He sounded disappointed that we wouldn’t sprout wings and lift off. “You wanna see how fast we can go?” I asked, feeling the familiar heat warming up my muscles. Ian was right, this was an excellent workout. An hour or so of paddling, and I’d be feeling it for sure.
“Yes!” Trent shouted. “Faster!”
“Not too fast, though,” Carly cautioned.
“We have life jackets and I was in the Navy, babe. You worry too much. Trust me. I won’t let anything bad happen to you or Trent.” I might be a fuckup, but I would never put them in danger.
“Please, Mom? I wanna go fast.”
The look she gave me didn’t exactly project trust, but she didn’t argue. Her trust issues were proving to be the tallest hurdle I’d ever encountered. If she would just open up, I would protect them off the water, too.
Carly took a deep breath and put her paddle in the water. “Okay, let’s do this.”
We hauled ass on that kayak.
At first, Trent looked a little worried at the speed in which we raced over the waves. Then he started laughing and hooting, making Carly do the same. It felt fucking amazing to watch them both relax and have fun. I kept at it until my arms and chest screamed at me to take a break. Slowing down the pace to a resting recovery, we drifted over the water, circling around to head back toward the boat launch.
“How do you even know which way to go?” Carly asked.
“The sun. The angle of the land. Again, Navy, babe. I used to be a ship mechanic.”
“You went on ships?” Trent asked, gaping at me in disbelief.
“Yep. Giant ships carrying lots of sailors.”
“That is so cool. I want to go on a giant ship.”
“Have you taken him to the USS Turner Joy?” I asked Carly.
“I don’t know what that is.”
“It’s an old destroyer that they turned into a museum. It’s in Bremerton. We should take the ferry out next weekend and see it.”
Carly’s eyes clouded over as she looked away. “I work weekends.”
“Where?” I asked, remembering that she’d been working when she came to pick up Trent the day he got in trouble.
“The bar.”
That was a bullshit excuse. “You work nights at the bar. The museum’s only open during the day.”
“Please, Mom?” Trent asked, turning his pleading eyes on her.
“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. Let’s just enjoy today and see what happens.”
I didn’t want to enjoy today and see what happened. I wanted to plan shit with them, so I knew we’d be going out again. All three of us were having fun, so why the fuck was she shutting me down?
We paddled slowly in silence. The warmth of the sun and the rocking of the kayak proved to be too much for Trent and his eyelids began to droop. He sagged to the side. Moments later, his eyes popped open and he straightened before doing it all again. The little man couldn’t fight sleep much longer, so I gently took his paddle from him and helped him settle in and get comfortable.
“I’m not sleepy,” he said, his eyelids drooping again.
“I get it, T-man. Just rest your eyes for a minute.”
“You won’t leave?” he asked.
“We’re on the water, buddy. Where would I go?”
“Promise you won’t go before I wake up?”
