Undeniable (Haven Falls 5)

My heart breaks as I get up off the sand and dust off my ass. I stare down at the picture she’s drawn in the sand and can’t help but notice that it’s not just Aria’s mom in the picture. It’s a family. “Who’s this?” I ask her, though something tells me I already know.

Ari points down at the sand, beaming proudly at her work. “It’s our family,” she tells me as though I’m silly for not having already figured it out. “The one with the big belly is Daddy, that’s Mommy, and you, and me.”

I wrap my arm around her and pull her into my side. “You’re so clever,” I tell her, absolutely adoring her pureness and innocence. If only we didn’t lose that as we grew up. The world would be such a happy place. “Why’d you add your mommy? She doesn’t live with our family.”

“But she’s still my family. I came out of her tummy and that means she’s my family even if she doesn’t live with us.”

“You love her very much, don’t you?”

She nods her little head making me realize that she’s wise beyond her years. A child’s love for his or her parents knows no bounds and I hate that one day, she’s going to grow up and discover just how ugly the world is. Though, maybe dad will shield her from the truth just as he did for me.

“You know, Daddy and I love you too,” I tell her. “We were so lucky the day you showed up on our doorstep.”

“You looked scared,” she says, reminding me just how freaked out I was in that moment.

“I certainly was because I didn’t know what was going on, and you know it’s always ok to be a little bit scared sometimes.”

“I don’t have to be scared because I have you and Daddy now.”

“That’s right, Ari,” I smile, forcing myself to hold back tears. “You’re exactly where you belong.”

I look down at her sand drawing once again, wanting desperately to move on from such a heavy topic. Though, I have a feeling it’s only heavy for me. Ari wouldn’t know any different, she’s just sharing her truth.

I grin as I look over her interpretation of me. “Why’d you draw my butt so big?”

“Because your butt is big.”

I suck in a deep breath, exaggerating my outrage as I turn to face her. “It is not,” I demand. “It’s the cutest butt I’ve ever seen.”

Aria looks up at me with a cheeky smirk. “Because it’s so big you can see the cuteness from everywhere.”

I suck in another breath. “You’re going to pay for that.”

She catches my look and her eyes widen in panic. A high-pitched squeal comes tearing out of her and in the blink of an eye, she takes off down the beach. “NOOOOO!” she screams.

I rocket after her with my big butt and all, determined to get my revenge. She screams and laughs the whole time filling me with absolute joy but throwing her into the cold water will make that joy so much better.

She’s fast but with my longer legs, I’m quickly able to catch up to her. I scoop her up, my breath coming in hard and fast making me realize just how unfit I am. Maybe I should be joining Noah and dad on their workouts and add a little jogging into the mix.

Throwing her over my shoulder seems a little harder than I ever thought. I mean, she’s only five but she’s heavy. Are all five year olds this heavy or am I just seriously lacking in the health and fitness department? Noah’s able to throw me over his shoulder with ease and still be able to chase after Tully, yet here I am struggling with a little kid who’s mostly skin and bones.

I half race, half die as I make my way to the water’s edge. “Take it back or you’re going in,” I warn her.

“NOOO!” she squeals, somehow able to make the sound deafen me.

“One.”

“No, no, no, no, no.”

“Two.”

She tries to claw her way free, but I won’t be giving in that easily.

“Three.”

I hurl her off my shoulder and throw her towards the water. She screams out and latches onto my arm, the momentum of the throw forcing me forward. I tumble over the sand and before I know it, I fall face-first into the water as Ari comes splashing down in front of me.

“Shit,” I shriek, scrambling to my feet. “It’s cold.”

Tully’s howling laughter is heard from behind me, but I’m focused on the fact that I’m dripping wet, and unlike Aria, I’m not in my swimsuit. She puts her little hands on her hips and pokes her tongue out. “Serves you right, big butt.”

With that, she takes off up the beach, leaving me to face Tully and hope to God that she somehow forgets that ever happened.