Стейси Кестуик - Wet

“I’d apologize for him, but it probably wouldn’t do much good.”

“Actually,” I admitted, “Today he was trying to be nice. I just messed it all up.” I told her the short version of my parasailing adventure.

“He dipped you in, even though he knew you were scared of the water?” She sounded outraged on my behalf.

I tipped my head to one side then the other. “He warned me that would happen. My legs just went in farther than I expected, and I freaked. It’s not really his fault.” I frowned. Wait, why was I defending him?

Hailey was watching me, her eyes assessing. She started on another peach. “What about the water scares you?”

I sliced the peach I had peeled into neat, even chunks, making a small pile. “I don’t know. And it’s not really the water. It’s what might be in the water that I can’t see. Like, some creature will try to attack me. It’s stupid. I know it’s stupid.”

“Did something happen when you were younger? Something traumatic?”

I cut up the rest of the peach and started on the second. “Kind of. When I was five, I was running on the beach, looking for shells with my brother. We were just running and playing and having fun. Being kids. And I saw this big bubble thing, and I ran and jumped right on it, thinking I’d bounce up in the air or something. Only it was a jellyfish, and I ended up with a giant welt on both feet and my leg. My parents rushed me to the hospital, and I ended up having to spend the night. But I was fine once it healed. No lasting damage or anything crazy like that.”

I cut a wedge of peach and popped it in my mouth. “It’s dumb. People get stung all the time. And I was stung on the sand, not the water. But ever since then, I’ve had this phobia of the ocean.”

“It’s not dumb.”

I looked up at her. “It is. And I know it is. I just can’t seem to shake it.”

“Well, West is still an ass for scaring you.”

I gave her a halfhearted smile. “Maybe. He’ll probably never talk to me again anyway. I’m sure he thinks I’m a head case now.”

“He will not!” she protested. “And if he does, tough. It’s his loss. You can be my friend instead.”

I smiled. “I think that can be arranged.” I handed over the cutting board piled with peach chunks. She dumped it, then handed the board back with a carton of strawberries on it.

“So what do you do at the Edge?” she asked.

“I lifeguard right now. I used to be a photographer though. I’m trying to be one again. How ’bout you?”

“I work here when I can. My brothers try to help me out. Mostly, I’m just a mom.”

“A mom?” I looked up at her in surprise.

“I know, I’m young. Only twenty-two. My fiancé is a Marine. I met him right after he graduated from basic on Parris Island, and he totally swept me off my feet. Cody, my son, was an unexpected surprise. He’ll be two next week. Adam’s overseas right now, so he won’t be here to see it.” She blinked hard, and I could see tears fill her eyes.

Hmm. “What if he could?” I asked, wanting to help.

She took a deep breath and wiped her hand across her eyes. “What do you mean?”

“What if I came over this weekend, and we took a bunch of pictures and sent them to him?”

Hailey’s eyes lit up, and she dropped her knife to clap her hands. “That would be so awesome! You would do that for me?”

“We’re friends now, right? Plus, it’d be good for me. I haven’t done a real shoot in awhile.”

She squealed and came around the bar to hug me.

We discussed details for the weekend and then Hailey lent me her phone so I could text Josie to toss all my stuff in my locker at work.

Josie: Already handled, chica. Not a problem. FYI, West freaked when you vanished.

Me: Shit.

Josie: Don’t worry, I covered for you. I told him you had gotten a little airsick and had to make a quick exit to the bathroom.

Me: Thanks! I owe you!

Josie: He seemed to buy it. Honestly, I thought it was sweet he was so concerned. You guys dating?

Me: NO!!

Josie: Do you want to be?

I stared at her words on the screen, my fingers hovering over the keys with uncertainty.

I never answered her.

I looked down at my cell phone, then back up at the huge house in front of me. Hailey had texted me her address, but this couldn’t be right. This house was huge. I bet it wasn’t even called a house. It was probably called an estate or something. There’s no way a barely employed twenty-two year old lived here. I double-checked the text then turned my Wrangler onto the huge circular driveway, parking next to a car that cost more than what most people made in a year.

I was second-guessing my wardrobe choice now. I’d thought I was meeting a broke young mom and had dressed down in a slate blue slub-knit tank and khaki shorts. My toenail polish was flaking, my cheap Old Navy flip flops had seen better days, and I wasn’t wearing any makeup. Oh well, too late to do anything about it now. I texted Hailey that I was outside, then shouldered my camera bag and headed for the steps leading to the front door.

Before I could ring the bell, the door swung open, and Hailey appeared. A Jack Russell terrier flew around from behind her and jumped against my legs, demanding to be noticed. Bending down to pet the hyper dog, I spied a cute redheaded toddler peeking from the doorway. He was wearing a navy polo, plaid shorts, and a bucket hat, his thumb stuck firmly in his mouth. He was adorable.

“You’re here!” Hailey cried, jumping up and down.

One side of my mouth tugged up. “I am.” I stayed in my crouch and looked at Cody. “Hey, buddy. I’m here to take some pictures of you for Daddy. We’re gonna have some fun today.”

Cody took a few steps to Hailey and hid behind her legs.

Hailey laughed and scooped him up, balancing him on her hip. “He’s always shy at first. Give him twenty minutes, and you won’t be able to get him to hush. And the furball sniffing your toes is Edison.”

Giving Edison one last pat, I stood up. “No problem. I don’t have any other plans this morning except for you guys. In fact, Cody, I brought a present for you. Want to come with me to get it?”

He looked at me, then at his mom, then back to me. Finally, he unwrapped his chubby little arms from around Hailey and reached for my hand. Giggling, I took Cody, settling him on my own hip and handed Hailey my camera bag. “Come on, buddy, we have to go back to my car. I’ve got balloons!”

Cody’s eyes lit up. “Bawoons?”

Hailey and the Jack Russell followed us down the steps, and I grabbed the ribbons to the dozen blue helium balloons I had bought that morning. Motioning for Hailey to get the child-size white chair I had thrown in the back as well, we edged around the property to the backyard.

“So, Hailey, you live here?”

Hailey snorted. “Not what you were expecting, huh? This is my grandparents’ house. My parents didn’t want me living with them anymore because of the whole baby-before-marriage thing. They felt like it tarnished their perfect image or something. Whatever. I’d rather be here with my grandparents anyway. Plus, Wyatt and West are here. And Adam feels safer knowing Cody and I are surrounded by family while he’s away.”

“Where was home?”

“Chicago. But the three of us always spent our summers here, so this feels like home too. That’s why Wyatt picked here to live after college — it felt like home, and it was far from Mom and Dad.”

I raised my eyebrows. “You guys don’t like your parents?”

“It’s not that. They were fine as parents. Not spectacular, but not bad. They made sure we always had the best of everything. It’s just that they required us to maintain a certain image, and Wyatt rebelled against that the most. He hated all the dinner parties and things we did because it was expected. He just wanted to be him. So as soon as he finished school, he came here and never looked back.”