Page 48 of Lowering His Guard

I don’t want a reminder. The climb took a good five years off of my life. Watching her and Jace scale a rock was not good for my heart.

“I still say you cheated,” Jace mutters.

“I have technique.”

“At least you did it. Dad wouldn’t even try.”

I grunt. “The rigging material wasn’t strong enough for me.”

“Because you’re a giant!” May shouts. Jace raises his hand to high-five her.

“Whatever,” I mutter as I shut the door and hurry around to the driver’s seat. I’m secretly happy with how well they get along. They can make fun of me as much as they want as long as my kid’s smiling and laughing.

“Be careful,” May says as I begin driving toward the resort. “Sammy is more active in the late afternoon.”

Jace pokes his head between our seats. “Is Sammy real?”

She gasps. “Of course, he’s real. Have you not seen the pictures on the app? I hate the app, but the pictures of Sammy are adorable.”

She opens her phone and they flip through the pictures together.

“Can we go find him now?” Jace asks.

“It’s better to go mid-afternoon. He’s lazy when the sun’s out,” May says and I nod to thank her. I don’t want my son to go seal chasing. Seals are wild animals.

She winks at me. This woman is too smart for her own good. She knew what I was thinking before I thought it.

“Tomorrow?” Jace asks around a yawn.

She glances over at me before responding. I shrug. Tomorrow’s Sunday and we have no plans. On the other hand, I need to spend most of the day working out to make my redo weigh-in on Monday.

“I don’t want Jace stealing all of your time.”

She giggles. “Stealing my time. Is my time a commodity he can sell on the black market?”

Jace snorts. “Black market? Everyone knows you sell illegal stuff on the dark web.”

I growl. “You better not be on the dark web.”

He sighs. “I don’t even know how to get on there.”

“Good.” I don’t know much about the dark web. But I know it’s a place my kid should stay away from.

“I can’t steal May’s time and sell it anyway,” he mutters.

“I don’t know. My time is pretty valuable. Who else can teach you to ride a green wave all the way in, in a week? No one but me.” She does a hang-ten gesture with her hands.

“When I’m in the advanced class next week, will you teach me how to go down the line?”

She glances behind her at Jace. “Class next week? I didn’t realize you signed up for another class.”

“I enjoy surfing. It’s cool.”

“What the hell is going down the line?” I ask.

“It’s when you ride along the face of the wave instead of straight toward the beach.”

I gulp. “Sounds dangerous.”