"I think... I think I was so in love with the idea of saving myself that I didn't realize I was letting myself drown. "

"And now?"

"And now you're my lifeboat."


It was only meant to be a favour. Only meant to be for a few weeks. 

Yet when Stryker Odello finds himself a Daddy for a scarred little boy, he finds the darkness that swamped his life cracking and splits of light shining through.

High functioning alcoholic at best, meeting the needs of the little proved more challenging than he first anticipated. 

Broken and distrustful, getting through to Jamie Sinclair was a hard feat.

Both damaged from the past, hurt and cautious, could they learn to let go and figure out how to love again? 

Or was life's only joy to direct a tragedy?

His Little Boy

Stryker had bought Jamie a range of drinking cutlery when they had gone shopping. He tore the packaging off the reddish-pink sippy cup in his cupboard. There were two identical ones next to it, still in the packaging but just different colours. Stryker had a feeling he would have preferred the pink to the green.

/"Yack./" Stryker turned his head to see Jamie's face screw up, eyes scrunching shut as he spat a strawberry slice out of his mouth, pink juices running down his plump lips and chin. Meeting Stryker's gaze, Jamie's eyes widened in terror. He threw his hands up over his face, whimpering.

/"Jamie,/" Stryker said firmly. /"Remember our rules?/"

Very cautiously, Jamie lowered his arms but the terror didn't go away. His lower lip trembled and tears gathered in his eyes. /"Dad... Daddy mad?/" he whimpered, looking down at the food he had spat out.

Chapter12