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Doing his best to pretend that nothingwas wrong, he got down in the sand with Kiley and opened the sand toys, “Safety first, Montgomery taught me that,” he said. “Now you won’t have to worry if you take her down to the water.”
Kiley seemed to think going to the water was a good idea. With the shovel clasped in one hand and the bucket in the other, she slowly crawled toward the ocean. “It looks like someone wants to try it out,” Kira said, scooping Kiley up and setting her in her lap. “Help me figure out how to get this on.”
***Kira***
“I’m sorry if my parents are being a little hard on you,” Kira said when they reached the water. “They’re just looking out for me.”
“That’s okay, I understand,” he said. “Besides, they haven’t been that bad.”
“Yeah, well, it might get worse,” she said, wincing. “I guess I should have warned you, but I didn’t think they’d act this way.”
“Kira, it’s okay, I mean it,” Simon said. “After everything you’ve all been through, I can understand why they might be a little wary of me. I don’t think it’s anything personal. I think they just want to make sure that you’re okay.”
“I guess you’re right,” she said, stretching up to give him a kiss. “They just need some time.”
“Exactly,” Simon said. “I don’t want you to worry about me. You should be having fun with Kiley.”
The baby was wiggling in her arms and reaching for the water, so she put her down, laughing when Kiley toddled over to the water, then tried to run away when a wave came toward her. It didn’t take long for Kiley’s fear to evaporate and the three of them were soon splashing around in the waves, the baby laughing and babbling. When Kiley had herfill of the waves, Simon retrieved the sand toys he’d bought for her, and they settled on the sand away from the water.
Simon showed Kiley the shovel and together they filled a bucket with wet sand, then he flipped it over. A second later, the baby used her little fist to destroy the little structure. He laughed and built her another one. This time the destruction was even worse, but it came with so much laughter and giggling, and they both joined in. She watched Simon playing with her daughter for a long time, seeing another side of him, and hope swelled inside her as a future for the three of them suddenly became a reality.
When Kiley grew tired of the game, she started crawling back toward the water, “I’ve got her,” Simon said, jumping to his feet and sweeping Kiley into his arms. Kiley looked surprised at first, and for a second, she thought she was going to cry, but she looked into Simon’s eyes and smiled at him. “How about if I take her for a little walk so you can have a few minutes alone with your parents? I’m sure you have some things you’d like to talk about with them without the baby around.”
“Are you sure?” she asked. “Toddlers can be a real handful.”
“I won’t let her out of my sight,” Simon said. “I promise she’ll be perfectly safe.”
“I wasn’t worried about her,” she said. “I was worried about you.”
He laughed, the looked over at the baby, “We’re going to be just fine, aren’t we, princess?” he said. “This will give the two of us a chance to get to know each other. Now go spend some time with your parents.”
Kiley was already babbling at Simon and pointing to the water, “Okay, but if you need help, just yell,” she said. “I would like to know exactly what happened with my parentsthe other night.”
By the time she reached her parents, who were sitting in the shade of a big palm tree, Simon and Kiley were walking along the shore, stomping through the waves, her happy laughter carrying all the way to them. The three of them watched for a while, then she turned to her parents, bracing herself for the questions she knew were coming about Simon, including a few she didn’t know how she was going to answer.
“Simon seems nice,” her mother said, surprising her. “He’s not married, is he?”
“No, Mom, he’s single, he’s never been married and doesn’t have any kids of his own,” she said. “We’ve only known each other for a week. I don’t even know if we’ll see each other when we leave the island, so don’t go jumping to any conclusions.”
Her father made a sound in the back of his throat, “As long he doesn’t have a crazy wife who’s going to show up on my doorstep raving like a mad woman,” he said, then shook his head. “I’m sorry, Kira, I know you were deceived and lied to, but that woman……”
“No, I’m the one who’s sorry, Dad,” she said. “I never thought she’d show up at your house. I never would have come on this trip if I’d known that would happen.”
“You couldn’t have known,” her mother said. “None of us really understood how deeply this all affected her. I know I should be angry at her, but I just feel sorry for her. She was ranting and raving about you stealing her baby, she’s convinced you somehow managed to steal Kiley from her womb. I don’t know if she’s dangerous or not, but she needs some professional help.”
A new wave of guilt washed over her, and she looked over at Simon and Kiley, still splashing through the waves, “I can’t change anything that happened. It wasn’t my fault, but I still feel bad for the woman,” she said. “And I’m sorry you had togo through that, but I promise Mary Beth will make sure nothing like that ever happens again.”
“I just hope you’re being more cautious this time,” her father said. “Kiley should be your first priority. She’s just a baby, and everything you do affects her.”
“Dad, I know that, I don’t need you to lecture me,” she said. “I didn’t spend the last year of my life fighting to keep her just to ignore her, and I’m a little insulted that you think that I would. Where is this coming from?”
“Sweetheart, you father is just being a bit over protective,” her mother said. “Simon seems nice, and he’s……well, not exactly the most handsome man you’ve ever dated, not that looks matter.”
“He doesn’t have a job,” her father said. “Why doesn’t he have a job?”
She knew the conversation was about to get tricky and tried to choose her words carefully, “He’s from a wealthy family. Until recently he hasn’t needed to work, but he had a falling out with his father and he cut him off.”
“Was that supposed to make me feel better?” her father asked. “Kira, something feels off about him. I’ve been trying to ignore the feeling, but it won’t go away. I’m just trying to look out for you.”
