3. Chapter Three
Chapter Three
Maddy poured a glass of wine and swallowed deeply.
“Long day?” Emma asked as she salted boiling water and poured spaghetti in the pot.
At the kitchen island, Maddy sliced cucumbers and mixed it with other ingredients for a salad. She and Emma alternated cooking, with Jason and Tyler contributing when their schedules allowed. The ritual, as boring as it may seem, meant the world to Maddy, after having spent so many years away from her friends.
“A long two days.” She filled Emma’s glass. “I had an appointment with Cade today to check out Broadway Betty’s.”
Emma raised an eyebrow. “You mentioned you wanted to see it, but I didn’t realize you were taking the next step.”
“I need to bring stability to my life here,” Maddy said.
“What we have here isn’t stable?” Emma pointed out the kitchen window, where Dylan chased Sandy around the yard.
“Poor Sandy. She deserves an extra treat tonight for putting up with my daughter.”
“We all love having you and Dylan here. You know that, right?”
Maddy nodded. “I do, and spending this time with you means the world to me.”
“But…”
“I need my own space, a place to call my own.”
“I get it, but there’s no rush.”
Maddy walked over to where a ladder and a toolbox sat in the corner of the room. “Come on, Em. You and Jace want to start renovating this place.”
“What’s that got to do with you and Dylan staying here?”
“It will be easier for the guys to work if they don’t have to worry about us.”
“We’ll manage until you find the right place,” Emma said.
Maddy swirled the wine in her glass. “I think I have.”
“Betty’s?”
Maddy nodded. “The inside is exactly as I remember. It needs renovation, but there’s an apartment upstairs Dylan and I can use.”
“You’re really going to open an ice cream shop?”
“A singing ice cream shop,” Maddy corrected her.
“It’s a four-year-old’s dream to live above a place with twenty-four seven access to ice cream.”
“Mine too.”
“What about the apartment?” Emma asked.
“There’s one bedroom, but Cade and Evan think one of the walls can be opened and the place expanded to the length of the building. Then there could be a second bedroom and maybe another room. One I could use as a music studio,” Maddy said, and felt a weight lift off her chest in vocalizing an idea she had.
“To record songs here?”
“Maybe. Minimally, one that’s soundproof where I can practice without disturbing Dylan,” Maddy said.
“And what about the ice cream shop part?”
“I’d hire someone to manage it, although I plan to change the program a little, and I’d definitely be involved with singing. ”
“How would you change things?”
“I’d like to incorporate dancing into the nightly performances. Maybe offer a Broadway theater camp in the summer and have the groups perform,” Maddy said.
“You’ve thought a lot about this.”
“I have. What do you think? Am I crazy?”
“It’s brilliant. Think about the number of people you’ll attract with your name behind it, plus offering an opportunity for people to perform as well as watch.”
Maddy blew out a breath. “There are lots of details I still have to sketch out, but I think it could work.”
Emma slid an arm through Maddy’s. “I do too.”
“Evan is going to talk to Jason about renovations before I make an offer.”
“Smart move. You need all the facts before making a decision.”
Maddy set the large salad bowl in the middle of the kitchen table. “Seems like my entire life is full of decisions.”
“That’s to be expected, especially as a single mom,” Emma said.
“What people have told me is true…parenting gets harder the older they get.”
“What did my goddaughter do now?” Emma asked. “Ty made sure the gate lock is secured and asked Jace about putting an alarm to alert us if it’s not latched properly.”
Ty would think of that. No matter how crappy Maddy treated him, he always took care of her and Dylan.
“I appreciate him reinforcing the gate,” she said.
“But?”
She bit into a carrot stick. “But nothing.”
Emma narrowed her eyes. “I heard about the argument you had with him. ”
Of course she had. Most likely, Evan had blabbed to Emma, or he told Jason who told Emma.
“Swim lessons for you and Dylan are a big step,” Emma said.
“Yet everyone is pressuring me to do it.”
“Because we love you and Dylan and hate to see something happen to either of you.”
Maddy choked back a sob. “I know you all do. I don’t know how to get over this fear.”
“The only way is to face it head-on…not avoid it, honey.” Emma put an arm around her shoulder. “If it would help, I can bring Dylan to lessons or come with you.”
Maddy knew what her friend—all her friends—were telling her was right.
Still…
Jason came bursting through the sliding glass door, Dylan in his arms.
Maddy went into mom mode, set down her wineglass, and rushed over to them. “What happened?”
Jason looked down at Dylan. “You want to tell your mom what happened?”
Dylan pressed her tear-stained face into Jason’s chest and shook her head.
“Somebody better tell me what’s going on,” Maddy demanded.
“I found her in the flowerbed…the one where Sandy likes to do her business,” Jason started.
“Did she step in dog poop?” Maddy asked.
Jason shifted his feet uncomfortably. “I found her with her dress around her waist imitating Sandy.”
Maddy furrowed her brow.
What the hell?
“You mean my daughter peed in the flowerbed?” Maddy said.
“Among other stuff,” Jason said.
Mortification filled Maddy. “Dylan, look at Mommy.”
Dylan pressed closer to Jason.
Maddy lowered her voice and brushed back Dylan’s brown hair, which had mostly fallen out of its ponytail. “Tell Mommy what happened, Dyl.”
“My tummy hurt, and I had to go potty. Sandy poops in the flowerbed so I thought I could too,” Dylan said.
“You know only animals poop outside,” Maddy said.
“Sometimes Sandy poops inside,” Dylan said.
“Because she’s a puppy and has to learn how to hold it until she gets outside. Just like you learned that people go potty in the bathroom,” Maddy said.
Dylan stuck out her chin. “Jeremy Walker pees in the flowerbeds at his house. He showed Becca and me.”
Jeremy Walker was the seven-year-old son of the woman who ran the summer camp, and Becca Morrison was Dylan’s newfound bestie since starting summer camp.
“You watched Jeremy pee in the flowerbeds?” Maddy repeated.
Dylan nodded. “He said he and his friends do it all the time.”
Maddy’s temper flared, but she tamped it down. “Well, Mommy will be having a discussion with Mrs. Walker tomorrow about Jeremy’s bathroom habits. What he did is wrong, and I’m certain Mrs. Walker will agree. Did you and Becca tinkle outside in Mrs. Walker’s flowerbeds, too?”
“He dared us,” Dylan said.
“I need your promise that you’ll never do that again,” Maddy said.
Dylan cried. “I’m afraid, Mommy.”
“Afraid of what, sweetie?”
“The potty scares me. What if I fall in and get flushed down? ”
“That’s why we have the special seat for you, so that you can’t fall in. You could never get flushed down.”
“But I almost got flushed down in the bay.”
Maddy met Emma’s eyes.
Hell.
“Baby, is that why you’ve been having potty accidents the past couple of days? Because you’re afraid of the toilet?”
Dylan nodded.
How could Maddy not have realized there was more to Dylan than regressing and wetting herself? What kind of mother did that make her?
“Mommy has an idea how to help you. Let’s talk about it upstairs while we clean you up. Okay?” Dylan held her arms out when Maddy reached to take her from Jason.
As Maddy walked up the stairs, she reconciled that there was only one way to help Dylan.
She had no choice but to fall on her sword and ask Tyler for help.
Tyler kicked his feet and performed a forward flip, turning underwater, kicking off the side of the pool, and propelling himself forward. Breaking the surface, he kicked while alternating swinging his arms in a crawl stroke.
While there were no other swimmers in the pool at the Egg Harbor Swim Club, Ty ran through the paces of a two-hundred-meter individual medley event. He even turned on the pad to record his time. Silly, since there was no reason, but he wanted to feel the rush of trying to beat his prior times .
He would never get to the Olympics, as had been his dream at sixteen as a member of the Ocean County Junior Olympic team, but maintaining his strength and skills were important to him.
Especially if he was considering entering the Barnegat Triathlon in September. Held every fall, the triathlon had been an annual event for as long as Ty could remember. Contestants swam a mile, biked twenty-five miles, and ran six-point-two miles. Ty had fond memories of attending when he was twelve and cheering on his dad as he raced across the finish line in first place.
From that moment, Ty had vowed to enter the competition. His dad had entered them both the year of the hurricane, but fate had other plans and that never happened. Every year since his dad died, his sister, mom, and grandma had encouraged Ty to enter.
But he couldn’t.
Until this year.
Now, he was determined to enter and—thanks to his dad, who’d taught him to aim high—place in the top three.
“No sense doing something halfway ,” he’d tell Ty.
That meant Ty ran, swam, or biked at least five days a week. He’d almost convinced Connor to enter with him. Con had Ty beat, hands down, in the running event, but Ty out-swam him easily. They were pretty much equals in biking.
He touched the pad that ended the race and stopped the clock.
“Nice score,” someone called from the sideline.
“Hey, Ivy,” he said, standing and yanking off his swim cap.
Ivy Bennett, the director of the swim program at the club, had trained alongside Ty for the Junior Olympics. Half Korean, she stood around five eight, with a slender physique, which made her the ideal body type for agility and speed in the water. A shoulder injury had forced her to drop out of competing a year after Ty .
Having been friends with Tyler since elementary school, Ivy had been the one person he’d opened up to about his fear of swimming after Hurricane Samantha. She’d encouraged him to continue swimming after he recovered from his injuries. And after they graduated high school, she pushed him into teaching a few lessons a week.
“You shaved two seconds off your best time,” Ivy said.
He pulled himself out of the pool and grabbed his towel off the bench. “About damn time. I’ve been working my ass off to do that.” He took a long sip from his water bottle.
“Why did you ask me to come in early?” Ivy said.
“A friend of mine and her daughter are coming by for private lessons,” Tyler began. “It’s a delicate situation, and I’m trying to limit their visibility to the public.”
Ivy raised an eyebrow. “Who are they, someone rich and famous?”
“Maddy Kinkaid and her four-year-old daughter, Dylan.”
Ivy’s mouth dropped open. “Wow. I hadn’t expected that.”
Neither had Ty. When Maddy sought him out last night after dinner and asked if he could teach Dylan to swim, he’d maintained a neutral expression, not wanting to make a big deal out of it. Even though it totally was. Which was why he’d told her to come by early this morning.
“Please, let’s keep this on the down-low. Maddy has a lifelong fear of water and it’s with reluctance that she agreed to let me give Dylan lessons.”
“How about her?”
“I’m hoping that if we can get Dylan started, you can work with her while I try to get Maddy into the water.”
Ivy studied him. “You like her.”
“I’ve known her most of my life, and she’s best friends with my sister. ”
Ivy smiled. “Okay, whatever you say. I’ll help however I can.”
The door to the pool opened, and Maddy entered, holding Dylan’s hand.
Ty crossed over to them. “Morning. Sorry about the early time. I thought having fewer people around would be better.”
Maddy stared at the water before meeting Ty’s eyes. “It’s fine. I’m usually awake by six when this little one gets me up.”
“Mommy isn’t a morning person,” Dylan said.
After living with Maddy for several months, Ty knew she wasn’t fully coherent until halfway through her first cup of coffee.
“Come meet my friend, Ivy, who runs the swim program. She’s going to help with today’s lesson.”
Ivy stepped forward. “Hi, Maddy, Dylan. I’ll show you the women’s locker room where you can store your stuff and get changed.”
Begrudgingly, Maddy followed Ivy, Dylan in tow. While they changed, Tyler removed balls and beach toys he’d picked up at his store and arranged them along the side of the pool near the steps. There were different approaches to teaching a child to swim, but the fundamental one was to help Dylan not be afraid of the water yet to respect it.
Ivy and Dylan exited the locker room. He smiled at Dylan’s mermaid bathing suit with matching flip-flops and towel.
“Hi, Princess Ariel. I like your bathing suit,” he said.
Dylan looked down shyly. “It has a fishy tail skirt, but Mommy said I can’t wear it in the pool.”
“Mommy’s right. It’s best to only wear skirts over your suit when you’re on dry land. Maybe you can put it on after we’re done,” Ty said, pleased when he was rewarded with a smile that reminded him so much of Maddy it made his heart ache.
“Why don’t you put your towel and shoes in the cubby along the wall, Dylan?” Ivy said.
When the girl walked away, Ivy whispered to Ty, “Maddy didn’t bring a bathing suit.”
“Not surprising,” he said.
“I told her it would help Dylan relax to see her mom wearing a bathing suit and lent her one of my extra suits,” Ivy said.
Ty raised an eyebrow. “That must have gone over well.”
“I told her it was her choice, and she didn’t have to go into the water.”
“If she’s not out in five minutes, one of us may need to go in and drag her out,” he said.
Dylan returned, and Ty held out his hand. “Ready to get started, princess?”
She gave the pool a nervous glance. “That’s a really big pool.”
“It is, but don’t worry. We’re at the shallow end. That means the water isn’t as deep.” Ty pointed to the numbers on the side. “There are numbers on the side here. You know your numbers, right?”
Dylan nodded. “Mommy taught me. I can count to twenty.”
“That’s perfect. The higher the number, the deeper the water. We’ll stick with the smaller numbers, like the number three right here.” He pointed to the number painted on the side.
Ty brought her over to the side with the stairs that led into the pool. “Come sit on the stairs with me. We’re going to play a game.”
Dylan sat next to him, pressing close to his body and wrinkling her nose. “The water is clear and pretty, but it has a funny smell.”
“That’s chlorine. It’s a chemical that keeps the water clean. You’ll get used to the smell and won’t notice it as much. The first thing to learn is pool safety. No one is allowed in the pool without a lifeguard on duty.” He pointed at Ivy, who climbed onto the lifeguard stand. “See how Ivy’s sitting in the special chair? ”
“Like at the beach,” Dylan said.
“Exactly. There’s usually someone in that chair whenever there’s a lesson or a person in the pool. Sometimes they walk around, but their job is to make sure everyone in the pool is safe. The important thing is, you never go in a pool or the ocean unless there’s a lifeguard or someone with you who knows how to swim.”
Dylan nodded. “Are you a lifeguard, Uncle Ty?”
“I am. I also teach swim lessons to kids and adults.”
“Can you teach Mommy?” she asked just as Maddy approached them.
Ty swallowed hard as he took in the navy-blue one-piece bathing suit Maddy had borrowed from Ivy. It covered more of her body than some sundresses she wore, but emphasized the fullness of her breasts and the smallness of her waist in a way that made it more erotic than if she were wearing the skimpiest bathing suit. A burst of lust rushed through him, and he had to look away for fear of embarrassing himself with a hard-on.
“I can teach Mommy, if she wants me to.”
Maddy stood frozen at the side of the pool. Annoyed at being pressured into putting on a bathing suit, she now wore the ugliest one she’d ever seen. Served her right for not coming prepared. It covered her entire torso and was a size too small, especially in the chest. Even Ty was so disgusted by looking at her that he turned away.
After answering her daughter’s questions and proclaiming he could teach Maddy how to swim, she had taken a step back and sat on a bench along the side.
Ty ignored her and focused on Dylan. He’d arranged toy fish in the water and was showing her how she could use a fishing rod to retrieve them. Every time she did, she was allowed to submerge the fish and use them to squirt water at Ty.
Slowly, he moved the fish further out and encouraged Dylan to take another step into the water. Her daughter was laughing, and while Maddy was on edge, she knew Ty wouldn’t let anything happen to her baby.
When they were done, he sat next to Dylan on a step and showed her how he wanted her to splash her face. Maddy listened to the rich timbre of his voice, full of patience and a lulling sense of calmness, as though he had all the time in the world. Dylan did as he instructed, earning his praise.
“The suit looks great on you,” Ivy said, and joined Maddy on the bench. “I wish it would look as good on me. I don’t have nearly as much up top, and the compression pushes down the little I have.” She gestured to her almost flat chest.
“Thanks for letting me borrow it,” Maddy said. “How long have you worked here?”
“I’ve been swimming since I was a toddler, and used to be on the competitive swim team with Ty until I messed up my shoulder. I took the job as director of the swim program five years ago.”
Maddy raised her eyes to the pool, where Ty was showing Dylan how to blow bubbles in the water. Both panic and pride filled her as her daughter mastered that and eventually submerged her head in the water. Ty praised her each time.
“He’s an excellent teacher, especially with kids,” Ivy said.
“I can tell,” Maddy replied.
Dylan turned and waved at her. “Mommy, did you see what I did?”
Maddy gave her daughter a thumbs-up. “Great job, sweetie.”
“Why don’t we get closer?” Ivy suggested. “We can sit on the steps and watch her. ”
Maddy shrank back. “I don’t know. I’m not comfortable by the water.”
“It’s only three feet deep. It will help build Dylan’s confidence to see you’re not afraid.”
Damn it. Maddy hated being pressured into something she didn’t want to do, but Ivy had a valid point.
“Only on the steps,” she said.
She followed Ivy to the side of the pool and dipped a toe tentatively in the water. It was cool compared to the warmth of the heated room. Maddy sat and let the water wash over her legs and lower torso.
“Dylan’s a quick learner,” Ivy said.
Maddy had been so focused on controlling her breathing, which was slightly erratic, that she hadn’t noticed Dylan held on to the side of the pool and was blowing bubbles with her face in the water.
Instinctively, Maddy opened her mouth to caution her, but felt a hand on her knee.
“She’s fine. Watch them,” Ivy said.
Pushing aside her motherly instincts, Maddy did as Ivy suggested and watched Ty with her daughter. Once Dylan seemed comfortable putting her face in the water and blowing bubbles, Ty showed her how to hold on to the side of the pool and kick.
Pride filled Maddy. In less than an hour, Dylan had accomplished more than she had ever been able to do. She’d never told anyone, but her late husband had tried to teach her to swim. Living out on the West Coast, they went to the beach a lot in their early days when they didn’t have any money to spend on fancy dates. Maddy would pack a picnic and they’d stretch out on a blanket at Huntington or Manhattan Beach.
The few times Reece had attempted to coax her into the ocean had resulted in Maddy hyperventilating and the two of them fighting. Eventually, he stopped asking her to swim and ended up connecting with other people in the water. Especially women. Reece was a good-looking guy, and everywhere they went, women flocked to him and tried to give him their phone numbers…even when Maddy was there.
Reece used to laugh it off, saying Maddy was silly for being jealous and that she was the only girl for him.
That changed once their singing careers took off. The tabloids were full of pictures of Reece with other women on his arm…sometimes multiple women. Despite the ongoing arguments about his infidelity, Maddy opted to stay with him.
Especially when she got pregnant with Dylan.
Ivy had moved to the side and was working to transition Dylan to using a kickboard. Now, as Maddy watched Tyler and Ivy with Dylan, she felt a surge of resentment.
Of jealousy.
Of being the odd one out.
The three of them looked like a family.
While Ty wasn’t anything but a friend, there had been a moment the other morning when Maddy thought she saw something in his eyes—need…desire. In her sleepiness, could she have misread him? Of course, there had been no misreading his erection, pressed up against her.
Probably not because of her.
Right?
Likely a reflex or because he’d just woken up.
Pushing her own desire and feelings about the other morning aside, she realized she should be out there instead of sitting afraid on the sideline.
Maddy took a deep breath and stood .
She could do this. It wasn’t like the water was over her head or anything.
Picking up her right foot, she took a cautious step, as though she were stepping through a minefield, which explained how she felt.
She wobbled when she placed her left foot down and held out her arms to stabilize herself. Two more steps and she was in the water mid-chest.
Turning, she took a few more steps toward the side.
Five more steps and she’d be there.
One…two…three…four…
“Mommy!” Dylan exclaimed, causing Maddy to jump. She rushed the last step and lunged for the side, missing it in her hurry to get there before her daughter saw her distress.
By the time Maddy realized her mistake it was too late to course-correct, and she thought for sure she was going to face-plant.
Strong arms circled her waist. “Look who came out to join us,” Tyler said. In her ear, he whispered, “I’ve got you, Mad.”
He helped her to the side but didn’t let go of her waist even when she held on to the side like her life depended on it. “You okay?” he asked.
She nodded.
“Look what I learned, Mommy.” Dylan put her face in the water and blew bubbles.
“That’s really good, sweetie,” Maddy said. “I’m so proud of you.”
“And I can kick, too.” Dylan demonstrated.
“Just like Ariel,” Maddy said.
“Except Ariel only has one fin, and I have two legs,” Dylan said.
“You did a great job today, princess,” Ty said. “Why don’t you go dry off with Ivy, and your mom and I will be right there.”
Maddy watched as Ivy led Dylan to the deck and wrapped her in her towel .
Ty turned her to face him. “You came in the water.”
“Don’t remind me.”
He tilted her chin up. “That’s a big step, Mad.”
She shrugged. “Don’t read too much into it.”
“If you can do this, you can learn the basics.”
“What if I can’t?” Maddy whispered, hating feeling vulnerable.
“There’s only one way to find out which of us is right, but my money’s on you.”