3

The next three weeks passed slowly as she waited for him to finish talking about what Andy interrupted. Her heart fluttered at that moment as she was sure he was going to say the words but didn’t. As they sailed deeper into warmer waters, he did caution her not to come out unless he or Andy was with her. She did grow nervous every time someone yelled that they had seen sails. He assured her no one would approach.

“I have a reputation most men don’t dare try to discover.”

“Is it all true what they say about you; what you do to men?”

“Yes.”

“You’ve killed men?’

“Yes.”

“Been with countless other women?”

She put her head down and refused to look at him. She already knew the answer, but she didn’t care to hear from him. He lifted her chin, so she met his gaze.

“None of them mattered. It was after I heard you got married. I was furious.”

“But you knew when you left that I was going to get married to Dominic.”

“I didn’t actually expect you to do go through with it.”

She walked away and sat on their bed. She put her head down and suddenly her hands became most interesting. She had something to tell him but wasn’t sure she knew how. She had thought about what Pierce did, she didn’t have to worry about it. Now, she could no longer hide it. She was pregnant. Not just a month or two, but four months pregnant. She doesn’t know how she has managed to hide it but now, it was time to tell. Problem was, she didn’t know who the father was; Garret or Dominic. Garret could tell something was amiss and knelt before her. He took her hands and kissed her fingertips and looked into the eyes that now held so much sadness.

“What is it?”

“I don’t know how to say this.”

“Say what? Darling just tell me.”

“Garret, I…”

“Captain, sorry to interrupt, but there is a storm approaching.”

“It can’t wait, Garret.”

“Tell Andy to take the helm. I’ll be there when I can.”

“Yes, captain.”

Once they were alone, she grew more nervous. She cleared her throat and tried to find the words.

“Garret, I’m pregnant.”

He just looked at her in bewilderment. He didn’t know how to respond. She had to keep going before he did though.

“I’m almost five months pregnant. I don’t know if the child I carry is yours or Dominic’s. I didn’t say anything before because after what Pierce did, I was sure I lost it. Dominic doesn’t know either. I’m only saying now because soon it will be noticeable. If I were to ever go home, the child would have to Dominic’s. I want this child to be yours, but the life you live is too dangerous to raise a child. I was hoping I would lose it, so I didn’t have to worry about this. Garret…. Garret will say something.”

“What do want me to say? You said you hope it’s mine, but you also wish you would lose it. You don’t want to be with Dominic, but in order to raise this child, as you say, it would have to be his. What do you want?”

“I don’t know.”

She started crying and Garret stormed out of the room. She heard him shout for someone to bring up Dominic and locked him in the cabin during the storm. She cried even more, and Dominic rushed right to her, thinking the worst.

“What did he do?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“I told him something and he did nothing.”

“What did you tell him?”

“I’m pregnant. I don’t know if he is the father or you are.”

“If it’s only a couple months, it’s his.”

“I’m almost five months.”

“Oh.”

“I told him that the life he lives is too dangerous to raise a child. I would have to go home.”

“With me?”

“Yes. And you being the father of this child.”

“And he stormed out.”

“Dominic, you should know that I wish he was the father.”

“Of course.”

Dominic got up and walked over to the door. As he heard the storm closing in, he did something daring; he locked the door. She didn’t notice for she was too caught up in what was going on. Later, he would come to regret that choice.

As the storm raged on, things inside got worse. She tried to hang on and not fall off the bed. Dominic sat in a chair at the table, trying to hang on. Her wardrobe flew open and she got up to close it. Dominic yelled that it was too dangerous because it wasn’t bolted to the floor; it was too late. The wardrobe fell on top of her, almost crushing her to death. No one could hear Dominic scream for help, even after he unlocked the door and tried to get help. Upon looking out, he saw Garret in the rigging trying to tie down sails. He saw Andy at the helm and tried to wave him down, but the rain was too thick for him to see. Dominic went in and tried to remove the wardrobe from her, but it was too heavy. Then, he began to panic as he saw the blood come out from underneath the wardrobe. He paled and ran for the door. Garret was still up top, and he ran for Andy. He shouted what had happened and Andy grabbed two men and they all ran for her. This caught Garret’s attention and he feared for the worst. He jumped down and arrived in time to pull her out from underneath while the others held the wardrobe up. He cradled her body in his arms. She was covered in blood and she was barely breathing. Andy and the others returned to keep the ship right through the storm.

Once the storm had passed, Andy returned to Garret. He was still cradling her body, but he had moved them to the bed. Dominic sat on the floor in such a mess. Finally, Andy said what he had to know.

“She lost a lot of blood.”

“No, she lost it.”

“Lost what?”

“The baby.”

“Baby?”

“She didn’t know if it was mine or Garret’s.”

“She was almost five months. I can’t lose her. Not with how I handled things. I can’t let that be the last thing she remembers about me. I’d never forgive myself.”

The ship’s surgeon came up and wouldn’t allow anyone in the room. He kept them locked in there for about a week. When he did come out, he looked a bit worse for wear and both men panicked. He approached Garret.

“The child had grey eyes and wisps of brown hair. Dominic was undoubtedly the father.”

“And her?”

“She has recovered physically, captain. She asks that she not be disturbed for a while.”

“How long did it take for her to wake?”

“Second day.”

“Why a week then?”

“She tried to kill herself. I stayed with her to see she recovers as best as she can. Now, she some alone time to process what has happened.”

He walked down below, and Dominic went to return to his cell. Garret looked at him funny.

“Where are you going?”

“To my room.”

“Why?”

“You heard him. She wishes to be alone.”

“I also heard him say that it was yours.”

“Probably why she tried to kill herself. That child wasn’t created out of love, but spite, and I forever will regret it.”

Before Garret could say anything else, he was gone. Garret stared at his cabin down and after a moment or two, his mind was made up. He walked to the door and opened it. What he saw, made him hurt. Blood all over the sheets, the floor, and the table. Keira sat in the corner of the room, cradling the small child in her arms, willing it to live. Her face was red and her eyes were bloodshot from all the crying she had done. Even now, as he looked at her, tears ran down her face. She was talking to the infant as if it could hear her. He just stood at the door and was unsure of what to do. It was taken aback when she looked at him with such painful eyes.

He slowly walked to her and sat next to her. She leaned her head on his shoulder as she continued to talk to the baby. They sat there for almost two hours. Finally, he made out the words she was saying.

“There now, my child. You are in a better place. The man who is your father would have never loved you as the man who sits next to me. You see baby girl, you were not conceived out of love or even lust. There was no passion. There were hate and spite. Vengeance and so much anger. I feared that if you actually drew breath in this world, it would have been miserable until you drew your last. But I would have loved you all the same. My little Angel. I shall cherish you forever, but now I must do something, and I hope, and the Almighty will one day forgive me for being as hateful as your father.”

He just looked at her as she got up and sauntered from the room. The whole crew, who knew by now, watched as she went below deck. Garret stared after her as pain tugged at his heart. At the top of the stairs, you could hear what she had done.

She approached Dominic. He stared at her like she was crazy.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“Don’t you want to see your daughter?”

“It was a girl?”

“Yes. Her name is Angel.”

“It’s fitting. Can I hold her?”

“No. I came down here to tell you something. Will you listen?”

“Of course.”

“When we return to my father, I want a divorce. You and I died with this child. This perfect little human was created out of spite and hate, and I am grateful she never drew breath.”

“Stop. You don’t mean that.”

“But I do. You will tell everyone you did this for me. Because even the sight of you hurts. All I will think about is losing this baby. Do I make myself clear?”

“No. I won’t do it.”

“You will. If you ever cared for me, you will. I won’t ever be able to forgive you otherwise.”

“Forgive me?”

“For everything that has happened thus far. I’ll forgive you for it all and tell my father not to take action against you.”

“If I grant you a divorce?”

“Yes.”

“That you shall have it.”

She nodded her head and walked back up the stairs where Garret was waiting. She walked over to the railing and kissed the child’s head. She smiled at her and said some things over her. She turned to Garret and the crew.

“Anyone have some comforting words to send off with?”

“I do. I used to be in an all-boys religious school.”

“Perfect.”

The man said some words out of the good book and all of the crew bowed their heads as tried to put the baby in the water. Finally, Garret came next to her and held her hand, trying to give her strength. With that, she simply let her go and watched her sink beneath the waves. She buried her face deep in Garret’s chest and cried her heart out. Realizing she was still on deck, she turned and went to the room. It was deathly silent on the ship; not even the ropes or boards creaked. The crew all looked to the captain to know what to do. Garret himself had never faced anything as such. The cook finally approached Garret to give him words of wisdom.

“I am probably the oldest person on the ship. My wise advice to you would be to give her time. She won’t heal from this overnight. Just be there for her; when she needs a shoulder to cry on, hold her tight when she cries at night. She’ll talk about it when she is ready.”

“How do you know all that, Jerry?”

“My wife and I lost one.”

“I didn’t know you were married?”

“I’m a widower. My wife healed over time and when she had our second child, she improved. Unfortunately, an accident claimed her life and my sons. I killed the man who caused their deaths, thus why I am here, captain.”

“Jerry, I am so sorry. I had no idea.”

“Don’t be, captain. It happened three years ago. My Bessie would kill me if she knew if I was sulking about. Once she healed, she didn’t want that in our lives anymore and we made a vow to it.”

“Thank you, Jerry, for the advice.”

“Your welcome.”

With that, Jerry disappeared below to prepare lunch. Garret advised the crew to give her space and give her time. Over the next few days, she was in bad shape. She refused to eat, and Garret was lucky to get her to drink some wine every now again. One night, however, Garret thought he had lost her to the depths. He woke up and she was gone. He sprinted from the bed and was out of the cabin in a heartbeat. What he saw took him aback. The helmsman, Bronn, was looking up and stood at the top of the steps. Andy was hanging onto the rigging about halfway up. He walked to Bronn and asked what was going on.

“She climbed to the crow’s nest, captain. We was afraid at first, she might jump. Andy gave chase, but she assured him she just needed to be alone where she could feel alone.”

“So why is Andy still sitting there?”

“Just in case. If you listen hard when the wind blows just right, you can hear her crying.”

“I’m going up.”

“Good luck, captain”

Garret passed Andy on his way up the ropes. He got to the top and peeked over the edge. Her head was buried in her lap as she let the tears flow.

“Mind if I join you?”

“Garret, Andy didn’t wake you, did he?”

“No. I woke up cause the bed got a bit cold.”

“Lier. You are a human heater. You never get cold.”

“You do, though. Your teeth are chattering.”

“I’m ok.”

“Are those my breeches and shirt?”

“I couldn’t exactly climb up in my dress, now could I?”

“Smart thinking. Why don’t you come on down? We can have some rum and talk if you’d like.”

She nodded her head and placed her hand in his as they both climbed down. Andy gave a breath of relief when he saw them together, as did Bronn. Once they were back on the deck, Andy and Bronn approached. She looked at them very sincerely.

“I am sorry if I scared the both of you.”

“It’s quite alright, Keira. My heart did stop for a moment, but I still stayed and watched.”

“Thank you, Andy, and you too Bronn.”

She kissed them both on the cheek and returned to the cabin with Garret. Garret went behind his desk and pulled out a bottle of dark liquid. Whiskey. She needed something stronger than rum. She down on the table and took the glass he offered. He pulled out the chair in front of her and waited patiently until she wanted to talk. She downed the glass and set it aside. She took a deep breath and then met his eyes.

“I’m sorry, for everything I put you through recently.”

“Don’t be. You lost a part of you.”

“I know I said I wished that I would lose it, but now that I have, I feel this hole in me. I don’t know how to explain it, but it feels as if I’ve been shot. All I know is when you are near me, the pain isn’t so bad. That day you came in here after, I wished you would come to me and you did.”

“When I found you during the storm, I held you and told Andy that I couldn’t lose you, not the way we left things. That couldn’t be the last thought you have of me. I was scared to death. Then the doc said you tried to kill yourself, I wanted to die with you I hurt so bad. Kiera…I…I”

“Garret?”

“I love you, Kiera Eddington. It took me almost losing you to realize that.”

She started to cry as she heard the words. He stood up and wiped them from her face and he began kissing her. He laid her on the table and took off the breeches she was wearing. He removed his own breeches and he just stared at her for a moment.

“It’s ok. You won’t hurt me.”

With that approval, he buried himself deep inside her and buried his head in the crook of her neck. She noted that this was different. Garret took her differently; as if he may never get to take her again. His hands memorizing every inch of her skin. She felt as if she were being swept away in some heavenly trance that she never wanted to escape from. Garret made her toes curl with each careful move of his body. She thought she would die of pure ecstasy right there on the table. She didn’t know how it happened, but when she opened her eyes again, they were on the bed and completely naked. He stroked her head long after the climaxed. She was facing him, and they were wrapped up in each other. Finally, they both drifted off to sleep.

Hours into the night, Andy came to inform the captain that they would be home soon, for the wind had picked up. As he entered the room and saw the two entangled with one another, he smiled and left. Andy walked back to the helm and stood beside Bronn.

“I thought you were gonna tell the captain?”

“She talked about it.”

“How do you know?”

“They are wrapped in each other in a deep sleep. How could I wake him and possibly her? We are still about a day or two out.”

“I’m glad she talked about it. Hopefully, the island will lift her spirits.”

“Let’s hope.”