Page 77 of Catch My Fall

“If he’s your brother’s bodyguard, what’s he doing here with you?” she asks inquisitively.

“Um… Some bad things happened to me not long ago, really bad things and my brother told him to keep an eye on me. Alec offered to bring me out here to recuperate.”

I’m being vague. I’m not ready to share the full extent of what happened. She must sense my unease because she lays a hand on my arm. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry. Ignore me, I’m naturally nosy.”

“Naturally curious, and it’s okay.”

“Are you alright now though?” she asks, her tone lighter than before, more concerned than curious.

“Better than I’ve been in a long time, and it’s all down to him.”

“No need to say more, I get it. Love heals all wounds. Cliché, I know, but it doesn’t make it any less true.”

Love heals all wounds… Her words resonate through my soul, because they are filled with so much truth. Alec has healed parts of me I never realised were broken, helped put me back together and be more like myself again.

I’ll never be the same girl I was before they took me, but I’ve come out the other side as a stronger woman, and a lot of it is because of Alec.

A little while later, we head to one of the many food outlets at the festival, and luckily, we manage to find a table that’s free.

“Phew! My feet feel like they’re going to fall off,” Steph complains, rubbing her pregnant belly and my heart twinges.

“You okay, honey?” her husband, Daniel asks, shifting his chair closer to his wife before placing a hand on her knee, squeezing gently.

She nods, giving him a smile. “Just tired.”

Alec pulls a chair out for me before lowering himself into the chair to my left, and I don’t miss the way Alec’s eyes scan our surroundings as he always does.

Ever the protector…

“So, I’m assuming you have some incriminating stories to tell about Alec, huh?” I ask, my question aimed at Steph and Daniel as Alec groans beside me and I can sense the eye roll without having to see it.

“Aside from how they both made me dress up as Daisy so they could be Beau and Luke from that old TV show, the Dukes of Hazzard?” Steph offers, forcing back a smile.

“I remember that!” Ray says with a laugh, slapping a hand on the table. “And just what are you calling old?”

“So, who played who?” I ask.

“I was Beau, because he was the coolest, obviously,” Alec adds.

“No, because you had the longest hair back then so it made sense,” Daniel says, tossing back a beer.

“We all know the real reason,” Steph says.

“And what was the real reason?” I ask, looking between them.

“Because Beau got all the girls, and so did Alec.”

My eyebrows raise. “Oh really? Quite the lady-killer at what? Age seven?”

“More like age ten,” Daniel comments and the table erupts in laughter as Alec mouths the words ‘fuck off’ to help protect innocent ears.

We don’t have to wait long after ordering our food for it to arrive and we continue to laugh and share stories while we eat.

“S’erra!” Alec’s nephew wiggles off his dad’s lap and waddles towards me with his arms outstretched, a wide smile on his face. My name coming out sounding something close to Sarah, but he wasn’t far off.

I turn and scoop him up, balancing him on my lap. “See—air—ah,” I say carefully, pronouncing each syllable.

“See—air—ah,” Sam repeats. He’s no older than three but he’s the sweetest boy, the same eyes as his mom and the same dark head of hair like his dad.

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