I look up and find Alex already asleep. His left foot is hanging off the edge of the top bunk, so I poke him gently until he rolls over, pulling his foot with him.
When I go back out to the living room, Gabby has pulled out the sofa bed and she’s already in it. That takes up all the space in the room. I look around, and finally go into the kitchen and fall into a chair. I drum my fingertips on the table, looking at my watch.
I left a note for Katie telling her to sleep as long as she wanted, that I would take care of the kids. Does that mean she’s going to stay until morning?
Gabby pads into the room on socked, whispering feet. “Are you spending the night?” she asks.
I shrug. “Just until your mom gets back, I guess.”
“You can go. I can watch the kids.”
I shake my head. Not after that note I saw on Katie’s computer–the one she never did explain to me. “I’m going to stay.”
“You should go sleep in her room, then. No one is using it.” She gets a drink of water and goes back into the other room.
She’s right. There’s no reason not to go lie down. “Are the little kids going to be okay if I go to sleep?”
She laughs. “You don’t think Mom stays awake twenty-four/seven to watch them sleep, do you?”
I scratch my head. “I guess not.”
“I’ll hear them if they wake up,” Gabby says. “Go ahead.”
“I’ll listen out for them,” I say.
“Mm-hmm,” she hums. But she’s already lying back down.
I turn to walk toward Katie’s room and Gabby calls out, “Hey Jake.”
I spin back around. “Yeah?”
“Thanks for staying,” she says. Then she closes her eyes.
I lie down on Katie’s bed and close my eyes.
It seems like only moments later when the bed dips under the weight of another person. “Jake,” someone whispers.
“Hm?” I ask, but my eyes don’t want to open.
“Jake,” someone says again. Finally, I force my eyes open. I find Katie looking down at me. “I’m home.”
“Good,” I say, and I close my eyes again. “I missed you.”
She laughs, and I feel the covers rustle. “Why are you on top of the covers?”
“It’s not my bed,” I reply.
She touches my arm. “You’re cold.”
“A little.” I rub my face, trying to wake up. “Are the kids okay?”
“I just checked on them. They’re fine.”
“I should go,” I say.
There’s a beat of silence. “Or you could stay,” she says.
My heart stutters. “I could stay,” I whisper.
“It’s late,” she whispers back, and she rolls me over so she can tug the covers from beneath me. Then she covers me with them. The warmth of her next to me seeps into me all over. “You’re so cold,” she says. She rolls over and tugs my arm around her. “Is this okay?”
I pull her back against me, with my hand on her hip. “Yeah,” I whisper. “It’s nice.” I press a kiss to her shoulder. “It’s perfect.”
She wiggles her bottom in my lap and then gets still.
“Thanks for letting me take a nap, Jake,” she says.
I brush her hair down between us and take in the scent that’s all Katie. “You’re welcome.” I kiss her shoulder again.
There’s not one tiny part of me that feels like this is wrong. Not the least little bit. It’s right. It’s Katie. It’s me. It’s me and Katie, and her kids are in the rooms adjacent to this one. I’ll have to wake up early and get out of here before they wake up. That’s a good plan.
I tuck Katie closer to me and close my eyes.
25
Jake
The first time I ever got caught doing something I shouldn’t have been doing with Katie Higgins, I had to clean the bath house at the campground with a toothbrush every day for a week. Looking back, I spent a lot of time in that bath house. It’s a miracle I can get near a toilet now. In fact, I tend to keep my toothbrush in the kitchen. Toilets are nasty. Toothbrushes in toilets are even nastier.
But holding Katie into the early hours of the morning…that was priceless. I’d do it all over if given an opportunity.
That day started like most others. I got up, went to play lifeguard at our small swimming area, and I ogled Katie as she played volleyball in the sand with her friends near where I worked. She waved at me every few minutes, and I caught her looking at me often, which made me smile.
“Jake, get your head out of your ass and watch the swimmers,” Pop grumbled at me when he caught me watching Katie rather than the water.
“My head’s not in my ass,” I grumbled back.
“Get your head out of her ass then,” he said, nodding toward where Katie had moved over and was sunning herself in a modest bikini.
“But Pop,” I complained, “her ass is worth it. Just look at it.”
Pop didn’t look, but he said, “As asses go, I suppose you could find a worse one to look at. Maybe you’ll find one when you’re cleaning toilets.” He threw a towel at my face.
I blew the whistle at a kid running down the dock, and he slowed to a fast walk before diving off the end.
“Speaking of Katie’s ass, Pop, do you think I could take the boat out tonight?”