Paradise Cove

By Ina Bareither

Lillian finds herself kidnapped and taken from her home and family, and deposited on a deserted island, at the ripe old age of five and a half. Where she meets other children who, as it turns out, were her siblings. As time goes by she plans and implements her revenge. Taking out the biggest and the fastest cargo ship, belonging to her infamous father, Pirate, Theodore Buckner. The man is notorious for his love of cruelty.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Jun 8, 2023
• ISBN: 9781665745055

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Paradise

COVE

Ina Bareither

Copyright © 2023 Ina Bareither.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means,

graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by

any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author

except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue

in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Archway Publishing

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.archwaypublishing.com

844-669-3957

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in

this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views

expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views

of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-6657-4506-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6657-4505-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023910266

Archway Publishing rev. date: 06/08/2023

CONTENTS

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

CHAPTER ONE

T he warm wet sand oozed between her toes as she slowly meandered along the shoreline deliberately digging her toes deep into the soft dazzlingly white sand as she wadded along the water’s edge.

Thankfully the surge of beached jellyfish was over and done for now, she hadn’t seen any in days. They invaded the shoreline every year and she knew the huge sea turtles would come next to dig their nests in the sand and lay their eggs. It was a wonderous sight when their babies all hatched simultaneously and made their way back into the sea with the help of the brightly glowing moon.

She loved to watch them as they dug their tiny fins into the sand and dug their way up and out of the nests.

Just thinking about them put a smile on her face.

It was yet another hot sticky day without a breeze, as so many before had been here on the island.

Gazing out over the sea she wondered why they never saw ships float past, never saw any beachgoers, no one at all, only each other and the sailors. And, of course, the pirate himself.

As she walked, she rubbed her hands over her arms gently to relieve the heat from the hot sun momentarily. It felt to her as if the sun was baking her from the outside inward.

Most days she felt just like one of those big turkeys must have felt that the cook used to roast in that huge black oven back home.

Her skin was starting to feel about as leathery as those turkeys looked while in that oven too.

She wondered if she would ever see home again. She certainly didn’t recall much of it after all this time away.

Although, she did remember a few things. It was strange the things she was able to recall from her previous life.

Like the lavender scent of her mother, the beautiful gardens surrounding the house, the softness of her puppy’s fur.

Music, music she missed almost as much as she missed her mother.

Here, in this place, she seemed almost always to be alone.

Just wondering about the island on her own. Not that there was much to see, in fact, there were very few discoveries to be made here in this place in the middle of the deep blue ocean.

The other children who lived here didn’t have much to do with her most of the time. She never has figured out just why that is exactly, not that it matters all that much. Except for the fact that she was extremely lonely. Of course, she had God to chat with, thankfully. And Ryan had been a major blessing to her, but it would have been wonderful to feel like she fit in with her siblings as well. To feel that they at least liked her, even a little bit, but that has never been the case and there was nothing she could do about the way they all felt about her. You can’t make people love you or even like you. It is what it is.

She had one major question on her mind today, along with a gazillion others, but the one that bothered her the most right now, today, was: Where is Ryan? He should have made it back by now. Right?

He’d been gone far, far too long, by her estimations. Oh, but she was forever hopeful, forever believing in her heart that they all could and would eventually be rescued or find a way to escape the island and their torturous unforgivable father. She deeply believed that God would show them the way, one day.

Lily chewed her lower lip as she worried about Ryan, praying silently that he hadn’t been caught again. She knew in her heart that the pirate would dust him off this time for sure if he caught him again.

She had tried to talk him out of going, but he’d made up his mind and went on ahead with that plan of his to board that ship alone once again, and go off in search of his family, of all their families for that matter. How long should it take, exactly? Shouldn’t he have made it back with the authorities by now?

She prayed he was still alive, just as she’d done every single day since he left her here alone in the place.

He’d been very lucky the last time he’d tried to escape. The pirate had made him work for his passage back to this isolated tropical island, where their father knew the boy would probably die in the end.

Thank goodness they had been short a deck hand during that voyage or Ryan would surely be dead, just as so many children before him now were.

She loved Ryan even more for the effort he was making to help her, to help them all, and she prayed constantly that he was still alive and well.

She prayed their father hadn’t found him stowed away on his ship again and tossed him overboard as he was so inclined to do with his unwanted children. Fish bait is how he referred to them.

She had witnessed that act of not so fatherly love herself once or twice.

It was not a sight she was likely to ever forget.

She worried that Ryan was now gone forever, never to be seen again in her tiny little world where her father had deposited her at the ripe old age of six and a half.

She loved Ryan more than she had ever loved anyone, except her mother, but she had never said so, had never told him how she felt about him. Why hadn’t she? What held her back?

If she ever saw him again that is exactly what she would do.

Ryan had befriended her and taken her under his wing from the very beginning of her exile from civilization.

He’d always protected her from the bigger kids.

He had been her first and only true friend here on this God forsaken sun drenched tropical island. Here, where there was nothing, nothing but the makeshift shelter that the older kids had thrown together years ago, palm trees, sand, sun, and of course sea water.

And let’s not forget the ever-present abuse from the man who fathered them all in the first place.

Back then she had had no idea that the man sailing the biggest ship in the harbor, the man with the booming voice, the man who was The Pirate, was indeed her biological father. She was to learn that sorry fact soon enough, however. Unfortunately, there was no escaping the truth.

He had dropped her off on this island in the middle of the night with nothing. No family, no food, no more clothing than that on her back.

She had had no idea what was happening. She had known no one, least of all her father.

She had been lost in both body and mind. She simply didn’t understand.

For nearly a year she continually asked herself, why?

Why was she here?

Where was here?

Would she ever see her mother again?

Was her mother still alive?

Why had her mother made her go away with people she didn’t know?

Didn’t her mother want her any longer?

Had she stopped loving her?

They had come that evening, ringing the doorbell, saying The Captain was waiting to meet his daughter and she had been happy to go.

Stupid girl.

She was starting to forget her mother’s face and that bothered her immensely. She’d tried extremely hard to remember every detail she could, with the hope of returning to her as soon as possible.

She recalled for the ten millionth time the day her mother waited for her in the study at the end of the school day, just to tell her that she was to take a trip alone, a trip without her.

This memory played over and over in her mind for years after her arrival here on the island.

It had been a beautiful end of spring day. Summer was just around the corner, and she was very much looking forward to it. The days were growing warmer and more beautiful every day. The trees were all sprouting new leaves and the flowers were starting to bloom in the gardens.

The first-grade school year was almost done. She was to go into the second-grade next year.

Her mother sat on an embroidered stool and smiled at her as she came into the study that afternoon, Good afternoon, Lily Angel. How was your school day, my dear child?

Lily skidded to a stop before her mother, returned her smile she said, Momma, I made a new friend. Her name is Carman. Isn’t that a pretty name? She is very pretty. You would like her. She has beautiful light brown eyes with thick eye lashes. I wish I had thick eye lashes too.

"That is nice. I have something to tell you. You, my dear girl, are to take a trip to visit your father. Now, I realize you don’t know him, but this trip will change all of that. He has called and requested that you be ready promptly at five for his introduction. And you will be.

After all, he has the right to know his beautiful daughter just as well as I do, don’t you think?!"

Fear flooded her; she just knew in her heart that this was not a good idea. But Momma…. I don’t want to go, not without you! I’m scared!

"Lillian Angelica Hayward Buckner! You do as you are told, child!

Do you hear? I want no argument out of you. You will be spending the weekend with your father. It has been decided. You will return here Sunday evening. That is final. The matter is closed! Now go upstairs and change into your best dress. Go!"

Lily marched up the stairs with tears in her eyes. There really was no point in trying to argue, her mother never gave in when she got into this frame of mind.

Hopefully she wouldn’t have to stay with this stranger for long.

As she made her way up the huge, curved staircase she’d begun to wonder about the man who was her father despite herself.

And continued to wonder about him as she changed out of her school uniform and chose to wear the most beautiful dress she owned, for her first introduction to the one man on the planet she dearly wanted to meet, had always wanted to meet.

Her mother never talked about him, never.

She remembered hoping he was nice, pleasant and playful.

And she recalled thinking that maybe, just maybe, it was a good thing that she had to take a trip to visit him.

But if so, why did she have such a terrible feeling about going without her mother?

She remembered thinking that adventures had always been fun for her. Where would they be going? To see his home, maybe. To a faraway land?

Hopefully he would have pets…dogs, cats, fish, maybe even horses.

She remembered the thought had thrilled her. She dearly loved horses. And she loved to see new places.

She’d decided while she was changing into her sparkly pink princess dress to ask her mother to take care of her puppy while she was away visiting with the stranger who was her father. But she really didn’t want to go without her mother, so she took her time getting ready, hoping her mother would change her mind before she got back downstairs.

She’d had a very bad feeling about all this, a very, very bad feeling.

After all she hadn’t ever heard her mother mention her father, not ever!

Even when she had asked questions about him, her mother would talk about anything but her father and over the years she had simply stopped asking because she knew it would get her nowhere.

Since she had to go, maybe he would answer some of her questions about himself.

Bad feeling indeed! How right she had been!

Even from a very young age she knew in her heart to listen to that inner voice when it told her something. That inner voice that she personally believed to be God leading her, protecting her, telling her what to do and what not to do.

She had not seen her mother since that day, and she worried about her constantly.

At least her mother wasn’t all alone, she had Mag’s to keep her company until she found a way to get back home.

She recalled very little about her mother’s house except that it had been huge, nearly thirty rooms in all. She knew that because she had counted them many times on cold rainy afternoons during the winter months, when there wasn’t anything to do indoors, and she wasn’t allowed to traverse the considerable grounds or the many gardens in those cold temperatures.

Not to mention her mother hated it when she got muddy and tracked it indoors.

Her father didn’t want her! No. He obviously did not want her.

Heck, he didn’t want any of his children, not one of them.

But he didn’t want their mothers or their families to have them, either.

As far as he was concerned, they were simply pawns in his little game.

So, he had brought her here, wherever here is, and dropped her off without anything but the clothes on her back.

She’d been here, as best as she could figure, approximately eleven years now. It was hard to keep track with one day running into the next.

Not to mention, the seasons didn’t change here like they did back home. Here it is perpetual summer, continually, forever, and ever.

She couldn’t wait to experience cooler temperatures once again.

This was one long weekend to say the least!

With very little hope of ever getting off this island she felt lonesome and defeated most days, especially without Ryan here any longer.

He was her protector, her constant companion.

Her mother must not know where to find her or she would have come.

Wouldn’t she?

Maybe she was like some of the other moms and just didn’t want her anymore? That is what some of the other kids thought.

No! She refused to believe that, just as Ryan refused to believe his mother capable of that.

She’d asked herself many times, what was it that their father hoped to gain? Was he trying to hurt their mothers? Hurt them? Or, what?

When she’d first come to live with her many siblings, she’d amused herself most days by walking around the island making up silly songs and singing them out loud to God and to herself.

Overly optimistic is what some of the other children called her.

She wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. And truth be told, she wasn’t too concerned about what they thought of her. She believed what she believed and that was that as far as she was concerned.

Their opinions weren’t going to change her mind or her belief that God would save them, somehow.

She believed that God listened to her, was always there for her, that he loved her and had always been with her to guide her and protect her.

He was always there to comfort her when she was sad, and to listen to her wishes, to her deepest dreams and her deepest fears, and she counted on him now, just as she always had.

CHAPTER TWO

D ue to the storm that was rolling in, the wind began to pick up, it now came in hard gusts, one right after the other.

The sky had been growing darker and darker all afternoon.

The light from the torches along the dock was all she had to go by.

The only lights on the island were here alone the docks and around the pirate’s personal residence, their hangout and the sleeping quarters of the sailors.

Those huge dark clouds had hidden the light from the moon.

Sea spray stung her deeply tanned skin as she made her way toward the ship.

She wondered if she would be able to make it up the gang plank without being seen by his men or having the strong winds blow her sideways, off the gang plank, where she would then fall into the churning sea, twirty feet or so below, to become shark bait.

Shark bait may be better than the alternative. At least death would come quickly.

Becoming shark bait was better than staying forever on this blasted island in the middle of nowhere.

She’d been debating with herself all afternoon and had concluded that she had to try, had to give it a chance.

If Ryan could put himself and his life on the line for her and for the others, then so could she.

It was only fair after all; they were all in this together. And, she had no idea if Ryan was ever coming back.

Gathering her reserve, her nerve, and all the inner strength she could muster, she bolted forward after the last of the men turned the corner and moved out of view.

There was no time like the present! She told herself.

With the storm rolling in fast, she had to ask herself again if this was the best time for this journey.

She had come this far, and she was determined to see it through to the end. No matter what! Fish Bait or not.

Either decision could potentially mean life or death for her, for all of them for that matter.

However, she needed to find, home. Wherever that was.

They couldn’t live forever in this place. There simply weren’t enough resources on the island