Page 51 of XOXO, Summer
My guess is that waking up in the middle of the night holding her did the damage. How am I supposed to sleep alone now that I know what it’s like to hold Summer Sky all night?
And to see her with my son, to see how carefree he is with her, and being here in the Cove makes me feel like I’mfinally doing something right by him.And me.I needed this without realizing it—until I was in the middle of a place only found in storybooks.
Summer leans down, cupping her hand to Roman’s ear before they both look up and wave. Guess I’m busted. “Come on, Dad,” he says. He doesn’t have to ask me twice.
I need to take a shower and eat something because I’m starving. But I pull on my shorts and shirt from yesterday since they’re handy and brush my teeth. No way am I missing this opportunity with them. Or kissing Summer with morning breath.
Rushing down, I hear the kitchen door swing open like I’ve lived here my whole life, and Dolly saying, “Don’t run in the house, Daniel,” from the other side of it.
I slow. “Sorry, Dolly.” But as soon as my feet land on the back patio, I’m running again. Scooping Roman in the air, I spin him and then give him a big hug. “How’re you doing, kid?”
“Good.” Settling with his legs around me, he leans back, knowing I’ll never let him fall. “I got cookies last night.”
“Oh yeah? So the folklore is real?”
He pulls up with his arms wrapped around me. “I got two with M & M’s in them. There were four cookies, but Summer said the elves must have taken the rest.”
My eyes meet hers over his shoulder to catch her holding back her laughter. I look into my son’s eyes, never seeing them so clearly until now. “Sneaky little devils.”
When I set him down, he’s off to the swing again.
I steal the time to look at Summer in her sundress. The skirt is blowing along with her hair as she uses her hand to shield her eyes when looking at me. “How are you this morning?”
Her smile flows onto her face so naturally when shelooks at me. Mine does the same when I see her. “So good. How are you?”
I’ve wondered if I should hold back and keep my feelings under wraps, not only for others but for Roman. But I know my son. I know he wants to see me happy, and damn, this woman makes me happy. I pick her up just to see that blue sky and her matching eyes at the same time. “I liked last night with you. A lot.”
And when I lower her down the front of me, I get a quick kiss before she looks around to see if we got away with it. “Me too, and not just because I benefited.” Tapping my chest, she adds, “Although I really, really did.” Her eyebrows pop at the end as if she has all sorts of things not appropriate for others on her mind. “How’d you sleep?”
I step back, though all I want to do is invade her space to keep her close. “Couldn’t have slept better.”
“Watch this, Dad.” That singular phrase probably ends in an ER trip more times than not. I watch but brace myself.
I turn in time to catch Roman jump off the swing midair and land on the lawn. “Great job, buddy.”
“Maybe I should do gymnastics?”
From hockey to gymnastics? Not the most direct route, but if it makes him happy, I’m all for it. “Talk to your mom when you see her next.”
Dolly calls to us, “If you’re hungry, come get some breakfast.”
Summer asks, “Are you hungry?”
“Starving.”
Roman runs to my side and holds my hand. “Starving.”The little mimic.
Ten minutes later, we have full plates and a full table, though Fall is missing again. She left before the sun rose, I hear, to make another shift at the hospital. And Winter isout with the bees collecting honey. “You’re running a bee farm?” I ask after drinking some orange juice.
Summer nudges me. “Winter will correct you and call it an apiary or bee yard. I don’t know what her issue is with the bee farm, but I think it’s funny she cares so much.”
“It’s her business,” Spring says. “What’s the update on the water situation at the cottage?”
“None,” Summer replies. “The guy was a con artist who planned to bilk Mrs. Dover out of her last dollars. The update I do have is still being worked through.” She glances at me with the smallest shake of her head to keep the messaging aligned.
I’m the last one she needs to worry about. I’m the king of keeping things private. Comes with the territory.
Summer takes a sip of her coffee as the group goes quiet, too busy eating for conversation. She sets her mug down, and says, “I think we should go into town later.”
