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“But I want to swing again. Please? I loved it.”
Maren leans down to talk to Katie, her hands on her thighs. “How about we play... SuperKitty tag instead?”
“SuperKitty tag?” I ask.
Katie’s eyes light up. “What’s that?”
“It’s when you run as fast as you can so I can’t catch you.But if your daddy or I do catch you, we say, ‘tag, you’re it!’, and then you’re it.”
“I don’t want to be it.”
I grin. “Then you better run, girl.”
“Run!” Maren tickles her before sending her off down the beach.
I shake my head, watching my daughter kick up sand. “That was genius. My back is killing me.”
“I didn’t say you get a break.” Maren taps me playfully on the arm. “You’re it, Daddy.”
My lungs spasm. She’s calling meDaddyagain. It’s as hot and wrong andhotas it was the first time.
“Seriously?” I manage.
“Seriously. Whoever gets to Katie last has to clean up the next poop. If that doesn’t motivate you...”
My lungs spasm for the second time. No, it’s my diaphragm. I’m laughing. Hard.
“I’m motivated. You sure you’re up for this, by the way?”
Maren nods. “I feel all right.”
“Tell me if you need to sit.”
“Definitely don’t need to sit now. Remember, you’re it!” Maren takes off at a sprint. She’s a graceful runner, her strides short but powerful. The muscles in her legs work in a way that makes me short of breath.
I bolt after her. The breeze rushes in my ears. Laughter bubbles up inside my belly when I tap Maren on the shoulder. “Poop is gonna beallyours.”
“We’ll see”—she throws an elbow into my side—“about that.”
I hold my side and make an exaggerated grimace. “Ow! You play dirty.”
“I sure do.” She wags her brows. Smiles. Then she pushes off me and takes the lead again. Katie’s just ahead, glancing at us over her shoulder and smiling.
That’s when I realize I’m smiling so hard my face hurts.
All three of us. We’re being silly. Stupid. I play with Katie a fair amount. But I don’t play like this. The kind of play that makes the time fly by.
It feels . . . nice.
It feels like freedom.
Maren and I are in some deep shit. The life that waits for us back home is heavy right now. But you wouldn’t know it by the way Maren totally abandons herself to having fun.
Fun—play—it’s never come easy to me. But this woman? She finds it wherever she goes.
I fucking love that about her.
Running faster, I grab Katie and lift her over my head. “You’re it, SuperKitty.”
