Page 37 of The Summer Plans

Who is this kid? I blink at her in part disbelief and part pride.

She crosses her arms. “I know you think I don’t pay attention because I’m on my phone all the time, but I do. I can multitask. Plus, I miss babysitting our neighbor’s kids back in New York.”

“Thank you.” I pull her into a hug. “I’m going to set up a fishing trip today. Wanna join?”

“I do!” Logan calls from across the room.

“Me too!” Lucas adds.

A smile lights up my face as I raise an eyebrow at Sophie.

“I’ll pass. Lana and I are painting our nails today. I need a fresh coat, and this island has no salons so we’re doing it ourselves. Right, Lana?” Sophie looks over her shoulder.

Lana walks into the kitchen, setting her bowl in the sink. “Yeah. What colors did you bring? I’ll show you mine!” she squeals as she runs upstairs.

I point a finger at her. “She’s only ten. No penis talk.”

Sophie waves at me over her shoulder as she follows. “I know. Go have fun.”

——————

I was able to book a two-hour shore fishing excursion with Captain Tony for the boys. True deep-sea fishing is an all-day activity, and I didn’t think Summer would be okay with Logan being out that long, especially after the incident on the boat yesterday. I have her Logan bag, and I assured her that everything and everyone would stay on the boat. The boys keep calling it deep-sea fishing since the water’s deep, and I don’t have the heart to correct them.

Once we get to our fishing spot, Tony drops the anchor and cuts the engine.

“Did you know that crabs have tastebuds on their feet?” Lucas says, reading over Logan’s shoulder.

“No, you’re saying it wrong,” Logan corrects him. “They have tiny little hairs on their feet called chemoreceptors,” he sounds out the last word slowly as he reads. “And those hairs help them find food and navigate their surroundings by tasting the ground as they walk.”

Lucas crosses his arms. “That’s what I said.”

“Did you know that stargazers are poisonous?” Logan asks, peering up from his book and changing the subject.

“What’s a stargazer?” Lucas asks.

“It’s a fish. And they camouflage themselves in the sand so they can eat. And if a predator approaches, they have these barbs that can sting you and have poison in them.”

“Cool! Can we catch one?”

Logan looks back down at his book as if he’s double-checking himself before speaking. “Actually, they live closer to the shore. And they can hurt really bad, so I dunno if we wanna see one.”

“Do you have to pee on it like a jellyfish sting?” Lucas asks.

“You aren’t supposed to do that. I’m not sure how that got started. You’re supposed to rinse the area with vinegar, then soak it with hot water,” I say.

“He’s right.” Captain Tony tilts his head toward me.

“According to my book, that’s what you do with stargazers too, except you don’t need vinegar.” Logan squints, covering his eyes to shield from the sun as he looks up at us.

“What about stingrays?” Lucas kneels on the bench to peer over the side of the railing. I slide closer to him and tug on his shirt, nodding for him to turn and sit, smiling when he listens.

“Oh, that’s a bit trickier. You should definitely see a doctor for that one. We get a lot around the island, but I’ve never heard of anyone getting stung by one,” Captain Tony says.

Lucas frowns in disappointment. “What about manatees? Will we see any of those?”

Captain Tony opens his mouth to speak before Logan cuts him off. “Manatees live in warmer waters near the shore, and the best time to see them is in the winter. And you’re not allowed to touch them. Like at all. It’s illegal.”

“Kid’s right. We don’t get any around Broccoli Bay. They’re mostly over near the springs in some state parks,” Tony adds.