took her to dinner in Wilmington. Afterward, they’d walked the downtown streets holding hands and browsing the shops. Every now and then, she saw Alex regarding her with amusement.
“What?” she finally demanded.
“I was just thinking that you don’t look like an Erin. You look like a Katie.”
“I should look like a Katie,” she said. “That’s my name and I’ve got a driver’s license to prove it.”
“I know you do,” he said. “Now all you need is a car.”
“Why do I need a car?” She shrugged. “It’s a small town and I’ve got a bike. And when it’s raining, there’s this guy who’s willing to drive me anywhere I need to go. It’s almost like having a chauffeur.”
“Really?”
“Uh-huh. And I’m pretty sure that if I asked, he’d even let me borrow his car. I have him wrapped around my little finger.”
Alex cocked an eyebrow. “He doesn’t sound like much of a man.”
“He’s all right,” she teased. “He seemed a little desperate in the beginning, what with all the freebies he gave me, but I eventually got used to it.”
“You have a heart of gold.”
“Obviously,” she said. “I’m pretty much one in a million.”
He laughed. “I’m beginning to think that you’re finally coming out of your shell and I’m beginning to glimpse the real you.”
She walked a few steps in silence. “You know the real me,” she said, stopping to peer up at him. “More than anyone else.”
“I know,” he said, pulling her toward him. “And that’s why I think that somehow we were meant to find each other.”
Though the store was as busy as ever, Alex took a vacation. It was his first in a while, and he spent most afternoons with Katie and the kids, relishing the lazy days of summer in a way he hadn’t since childhood. He fished with Josh and built dollhouses with Kristen; he took Katie to a jazz festival in Myrtle Beach. When the fireflies were out in force, they caught dozens with nets and put them in a jar; later that night, they watched the eerie glow with a mixture of wonder and fascination before Alex finally opened the lid.
They rode their bikes and went to the movies, and when Katie wasn’t working evenings, Alex liked to fire up the grill. The kids would eat and then swim in the creek until it was almost dark. After they’d showered and gone to bed, Alex would sit with Katie on the small dock out back, their legs dangling over the water, while the moon slowly traversed the sky. They sipped wine and talked about nothing important, but Alex grew to savor those quiet moments together.
Kristen particularly loved spending time with Katie. When the four of them were walking together, Kristen often reached for Katie’s hand; when she fell down in the playground, she’d begun to run to Katie. While it warmed Alex’s heart to see those things, he always felt a pang of sadness, too, because it reminded him that he could never be everything that his daughter needed, no matter how hard he tried. Still, when Kristen came running up to him and asked if Katie could take her shopping, Alex couldn’t say no. Though Alex made a point to take her shopping once or twice a year, he tended to view it more as a parental duty than an opportunity for fun. By contrast, Katie seemed delighted by the idea. After giving Katie some money, Alex handed her the keys to the jeep and waved from the parking lot as they left.
As happy as Katie’s presence had made Kristen, Josh’s feelings weren’t quite as obvious. The day before, Alex had picked him up from a friend’s swimming party, and he hadn’t said anything to either Katie or Alex the rest of the evening. Earlier, at the beach, he’d been subdued as well. Alex knew that something was bothering him and suggested that they get out their fishing poles, just as dusk was settling in. Shadows began to stretch across the blackened water and the creek was still, a darkened mirror reflecting the slowly drifting clouds.
They cast their lines for an hour while the sky turned violet, then indigo, the lures making circular ripples as they splashed into the water. Josh remained strangely quiet. At other times the tableau might have seemed peaceful, but now Alex had the nagging feeling that something was wrong. Just when he was about to ask Josh about it, however, his son half-swiveled in his direction.