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“Will there be animals there?” Scout asks.

“Some. We’ll have to keep an eye out,” Callie says.

“The zoo? Are we going to the zoo?”

“Not telling.” She makes a motion of zipping her lips shut.

“What about ice cream? Will there be ice cream?”

“Scout, don’t you want to be surprised?” I ask, watching him in the mirror on the visor.

“Nope. I want to guess. Ice cream, Callie?”

“There could be ice cream involved. But there might be other treats, so think hard, Scout. Is ice cream really your favorite?”

“Hmm…” He taps his finger against his lips and gives it a good think. He doesn’t have time to name all four hundred of his favorite desserts before we’re pulling into the driveway of a place Scout doesn’t recognize, based on the look on his face. But I read the sign and tilt my head in appreciation. Loveland Ranch.

“Sure, we could go eat at the tamale place in town, but I guarantee you none of the other kids in your class are getting a private picnic with a tire swing and a swimming pool.”

As it turns out, Scout has been here.

When we pull around to Callie’s parking spot under the big oak tree, he starts bouncing in his seat. “This is the day, Callie, right?”

I have no idea what he means, other than that today is the day of his school ceremony, so I follow the two of them around the side of the ranch to a fenced-in area. Callie unlocks a gate, and it swings open to reveal a swimming pool. My stomach turns over.

The last thing I want is to ruin a perfectly nice day by fighting with my kid over swim lessons. If this is Callie’s way of trying to break the ice, I already know it’s not going to work. Scout is loads of fun, but he has a stubborn streak a mile wide. I should know. Apple and tree.

“I don’t know about this…” I say, keeping my voice low so Scout doesn’t pick up on the sharp warning in my tone.

“It’ll be fine, Stress Monster. I promise, I have this.”

Scout isn’t paying attention. He’s digging through a tote bag I didn’t notice Callie bring inside, pulling out his tiny trunks and dropping his pants. Hopping on one foot, he almost tips over, so I give him a hand, still worried about how this is going to go.

“One swim lesson isn’t going to make him proficient. And I didn’t bring a change of clothes to get in with him.”

I have no idea how to halt the freight train that is my exuberant son, and I already blame Callie for getting him excited about something I’m going to have to say no to.

“I told you, I have it covered,” Callie says, handing me a pair of my swim trunks. She takes her suit from the bag and unlocks a poolside bathroom to change. Scout plops himself down on a lounge covered in a white fluffy towel and swings his legs while he waits for us.

A couple of minutes later, Callie emerges in a hot-pink bikini, and I nearly lose my damn mind. Doesn’t matter that I’ve already seen her naked. That was different, lust-filled and half obscured by my blind need to get inside her.

This—now—is a fever dream. The round plumpness of her breasts beneath two tiny triangles of fabric gets me half hard before I know what hit me. I try to conjure visions of hog slop and compost to reel myself in, but it’s useless. Her long, tanned legs and flat stomach leave me slack-jawed and staring so intently that she rounds her eyes and tips her head toward my son.

“Okay, Scout, are you ready to do some stretches before we hit the water?”

As she passes by me, she gives my ass a pinch. I watch her move away as if in slow motion, hips swaying, making my dick beg for more.

Shaking myself out of the momentary trance, I stagger to the door she just came from and put on my suit, fully enjoying how her jaw drops and her eyes rake over my bare chest.

It gives me a bit more swagger as I make my way over to her, grazing her hip with my hand and watching how her skin floods with goose bumps. Two can play at this game.

She slides into the pool and stands waist deep in the water, holding her arms out to Scout. I’ve been so busy ogling her that I didn’t notice my son has on a small snorkeling mask instead of his regular goggles.

“Are we going diving?” I ask, unable to suppress a smile.

“We’re going swimming!” Scout exclaims before jumping into the water right in front of Callie. She catches him in her arms, but lets him drop down below the surface of the water before giving him a boost to pop up.

He starts pawing at the water like a puppy, and I can see his legs doing bicycles beneath the surface. “Perfect, Scout. Just like we practiced.”