“What?” Laura looks from one to the other. She has no idea what’s coming.
I take the baby from Laura and pass her to Gabby, who doesn’t even think twice about it. Gabby steps back from all of us. “You’ll thank me later,” I tell Laura. “Now run!”
I turn and try to run past Jake, but he snakes an arm around my waist and picks me up. “You want time to hold your nose?” he asks.
“Jake, if you throw me in the lake, I’m going to—” I sputter because I can’t think of anything bad enough to threaten him with.
“You’re going to what?” Jake taunts as he dangles me over the lake. He kicks his shoes off one by one and leaves them on the dock. His phone lands in the pile.
“I’m going to tell your father on you!” I shout. And then Jake jumps into the lake with me in his arms. Two seconds later, there’s another splash as Fred and Laura hit the water too.
We burst into the water in a tangle of limbs and Jake pulls me back to the surface with him. “You still mad at me?”
I shake my head. “I think I’m done with that,” I whisper to Jake as I tread water beside him. “But I reserve the right to find a different reason to be mad at you tomorrow.”
He points over at Freddy and Laura, who are treading water and laughing with one another. “They look content, don’t they?” he whispers to me.
“Very,” I say. “Hold that thought,” I add. Then I hoist myself up on his shoulders and push him under the water.
“That was a really dirty trick,” he says, blowing water from his lips as he surfaces.
“I have all kinds of dirty tricks. I can’t wait to show all of them to you.”
“I’ll see when I can put you on my calendar.”
I hear Mr. Jacobson grumbling on the dock above us as he talks to Gabby. Mr. Jacobson looks over the edge of the dock and scowls at all of us. “When you’re all done fucking around in the lake, get cleaned up. It’s burger night.”
“Burger night?” Freddy says, treading water. “I love burger night!”
“Good. Get yourself settled and come help me cook.” Mr. Jacobson walks toward the golf cart, hops on it, and leaves us.
Jake pinches my side. “Did he really just ask them to hang out?”
“Apparently so.” I retrieve my flip flops, which are floating right next to Jake’s head.
“You guys don’t have to stay if you don’t want to,” Jake says to Freddy.
Laura shrugs. “We’d like to stay, if you don’t mind.”
“Okay, sure,” Jake says with no enthusiasm whatsoever.
I splash water in Jake’s face, and swim away. He grabs my foot, but I kick him off. Then I make him chase me back to the shore.
41
Jake
Dinner with my ex-wife, the man she threw me over for, and the woman I’m falling in love with… Could this day get any better?
We gave Fred and Laura the keys to one of the empty cabins, some extra clothes, and they’re going to stay over and leave in the morning. They’re currently letting the baby take a quick nap before we all have to help Pop make burgers for the campers.
“Is this going to be really strange for you?” Katie asks as we go inside the house. She’s still dripping from her dip in the lake, but she’s smiling.
“You could just shoot me and put me out of my misery. I’ll give you the gun.”
I close the door behind me and look around. The house is completely empty. The kids are with Dan and Adam, and I have no idea where Pop is.
“Shh,” I say, waving my hand in the air to shush her.
She freezes. “What?”
“Do you hear that?” I whisper.
“No,” she whispers back. “I don’t hear anything.”
“Exactly!” I yell loudly. She flinches and then she starts to laugh. It’s one of the great big belly laughs that I love so much. I’ve never heard anyone laugh like Katie. “We are alone!”
I grab her by the belt loop and pull her back against me, her back to my front, and I nuzzle her neck. She tips her head to the side to give me more room, and she sucks in a breath. “We’re alone?” she asks quietly, her voice suddenly husky. The sound of it shoots straight to my dick.
“Yes.” I spin her around in my arms and tip her face up so she looks into my eyes. “What do you think we should do with the time?”
“I can think of a few things.” She takes my hand and pulls me toward her bedroom.
“Katie,” I halfheartedly protest as she pulls me into the room.
“What?” she says as she closes the door behind us. “You should take a shower. You smell like Lake Fisher.”
She starts to unbutton the shirt she’s wearing. Her fingers work slowly and methodically until her shirt falls open.
I reach behind me and lock her door.