spin around her, but one who takes it by the horns.
I’ve known since Fetch put himself into the story in book three that they’d end up together. As bull-headed as Cleo is, I had no idea how that was going to happen. When Raul died, I was crushed. When Fetch and Didier showed up, I was surprised. It wasn’t how I envisioned them meeting again, but Fetch always has a way of popping into the story. Rox was another unexpected when she literally popped up in Cleo’s car, but ended up as an extremely important character, guiding Cleo into making adult choices. Baby Girl’s journey has now come full circle, but it isn’t really over is it?
About the Author
Elle Klass is the author of mystery, suspense, and contemporary fiction. Her works include As Snow Falls, The Ruthless Storm Trilogy, Zombie Girl, the Bloodseeker series and the Baby Girl series. Her work Eye of the Storm Eilida’s Tragedy is a Reader’s Favorite Fiction-Paranormal Finalist in the 2015 Awards. She loves travelling, especially the Caribbean, and beaches. She is a night-owl where her imagination feeds off shadows, and creaks in the attic. Visit her website at https://elleklass.weebly.com.
Other Young Adult Books by Elle
The Bloodseeker St. Augustine Novellas
The Vampires Next Door Book 1
A mysterious, blinding white light, haunts Mandy until something unthinkable happens. She comes home from school to find her mother badly injured. Through her tears, forces from within surge through her fingertips into her mother, giving her a seco
nd wind. She urges Mandy to take a note and leave, but she can't yet.
Her hot neighbor, Joel, finds her and drags her crying towards the door. What awaits them on the other side sends them back into the house and turns her life upside down. Sending her and Joel deep into the world of Bloodseekers and other supernatural creatures.
The Monster Upstairs Book 2
A mysterious, blinding white light, followed by a vision, haunts Mandy until something unthinkable happens. She comes home from school to find her mother badly injured. On instinct, through her tears, forces from within surge through her fingertips into her mother, giving her a second wind. She urges Mandy to take a note and leave, but she can't—not yet.
Her hot, dark-haired, muscle-bound neighbor, Joel, finds her and drags her crying towards the door. What awaits them on the other side sends them back into the house, where she learns Joel isn't who she thought. Her entire life gets turned upside down as her destiny sends her and Joel deep into the world of Bloodseekers and other supernatural creatures.
The Ghost Within Book 3 coming soon!
Zombie Girl
Premonition Book 1
Maddie’s parents flip when they find out she’s failing science. That’s her worst problem until she wakes up and finds they’re zombies. Now she must escape them and her house. With nowhere else to go, and the keys to her parents’ sailboat, she makes her getaway. Finding Bryce was a fortunate circumstance and the two take on zombies and set sail for parts unknown.
This story was originally published as a short story in the Once Upon a Zombietale Anthology. A few changes have been made and chapters added.
Infection Book 2
When Maddie and Bryce touch, she knows her zombie dream wasn’t simply a dream but a premonition. It’s up to her and Bryce to save the world from the doomsday sickness that will kill everyone – in a manner of speaking.
They soon learn the zombies aren’t the only horrors that await them in the new fight-or-die world. They battle by each other’s side as the infection spreads globally.
Retribution Book 3 coming soon!
Baby Girl Box Set - book 1-4 including an epilogue and prologue found in ebook and audio.
Chapters
My Sweet Hibiscus
An Unlikely Guest
Fire and Brimstone
Peeping Tom
Trapped in a Rolling Metal Box
Phantom Footsteps and Ghosts
Take a Deep Breath
Groupie
As in Plural?
Show Me Your Skills
Doppelganger
Blasts from the Past
The Distance Between Us
Stuck Like Glue
Steel and Butterflies
You Only Get One Set
Photo Bomb
On the Road Again
Stand Off
Only in My Dreams
Heartbeat
Confessions
What a Day
The Shewers
Surprise!
Daddy Dearest
It’s Time!