Page 40 of XOXO, Summer
He looks up at me. “It’s fun. I like fishing. Can we go fishing?” I’ve fished a few times in life, not enough to consider myself an expert or anything, but enough to get by. “Dolly can show you how to fish. She’s good at it.”
Though I have no regrets spending time at the cottage with Summer, I could have done without the plumber interaction. “Guess I should have joined you two. I’d like to go fishing with you, buddy.”
“We can this summer. I can show you how to attach the gummy worm to the hook.”
My head bobs forward as my eyes pop wider. “You use gummy worms?”
“Dolly says it lures ’em right in and makes the fish sweeter to eat.”
Rubbing my hand over the scruff that’s growing over my jawline, I laugh. Dolly is quite the character. “I bet it does. Hey, so, the pipes aren’t fixed.”
“Do we get to sleep at Summer’s again?”
“Is that okay? It might be a few nights.”
“I like the swing.” His little shoulders bounce up. “And she’s nice. It’s okay with me if we stay there.” He moves a rock to draw a line in the sand beneath it with a stick. “Dad?”
Picking up a stone, I throw it into the ocean. “Yes?”
When he looks up again, he says, “You told me to never compromise my values.”
“I told youthat when you were little. Impressed you remember.” He nods as a sense of pride rolls through me. “Do you know what it means?”
With his brown eyes staring into mine, he replies, “It means you don’t have to play nice?—”
“Well, not exact?—”
“Or be liked. You just have to play your best, play fair, and know you gave it your all.”
That’s hard to argue with on the heels of being told to compromise my values. I say, “You’ve given me a lot to think about, son.”
“Why is Summer upset?”
I flip my attention to where she’s standing on the deck, hand covering her mouth, and eyes staring into nothingness. “Go on in and pack your things to move over to the pink house for a few nights.” I stand. “I’m going to check on her.”
He gets up and marches through the lawn to grab a towel from a bench. Wrapping it around him, he heads inside just as I approach Summer.
Her phone is on the picnic table closer to the house, and when she sees me, she lowers her hand. I’m not sure there are words to comfort her when she looks like the rug’s been pulled out from under her. I wrap her in my arms and kiss the top of her head. It’s not her lips, but I savor the connection just the same. “What’s wrong?”
“She’s selling.”
“Who’s selling what?”
Taking a sobering breath, she spreads her arms to free herself and moves a few steps back. Turning once toward the water, she stares for only the briefest of seconds before turning slightly away, lost in her thoughts. She doesn’t seem to know what to do before she finally faces me, and says, “Mrs. Dover owns this cottage and another. She’s selling both of them.”
“You never did give me the long and short of it. Let’s sit down and talk about it.”
“I can’t, Daniel. I know you’re only trying to help, but everything I’ve worked so hard for . . .” It’s the first time she doesn’t use her hands to assist her. Her arms hang lifelessly at her sides instead, while her eyes glass over. “Is being sold out from under me.”
I hold her hand and pull her to the picnic bench to sit with me. “What do you mean? Why would she do that to you?”
Her shoulders fold over when she says, “That asshole Bryan called her and told her the entire plumbing has to be redone.” Such a fucker. “She panicked and called one of the companies who offered her money sight unseen a few months back.”
“But you wanted it.”
“I have worked my ass off for this property for four years. I did some of the updates myself. I made my sisters help me build this freaking deck in the middle of winter.” She turns to me and says, “She promised she’d give me a chance to present my offer and seriously consider what I’m offering since it’s more than money.” Closing her eyes, she sighs, the wind stolen out from under her sails. She drops her head in her hands.
When her shoulders shake, I move closer and hold her in my arms. Rubbing her back, I say, “I know it’s hard to see the light when you’re lost in the dark, but I promise you it’s going to be okay.”
