Fletch
J en Lawrence—daughter of our fuckin’ mayor —doesn’t seem to mind attention.
She’s long, lean, ridiculously tall for a chick, and despite the itty-bitty bikini she tugged from her suitcase on the bus, the teeny-tiny kind that covers only her most private places, she runs off a long dock and cannonballs heavily into the lake, landing a mere foot from Corey’s face and splashing him remorselessly.
And because he doesn’t seem all that upset about it, he grabs her under the water and crushes her close, dragging her above the surface and laughing at her sputtering exhale.
“Get in the water, Mayet.” Archer wades just a half dozen feet from the dock, treading water and shaking his head. Because Minka refuses to take off her towel and reveal the body we all know she’s got under it.
Fuck, it doesn’t take a blind man to see who she is beneath her fancy blouses and sleek black pants.
Everyone else swims. Soph. Jess. Ellie. And what a fuckin’ co-inky-dink—they brought enough swimsuits for Minka, Aubree, and Christabelle, too.
“Take your towel off and get in.”
“Archer!” Minka grits her teeth, clutching her towel and glancing left as Aubree jumps in beside Tim. “I’m not walking around half naked in front of these people!”
“So get in the fucking water,” he laughs. “No one will see you once you’re in.”
“Do you need us to turn around?” Cato teases. “I mean, I won’t. I’m absolutely gonna look. But you can say you want us to turn around if that helps. Most of the rest of ‘em are married, so they’ll avoid peeking at your pasty ass anyway.”
“Get in, Mayet!” Sophia throws a handful of water toward the dock. Kind of useless, I guess. But it splashes Minka’s toes. “You could probably even use this opportunity to try to drown me.”
“Sugar Plum!” Jay yanks the ballerina behind his back. “I know you think you’re kidding, but I’m not ready to lose you today.”
She scoffs. “She’s without claws, babe.”
Minka’s eyes narrow.
“She likes to act bad. Big words. Big threats. But she ain’t shit without her scalpel and building full of scared little techs who fall over themselves to please her.”
“You’re supposed to apologize,” Jess heckles. “Not taunt. Damn, Soph! You’re the worst at this.”
“I did apologize! I gave her two of my Snickers bars. Two!”
Jay nods. “That’s kind of a big deal.”
“But she’s holding on to her shit and acting like a baby. So whatever. I’m gonna enjoy a day of swimming at the lake with my friends, and her frigid ass can stay out there, all alone, even though I know she really, really wants to get in.”
“I don’t want to get in.” Minka folds her arms, lifting her chin and staring down at Archer. “I want to go back to the bus, pack our things, and catch our flight.”
“We’re still hours away from our flight, Minnnka.” Archer crooks his fingers. “Get in the water. You love swimming. I know you do.”
“I love swimming with you. In privacy.” Her lips peel back to reveal a feral sneer. “Not with liars and cheats.”
“Oh, boo fucking hoo,” Soph mocks. “Aubree’s in the fucking water, you big sissy! She’s forgiven me.”
“If she doesn’t wanna get in, she doesn’t have to get in.
” Spence climbs out of the water and onto the dock, his massive, seven-foot frame creating a shadow over Minka’s unhappy scowl.
Water pools at his feet, dripping straight through the wooden slats and back into the lake.
But he shakes his head. “Grow up, fools. She doesn’t wanna swim. ”
“Thank you.” Minka firms her lips. “I appreciate your?—”
“Oops.” He snags the towel with one hand and tosses her with the other, chuckling as she flails and falls, arms and legs twisting and a cry of rage cutting off with a gurgle when she hits the water and Archer dives for her.
“You’re gonna regret that,” Aubree hisses, clinging to Tim. “She’s gonna kill you, dude.”
Minka resurfaces, exploding with a gasp. “You asshole!” Hair covers half her face, but her fighting fists swinging through the air, her furious arms as she battles Archer’s grip, are his more immediate concern. “You weasel bastard!”
Ellie cackles. “Weasel? Babes, I’m not sure anyone has ever called him that.”
“But bastard?” Soph counters. “Yeah, his wife thinks that on the daily. He gets asshole a lot, too.”
“But not weasel,” Ellie concludes. “That’s new.”
“Call me whatever you want, Doc.” Spence steps to the edge of the dock and crouches. “But you’re in the water, and now I don’t have to listen to Soph whine anymore. Either swim and have fun, or kill her and become our next leader. I honestly don’t give a fuck which way it goes.”
“Hey!” Soph snarls. “Loyalty matters.”
“Victory matters. If she bests you, she becomes head-bitch. Winner takes all.” Straightening out, he turns to me and raises a brow. You’re next, motherfucker .
Realizing I’m still dry, I unsnap my jeans and shove the denim down to reveal my boxers. “I can do it on my own.”
“Good to see.” Finally, he looks at Cato. “Don’t make me put you in, boy.”
“Don’t make me tear your heart out through your fuckin’ throat,” Felix warns, wading in the water beside a happily floating Christabelle. For the first time since we’ve arrived, she actually looks comfortable.
He points to Cato, then back at the water. “Get in. Because if he touches you, I’m gonna have to do something about it.”
“So you’ll defend him ,” Minka growls. “But you don’t give a shit about me?”
“You’ve got a husband to fight for your honor, Doc. If he insists on a duel, then I’ll provide the pistols and draw a line in the dirt.”
She swings her eyes to Archer. But he laughs and shakes his head. “I’m not declaring a duel for this. You needed to get in the water, now you’re in.”
I drag my jeans off and toss them to the dock, then I draw my shirt up and use it to wipe the sweat from my face. Just as I sit and dip my toes into the water, my phone vibrates inside my jean pocket, buzzing against the rotting wood and drawing me around fast enough to make my spine crackle.
Frenzied, I toss fabric aside and search my pockets. Not the first one. Not the second. But the third. I snatch the device out and almost drop the damn thing in the water, then I catch Sera’s name on the screen and mash my thumb against the glass to accept the call.
“Sera? Hey.” I spin the device the right way up and try again. “Hello? Sera?”
“I have an emergency, Charlie.” She panic-whispers. Choppy exhales and shaky words. And fuck! Why does my brain automatically jump to the worst? They went into the grocery store, and now they’ve been caught up in a robbery ? They went to the bank, and now the place is on lockdown ?
Why must she whisper? Who is she hiding from?
“What’s wrong?” I bound to my feet and draw eyes, especially those belonging to people who live in Copeland. “Sera? What happened?”
“She asked if you and I are getting married!”
I stop on a dime; the blood draining out of my face and my heart giving a heavy one-two thud that bruises the inside of my chest. “What?”
“And she asked where babies come from!”
I turn back to my wary crowd, their playful demeanors on pause while they watch and wait for more information.
“What?”
“She asked where babies come from, Charlie! She looked into my friggin eyes and asked that question, and now I think I’m deceased. I’ve locked myself in your room and just… I’m just…” She exhales a desperate breath. “Holy shit.”
“She asked you where babies come from?” I choke out a laugh, releasing the rest of them so they can go back to screwing with each other, then I walk along the dock and onto the grassy spot beneath a massive tree.
Already, the sun is hot enough to sizzle my skin, so I turn and lower on the grass, resting my elbows on my knees while the shade protects me from a burn. “What did you say?”
“I said it was time to put Bluey on the television, because Fifi needs to have a minute of privacy!” She blows out a heaving, shaking breath. Then the sound of a heavy thud rolls through the line.
I think she’s banging her head on the door.
“I didn’t expect that question, Charlie. I’m new to all this, and I was not prepared for this, so I don’t… I’m not…” She gulps. “Jesus, I’m not equipped for that kind of?—”
“So, we’re gonna calm down first.” Goddammit, why do my cheeks hurt from smiling? My daughter is asking about babies! That alone should leave me in a panic, but Sera’s freakout puts butterflies in my belly. “Take a breath, babe. The world’s not ending.”
“Babies happen because of sex, Charlie! S. E. X. I can’t explain that to a five-year-old.”
“No. You can’t. And you didn’t. But you’re still okay.”
“I wasn’t as prepared for this as I thought I was!
” she groans. “I thought looking after her for a night or two meant… ya know. Feeding her! Putting her to bed and holding her hand till she fell asleep. I thought it meant braiding her hair and drawing rainbows and watching cartoons. I didn’t realize it meant answering those kinds of questions! ”
“Well… I don’t know if you know, but being her parent doesn’t magically grant me fountains of wisdom and readiness, either. I’m hardly ever prepared for the shit she throws at me. I just take each day and do my best.”
She sniffles. Thump . “Really?”
“Really. Granted, you got it especially rough, considering you’re on day one and already hit with the hard stuff. But I guess I just want you to know that I’m winging it all, too. There’s no manual that gives me all the answers. There’s no genie that helps me along.”
She whimpers. “But you look like you know what you’re doing.”
“I feel like I’m fucking it up every single day.
I couldn’t even tell her about Jada dying.
I needed Minka to help. I couldn’t explain heaven.
Minka did that, too. I couldn’t figure out how to help her say goodbye.
The funeral director led that discussion.
And I sure as shit can’t look after her completely on my own, which is exactly how you’ve ended up locking yourself in my bedroom while she watches cartoons. ”