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I help her out of the water, and she looks good enough to eat, her shirt wet, her nipples plucking at the fabric. I stand in front of her to shield her from Jesse’s eyes and take the phone from him with a questioning look.
“It’s Daisy’s mom, Sara.”
“Sara?” I answer quickly.
“Cash.” Sara sounds stressed. “Cash, I’m sorry to call you like this. I know you just dropped Alex off, but she’s crying and asking after you. I don’t know what happened, I—”
“I’ll be there in ten minutes,” I say, and hang up. I turn to June. “Alex is upset. I’m going to pick her up.”
“Do you need me to come with you?” June asks, placing a hand on my forearm.
I want to say yes, but this is my daughter, and it’s June’s day off. “I’ve got it.”
“Are you sure?”
I nod.
“Do you know what the problem is? Is Alex okay?” Jesse asks.
“Going to find out.” Adrenaline is already pumping through my veins. If someone hurt my daughter, I’ll tear them limb from limb.
June walks with me until we reach the start of the trail to Diver’s Point. Marci rushes over, wide-eyed.
I grab June by the arm and turn her toward me. “Stay safe, June.”
“She’ll be fine,” Marci starts, “she’s a grown—”
I fix my stare on her and she gives a little squeak, her cheeks pinking. “She better be fine,” I say.
“Cash,” June says. “Relax.”
I want to kiss her, but I resist, settling for a quick touch of my palm to her cheek. “See you at home.” And then I charge off toward my pickup. I make it to Daisy’s house in under five minutes, and I’m sure Jesse would’ve cited my ass for it, but I don’t care.
Sara opens the door the minute I pull up, and Alex comes out, her cheeks streaked with tears.
I run up to her and hold her close. “What’s wrong, honey?”
Alex shakes her head, biting her lip.
“You want to talk in the truck?”
She nods.
I thank Sara, and she asks that I update her. I’m sure Daisy’s bummed that Alex can’t stay over, but I don’t see the girl. I walk my sweetheart to the truck and sit her inside, then get in and start the engine. We drive off a little and park down the street, so she doesn’t feel like her friend’s watching out the front windows of her house.
“What happened, Alex?” I ask. “Did Daisy do something? Was she mean to you?”
“I want June.”
That’s a gut punch. Not because I’m jealous that Alex wants June, but because June is going to leave at the end of summer, and what happens when Alex wants her then? “I know, honey,” I say, “but June’s got the day off, so you’ll have to settle for me.”
“It’s not like that, Dad. It’s just a girl thing.”
“A girl thing?” I’m praying that Daisy wasn’t mean to Alex. She’s finally got a friend and— “A girl thing.” The lightbulb clicks on in my brain. “Honey, is it the kind of girl thing that needs sanitary pads?” She can’t already be that old, can she?
Alex’s bottom lip wobbles, and she nods.
I let out a breath. “All right. We can deal with that. You know what, I’m going to get you what you need from the store, and you can just wait in the truck. Sound good?”
