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I’ve barely had a chance to pull my hands from my face when Greg’s raised voice carries with the wind.
“Katie, stop! You’re being ridiculous.”
Jesus, fuck.
Pushing off the sand, I take off in the direction of his voice and see Greg trying to grab Katie’s arm as she runs away from him.
I don’t think or process what’s happening before I yell, “Leave her alone,” and pump my legs harder to get to her.
They both freeze at my voice, until Katie takes off running again, but this time it’s in the opposite direction, straight into my open arms.
She crashes into me at full speed, almost bouncing back as though she’s hit a brick wall. It would be comical if my heart wasn’t lodged in my throat and I wasn’t worried to the point of feeling nauseous.
My arms wrap around her on instinct as I press my cheek to her head. “I’m here, Katie. It’s okay.”
What the fuck happened?
Katie stays curled into my chest until Greg approaches, huffing and cursing under his breath.
“I don’t want to. Don’t make me,” Katie rushes out, gripping my tee in her tiny hands.
My gaze flashes to Greg’s before moving to Katie. It doesn’t take much to guess what she’s referring to, but why would he try to force her?
“You don’t have to do anything, Katie. I’m sure Greg didn’t know about your lesson.”
“She said she’s scared. All the more reason to get in.”
Is he for real?
“She’sfour.”
“She needs to learn.”
“That’s fair, but is the ocean really the best place to do that?”
Greg grips the back of his head and scowls. “Come on, Katie, let’s forget about swimming and get something to eat.”
Katie shakes her head, gripping me tighter.
“How about I just take her home to Lucy?” I offer, thinking only of the scared little girl in my arms.
Greg’s hands move to his sides and he stands tall. “She’smydaughter.”
I stiffen, but remain calm. “No one’s disputing that. How about we ask Katie? Katie—”
“You, Wes,” Katie blurts out, almost crawling into my lap to get closer. I’ll repeat my earlier question…What the fuck happened?
Greg’s body sags, and he nods until a cocky smile comes to his face. “You know you need a car seat, right?”Dickhead.
“Yup, I’m covered. Can you grab me Katie’s things so we can head off?”
He reluctantly moves to collect her bag as I lift her into my arms and walk back toward my truck. Thank fuck I had a car seat installed last week. I’d hoped but didn’t expect to need it this quickly.
Katie’s silent for most of the trip, but when we’re almost home, she finally opens up. “I didn’t want to go in but he said I have to. Do I have to?”
Fuck!
I meet her eyes in the rearview mirror and smile. “I think it’s a good idea for you to get back into the pool, but we can work up to it. Maybe we can play in a kiddie pool next weekend. You don’t even have to put your head under.”Baby steps.I hope I’m saying the right thing.God, this parenting shit is hard.
