be swimming like a fish in no time.”
Fortunately, when Ellery returned from her playhouse a little while later, she’d made up her mind to try to learn to swim, and Patrick let her maintain the illusion that it had been her choice.
Two lessons later, Ellery was proving her dad right. She seemed well on her way to learning to swim and getting over her fear of water.
The first lesson had been touch and go until a boy from her kindergarten class showed up. Not wanting to look bad in front of a classmate, Ellery had gotten in the water and cooperated with the lifeguard who was giving instructions.
During the second lesson, Imogen and Patrick lounged by the pool, watching Ellery play a game where she had to swim through a hoop held by the instructor. The idea was to get the kids more comfortable in the water. Ellery didn’t like getting her face wet to pass through the hoop, but she was doing it.
“You were right,” Imogen said to Patrick over the sounds of splashing and laughter. “Although I do wonder why you didn’t just teach her yourself.”
“I’m a doer, not a teacher,” Patrick said. “I can give orders with the best of them, but explaining how to do something isn’t my thing.” He leaned back, looking comfortable in the lounge chair. “Besides, it’s never a good idea to teach someone who’s so close to you.”
“Really?” she asked, surprised by his statement. That wasn’t her philosophy at all. “I’ve always thought that knowing and loving someone made it easier to teach them.”
“It’s obvious that you care for your students,” he said, his eyes meeting hers, “so that must work for you.”
“It does.” She was going to say more, but Ellery climbed from the pool and dashed toward them, flinging droplets as she went. She grabbed her father’s arm and tried to pull him back toward the water.
For a second, Imogen wasn’t sure what he would do. Sometimes he reacted badly to spontaneous behavior, but not this time. He scooped up his wet daughter and jumped into the pool holding her. Imogen laughed, glad that he’d worn swim trunks and a T-shirt to the lesson or it would have been a soggy drive home.
Since the class was over and other kids were leaving, there was plenty of space in the pool for dad and daughter to play. They splashed each other, and Patrick dove underwater to grab Ellery’s legs and make her squeal. He seemed to know how much to do to make Ellery laugh without frightening her. After a few minutes, Patrick just held his daughter and floated in the water with her.
Imogen wanted to take a picture to preserve the intimate moment. Patrick and Ellery were understanding each other better, and the love she’d seen between them from the beginning was apparent so often now.
Imogen had wondered if she’d feel uncomfortable as the two of them grew closer, since she was on the outside to a certain extent—but she wasn’t. She was glad for them, glad they’d have a relationship long after she was out of their lives. The thought of being disconnected from them in the future made her sad, but that was the arrangement she’d agreed to.
Suddenly, Ellery giggled and began yanking her dad’s shirt up around his shoulders in an attempt to trap him in the material. Clever little girl, trying to give herself the advantage, Imogen thought as she watched Patrick struggle with the wet fabric. When he couldn’t resettle it, he pulled it off, then immediately tried to put the shirt back on. Why, she wondered. His body was first-rate. He was standing in the pool now, and she could see his tatted-up chest and ripped abs above the waterline.
“Let me get my shirt back on,” he said to Ellery, his voice unexpectedly sharp as she dodged around, trying to splash him.
Giving up on the sodden shirt, Patrick tossed it on the pool deck and backed toward the edge. He’d caught Ellery in front of him and was holding her at arm’s length, making no response to her playful actions as he had just moments earlier. Imogen couldn’t understand his behavior. She stood up and walked to the pool, freezing when she caught a glimpse of his exposed back and realized what the problem was. Deep scars sliced across his skin from shoulder to shoulder; a more jagged one ran alongside his spine, then veered to one side. Her breath left her body in