Louise Baston

"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

This time, Stryker held his arms out, unable to stop himself. Jamie shimmied his way into them. His head buried into Stryker's shoulder and his Daddy's hand found his hair, running through the sweat-soaked strands.

/"I'm here for you. Every minute of every day, I'm here for you. We're going to get through this together./"

Together was right. They dismantled the final crib, throwing the mould festered mattress in the corner with the others before dragging the metal barring over to the heap that the others had formed.

/"Now they can never be used to scare anybody else,/" Jamie whispered as he threw the last piece onto the pile. It hit with a loud clank that vibrated through the shop, ricocheting like a ghouls wail.

/"No. Never./" And just to be sure, the both of them emptied the screws and bolts they had removed down the drain once they left.

Chapter62