I sat down across from the two of them and shook my head. “Not now. I don’t even have a book to read. We put them all in the car.”
“Will you read me one of the books we got before bed tonight?” Lane looked up at me with such hope in his eyes that I didn’t want to say no right away.
“Calla has to go home at some point,” Holt said. “Although, I was wondering if you might be available to stay a little late on Friday night. I’ve got a standing commitment for dinner with my brothers and a few of my guy friends. If you can’t, it’s not a big deal.”
“It should be fine. I can read you some of the dino books we got on Friday. How does that sound?”
Lane nodded.
“It’s settled then. Let’s figure out what we want to eat for lunch.” Holt said.
Lunch passed relatively smoothly, and Nellie only gloated for a few minutes about being right that I’d be a good fit to watch Lane for the summer. After Holt picked up the tab and kissed Lane goodbye, he took off for the fire tower and I took Lane home, stopping at the store on the way. Lane asked if I knew how to make mac and cheese the way Nellie did, so I called my grandma and got her secret recipe. I figured I could make it up and have it ready for both of them when Holt got home. That way he wouldn’t have to worry about making dinner.
Lane played with his new dinosaurs while I shredded cheese and boiled noodles. Once I had dinner done and cooling on the counter, we went outside, and I set up the sprinkler so he could run through it.
“You come too!” Lane yelled as he motioned me over.
“I can’t. I didn’t bring my swimsuit, and I don’t have anything dry to change into after.” He was having so much fun, I was almost tempted to join him. Instead, I took another sip of the iced tea I’d brewed earlier and settled back onto the lounge chair.
“Please?” He came over and flung himself into my lap, soaking me in the process.
“You stinker. You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” I wasn’t mad, just surprised. When he laughed and took off running, I got up and chased him.
He ran back and forth over the sprinkler, and I gave up and gave in. When Holt pulled into the drive, I was soaked straight down to my underwear. My hair hung in long, wet chunks over my shoulders, and my t-shirt clung to my chest.
As soon as Holt stepped out of the truck, Lane ran over and threw himself into his dad’s arms. Holt hugged him back, then must have realized Lane was sopping wet. When he pulled back, there was a Lane-sized print left on the front of his shirt and pants.
“What are the two of you doing?” He walked toward the house, his gaze sweeping over the wet grass and landing on me.
“Lane wanted to run through the sprinkler. I wasn’t going to join him but then he got me all wet.”
Holt stared right at me, his eyes filling with the same kind of haunted heat I felt every time I let myself look at him. That was the moment I realized running through the sprinkler in a thin, light tee was a mistake I couldn’t take back.
“I’ll get you a towel.” He ripped his gaze away and took long, quick steps to the house.
“I told you it would be okay.” Lane tugged on my hand, pulling me toward the door.
Holt returned with two beach towels. He tossed one at me without making eye contact, then bent and wrapped Lane up in the other. “Let’s get you dried off so we can figure out what we’re going to have for dinner.”
“Calla made macaroni and cheese. She said I have to have broccoli with it, but we also got ice cream for dessert,” Lane said.
Holt looked over at me. I’d wrapped myself up in the towel, embarrassed that he’d seen me in a see-through t-shirt. “You made dinner?”
“Yeah. Lane asked if he could have mac and cheese, so we stopped by the store.”
“Can she eat with us?” Lane jumped up and down, evidently excited by the prospect of having an extra at the table.
“I need to get home and change,” I told him. “But we’ll have dinner together on Friday when your dad goes out. Have you ever made your own pizza before?”
His eyes widened. “With pineapple?”
“Pineapple on pizza should be outlawed,” Holt said.
I smiled, hoping we could pretend like everything was normal. “I happen to like pineapple on my pizza.”
“Let me give you something to change into for your drive home.” Holt nudged his chin toward the front door. “You’ve got a long drive, and I don’t want you to catch a cold.”
“It’s really not necessary. I’ve got the towel, and?—”
