“Daddy!” River runs to me and I scoop her soaking wet body up in my arms. “You’re late.”
“I am not,” I chuckle. “How would you know anyway? You can’t even tell time yet.”
“I don’t know.” She shrugs her little shoulders and giggles. “It just feels like you’re late.”
“What have you been up to?”
“Swimming in the river with Laynie.” She points toward the water.
Layne is standing a few feet away, watching us with somewhat of a sad smile on her beautiful face. As much as she tries to hide it, she’s melancholy more often than she’s truly happy. The man I’ve hidden away for the last few years wants nothing more than to be the reason why she’s happy again. Convincing her to take a chance on me, to trust me, will be a completely different challenge.
“I talked to your Aunt Lily on my way home. She’s going to take you to watch the inner tube race this weekend. Doesn’t that sound like fun?”
“Yes!” River squeals. “Are you in it?”
“Well, that’s something I want to talk to Layne about.” I smile as my eyes meet Layne’s. “What do you say, Layne? Want to be my partner in the race Saturday?”
“Say yes, Laynie. Say yes!” River encourages. I can always count on my daughter to be on my side.
Layne’s hands lift slowly until they’re in fists at her hips. Her chest rises and falls at a quicker rate than before, but she disguises it by holding every third breath in for an extra count. Her eyes narrow at the corners and silently ask me what the hell I think I’m doing. But I can see past her false bravado, the brave front she shows to everyone else. What she really wants to know is if she can trust me.
“It’s a lot of fun,” I say as I put River down. “This is the first year they’ve had the race with doubles.” I purposely don’t say couples because she’d spook worse than Frankie does. “It should be interesting to see how it works out.”
River is jumping up and down, tugging on one of Layne’s hands that she managed to pry free from her hip. Layne takes a deep breath and puts on her best smile. “Sure. Let’s win a race.”
I don’t comment on her lack of enthusiasm at spending a day on the water with me. I don’t mention that she doesn’t seem to honestly want to be in this race. I won’t bring up that my daughter and I have essentially coerced her into agreeing to spend time with me yet again. She agreed, and I will take that and run as far with it as I can.
“I’ll sign us up for it tomorrow. You’ll love it, I guarantee it.”
“Yes, I’m sure I will,” she nods and purses her lips. “Well, I’d better get going now. I have a few errands to take care of myself.”
“See you tomorrow, Layne,” I reply as she starts to walk off.
She turns to look at me one last time, and the vulnerability in her eyes seems to physically grab me. “Bye, Ace,” she half whispers.
Fifteen minutes later, I’m about to put River in the bathtub when there’s a knock on my door. “Who could that be?”
“Maybe Laynie came back.”
“I doubt that,” I answer. But that’s exactly what I’m hoping, too. When I open the door, I find my sister on the other side. “Hey, sis, what’s up?”
“Aunt Lily!”
“Hey, Squirt,” Lily says as she scoops River up to hug her.
“Since I’m off work tomorrow, I thought I’d come get River tonight and she can spend the weekend with me. We haven’t had a girls’ weekend in a long time,” Lily explains. “What do you say, River?”
“Yay!” she screams. Loudly.
“I think that’s a yes.” I squint and plug my ear with my finger, trying to restore hearing to my busted eardrum.
“You pack her clothes and toys for a long weekend while I give her a bath,” Lily laughs. “We’ll be out of your hair in no time.”
One thing I’ve learned in my thirty years is I don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. If my sister wants to take her niece for the weekend, who am I to stop her? While Lily and River make a mess of the bathroom with bathtub swimming lessons, I pack River’s princess suitcase with every piece of clothing and every toy she could possibly need over the next couple of days. It’s not like my sister doesn’t live a few houses down from me, on the same street even, if she were to need anything else.
“Okay, she’s all clean and dressed in her jammies,” Lily laughs. “We’ll be in the tent if you need us.”
“The one in your living room?” I laugh and shake my head. My sister wouldn’t sleep in a tent outside if her life depended on it.
“Of course. It’s much more comfortable to camp with air conditioning, TV, and a fully stocked kitchen,” she replies dryly.
“Be good for Aunt Lily,” I tell River before kissing her goodnight. “I’ll see you at the race Saturday.”
“Okay, Daddy. I love you.”
My heart melts every time she says it. “I love you, baby.”