“Anything you say, baby,” he whispered.
I smiled and lay back down beside him. He would never want me after he knew just how damaged I was. If all I had was a few more days with him, then I was going to make them count. Amy would always be in my life, but Aaron would run in the other direction when he found out who I really was.
Aaron
I rolled over just in time to see Julia getting out of the bathroom. She didn’t have a towel wrapped around her as she dried her hair. The instant she saw me awake, her face lit up. I couldn’t suppress a smile from spreading across my own face. Immediately, the memories from the night before came flooding back and my desire for her renewed.
A light rapping came from the front door, ending the thought before I could really even get started. Julia smiled and pulled on a robe as I dashed to the bathroom and closed the door, still naked from the night before. I heard Amy’s chipper young voice just as I tugged on my jeans and shirt. She barely looked away from her mother when I came back out into the room.
“Amy was just telling me about another adventure she wanted to go on today. I told her we could talk to you and see what you thought.”
“All right, well, why don’t you tell me about that, and we can let your mom have a few minutes to get dressed?”
“Why were you naked, Mom?” she asked, looking past me to Julia.
Julia smiled. “I just got out of the shower, silly.”
She was so quick to answer that I was a little shocked.
“Okay,” Amy said carelessly. “Well, hurry up. Dad is going to love this!”
Amy dashed back out of the room before I could say anything else to her. I looked back at Julia and grinned. She took a step away from me before grinning. I knew that she was thinking about the night before just as much as I was.
“Damn, I was hoping for a replay,” I whispered to her.
She bit her lip and grinned. “Maybe later. We’ve got a very excited little girl down there.”
“Can I get that in writing?” I asked with a grin.
Julia rolled her eyes and playfully shoved me out of the bathroom. I laughed and grabbed my wallet before jogging down the steps that led to the beach to see what Amy had planned. She was bouncing on her barstool as my mother poured her some juice. A local man smiled when he saw me.
“You’ll have your hands full with that one, mate,” he said with a wink.
“Don’t I know it. She is just like her mother,” I said playfully. It felt good to make the comparison without anger or guilt over Julia’s absence.
“All right, kiddo, so what do we have planned for today?”
She leaned in very carefully, checking around to see if anyone was listening. I obliged and leaned in to hear what she was planning.
“We’re going to find out the secret,” she said.
My mouth felt dry. “What secret?”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t be silly, Dad. I know that something is going on, and today, I’m going to find out what.”
I looked around nervously. “And your mom said this was okay?”
“Of course she did. She even said we could get some disguises.”
I cocked my head. I was lost. “So, who are we following then?”
“Grandma,” she huffed out, exasperated that I hadn’t yet grasped the entire plan. “I want to find out if she is meeting a spy today. She said it was a secret!”
“Ah,” I said with a genuine sigh of relief. “Well, then, we have to do what we must. I can’t believe she might be a spy! Right here in our own back yard. Who would have thought?”
Amy gave me a sideways glance. “Dad?” she huffed. “Really? This isn’t our backyard. This is a boat. Get your head in the game, man.”
I couldn’t hold it in any longer as I burst out in laughter. My eyes started to tear over from laughing so hard. When I could finally breathe again, I patted my little tomboy on the head as she swatted away my hand.
“We’ve got to stop letting you watch CSI, kiddo,” I managed to say.
Julia appeared from the house and waved to us as she started to walk across the beach. I couldn’t help but grin.
“Do you think Mom is going to leave us again?” asked Amy in a much more somber tone.
I looked back at her and saw the little girl who needed my protection. “I don’t know yet, honey. Why don’t we just enjoy this week? You know she talks about you all the time when you aren’t around? Super annoying,” I joked.
Amy grinned up at me. “I like her, and I know you do too. Maybe we can talk to her and see if she’ll stay this time.”
“Let’s just give her a little time. I promise we’ll figure it all out. You shouldn’t be worried about stuff like that. Especially when we have a mission to complete, or are you so easily scared away?”
Amy shook her head vigorously. “I’m gonna go grab my spy kit! Then we can get started! Hi, Mom,” she called as she dashed back toward the cabins.
Julia laughed as the whirlwind little girl blew by her. “Whoa! She sure was in a hurry.”
She sat down at the bar. “Did you find out about our mission?”
I nodded. “I did find out about it, and I have to say, I think it’s a great idea.”
“Really?” she said in surprise. “I thought you’d be telling us to give an old lady her peace.”
“That was before her work really started to sell. Now she’s something of a celebrity. It’s made her a bit of a target for conmen looking to take advantage of her. A few years ago, I practically had to run a guy off with a pitchfork.”
Her eyes grew wide. “Wow! That’s terrible! Well, I’m sure your mother is still flattered though. She is a unique character. So, what do we know about this guy?”
“Not much, just that she keeps referring to him as her ‘hot young thing’.” I frowned. “Even around Amy. That’s a fun one to explain. So, I planned on snooping around today anyway. Now it’s a fun family outing.”
She laughed, her face lighting up in the moment of abandonment. “What a strange little family we’re. At least it’s making Amy happy, right?”
“Yeah,” I said, my tone slightly more somber. “She was asking questions about you.”
Julia shifted uneasily. “Oh?”
“Yeah, she wanted to know if you were leaving again after vacation. That wasn’t something we really talked about.”
“Wow, that’s a loaded question first thing in the morning,” she said. “How did you reply?”
“I told her to enjoy her time here, then I distracted her with spy stuff. It won’t last. She’s a smart girl and she’ll keep pressing for answers. It’s not that I don’t love having you here, but Julia, you’re going to need to make a decision, a plan for what happens when this boat docks in a few days.”
“I know,” she whispered as she looked at her hands. “I just don’t know what to do right now.”
“It’s simple. Come back with us,” I said softly. Amy came running back down to where we were.
“Are we ready?” she asked.
Julia nodded and followed after her, holding out her hand for me to take. It didn’t take us long to track down my mother on the small island. She was sitting alone at the bar, talking to the young man behind the counter. When she leaned in to whisper something to him, I quickly turned away and covered Amy’s eyes with my hand.
“You know what? I’m starting to think this wasn’t a very good idea,” I quickly said. “Julia?”
“Right,” she said, catching on at once. “Amy, I think your dad has it under control here, and I heard that there is a special afternoon buffet back on the ship. They said something about all-you-can-eat pizzas.”
She looked quizzically at her mother. “Pizzas? As in more than one?”
Julia nodded. “More toppings than you’ve ever seen, custom-made just for you.”
Amy abruptly turned around and looked me over. “Dad, I’m afraid you’re going to have to carry on this mission alone. Mom and I have to do somet
hing else that’s important.”
“Pizza?”
She leaned in closer to me, using the now familiar spy voice. “Pizzas, Dad—more than one.”
“All right, you two, go live the good life and I’ll be the working man,” I said playfully. I gave Amy a quick hug and kissed Julia on the cheek before watching them go.
A few minutes later, I was walking up to the bar and taking the seat next to my mother. Her attitude dropped in a matter of seconds when she saw me. The familiar eye roll that Amy had inherited showed up as I sat down. She was less than thrilled to see me, which told me one thing already—she knew I wouldn’t approve of her new boyfriend.
“Are you having a good time, Mother?” I asked, barely hiding a grin.
“You know,” she hissed, “You’re starting to act like one of those sons who’s only after their mother’s money.”
“Mom,” I groaned. “You know it’s not like that, but remember what happened last time? I just want to make sure that you aren’t getting taken advantage of.”
“Well I’m not, honey. I’m just having a little bit of vacation fun.”
I sighed and leaned over. “With the bartender? Really? I mean come on, Mom. These guys get paid to spice things up.”
“Aaron!” she hissed. “Don’t be ridiculous! My date was running late. His sister slipped in the pool this morning.”
“Oh,” I said, drawing back a little.
“For heaven’s sake! He should be here any minute, and I would appreciate it if my loving, yet overprotective son wasn’t here playing detective. I am an adult, you know.”
“Mom,” I said quickly, trying to make amends.
She turned up her nose but let a smile slip past the stern exterior. I knew she wasn’t really mad. Raising my hands in defeat, I stood up and kissed her cheek. “I don’t want to stick around and ruin things. So, when do we get to meet this mystery man?”
“Tonight, actually. I invited him to have dinner with us,” she said defiantly. “That is, unless you scare him away before that.”
“All right, I get the point. I guess I’ll go find the girls.”
“Well now, just hold on. Why don’t you spend a little time on your own? You never really get that, and I think it’s great for Amy and Julia to get some time together. You’re always acting like you’re chaperoning them.” She gave me a suspicious gaze. “It’s almost like you’re scared she’s going to run off with Amy or something. Is everything okay between you two?”
“Everything is fine, Mom,” I said quickly. “We just don’t get a lot of time together as a family. I want to get in as much as possible.”
“I understand,” she said as she patted my hand. “But they need time to heal and grow together too. Let yourself take a little break, honey. It’s my vacation, after all, so I demand it.”
“Man,” I muttered playfully. “You’re getting pushy in your old age.”
“So, send me to a home already,” she shot back.
I laughed and disappeared, leaving her to the mystery date she was so excited about. It was strange to have free time. In five years, there wasn’t a second that I wasn’t with Amy or worried about her. My mother had gotten it completely wrong. I wasn’t worried that Julia would take Amy. I just didn’t know how to live a life with a co-parent anymore. What was I giving up?
Julia
“What about sardines?”
Amy crunched up her face and shook her head vigorously. “No way, those are disgusting!”
I laughed. “You know your dad absolutely loves them. He even eats them out of a can.”
“I know, and they stink up the entire house. He has to take out the trash or I can still smell them everywhere.”
“Boys. They never grow out of being gross. Remember that,” I said playfully.
The waiter brought over two small pizzas, slightly bigger than the size of a Lunchables one but freshly baked with different toppings. It was our third serving, and the combinations were endless. I would run out of stomach space before noon. It was amazing to spend time with Amy. She was so much like her father it continued to stun me. The same cheerful personality and easygoing nature were inside her. It felt good to know that she’d landed his outgoing nature and not my own reclusiveness.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure, honey, anything you want,” I said absentmindedly. It felt so natural to be talking with her.
“What kind of stuff did you really do while you were gone? I know that you weren’t doing the doctor thing like Dad says.”
“What makes you think that?”
She shrugged. “You’re too interesting for that. I think you’re a spy.”
“Oh? So a spy would be more interesting?”
“At least that story makes you the hero, right? I mean, you would never work for the bad guy.”
I smiled at her, the words carrying more weight than she knew. “Do you want to hear a story? You might be too old.”
“Is it about your job?”
I nodded. “In a way. What do you think?”
“Sure,” she said with a shrug.
“Years ago, there was a young queen who loved her king and their princess very much.”
Amy stopped at the prospect of a child and turned her full attention back to me. I continued with a smile. “The princess only ever wanted to be with her family. Her daughter was one of the people she loved most in the world. But the queen had a dark secret. There was an evil witch in her past, one that she tried very hard to keep hidden away from her little princess and the king.”
“Yuck. What did the bad witch want with them?” Amy asked, engaged.
“She wanted to lock them away so they could never see each other anymore. It wasn’t the first time that the evil witch had gotten ahold of someone. She’d done the same thing to the queen’s father years before.”
“Why didn’t the king stop the evil witch? Isn’t that what they’re supposed to do?”
I laughed a little. “Well, the queen never told the king just how evil the witch really was. She wanted to keep him and their daughter safe. But the evil witch had her ways, and before long, the queen was running to see her.”
“Didn’t she know that it was a trap though?” asked Amy.
The smiled faded away as I thought about seeing my mother for the first time after being gone for so long. I couldn’t suppress the shudder that rocked my shoulders. She was nothing but darkness. Her fake smile and lies now seemed so obvious. Like a good daughter, though, I’d let myself be blind to her evilness.
“She had no idea it was a trap. The evil witch made herself appear helpless, like she needed the kindhearted queen’s help. By the time the queen realized it was a trap, she was already locked away from everyone else.”
Amy was enchanted. “What happened to her? The story can’t end there. It has to have a happy ending. Did she get away from the evil witch?”
I nodded. “She did! She called on the magical powers she kept hidden within and was able to defeat the witch.”
“Wow,” Amy whispered. “She had powers too? How come she didn’t use them at the very beginning?”
“Because she didn’t know that she had the power. It came from the love she had for her daughter. And even though it took the queen a long time to realize it, when she did, she defeated the evil witch and found her daughter and the king again.”
“And they lived happily ever after?” asked Amy, her voice barely a whisper. “Together like a family again.”
I swallowed back the lump in my throat. It was stunning to see just how smart Amy really was. She knew the story wasn’t all fiction, but she didn’t ask me about it. Instead, she wanted to know the same thing as her father—what happens at the end of the story? I plastered a smile on my face and took her hands in mine as I nodded my head.
“Of course they lived happily ever after, honey,” I whispered. “She never left her daughter again.”
“Good, I like that ending,” she whispered as a
nother round of pizzas was delivered.
“I have an idea. Let’s go see if we can find your dad and maybe talk him into camping out on the beach later. What do you think of that?”
“Really?” she asked in wonderment. “I didn’t even know that we could do that.”
“Neither did I until last night, but apparently, you can rent tents and camp out all night. We can roast marshmallows too.”
“I would love that,” she whispered.
I felt like there was more that she wanted to ask me and talk about, but I saw Aaron walk into the café and smiled at him. I could wait until later to tell him what Amy knew. For the moment, the only thing I felt like doing was enjoying our time together as a family.
“I can’t believe she fell asleep after all the marshmallows she ate,” I said. “I thought she was going to go into a sugar coma.”
Aaron collapsed on the air mattress next to me, the curtain separating Amy’s room from our own tightly drawn for the night. The sand felt cool on my bare feet as I tugged off the shift I was wearing and climbed under the cool sheet. There was a peace to sleeping on the beach that I hadn’t expected.
“She’s always tolerated sugar really well. I have to watch giving it to her, though. It’s terrible for the teeth.”
I grinned at him as he climbed onto the mattress. “You know so much about her. How is she doing in school? Is she social like you?”
He nodded. “She tries to make friends, and I know she has a few on the softball team but it’s hard for her. Kids can be mean sometimes, and they don’t understand why she doesn’t live with you. Most of the single parents in the area are all moms.”
“So they know we’re divorced then?” I asked, surprised at how guilty I felt.
“No,” he replied quickly. “Not really. I kept the divorce quiet. You didn’t want anything to do with us, so I didn’t want to drag that into the public light. I just told the school the same thing that I told Amy, that you were gone but came back for brief periods of time.”
“I’m so sorry I left you alone to deal with all of this. I knew that I was missing out on so much by not being with the two of you, but I never could have imagined what an amazing little girl we created. You’ve done a great job.”
Second Chance Draft: A Second Chance Sports Romance (Pass To Win Book 6) Page 32