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I shook my head. “What?”
“You know, checking me out,” he said with a wink.
Cheeks heating, I spun and wandered back into the great room. Kyle followed, chuckling.
Callie stood outside the kitchen, clutching her water bottle in one hand. She had her swimsuit on and had a towel draped over her arm. “Did you find Teddy yet?”
I shook my head.
“You lost Teddy?” Kyle asked, a hint of panic in his tone.
I sighed. “I didn’t lose him. I just can’t figure out where he’s hiding.”
Kyle sidled up beside me wearing a huge smile like he’d just solved a puzzle.
“Oh no.” He affected a dramatic tone. “I guess we can’t go to the end of summer bash at The Dock, then.”
“The what?” Callie and I asked in unison.
“Bella and my sisters planned some end of summer thing. They wanted me to bring you guys.” He shrugged. “There will be a bouncy house and cotton candy, ice cream. You know, that sorta stuff.”
“Ice cream?” a muffled voice asked from somewhere close by.
I scanned the room, searching for Teddy. It sounded like his voice had come from the fireplace. But Teddy would never. Would he? I cringed at the thought of him covered in ashes and soot. Yet now that I thought about it, I wouldn’t be shocked if he came climbing out of it. Nothing this kid did surprised me anymore.
I was padding that way when he squirmed out from underneath the sofa. How he fit was beyond me.
“We go?” Teddy wore a hopeful smile as he looked from me to Kyle and back again.
I shrugged. In the couple of months we’d lived here, I’drealized that this town made any excuse to get together and celebrate.
“Swim lesson first.” Kyle winked. “Then we’ll talk to your mom.”
Forty-five minutes later, Callie and I sat side by side in lounge chairs, watching in awe as Kyle held Teddy under the arms. My little guy was kicking his legs and grinning like a fool.
I couldn’t help but study the tattoo on Kyle’s shoulder again. From here, it looked like some sort of crest. Definitely military.
“You’re doing it,” Kyle praised, a huge smile on his face. “Keep kicking. Just like that.”
When his bright blue irises locked on me, it sucked all the air from my lungs. That mixed with the way the corners of his eyes crinkled screamed joy.
“I can’t believe Teddy is actually in the pool.” Callie’s tone was laced with surprise.
“Eventually, he had to get over his issues with water, right?”
“Kyle said I’m almost ready for the swim test at Pointe Beach.”
“That’s exciting.” I side-eyed my daughter, who laughed at the shenanigans happening in the pool. In the last couple of days, her mood swings had been fewer and farther between. She’d finally started therapy, and the therapist was confident she just needed a safe space to voice her emotions. I wanted her to feel comfortable talking to me, but I understood the importance of therapy. Of having a neutral party she could speak to freely. “What do you think of this end of summer bash thing Kyle mentioned?”
I held my breath, waiting for an answer. Starting school in a new place and making friends was one of her biggest concerns.
But miraculously, her response was a small smile and a shrug. “Sure. Sounds fun.”
Maybe, just maybe, we were finally moving in the right direction.
Kyle
“Mommy, I swimmed! I swimmed!” Teddy scampered to Tina, arms flailing.
