“You promise?”
He kisses the tip of my nose. “Yes. I promise.”
Later, when the moon is low in the sky and the stars have lost some of their twinkle, Jake helps me put my nightgown back on, and I fold up the blanket while he gets dressed and loads the cooler back into the canoe.
He rows us back to our beach, and we get out of the canoe. He brushes a lock of hair behind my ear and then kisses me slowly and softly. Jake turns around and I hop on his back. He carries me back to my open window, and he helps me climb through it.
With my heart full of hope, I turn around and whisper, “Thank you.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he whispers back. He stares into my eyes for a moment. Then he disappears into the darkness.
I fall back against the bed and climb under the covers. Gabby and Laura will let me know if Hank wakes up. I rub my face against the pillow, and scissor my legs together to warm the sheets. And I fall asleep amongst a sweet cascade of old memories and new dreams.
49
Jake
I turn the doorknob slowly, trying to sneak back inside as quietly as I’d left. I stop when I get inside and smell coffee brewing. I squeeze my eyes closed and wince inwardly. “Morning, Jake,” Pop sings out from the kitchen.
I walk around the corner. “Morning, Pop.”
“Did you have a good night?”
I nod and pour myself a cup of coffee. Pop’s probably going to make me go clean a bathhouse or something.
Pop grins over the rim of his coffee cup. “How’s Katie?”
“She’s fine.”
He pats the table in front of him. “Come sit for a minute,” he says.
“Can I just get my toothbrush, instead?” I swear, I would rather clean a bathhouse than get a talking-to now from Pop.
He kicks a chair out with his foot and points to it. “Sit.”
I drop into it with a groan.
He lifts his newspaper and pulls a brown envelope from underneath it. “When your mother found out she was dying, she asked me for only one thing.”
Pop rarely talks about my mother. But I do know he loved her fiercely, and he loves me with just as much ferocity. He is tough, but he is fair, and he is the standard by which I make all the decisions in my life. I can be a father now because he’s been such a good example of one my whole life. I’ve watched, learned, and listened.
“What did she ask you for?”
Pop takes a sip of his coffee. “She said that when I knew you were settled and happy, that I need to make sure you stay that way.”
He slides the envelope toward me. I don’t touch it.
“What does that mean?”
“It means that I finally think you’re settled and happy, you big dummy.” He pushes the envelope a little farther toward me.
“What is it?” I ask.
“Open it.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Chickenshit.”