Chapter 7 #2
I shudder. “Cool off.”
He reaches out and nudges my hip. “Come on, it wasn’t so bad, was it?”
“No, but once is enough. I can’t imagine choosing to do this every single year.”
He tilts his head. “How did you spend your summers?”
I pause at the question. My summers were nothing like his.
There was no giant family waiting to welcome me back with open arms. I never went on fancy trips or had a change of scene.
Our foster parents didn’t have the money, and if they did, I doubt they’d have spent it on us.
My summers were spent walking around town for an excuse to get away from the house.
There was one time when our eighth foster mother took us all to the beach for the day.
Of all our parents, she was my favorite.
Kind, but she also didn’t push me. Most of my foster parents were either so authoritarian that I felt like I had to rebel, or they desperately tried to connect with me and ended up mad when their techniques didn’t work, like I must be broken.
Soledad gave me space, let me come to her like the wild animal I was.
One day, she loaded all five of her foster kids in her Suburban and took us out to New Smyrna Beach for the day.
It wasn’t fancy—we didn’t have any boogie boards or toys to make sandcastles—but we spent the day splashing in the waves, and before we left, she bought us all one-dollar soft serve ice cream from the stand down the beach. It was one of my happiest memories.
But Soledad wasn’t looking to adopt, and by the end of summer, Addy and I had been moved to another home.
I haven’t thought about her, or that magical day, in years. I never talk about my past, but with Owen’s earnest eyes on me, I want to share it. To tell him about the bad days so he can understand how special those good days were.
“My summers were—”
I’m cut off when Harrison, soaking wet and beaming, jumps on Owen, shaking his hair like a dog and sprinkling us both with water. “How’re we doing on time?”
“We need to head out in ten if we’re going to make it back.”
“Perfect,” Harrison says, grabbing Addy’s hand and tugging her away. “Time for one more.”
“Only one more, Harrison,” Owen calls at his back. His tone is stern, but the half smile on his face is indulgent.
“You’ve got that dad voice down,” I say.
His smile drops a bit, and I wonder what I said wrong. “Yeah, but you were telling me about your summers.”
I was, but the moment’s passed. Laying out all my trauma while surrounded by joy and happy families feels like too much.
“Oh, you know. Typical Florida kid. Summers at New Smyrna Beach. Not as exciting as all this.”
Owen’s lips tip up. “Oh, I don’t know. Shark bite capital of the world sounds pretty exciting to me.”
“Excellent point. You should never underestimate the excitement of having to fight for your life.”
He eyes my arms, pursing his lips. “I don’t know if you could take on a shark.”
I jab him in the chest, ignoring the fact that it is as hard as I imagined. “Hey! I’m scrappy.”
He chuckles, looking out over the waterfall. “Now, that I do believe.”
I’m not sure if he means it as a compliment, but I take it as one, preening under the praise. “Thank you.”
A few minutes later, Harrison and Addy finish up their final run so we can head back to the car. Addy slips her arm through mine, pulling us a few feet behind the boys.
“You doing okay?” she asks in a hushed voice. “You know, with all the Owen stuff? It’s been a lot of time with him today.”
A true smile splits my face, because I’m doing better than okay. This morning was fun. Unexpected. “Yeah, I’m fine. I told you not to worry about it. We’re good.”
She smiles, but it’s strained around the edges, more like the one she gives the rest of the world. “Good. Great. So happy to hear that.”
We make it another ten steps in silence before she speaks again.
“I need to ask you something. For something, really. A favor.” She sucks in a fortifying breath. “Please don’t get involved with Owen again.”
I’m stunned into silence. When she said a favor, my mind went to the wedding. Steaming her dress or helping with the seating chart. Not this.
Before I can speak, she jumps in. “I didn’t get it before, but I see it now. The chemistry between you. But things are different than they were three years ago. My life is so wrapped up with his. Not only am I marrying his brother, but he’s my boss.”
I laugh to disguise the discomfort I feel at her request. “He’s not really your boss. It would have been better if he was. You talk so much about work and your team, I’d have been able to put two and two together before we got blindsided at the welcome party.”
“He’s the president of the company, Tia.
He’s everyone’s boss. It doesn’t matter that I don’t report to him.
He could have me fired with a single word.
” It’s on the tip of my tongue to point out that Owen would never fire an employee out of spite, but I know where the fear comes from.
The insecurity of our childhood makes it hard to trust a good thing.
“All my happiness is connected to this one family, and that’s terrifying.
You know, the whole eggs-and-basket thing. ”
“And me and Owen would tip over your basket?” I don’t know why I’m arguing when I have no intention of dating Owen, but something about it feels like sandpaper to skin.
“Well, you tried once, and it didn’t work, right? I know how easy it is to fall back into old feelings when you’re forced close together.”
She’s thinking about her toxic college boyfriend, the one who broke up with her before each break, only to pull her back in when it was easy for him.
I’d get the same call every semester. It’s different now and We’ll work this time, until her senior year when she started recognizing she’s worth more than a man who treats her like a convenience.
She told me she’d never have gotten back together with him the first time if they hadn’t been forced to spend time together for class.
I hate that she’s equating Owen to that human equivalent of a trash can.
She worries her lip with her teeth. “If you guys wanted to get back together, wouldn’t you have called each other before this? When we get back home, all those issues that broke you up will still be there, but now I’ll be in the middle.”
I want to push back, but she’s right. We may not have had the first time she thinks we did, but I’ve ruined every real relationship.
She’s seen my pattern of behavior. I get excited about a new guy.
We go out for a little. I struggle to open myself up and trust them.
We blow up in spectacular fashion. I’m not surprised she doesn’t want me anywhere near her future brother-in-law.
I force out a smile. “Owen and I are on the same page. You have nothing to worry about.”
I mean the words as I say them, but when Owen smiles at me over his shoulder, I think I may have just lied to my baby sister for a second time.