“Yes, sweetheart, all of them.”
Ellie nodded. “Okay.”
He hugged Ellie tight. “Thank you, sweetheart. I love you so much.”
“Come on, Dad.”
He ran down the stairs, Ellie in his arms, and bundled her into her coat and Wellington boots, putting her hat onto her head and her gloves into her pocket. His coat wasn’t in the usual place, he must have left it in the car...
“Wait! Dad!” Ellie yelled urgently.
“What is it, sweetheart?”
“Why are we going to the harbor?”
“To see Fleur... I saw her get off the ferry just now.” Rick grabbed his car keys and Ellie ran over to the low shelf where the jars were kept. Reaching inside her jar, she took out the only counter she had left and put it into his hand.
“That’s my special wish, too.”
Rick felt tears pricking at the sides of his eyes. He picked Ellie up, hugging her tight. “Ellie, I love you so much.”
“You said that already, Dad. Let’s go!”
* * *
When he drove into the harbor, an excited shriek from the back seat told Rick that Ellie had seen Fleur. She was still huddled in the taxi stand, waiting for Ivan to come back from his round trip with the other passengers. As Rick drew up, parking in Ivan’s space, she saw him.
Rick got out of the car, taking off Ellie’s seat belt, lifting her out of her seat and holding her in his arms as he jogged toward where Fleur was standing. She looked...like a thousand special wishes. All he’d ever wanted. Now that he had her within reach, it suddenly occurred to Rick that maybe she’d counted on coming back to the island without seeing him.
No. She was smiling. It seemed that she had tears in her eyes, but maybe that was just the wind.
“Rick... What are you doing here?”
“I saw you get off the ferry. Benefit of living in a lighthouse.” Sanity began to leak back into his mind. “Is Josh coming to collect you?”
“No, Mom and Dad don’t know I’m here.” She reached out her hand, maybe for him, and then Ellie decided that she’d been ignored for too long and started to kick against him. Fleur took hold of her foot to stop her and raised her eyebrows in surprise.
“Ellie, honey, you’ve got your pajamas on!”
“We ran all the way.” Ellie decided to leave out the driving part in order to emphasize the urgency of their journey. “Dad used all his special wishes to get here so quickly.”
Rick closed his eyes. Maybe he’d been a little rash, and should have held back just one special wish to persuade Ellie not to mention what he’d used all the others for.
But it didn’t matter. He’d wanted to see Fleur, and if Ellie had blurted out just how much, then that was fine. He was planning on telling her himself the first chance he got.
“All of them, Ellie?” Fleur was suddenly still, gazing at Ellie.
“Yes. I gave mine, too.”
“Oh... Ellie!” She threw her arms around both of them, kissing the top of Ellie’s head. And then she turned her face up toward his, her eyes shining.
“Rick. I came back for you...”
Rick curled his free arm around her waist, holding her tight. He had everything that he wanted right here, and he wasn’t going to let Fleur go ever again.
It had taken forever to get here. Fleur’s flight had been delayed, and then the ferry had been held up, waiting for the weather to clear. But she’d made it, and by some miracle Rick had come to find her. All of the gnawing doubts and the horrible fear that Rick might send her away again were gone.
The wind whipped around the taxi shelter, rattling the flimsy roof. But neither of them moved, holding each other tight, with Ellie’s small body warm between them.