Page 51

And I realized I could be myself too. I loved this girl with my whole heart. She was more than just the kid I nannied for. She was practically my best friend outside of Della and Henrietta.
After swimming around the water in her life jacket while I held her tube, she climbed in, resting back so her wet, tangled hair fell over the black tube and skimmed the water. She let out a happy sigh. “I like this.”
“Me too,” I agreed. It was exactly what I needed to set my aching heart at ease.
“You know my dad went on a date Saturday?” she asked.
My heart hitched, her words such a contrast to the carefree moment we just had. “He did, huh?” I said nonchalantly.
“He told me.”
That was sweet, Fletcher keeping Maya in the loop about that. Me on the other hand? I was definitely going to hell, because I couldn’t hold back my next question. “What did he say about the date?”
Maya shrugged her little shoulders, making the pink ruffles of her swimsuit strap move. “He said they were just friends.”
I couldn’t decide whether to be happy he was talking about Morganne or sad because the same applied to me. “It’s good to have friends.” I tried to convince myself.
“Yeah, but I want Dad to have a girlfriend.”
“What about your mom?” I asked. Just a couple months ago, she was wishing her mom would come back.
With a frown, she said. “Mom called me last weekend. She said she has a new boyfriend.”
My heart broke for her, for the way she wouldn’t quite meet my eyes. “Are you okay?”
She nodded sadly, wiping at her nose. “I want Dad to be happy too.”
“What makes you think he isn’t?”
“Because he smiles more when you’re around.”
My heart wrenched. This sweet girl noticed more than we gave her credit for. “Are you sure he’s not smiling because I have a booger hanging from my nose?” I lifted up the tip of my nose for good measure and made pig sounds.
“Liv-vy.” She gave me an exasperated giggle.
I smiled back at her, dipping my toes in the water. “Your dad will date when the time’s right. But until then, he’s already got a great girl in his life.”
She smiled sheepishly back at me, and we changed the subject, talking about the upcoming school year, what kind of school supplies she liked, and what kind of books she wanted to read.
We’d done so much outside in our time together, but I made a mental note to take her to the public library later this week. We could do some reading in the air conditioning to get her back in the habit of focusing on schoolwork, especially when she didn’t have swim lessons.
Up ahead, I spotted our ending point. “There’s Candycane,” I said, pointing at the old pickup my parents had left for us. It had a red cab with a white truck bed and was at least twenty years old. It wouldn’t drive over forty miles an hour, but it was great for bopping around the pasture.
“It has a name too?” she asked.
“We name everything,” I said. “Well, I do at least.”
“What’s your truck’s name?” Maya asked.
“Bernice,” I replied.
We got out, carrying our tubes toward the sandy creed bed. Mom had left a couple towels in the pickup, so we dried off and ate our snacks before heading back to my pickup with the windows rolled down and warm wind pouring in the cab.
“We should have a tubing party for my birthday,” she said. “And invite all my uncles!”
I smiled over at her. “I bet you could sweet talk them into it.”
“Will you come?” she asked.