AllFreeNovel
Share Us
8
Colwyn
Iglanced around the beach, watching as the usual crowd began to push onto the sand. Early in the day was always the quietest. It was when the sun was high in the sky and beating down on the sand and the water that everyone wanted to come out.
“You ever wonder why people don’t come out earlier in the day or later in the evening?” Slater asked me.
I glanced over at him. “You know, I still haven’t figured out why you’re here on a weekday,” I said. It wasn’t completely unusual, but normally, he worked his job in Savannah during the week, only taking a shift during the week if we were short-handed for whatever reason.
His lips quirked up into a grin. “My wife convinced me to take a full-time position.”
I slapped his hand, a grin on my lips. “Bout time you finally stopped slumming it in Savannah every week. I’m sure Tawney’s happy having you closer.”
He grinned. “She’s definitely a lot happier, especially since morning sickness is kicking her ass most of the time.”
I frowned. “Still?” Slater didn’t talk about her pregnancy much, and she wasn’t showing yet. She and Alex used to come to the beach all the time, but she had seldom been around as of late. Guess it made sense now, though.
He shrugged. “She said if today is a better day, she’ll come down to the beach. So, we’ll see how she’s feeling here soon, I guess.”
I clapped a hand to his back. “She’s going to be fine, man.”
He just hummed. I knew how he felt. It sucked having a woman you loved so deeply, you’d do anything in the world for, but when she was uncomfortable, you couldn’t do a damn thing to help her. It was how I felt most of the time when Raleigh was on her period or if her mother did something to dampen her mood. All I could do was hold her and hope that my love for her was enough to make her feel at least a little better.
I heaved a tired sigh. I was still exhausted from not getting any sleep the night before. And though my jog this morning and my confrontation with Rhonda had left me feeling a bit energized, I was now really feeling the lack of sleep.
I wasn’t all that young anymore. Forty was kicking my fucking ass, it would seem.
I glanced around the beach again, doing a double take when I saw Raleigh setting up her beach blanket in front of the chairs directly beside the lifeguard station. Like always, I rented it in case she wanted to come out. For the past few days, it had gone to waste. But she was here today, and that was the sole reason I did it.
Because sheknewI’d never let her down. I’d never destroy the routine that she had when she came to the beach, and I wouldn’t let anyone else destroy it either.
Feeling my eyes on her, she looked over and smiled, waving at me. Her hair was braided into pigtails, draping over both shoulders. She had her heart-shaped purple sunglasses on that perfectly matched her sparkly purple swimsuit.
God, she was adorable.
I was so damn lucky to be able to call her mine.
“Hey, baby girl,” I called, looking out at the ocean for a moment before looking back at her. “Waves are choppy today, so be careful, you hear me?”
She nodded her head. “Yes, Daddy.”
I offered her a soft smile and focused back on doing my job. Before long, she padded out into the water and sat near the shore, playing with the dirt and finding seashells. She never kept them, even when she was in her little space. She always gave them to other kids.
It was another thing I loved about her. She was so selfless, so giving—so fucking sweet.
“Oh, hey, babe!” I heard Slater call. I glanced over. He was smiling at Tawney before he looked back out at the water. After waving him off, letting him know I had it for a couple of minutes, he stepped out to check on her. I tuned them out, letting them have their private moment.
“Is Raleigh here today?” Alex asked hopefully.
“Yep.” I pointed to where she was still sitting, and I laughed softly at all the mud covering her thighs.Silly girl. “Go on and play with her if you want.”
He rushed off toward her, and my chest clenched when her face lit up. They wrapped each other in a massive, tight hug before he sat beside her with his toys. As they began to build a sandcastle, I focused back on doing my job while also still keeping an eye on her at the same time. It was second nature to make sure she was always okay when she was around.
Eventually, Slater got back into the lifeguard station, and Tawney made her way down to the sand where Raleigh was. She took a seat beside Raleigh. “How is she?” I asked Slater.
“Doing better today,” he told me. “First bit of relief she’s had in days. She even missed her weekly Sunday visit to the beach the other day. It drove her nuts to break tradition with Alex.”
I shook my head. I could only imagine. I knew enough about Tawney to know that she’d lost her first husband when he was overseas. Alex had just been born when he left, and he never returned home.
