“Yeah, we’ll be there,” Lucas answers. “It’s a beach day.”
Abby’s eyes go wide in fear, looking right at her mom.
“We can spend the morning at the splash pad,” Sawyer says to her daughter. “And then afterward, you can go hang out.”
“The splash pad?” Lucas asks in disgust, and before I can stop him, already knowing what’s going to come out of his mouth, he finishes his thought. “That’s for babies!”
Abby’s eyes well up with tears, and she turns away from everyone. “I want to go home,” she says to Sawyer. “Please.”
“Of course.” Sawyer glances at all of us and smiles sadly. “Thank you again for everything.”
She and her daughter turn to walk away, but Presley runs toward her before they go. “Wait, don’t you want to go to the beach with us? I’ll share my buckets with you.”
“Pres…” I start, unsure of how the hell to handle this. I’m not an expert with kids. Really, I’m only good with my own, and that’s only because they’re little badasses, thanks to my half-ass parenting. Don’t get me wrong, I love my kids to death, but that doesn’t mean I know what the hell I’m doing.
Abby shakes her head, trying to get away so nobody will see her upset, but Presley is a lot like me—stubborn and determined as fuck. “Abby, wait.” She turns her shoulder, forcing a teary-eyed Abby to look at her. “Why are you crying?” she asks, her voice filled with confusion and sadness.
Sawyer meets my gaze, silently begging me to get my kids away so her daughter won’t be embarrassed, but before I can speak up, Abby answers her. “I can’t swim in the ocean.”
“But you swim in the pool,” Presley says. “You swim like a fast fish.”
Abby giggles through her tears. “I can’t swim in the ocean, though. I’ve never been.” She steps toward Presley and whispers, “I’m scared.”
“Well, that’s stupid,” Lucas says. “It’s the same thing, and my dad is the best swimmer ever. So if you drown, he’ll save you.”
Abby’s eyes bug out. “I don’t wanna drown. I’ll die.”
“Only if my dad doesn’t save you, but he will. Right, Dad? You’ll save her if she drowns.”
Sawyer looks like she’s going to throw up, and Abby glances at me like my answer will determine the course her life will take. I should probably stop this conversation, but really, Sawyer is being ridiculous. They’re here at the beach, and they’ll be safe. And if they never go in, they’ll always be afraid.
“Yeah,” I tell her, kneeling in front of her. “If you want to swim in the ocean, I’ll make sure you don’t drown. Would you like to go swimming in the ocean?”
A smile spreads across her tiny face, and she nods slowly. “Mommy and I want to swim with the dolphins, like a real fish.”
“I want to, too!” Presley agrees. “Can we, Dad?”
I stand back up, chuckling. “How about we start with just swimming in the ocean, and we can work our way up to chilling with the dolphins?” My eyes meet Sawyer’s. “What do you say? Want to give the ocean a try? I promise not to let either of you drown.”
I shoot her a playful wink, and she groans. “You’re lucky our kids can hear us, or I would have a few choice words for you.”
I bark out a laugh. “C’mon, fishes.” I throw my arm around Sawyer. “Let’s go swimming.”
CHAPTER FOUR
SAWYER
I can’t believe I somehow got coerced into going into the ocean by Hudson and his cute, crazy children. One minute, I was lying under the stars with the man discussing his professional future, and the next, I’m standing in the camp office, finding out he not only has two children, but my daughter has apparently taken quite a liking to both of them—something almost unheard of. Since she was a baby, she’s always been on the quieter, shy side. It takes a lot to get her to talk and react, but I’ve learned over the years that nothing is wrong with her. She’s just picky with who she gives her time to. So for her to be so attached to Hudson’s kids so quickly tells me she feels they’re good people.
I figured we would get ice cream and then go our separate ways, but somehow that turned into Abby and me standing in front of the ocean.
“Mommy, look at the waves!” Abby squeals in excitement. Now that she knows she’s safe, she’s practically buzzing to finally get into the water. It boggles my mind how quickly she trusted Hudson when he promised not to let her drown.
“I’m gonna ride them all,” Lucas says with his board in his hand as his dad sprays sunscreen all over his face.
“You’re going to stay close to the shoreline,” Hudson corrects.
“But Dad…”
“No buts. Along the edge unless I’m out there with you.”