“Don’t look at me, this is Dr. Dahlia territory,” he says.
“They pick the best one,” Elle continues, babbling the same story she’s told us before as she scans the ground again. “Because it means they love them the most.”
“Well,” I say, looking at the pebble in her hand, “that one looks like a very strong contender.”
She beams with satisfaction, then runs off to find another. I sit back on my heels, brushing my hands against my jeans. Evan drops down onto the blanket and stretches his legs out in front of him. I follow a second later, close enough that our knees brush. Neither of us moves away.
Elle bounces between us and the shoreline, talking nonstop about pebbles and penguins and something she learned at school that only half makes sense.
It’s easy to fall into it, being part of this with them.
He passes me a drink from the cooler, and our fingers brush. His linger for half a second longer than necessary, thumb dragging lightly over the inside of my wrist before I take it.
It’s small, but it isn’t.
“Eat,” he says, nudging a container toward me.
“Yes, sir,” I mutter, and his eyes shoot to mine, holding them.
His hand settles at the small of my back as he shifts, casual enough that it could mean nothing, but knowing it’s intentional. I’m very aware of it. Of him. Of the way this all feels too good to be true.
Elle eventually wanders further down the shoreline with Gus at her heels, both of them determined to investigate something near the reeds. Evan watches them for a second before leaning back on his palms beside me.
“She used to hate coming here,” he says after a moment.
I glance at him. “Really?”
“Mm.” His gaze stays on the water. “When she was really little, she thought it was boring.” The corner of his mouth twitches faintly. “Couldn’t sit still for more than thirty seconds.”
“I’m shocked.”
A quiet laugh rumbles out of him.
“But after Stacey left…” His voice shifts slightly, roughening around the edges. “Everything felt shit for a while, and she’d get overwhelmed pretty easily.”
Something in my chest tightens softly at the thought of a tinier version of Elle so upset and unsettled.
“So I started bringing her here after dinner sometimes, and on weekends. Before she started school, we had more time together.” He shrugs. “I thought maybe the quiet of the lake would help.”
“And did it?”
His eyes drift out over the lake again.
“Yeah.” A pause. “Eventually.”
The breeze shifts across the water, rippling it slightly, cooling against my skin.
“What would you do when you came here?” I ask.
He stretches his legs out further, shoulder brushing mine lightly. “Nothing, mostly. Just sit here.” He nods toward the shoreline. “Sometimes we’d close our eyes and just listen for a minute.”
“To what?”
“The water lapping and the trees swaying.” His voice lowers slightly. “Gus snoring.” Another faint smile. “Whatever was quieter than our own heads.”
The words settle over me, and he glances sideways at me.
“C’mere.”
