20. Indiana
A fter my morning run, I step out of the shower, wrap my fluffy towel around me, and swipe the steam from the mirror, catching a glimpse of myself.
Five weeks in Silverthorne, and I’m turning into a version of myself I didn’t realize existed anymore.
My skin has deepened into a golden brown, and afternoons spent on the lake are causing more of my freckles to stand out.
Which is how I’ll be spending my day off.
With my e-reader loaded with books and my tote bag filled with snacks and sunscreen, I slip into my blue bikini.
It would be a lie to say that I didn’t have him in mind when I laid it out.
It’s almost the same color as his eyes. I grab my wide-brimmed hat and put on my sandals, pick up my tote bag and head down to the dock.
Only when I get there—it seems I won’t be the only one.
Three heads turn to see me coming down the trail. Sally comes to meet me at the end of the dock.
“Hey, Sally girl,” I coo, stepping onto the wooden slats and bending to pat her head.
“Indie!” Hazel shouts .
“Hi, beautiful. How are you today?”
“Good! We’re swimming!” she tells me as Knox continues to rub sunscreen on her face before putting a little sun hat that matches her pink swimsuit on her head.
“Do you mind if I hang out here with you guys today?” I’m asking Knox because, as much as he’s warmed up to me the last few weeks, I still don’t want to intrude.
“Yay!” Hazel shouts. I smile but keep my eyes fixed on Knox, waiting for his response. Wanting him to want me here, not just tolerate my presence. His answer warms me from the inside out.
“We’d like that.” We. Not just Hazel but him too.
I’m not sure in what capacity he wants me around. Maybe he’s starting to see me as a friend, or maybe he’s just being neighborly. I don’t care if it’s that he likes looking at me in a bathing suit, as long as he wants me close by.
Spreading out my towel, I sit down on it criss-cross applesauce. Hazel joins me, the smell of her sunscreen floating in the air. Her water wings squeak with each movement.
“What’s that?” she asks, looking at my green beaded anklet. I stretch my leg out so she can get a better look.
“It’s an anklet. Do you like it?”
“Yes,” she says longingly. I grin, digging through my tote bag to see if I can find—yes, there it is. I pull out one of my many bracelets. It’s too big, but maybe if I tie it a little tighter, it’ll work.
“What do you think of this one?”
“It’s so pretty,” she tells me, eyes wide like she’s never seen such treasure.
“I think so too, but I think it would look even better on someone else I know. ”
“Who?” I smile at her. I’ve sort of fallen for this little girl since the moment she told me chocolate was the superior ice cream choice.
“Would you like to match with me?” Her eyes grow as big as saucers before they turn squinty with her beaming smile.
“Yes, yes!” She claps her hands as I carefully untie the bracelet and take off some of the beads.
“Okay, which foot do you want it on?” She sticks her left one out and scoots closer to me, so it’s resting on my thigh. I tie it on her, making sure not to get it too tight. “How does that feel?” I ask.
“Good!” she says, stroking it with her little fingers. Once she’s done inspecting it, she jumps up and runs over to where Knox is sitting in his chair sans shirt. Will I ever get tired of this view? Now this would make one hell of a postcard.
“Look, Daddy!” Hazel holds her foot up, almost losing her balance until Knox reaches out to steady her.
“Look at that. So pretty. Did Indie make that for you?”
“Yes!”
“That was nice of her. Did you say thank you?”
“No,” she tells him, then yells in my direction. “Thank you, Indie!”
“You’re welcome, Hazey,” I call back to her, laughing.
I slip my hat off and lay back onto the towel, pushing my sunglasses up on top of my still-damp hair.
I use my hand to shade my eyes for a moment before closing them.
There’s not a cloud in the sky today; the sun is out in full force.
I let it heat my bare skin for just a few moments before sitting up and reaching into my bag for my sunscreen.
Rubbing it in, I catch Knox’s gaze and hold it, smiling at him.
He doesn’t look away. Opting to scan my body instead.
It’s thorough, his examination of me. He starts at my face, and I can pinpoint the moment he gets to my pink toenails.
The right side of his mouth ticks upward into a smirk. It’s not the sun now that warms me.
“You missed a spot.” His deep voice draws me in.
“Yeah? Where?” I ask, hoping to sound flirty.
“Here!” Hazel tells me, running to stand by my side and tapping the center of my back.
“Do you think you could help me?” I ask, grinning at her over my shoulder.
“Yes!”
“Okay, hold your hand out for me.” She does, and I squirt a little lotion in her hand. “Can you rub that on my back?”
She does for a few seconds. “Done,” she announces.
“Thank you, Hazey.”
“You’re welcome,” she says sweetly. I smile at her, and she grins back before reaching out to touch my nose, specifically my nose ring. “What’s this?”
“That’s my nose ring,” I tell her.
“I like it.”
“Thank you. I like it too.”
“Dragonfly!” she exclaims, and for a second, I forget that I have the tattoo. A delicate little thing, between my collarbone and shoulder. It’s a reminder. “Like Daddy’s.” Daddy’s?
I look over at Knox and find his eyes locked onto the strap of my bikini, or more the tattoo that sits beneath it.
“Alright, Hazel. Let’s let Indie get back to her day,” Knox tells the curious little girl in front of me.
“Okay, Daddy.” She leans forward, catching me off guard in a hug.
Wrapping my arms around her, I lift her slightly and tickle her sides as she runs off toward her dad.
I eye him openly. Turnabout is fair play after all, right?
His torso really is a work of art. All rippling muscles, and I don’t know what it is about his chest hair, but something about it has me wanting to tangle my fingers in it.
Yes, he’s a beautiful man. One who’s unforgettable and possibly a little forgetful when it comes to me.
Had I been forgettable to him? I drop my gaze when doubt starts to creep in, understanding that he had much bigger things to focus on than me.
It mixes in, causing my emotions to muddle.
Hours later, when I’ve shared all my snacks with Hazel and paddled around the lake with Sally, I excuse myself and start walking home. I don’t make it all the way when I hear him yell at me.
“Indie!”
I turn to face him, exhausted from being in the sun all day, even though I mostly just laid in it.
“Yes?” I ask, looking at him standing on the road holding a dozing Hazel.
“Do you want to come to our place for dinner?” His question is unexpected, but Han has always said the best things are.
I think I’m starting to believe her. My hopes could be getting a little too high for comfort.
I shouldn’t want to penetrate this man’s walls so badly, but I do.
I want to know him. Better than anyone. And maybe more than anything. I want him to really know me.
“Yes.”