I had to admit, I wasn’t sure what I was getting into when I agreed to letting Jade and her daughter move in, but after a single day with them, I was pleasantly surprised. Aria was entertaining to say the least, with her contagious giggles and tiny-human voice. Although, the little girl didn’t talk much. She’d spent a few hours with me on the couch this morning watching cartoons, never speaking one word other than to ask me things no man should ever be asked by a child. But once Jade became part of the equation, I could see Aria’s demeanor change, as if watching her mother interact with me made her less cautious and more trusting toward me.

And dinnertime proved me right in my decision to move them in.

Rather than my typical weekend meals of grilled chicken and steamed broccoli, Jade made a feast without forcing me to sacrifice my healthy eating habits. Granted, had she made a plate full of carbs, I would’ve eaten it with a smile, just so she didn’t feel her gesture was unappreciated, but thankfully, that wasn’t the case. Baked chicken with a blend of seasonings that melted in my mouth, accompanied by a mixture of broiled vegetables, all of which tasted like she’d spent hours in the kitchen, but considering I’d been home while she cooked, I knew she’d pulled it off with little to no effort.

I’d asked her how she learned to cook, but with sad eyes, she simply said she didn’t have a choice after Aria was born, and the topic was dropped. After dinner, she bathed Aria and got her ready for bed while I flipped through the channels, finding nothing worth watching. It seemed having people here didn’t suddenly make my weekends any more exciting, just less lonely. With a couple of fractured ribs, I had to lay off the gym—and basically, any physical activity—but if I had to sit on the couch much longer, I would go stir-crazy.

By the time Jade came back from putting Aria down, I already had my shoes on. “Where are you going?” she asked with a hint of intrigue.

“I’ve been inside all day, and if I don’t at least get some real air into my lungs before I go to bed, I might not wake up in the morning.”

“Oh my gosh, Cash. Why didn’t you say anything earlier? We could’ve gone somewhere or done something.”

I waved her off, not wanting her to blame herself or think she was the reason I hadn’t gone anywhere. “Aria took her nap, and then you started on dinner. Plus, I didn’t begin to feel trapped until a few minutes ago. I’m used to being outside, but these bum ribs are fucking with my lifestyle.”

“Oh, okay.” Her gaze dropped to the sandals on my feet, then to the back door. “I guess I’ll just take my shower while you’re gone. That way, when you come back, if you’re up for company, we can watch a movie. Or just hang out or talk. Whatever you’re up for.”

I couldn’t keep the smile from taking over my face. “I figured it’d be nice to walk across the street to the beach before the sun completely sets. There’s still a sliver of light in the sky, so it won’t be as hot…plus, there’s a breeze.”

She swung her gaze from the back of the house to the front window, the one that faced the wide-open stretch of sand and surf, barely visible at this time of day. “That does sound nice. Very peaceful.” With a quick nod, she added, “Then I’ll make my shower quick.”

“Well, I was kind of hoping you’d join me.”

“I’m not sure…Aria just went to sleep. If she—”

“She can’t get that door open—we both know that—but if it’d make you feel better, we can use our phones to listen out for her. Just call me from your phone, put it in her room, and then we’ll mute the call on my end. I’ll even get earbuds so you can hear if she gets up.”

The way her head tilted just so to the side and one corner of her mouth twitched with the fight against a soft, easy grin, I could tell the thought of joining me appealed to her. But then she gently curled her lower lip between her teeth and glanced away—that was enough to prove her hesitation. I couldn’t begin to imagine the kind of sacrifices she’d had to make over the last two years, but this didn’t need to be one of them.

“We’ll lock the house up, and you’ll be able to listen to her without her hearing you. We don’t even have to walk down the beach, just straight out front to the surf.”

“Yeah…but what if she wakes up, realizes I’m not here, and gets scared? It’ll take me too long to get back to her.”

I crossed the room and took her phone off the kitchen table. Flipping it open, I handed it to Jade, and then tugged mine out of my pocket.

“I’m not a parent, and this is your child, so I won’t push you on your decision. But if it helps, she won’t have a clue that you’re not here if she wakes up. By the time we get back, she’ll very likely think you were in the other room, or possibly the shower. Again, this is your call, but I would really like it if you’d join me on the beach. Just for ten, fifteen minutes.”

Without a verbal response, she pressed a few keys on her outdated phone, answering me with a call and a twinkle in her eyes. It didn’t take long to get the phones situated—hers in Aria’s room, and mine in her pocket with one bud tucked into her ear—before we were out the door.

“It really is peaceful out here,” she said once we made it to the sand.

“Have you come here at all this week?”

She glanced up and down the nearly deserted beach, the breeze blowing through her dark, curly hair. “No, there’s been too much going on with getting Aria settled and whatnot. It took me an hour to find the grocery store the other day. That was fun.”

“Why in the world did it take you that long? I don’t think it’d take me an hour to run from one side of the island to the other…on foot. Where all did you go?” I wasn’t making fun of her, and by the soft purr of laughter, I could tell she knew it.

“Well, I don’t have GPS in my car—I don’t think navigation systems were around when it was made—and it seems I’ve officially discovered a solid reason why a smartphone would come in handy. I stopped and asked someone for directions…twice. Then I figured I’d find it on my own. After making about twenty right turns, only to wind up in the same spot, I caved and called Stevie.”

“She’s familiar with Geneva Key?”

“No,” she said with a breathy giggle and a light shove to my good side. “But I told her where I was, so she was able to pull up a map on her phone and walk me through the directions. Thank God I’d had the wits to give her your address before I moved; otherwise, you would’ve come home to an empty house because I wouldn’t have been able to find my way back.”

I turned around and squinted at my house, taking in the dark-purple sky behind it. Unfortunately, it also made Jade whip around, probably out of fear that I’d seen or heard something, and her first thought was Aria. So to ease her worry without calling attention to it, I pointed off to the side and said, “There’s a mom-and-pop market two streets over that way. It’s easily missed since it looks like a house. I grab my dry goods from them when I don’t need to load up on anything else.”

She followed my finger’s trek from the left of my house to the right.

“And over there, probably less than two miles, just after where my street ends at the main road, there’s a meat market. The prices are a little higher, but it’s all fresh. Mostly seafood, but they do get in a daily supply of chicken and red meats. You just have to get there early, because they don’t keep much on hand. But the fish is locally caught and cleaned. You can’t miss it—smells like a boat.”

“Well, considering you had almost nothing in your house, I needed to stock up. And for that, I had to get off the island to find a real grocer. You know…the kind with a produce department, freezer section, dairy coolers?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t give you all this information before you moved in. There’s a Publix on the island.” I pointed in the opposite direction, down the beach to the left. “If you take this road all the way around the curve at the end, you’ll hit a traffic light. Turn north, like you’re leaving the island, and you’ll see a side road, easily missed because it’s not well marked. It’s back there, butts almost right up to the north end of the beach.”

The dying sunlight hinted at the scowl on her face.

“What’s wrong?”

“That’s where I was headed. I’m starting to think everyone on this island can tell I don’t belong here—because, you know, my Jetta is a rather sure sign of that—and they find great entertainment in making me drive in circles. If I had Facebook, I’m sure I’d see an entire thread dedicated to the poor woman in the midnight-blue hooptie who drove up and down the island looking for milk.”

I started to laugh, and had even opened my mouth to offer reassurance, but rather than words coming out, my amusement turned into an airy “oomph” just before being sucked back into my lungs in a whistling inhale through clenched teeth and tight lips. The back of her hand had barely connected with me, and had mostly come in contact with my pec and upper arm, but the way my body coiled tight and flinched against her innocent assault left my ribs screaming in agony.

“Oh my God!” she cried after realizing what she’d done.

Her teasing attacks were fine when we faced the water, but when we both turned around, it put her on my right side. Couple that with our height difference, and the range of motion when swinging her arm lined up perfectly with my injury.

“I’m so sorry, Cash. I didn’t mean to do that. I wasn’t thinking.” She spoke so fast it was like one, long word broken up by hyphens, but she wouldn’t stop. Even if I could breathe enough to speak without sounding like my balls were lodged in my throat, she wouldn’t have given me enough room between her profuse apologies and repentant excuses.

I grabbed her by the back of the neck with my left hand and tucked my right arm across my abdomen, pulling her closer for a couple of reasons. One: to shut her the fuck up. And two: I needed something to steady me while I fought to regain normal function. It took a lot to knock the wind out of me and keep me down this long. But with her forehead to my chest, I clung to the physical support she offered while I composed myself.

One time, in my first year on the job, I’d been so zoned in on my mark that I missed the car heading down the road in front of me. Well, that was a lie…I hadn’t missed it. In fact, I realized it was there when I stepped out into the street only to be thrown against the windshield before rolling off the hood. In my defense, it was a smart car, and couldn’t have been going faster than fifteen miles per hour—basically, no different than a child on a bicycle. But still, even after that, I’d gotten up and brushed myself off. Yet this little spitfire tapped me with nothing more than the back of her hand in jest, and I was ready to crawl into the fetal position and head toward the white light.

After I could finally take in enough air without feeling every molecule of oxygen in my ribcage, I slowly released her, but she didn’t back away. Instead, she remained in front of me, glistening eyes set on mine, her hands gently holding my hips.

“Seriously, Cash…what did the doctor say?”

“It’s nothing, Jade. Just a few minor fractures. Nothing they can do about it. I just have to let them heal on their own, but right now, the worst pain is coming from the bruising and swelling. Doc said I’ll be able to move again in about a week or so.” Actually, he said I was lucky it wasn’t worse, and not to expect to resume normal activity for six weeks. I heard one week.

“Fractured ribs? Did they give you pain meds?” Panic swept across her face.

I shook my head and ran the pad of my thumb down her soft cheek. “Yeah, but I refuse to take them. I’ll stick with ibuprofen.”

“But if you’re in pain…”

This time, I placed my thumb over her warm, moist lips and set my eyes on hers. “I don’t like to not have control over myself. Drugs—of any kind, prescribed or not—fuck with your head. As does alcohol.”

“So you don’t drink?”

“I’ll have one or two from time to time, but not enough to feel the effects.”

The waves crashed behind us, rolling onto the shore before being sucked back out. The breeze blew all around, winding between us like strips of cool satin. Nothing else could’ve been heard for miles other than nature’s rhythmic melody.

After a moment of nothing but staring into each other’s eyes, she quickly dropped her gaze to my chest, and in a controlled, steady voice, she said, “Let me take a look.”

When her fingers found the zipper pull to my hoodie, I clasped my hand over them. “Jade, it’s dark out here; you won’t be able to see anything.”

She glanced around, as if just now realizing the fading colors of the sunset had vanished into the night sky, leaving little to offer her for a visual inspection of my chest. But that didn’t stop her plight—probably still consumed with guilt over hurting me in the first place, and needing to make sure I didn’t have a bone protruding from my side. “It’ll just take a second.”

Giving up, I allowed her to unzip my jacket and slide it over my shoulders, down my arms, until she had it pulled completely off my body. I was unable to lift my arm without feeling faint, so she nestled herself into the small amount of space I provided and drew her attention close to the almost black cloud covering my ribs.

Her fingertips barely grazed my side, tracing the lines of discoloration. It wasn’t enough to inflict pain, but it was the kind of touch that healed the broken. I mimicked every breath she took, feeling her soft exhales dance along my skin like warm, whispered prayers willing me back to health. I grew dizzy at her attention, but not from pain or lack of oxygen. I wasn’t sure what had my head all wrapped up and ready to float away, and I wasn’t sure I liked it, but I didn’t have the wherewithal to make her stop.

Finally, she took a step back, her hand falling down my arm until our fingers were linked in the lightest hold—so light it felt like I was holding the hand of an angel. “Let’s go put ice on it. I haven’t seen you do it all day.” And then she led me through the sand, across the road, and up the three wooden steps to the front door.

I’d been to the beach countless times since moving here, but none had ever been like that. Even without getting my feet wet once, or even venturing off enough to say I’d walked along the shore, it fulfilled something no other visit had.

* * *

The next day during Aria’s nap, Jade had just fallen asleep on the couch. Her soft snores filled the otherwise quiet room, when Aria decided she was done with her nap. I’d just sat down on the loveseat when I heard her tiny knocks on her door, followed by, “Mommy? I awake, Mommy.”

I glanced over at Jade, the sun filtering through the window behind her, making her brown hair shine with hints of gold. We’d stayed up late last night—as well as the one before—but this morning, she’d gotten up with Aria rather than sleeping in. My being home had thrown her off her schedule, even though her little tyke never veered from hers, so I decided to let her sleep a while longer.

After rummaging through the dresser in Aria’s room, I managed to find a bathing suit and hoped it fit her. I told her to put it on while I changed in my room, and then I’d be back to get her so we could go see the waves. That made her baby blues shine like the rarest sapphire, which acted like a defibrillator to my chest, accelerating the natural beat of my heart. Then I wrote a note for Jade, informing her where we’d be in case she woke up before we came back, and stuck it to the fridge, right next to our roommate agreement that seemed to be growing by the day. I couldn’t help but smile at what she’d added after lunch today: Hotdogs must be cut into slices, then quartered, NOT put on a bun whole with condiments. In my defense, she was the one who’d bought the buns, so I hadn’t thought anything of it.

Once I’d gotten myself ready, I went back down the hall to check on the princess. True to her promise, she sat on the edge of her bed, dressed in her ruffled suit. “Are you supposed to wear a diaper with this thing?” I asked gently, having no idea what the protocol was for this. She simply nodded with expressive eyes, so I didn’t argue. “I guess that’ll keep you from shitting in the ocean.”

She giggled, the kind that made her squeeze her eyes closed, cover her mouth with her tiny fingers, curl her shoulders in, and hunch forward, like she’d just heard the funniest thing in her very young life.

Then I realized what I’d said. “Don’t tell your mommy I said shit. Okay?”

She laughed again, this time harder, and it made me glance over my shoulder to make sure it hadn’t woken Jade. Thankfully, the house was still quiet, so I figured it was safe. I took Aria by the hand, making her arm stretch out so far I worried I’d pull it out of socket—poor girl, she’d probably end up getting her mother’s height. I then silently led her through the house and out the front door, leaving Jade and her purr-like snores on the couch.

Before heading out to the beach, I grabbed the sunblock and floatation device from the bench seat on the front porch, hoping I’d picked out the right thing. While getting the house ready for Jade and her daughter a few weeks ago, I’d anticipated they would want to go swimming, but I wasn’t sure if Aria had water wings, so I’d added that to the list for Marcia to do while I was gone. I’d looked up every option available to mankind in regard to this, and after poring over all the safety stats and reviews, I’d settled on this one.

I had to say, she was one very well-behaved kid. Rather than run toward the surf, she waited for me to spray her down with sunblock, and then stood still while I slid her arms into the holes and fastened the harness around her chest. It was awkward and bulky looking, her arms sticking out to the side, but as long as it kept her afloat, I couldn’t complain. At least she wasn’t griping about it.

Turned out, women had a thing for a man with a kid. I thought I’d gotten enough attention just being by myself, but take my shirt off, splash some water on my chest, and give me a kid, and I turned into the bachelor from that show with twenty-something women fawning over him. It didn’t matter that my ribcage was black and blue and made me look like a piece of evidence from a back-alley fight. I wouldn’t be surprised if that added to the appeal. And no matter how many times I tried to tell them she wasn’t mine, it was like I was ignored.

Granted, most of the women who stopped were older. With their floppy hats and long, cotton sundresses, they paused to tell me what a good father I was. And more than likely, they hadn’t ignored my arguments about her not being mine; they just probably couldn’t hear me without their hearing aids. Others simply liked to coo at Aria and gush about how cute her suit was. So, in reality, they weren’t really hitting on me…but that didn’t mean they didn’t flock to me like a bird to bread.

After half an hour of chasing the waves, digging in the surf, and briefly swimming in the water, we were ready to head back. I figured Jade would be waking up soon, and if not, she’d be pissed at me for letting her sleep so late. Not to mention, Aria would need to be rinsed off from the sunscreen and salt water, and that was out of my jurisdiction.

By the time we made it back to the porch and had her life preserver hung over the railing to dry, my entire right side throbbed, making it difficult to pull in a deep breath without feeling the effects radiate throughout my body. But as soon as we opened the door, everything changed.

“Stevie, I have to let you go. They just walked in. I’ll call you back.” Jade flipped her phone closed, ran to us, and knelt on the floor in front of Aria. Panic consumed her from her constricted pupils to the tremble in her lips, down to the way her hands shook as she inspected her daughter from head to toe.

I figured coming inside, soaking wet, both in bathing suits with sand stuck to our feet would’ve indicated where we’d been, but I guess it didn’t register to a mother overtaken by worry and fright. She’d listened to Aria chatter away about jumping waves and something else I couldn’t understand, before shooing her off to the bathroom down the hall.

Then she turned her heated stare on me.

She was the epitome of a momma bear protecting her cub. Her top lip curled, almost in disgust, but I could tell it was a reaction rooted deep in maternal instincts. I held my breath and waited for the fangs to come out, or the razor-sharp claws ready to slice me open.

“You can’t just take off with her without telling me,” she lectured me in what only could’ve been described as a growl. “And to the beach? Are you kidding me? She’s two, Cash. She can’t swim. I don’t even want to think about what could’ve happened out there while I slept, oblivious to it all. Not to mention, you didn’t even put on her sun hat. She’s too little to be in the sun that long. She’ll burn without protection of some sort.”

I was tempted to point out the note I’d left, explaining where we’d be. Or that I’d coated her plenty with sunblock and used water wings. I thought about telling her it had only been thirty minutes. But there was no use. She was right, and I was wrong. I had no authority to take her to the water—or even out of the house without her permission. Note or not. Sunscreen and floatation device or not. Aria wasn’t my kid, and I’d crossed a line.

“I’m sorry,” I said while looking her straight in the eyes, hoping she could see my sincerity.

The pain in my side had subsided at the sight of Jade’s frantic disposition when we’d walked in. In that moment, it wasn’t as important as her fear. But now, after clenching my hands into fists at my sides, angry at myself for not taking a step back to see the bigger picture, the ache intensified. It settled deep into my bones, creating a heat within me that threatened to steal my breath away. Not able to put it off any longer, I apologized once more and moved around her frozen body.

I’d only tried to help, but that wasn’t a good enough excuse. While I stood in the shower, letting the water fall over me, I tried to imagine what it had been like for her when she first woke up, not having an inkling where her child was. But no matter what I did, I couldn’t put myself in her shoes, and that only made things worse. My only saving grace was knowing I’d be gone first thing in the morning, and I wouldn’t be back until late Friday night. I had hoped by next weekend, she would be able to find it within her to accept my heartfelt apology and move forward.

A knock came from my closed bedroom door, and there was no doubt it had been Jade. Aria’s sounded more like a tap with zero oomph behind it. Yet even this one wasn’t harsh—loud enough to be heard, but not driven by the force of anger.

I’d fallen onto my bed after my shower in nothing but a clean pair of athletic shorts. I was about to call out and tell her to hold on a minute while I put on a shirt, but the thought of climbing out of bed made the lingering pain in my ribs spur to life. After another round of ibuprofen and however long I’d been in bed, the ache had started to settle. Just the thought of moving made it throb. So instead, I called out, “Come in,” and waited for her to open the door.

At first, she stood in the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest, her shoulder leaning against the frame. Her entire stance screamed anger, as if she were ready for a fight. But the second I regarded her expression, I realized how misleading her posture was. Sadness lined her lower lids, fear ticced in her jaw, and apprehension lingered in her downcast eyes. She wasn’t standing there, holding back or readying herself for an attack. No…she was protecting herself. Although, I couldn’t figure out what from.

“Come here.” I curled my finger, calling her toward me. “What’s going on?”

When she made it to the bed to stand next to me, I held my breath and used my good arm to raise myself up, then swiveled my legs to dangle off the side. Her need to protect herself became apparent once more as she put distance between us. If I’d reached out, I could’ve touched her, but I knew better than to push.

“I owe you an apology.” Remorse filled her whispered words.

I swallowed harshly and narrowed my eyes on her. “For what? You don’t owe me anything. I’m the one who left while you were asleep, and took your child with me. There’s nothing for you to be sorry for.”

“Yes, there is.” She was adamant, and all I could do was sit and wait for her to get it out so I could ease her mind and assure her that she had done nothing wrong. “When I bathed Aria, I noticed she had on sunblock. I’d accused you of not protecting her in the sun, and I was wrong. And when I took her bathing suit to the porch to dry, I found the floaties. I wasn’t aware you had them, so I thought you’d just taken her to the beach with nothing.”

“Jade—”

“I also found the note.” She wouldn’t let me speak until she was done—she made that clear with her sharp interruption—so I sat and waited my turn. “You have to understand something…I’ve never woken up and found her gone. That’s never happened to me before. So it scared me, and I guess that fear made me irrational and kept me from calmly figuring it out. And because of that, I didn’t handle myself properly when you came home and I realized she was fine and safe.”

I waited until she paused long enough to give me space to talk. “Jade…you have nothing to be sorry for. You were right. I shouldn’t have taken her out of the house without your permission. You’d just fallen asleep when she woke up, and I thought she’d have fun playing in the waves, and you’d be able to get some rest since I’d kept you up late two nights in a row. But that was never my call to make. You don’t know me well enough to trust that I’d take care of her and keep her safe. Hell, she barely knows me. You had every right in the world to be pissed—you still do.”

She lowered her head and covered her face with her hands, her elbows tucked close to her body. I wasn’t sure if she was crying, but I could assume by the way her shoulders remained still, not jumping, and her breathing appeared labored but not erratic, that she wasn’t sobbing—she only needed a moment to collect herself.

When her hands dropped to her sides, her bright eyes met my dark ones. “I’m just not used to this. Yesterday morning and now today…” She shook her head and glanced to the cracked door before rewarding me with her attention again. “This is all so new. Everything is.”

“That’s fine. It is for me, too. But we’ll figure it out. It’s been one weekend, and in time, we’ll be so used to this arrangement, we won’t know anything different. I understand she’s your kid, not mine, and I have no say over anything that involves Aria…but if you’d let me, I have no issue helping you out. If you’re tired or sick and I’m here, let me be an extra set of hands.”

“That’s just it, Cash…I’m lost with an extra set of hands. All weekend I’ve felt like I’ve been living with an octopus when the last two years I’ve been a T-Rex trying to clap.”

I didn’t need her to act it out in order to imagine it, but she did anyway. With her elbows tucked close to her body, she flapped her hands together, resembling more of a seal than a dinosaur. Unable to stop laughing, no matter how badly it hurt to do so, I reached out and pulled her close, settling her between my parted legs. I dropped my forehead to her shoulder and held onto her hips. I hadn’t thought twice about it, only needing a little support while I tried to stop the rumbles from ripping through me long enough for the agony in my side to diminish.

Once I was calm enough to speak, I hooked my fingers into the belt loops on her side, and held her face with my good hand. “In all seriousness, Jade, she’s not a problem. She’s a kid. A smart and funny and extremely well-mannered little girl. I don’t ever want you to feel like you can’t lean on me when it comes to her. Or hell, when it comes to anything. If I’m here, let me help.”

“My mind is all over the place right now. I think it’s going to take me longer than a week to figure it all out. We hadn’t even gotten comfortable here before you came home”—her eyes widened—“I didn’t mean it like that. It’s your house; I’d never suggest—”

“Jade…” I shook my head and breathed out an airy wave of laughter. “It was clear what you meant. And trust me, this is a learning curve for me, too. I may have been married, but I’ve never had a little kid running around the house, especially one I have no rights to. I should’ve thought about it before I took her to the beach today, but I couldn’t see past letting you sleep in order to understand the ramifications. It won’t happen again.”

As if suddenly realizing how close we were, her gaze fell about four inches to my lips. That one move was enough to relinquish my hold on her and allow her to step back, both of us panting wildly as though we’d just been caught making out by our parents.

“So…we’re good?” She awkwardly stuck her thumbs into the front pockets of her shorts.

“Not until you clap for me again.”

Her eyes closed, head tilted back, and a wave of the best song in the world flooded my room when her laughter filled the space around me. “Well, then…I actually came in here to tell you dinner’s ready.” Her lips turned up at the corners into a demure grin. “So I guess that means you don’t get to eat.”

“Oh, come on. Just once. Let me see it one more time.”

“In your dreams.” She winked and left the room.

Yeah…in my dreams.