Chapter 19
Chapter nineteen
Cody – No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems
We had a campsite right on Hurricane Bay, and wow, what a name.
I hadn’t even known it existed but was glad someone on the planning committee did, because it was gorgeous.
There were canal-side spots for a bunch of our RVs, including Drew’s, but the tent campsites were on the inside and not on the water.
It was the other way around the last time we stopped.
There were still a couple of places to put our boards in, and Daddy Warner was talking with Daddies Crow and Vince to figure out our paddle route.
We had options, including slipping out of the bay and through the pass so we could stop at Bunche Beach for lunch, then back again.
There were palm trees everywhere, and the sun was hot.
Getting in the water would be fantastic, no matter where we went, but I liked the idea of hanging out on a sandy beach for a while before coming back.
The problem was that Vince had never paddled that far before, but he was fit, so neither Joey nor I worried about it.
They finally decided to go for it, and we took our boards, packed lunch, and other supplies to the sandy beach area, marked off with little white picket fences, for staging kayaks, canoes, and boards.
Joey clapped his hands as Daddy Vince packed their stuff on the board. “Think we’re gonna see aminmals today?”
“Course. This is Florida. Haven’t you lived here like your whole life?” I asked.
“Yep. But we never got to go out on the water like this. Mamma ran a farm. Well, sort of.”
“That sucks. I was always out on the water growing up. But a farm sounds pretty fun.”
“Nope. It was just gardening and crazy chickens that attacked you. But I did like my dog.”
“See.” I pointed at him. “I never had a dog.” My parents always claimed there were too many mouths to feed already to take on pets.
It was one thing all of us kids were disappointed in, but it's funny how that works. None of us as adults had pets, either. Maybe because we didn’t know what to do with them.
Warner put his arm around my shoulders. “Do you want a dog?” He squeezed me a little, in a comforting way.
“I don’t know. I don’t know how to take care of a dog.
” Well, that was my issue in a nutshell.
How could I take care of kids when I could barely take care of myself and knew nothing about caretaking?
Grr… But I had promised everyone not to think about that.
So I mentally shoved it off. “I don’t need a dog. ”
“Mmm…think about it. We don’t have to decide today.”
I was most definitely not going to think about it. “Let’s go already!”
“Impatient as always.” He scrubbed his hand over my hair but moved to put our board in the water. “Come on then.”
Joey and Vince paddled together on one side, and Crow and Skyler were on the other. But as we moved along, we drifted farther apart. It made it harder to talk with my friends, but I didn’t mind because the water felt good on my feet and where I trailed my fingers.
It was also a rare moment alone with Daddy.
Most of this trip had been spent doing things with all my friends, not hanging out with Daddy.
I stretched out, lying across the board and put my arm up to shade my eyes to look up at my daddy.
He was so handsome with strong legs, covered in hair a few shades darker than his head.
How could I not love those sexy, plump lips and his dark, bedroom eyes?
They were hazel, but in this bright daylight, they looked golden brown.
I hadn’t thought much about making decisions, but they still ruminated in the back of my head. Even though I was going to move in with him in the near future, I still felt like I was on a deadline. It made my chest tighten.
Warner’s parents lived in South Florida, near Crow’s family.
Or something like that. His dad worked for a cruise line, but not actually on the ships.
He was a corporate guy, and his mother was a nurse.
He talked to them on the phone but didn’t actually see them too much.
Would we be the same with our kids when they grew up?
“Cody. Stop thinking so hard.”
“How do you know I’m thinking hard?”
“I see it in your face.” Daddy splashed me, using the paddle.
The water felt cool and refreshing. “I want to swim.”
“Wait until we get to the beach. I’m not familiar enough with—oh! Sit up, look.” He jutted his head up toward something in front of us, so I slowly sat up and looked.
A big potato hump rolled out of the water. “A manatee.”
Just then, I heard Joey squeal and the manatee went under the water. “Cody! Cody! A mantatees!”
“Hush, Joey, before you scare them all away.” Skyler grouched from the other side of us, making Joey slap a hand over his mouth.
Had he already scared them away? Nope. Two more popped up ahead. That made the rest of the trip so much fun. They swam near us all the way through the pass, only disappearing completely once we got closer to the beach where we were going to stop.
When we hit the sand, Joey jumped up and down all over the place, more excited than I’d ever seen him. “Ohmygawd, Cody. One of them was so close, I could almost touch him. I didn’t though, cause Daddy said it was illegals.” Then he ran in circles, kicking up sand.
Vince looked up and shook his head. “Settle down, Joey.”
I didn’t think he was going to listen at all, but eventually, he wore himself out, plopping down on the ground.
The daddies worked together to spread out blankets and get our food out, and we ate together, talking about the trip so far. I’d had a great time, mostly, but it was nearly over.
After lunch, when everything was packed away, Daddy took my hand. “Walk with me.”
“Yes, please.” We walked along the shoreline until we were well away from all the other people.
“Cody, before we saw the manatees, what were you thinking about so hard, anyway?”
“You won’t wait forever,” I huffed, expecting him to know exactly what I meant.
“No, but maybe we can talk along the way and check in. If we get too far apart…that’s when we decide. Are we already too far? Is there already too much of a gap?” Yep, he knew what I meant.
“Honestly, no. But maybe I’m putting things between us.”
“Like what?”
“Like kids. I’m afraid of screwing things up. And I don’t know…I guess it’s just that I don’t want to make a commitment like that, not knowing if our future dreams match up. And I’m not sure they do now. You’re talking about things I’ve never wanted.”
“If you don’t want kids, that’s fine. Or maybe we foster a kid.
Later. Like I said before, but I’m not attached to any idea here.
I just want to be with you, whatever that looks like.
Hell, we could get a dog instead.” Warner shook my hand in an obvious attempt to lighten things up a little, but these were heavy topics.
“I don’t know what my future looks like. Hell, I sell insurance, and it’s pretty boring. I don’t want to do that forever, even if it is good money.”
“It really is up to you, Cody. I want you, however you come. I’ll support you no matter what you want to do. I just want to be with you, working all of this out together. It’s not going to become an either-or situation where we feel we have to break up. I don’t think so, anyway.”
“Really? You sounded like you want a family. Three kids and a dog running around.”
“You’re my family. What we decide together is what it is. Sure, kids would be great. Hell, I’d love to have a little boy who looks just like you running around, but I’m not married to the idea. In fact, I never thought I’d ever have that until you.”
We walked along quietly for a little bit, swinging our joined hands between us. We passed some trees that were full of white egrets, and out in the water, a pelican splashed down. We lived in paradise for sure.
Warner stopped us and turned me to face him. “You know what, Cody?”
“Huh, what?”
“If you don’t want kids, someone else in our group will have them, I’m sure. Then we can be the cool-ass uncles.”
“You said a bad word…” I giggled and Warner pulled me to him, kissing the top of my head. “I like the idea of being cool-ass for anything.”
“I’m sure you do. Come on. Let’s get back to the water before it gets too late.”