Chapter 9
CHAPTER 9
KIKI EMMERSON
I try to calm myself as I watch Skyler eat some cereal. Tobias is in his office with the door closed, Noah went to bed, and Levi is cleaning the kitchen. I do my best to push all thoughts of the day my grandmother died out of my head. This is a totally different situation, and as I watch Skyler eat I start to feel better.
After Skyler finishes, I get her dressed in a cute tank top and shorts, which mirrors my own outfit, and we go outside. Skyler grabs a pail and shovel. “Can we go play with the sand on the beach?”
“Sure.” I walk with her down the slope to where the backyard turns into beach. A light breeze blows, and I sit down next to her.
“Can I bury you in the sand?”
I laugh. “If you want to.”
“Yes! Lay down.” Skyler starts to scoop up sand and put it on my feet. It tickles as it goes between my toes.
“What happens if you bury me and then I can’t stand up?”
Skyler giggles. “Then you’ll be trapped!”
I lie down and wiggle my fingers down where it’s cooler. “I guess you’ll have to come bring me food and water, then, huh?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll feed you.” She continues to scoop sand onto me. “You just tell me when you’re hungry.”
“Okay.” I smile to myself as she buries my feet in two mounds. “What kind of food can you cook?”
“I can make you sandwiches.”
“Peanut butter and jelly?”
“Yes. And banana.”
“Banana sandwiches?” I wrinkle my nose.
Skyler laughs. “No, peanut butter, jelly and banana.”
“Ew, gross.”
She laughs harder. “It’s good.”
“Really? It sounds disgusting.” I make a face and her giggles cascade over me like a waterfall.
“I’ll make you eat it. You’ll be trapped.”
I stick out my tongue and shake my head. “Blech!”
She laughs so hard I think she’s going to fall over. I love her laugh. It’s precious and so innocent. My heart grows in my chest as we play this game of me saying it’s disgusting, and her insisting that I eat it.
“What are you going to eat?” Tobias’s voice comes from up the hill, and I scan the grass until I see him appear.
“Daddy!” Skyler jumps up and runs to him. “Kiki thinks peanut butter, jelly, and banana sandwiches are gross. I’m burying her in the sand, and I’m going to make her eat them!”
He raises his eyebrows. “You’re going to force feed her?”
“She’ll be trapped, Daddy.”
I wiggle my toes and the sand falls off them. Tobias laughs and plops down next to Skyler. “I think we need to get more sand on her if you’re hoping to trap her.”
“Yes! Help me, Daddy. Let’s bury Kiki.”
“Hey, wait a minute,” I say, but Tobias is already shoving large quantities onto my legs. It’s warm from the sun and feels like I’m at the spa getting some kind of beach treatment done.
“Stay still,” Tobias says. “We can’t have you wiggling all the sand off before we bury you.”
“Right.” Skyler claps her hands. “More, Daddy. More.”
I watch for a minute as Tobias gets serious about burying me. He pushes and mounds the sand over my feet and legs, getting up to my knees. He looks out of place in his dress pants and white shirt playing on the beach.
“Wait,” I say as he shoves a huge mound onto me. “Are you really going to trap me?” I pretend to be scared.
Skyler jumps and squeals. “Bury her, Daddy!”
Tobias doesn’t answer, he just continues to push more sand on me until my legs are buried. He grabs the bucket and starts scooping on my midsection. “I think we’ll have her buried in a few minutes.”
Skyler giggles and helps push more on my middle. “Get over there, Daddy.”
I lift my head a little. “What if I have to use the bathroom?”
Tobias shakes his head slowly, his expression grave. “You should have thought of that before all of this started.”
I lie back down and resign myself to being completely buried. Tobias shovels more on me as Skyler encourages him and laughs when I make small protests. When I’m completely covered except for my head I blow out a breath. “Now what?”
“Now we make peanut butter, jelly, and banana sandwiches!”
“No, not that!” I shake my head, careful not to shake the powdery sand off myself.
“Yes!” Skyler laughs as she tugs on Tobias’s hand. “Let’s go make them, Daddy.”
“We probably shouldn’t leave poor Miss Kiki trapped here,” he says as he scratches his head. “She might get too hot in the sun. Maybe we should dig her out and then together we can make the sandwiches for lunch.”
“Okay.” Skyler takes her little shovel and starts to dig the sand off me.
As she works Tobias comes closer to me. “I wanted to let you know I called the hospital. They confirmed that Violet had a stroke. They’re still testing to see how severe it was, but it was good that you found her as quickly as you did.”
Relief fills my chest. “I’m glad.”
“Me, too.”
Skyler digs my arm out, and I bend my knees to get the sand off them, too. Tobias extends his hand. “Here.”
I grab his hand and he pulls me to my feet. He doesn’t let go of my hand right away, and I wonder if he feels the same electric current that’s running through me from his touch. I take a step back, and he lets his hand drop. “You’ve got a little something,” he says, trying not to laugh, pointing to the entirety of my body.
He’s right. I’m covered in sand. I brush it off as best as I can, but I’m pretty much a mess. I laugh. “Yeah, thanks for that.”
“Come on,” he says, heading toward the house. “I’ll hose you off.”
I shake my head. “No way.” I brush more at my clothes. “I’m fine.”
His eyes widen. I have no idea why that makes him look even more handsome, but somehow it does. “You’ll get it all over my house.”
Yes, he does look like someone who cares about sand in his house. I shrug. “Should have thought of that before burying me, huh?”
He takes off toward the house, and before I know it, he’s got the hose sprayer pointed at me. He twists the knob, turning on the water, but he hasn’t squeezed the sprayer yet, so nothing shoots out. “Come here.” He motions to me.
Skyler squeals. “Spray her, Daddy!”
“Traitor,” I say to Skyler as I back away from him.
Skyler thinks this is immensely funny. “Get her!”
“It’s getting warm out,” he calls. “I bet it will feel good.”
I hedge, calculating my chances of getting past him without getting wet. They’re not good. “Don’t you dare.”
“Do it!” Skyler runs in front of me, and Tobias obeys, letting a spray of water out on us both. Skyler screams and zig zags in front of the water. He’s far enough away that I don’t get very wet, but still, I remember my tattoo covered in foundation, and I move my arm behind my back.
Tobias gives me a look, like he noticed my arm and is silently asking me about it. I run out of his line of fire while Skyler continues to run through the water, squealing and giggling.
As Tobias focuses on Skyler, I walk to his side, fairly sure he won’t spray me up close. I fold my arms. “You have more of a sense of humor than I originally thought.”
He raises his eyebrows at me. “You thought I didn’t have one?”
“It’s not that.” I shouldn’t have said anything. Now I have to get out of telling him I thought he was too stuffy. Luckily, Skyler screams and distracts him.
He shuts off the stream of water, but then Skyler waves her hands and yells, “Spray me more!”
“All right,” he calls to her.
“Well, this is your whole life now. Being Skyler’s personal sprinkler system.”
He laughs, his dimple warming my insides. He’s handsome when he’s not smiling. When he is, the whole world tilts, and I have trouble breathing.
“You’re not kidding.” He shoots the water up so it rains down on Skyler.
“I can take over if you have work to do.” I’m silently asking him why he’s out here playing with Skyler when he’s hired me to do that job.
“It’s okay. I couldn’t concentrate with everything that happened with Violet this morning.” He gives me a side-eye. “You sure you don’t want me to spray that sand off you?”
“I’m pretty sure I’m capable of getting cleaned off by myself.” To prove it, I wipe sand off my arms and legs.
“That’s too bad,” Tobias says under his breath, and I blush. Did he just flirt with me? I stare at him, but he doesn’t look like he said anything, and I wonder if I’m losing my mind.