“It’s ten thirty.”
He gave a shrug and grabbed one for me from the ice chest.
I grinned as I twisted off the cap. “Where is everyone?”
“They went on a hike,” he said. “Lizzie was hoping to see a bear.”
“Sorry…who’s Lizzie?”
“Derek’s daughter.” He walked over to one of the lounge chairs in the shade and took a seat.
I joined him. “I thought he just had the two boys.”
“She’s his stepdaughter, biologically. She came down from her program at Harvard for the weekend.”
Derek had a stepdaughter who was at least eighteen years old? That meant they were less than two decades apart.
“I’m trying to enjoy the weekend, but I can’t focus.” He looked out over the lake, his beer in hand. “You can always be replaced at work, but never at home. But whenever I’m waiting on results, I just…my mind isn’t here.”
“I understand. I’m anxious too.”
He was in shorts and a t-shirt, his toned legs sculpted like he ran every morning and lifted weights in the afternoon. His skin was a bit tanned, like sitting on the deck for a couple hours gave him some color. His black wedding ring was on his left hand like it always was, even when he was at the hospital. “I’m glad you decided to join us.”
“It’s nice to get out of the city.”
“Not a fan of Manhattan?”
I shrugged. “I prefer the layout of London because it’s just a little more spaced out with historic architecture, but Manhattan is my home now. I guess I better start to like it.”
He grinned. “I actually hate Manhattan.”
“You do?” I asked in surprise. “Doesn’t seem like it.”
“I’d live here with my wife if I could. But I’m not willing to commute that far to work every day, and all my kids live in the city, so I wouldn’t see them as often if we were out here full time.”
“You’re a wilderness man.”
“No,” he said with a scoff. “Just not a people person.”
“That’s ironic because you seem to care about people a lot.”
He shrugged before he took a drink. “When I say I’m not a people person, it’s not that people are the problem… I’m the problem.”
“I disagree with that.” He showed me more kindness than anyone else I’d ever met.
He looked at me for a while before he turned away. “Because you remind me of myself.”
“Grandpa!” A little boy’s voice came from behind us.
His serious mood evaporated when the smile came through. He got to his feet and turned around, seeing his grandson walking up to him with his hands clasped tightly together. Dr. Hamilton kneeled so they were at eye level. “Whatcha got there?”
“I caught a frog!” He opened his hands slightly to reveal its eyes, and a ribbit emerged. He quickly closed his hands again.
“Wow,” Dr. Hamilton said. “But I’m pretty sure he’s a toad.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” He grabbed his grandson’s wrist and lifted it slightly. “You see those short legs? Frogs have longer legs to hop around, but toads have short little legs and prefer to crawl. So, this little guy is a toad.”
“Wow. Then I caught a toad. I’m going to put him in a cage and keep him forever.”
His black lab ran over, tongue hanging out, and pawed at Dr. Hamilton.
Without taking his eyes off his grandson, he rubbed his dog on the back of the neck. “Are you sure you want to do that?”
Little Deacon watched his grandfather, turning timid. “What…what do you mean?”
“Living in a cage forever…that doesn’t sound fun. When you’re grounded, you have to stay in your room, and no one likes that. It’s like a cage, right?”
“Yeah…”
“Then you shouldn’t do that to this guy. You should let him go.”
Little Deacon looked through the cracks of his fingers and stared at his toad.
“He’s probably got a wife and kids and grandkids somewhere.”
“Yeah…probably.”
“Come on, let’s go let him go.” Dr. Hamilton rose to his feet and placed his hand on his grandson’s shoulders as he guided him away.
Derek walked over and gave me a clap on the shoulder. “My dad always takes the good teaching moments, so I’m stuck with the shitty ones.” He greeted me with a handshake. “Glad you came up.”
“Thanks. You’ve got a cute kid.”
“I do, don’t I?” He smiled then walked off.
Mrs. Hamilton joined her husband with Little Deacon, bending down to release the toad on the grass.
Daisy appeared a moment later, with the young woman I assumed to be Lizzie. Daisy was in cotton shorts and sneakers, wearing a racerback top with her hair in a ponytail through the back of a ball cap. She didn’t notice me right away, but when she did, her reaction couldn’t be contained. She didn’t play it cool.
She smiled brighter than I’d ever seen her.
She looked so fucking cute in her workout gear. Her ass looked like a fucking peach. If only I could squeeze it then give it a smack.