Page 50 of Coast

“You walk ‘em on the weekend?”

“No. But I know the last time I was sick, I was down for a good four or five days.”

“We’ll figure it out.”

We.

My heart had no right to clench the way it did at that word.

“I can’t ask you—”

“You’re not asking. Are you always so shit at accepting help?”

“I never get offered help,” I admitted, finishing up the rest of my sports drink.

“Well, now you do. So don’t be a pain in the ass about it,” he said, getting a laugh out of me.

“I’ll work on that,” I agreed.

There was a wailing outside the door, followed by Brooke’s voice.

“Well, when you pull your sister’s hair, you don’t get to play in the pool anymore. Them’s the rules. You don’t gotta like ‘em but you do gotta respect ‘em. I think you need a little nap, don’t you, moody butt?”

“Maybe you need a nap too,” Coast said.

“I just woke up.”

“Yeah, but you’re sick.”

“I’ll sleep eventually. How’s she doing?” I asked, looking at Lainey as Coast flipped her over onto her belly.

“Yeah, I know. Tummy time sucks,” he said as Lainey grumbled. “But you gotta do it or you’re gonna have a wonky neck. And not to mention one of those flat heads. No one wants that. She’s good,” he said.

“Is she hot?”

“Not yet, no. Sounds a little stuffier now, though. But I found that thing you have that sucks the snot out, if it comes to that.”

“That one seemed a lot less gross than the one you have to use a tube and your mouth to suck out the snot.”

“You’re serious?” Coast asked, lip curled.

“I am. People swear by those. But I just can’t.”

“Remember the days of steam and tissues,” Coast said as Lainey’s head bobbed up and down like it was too heavy for her shoulders. “Supposed to be doing this on a hard surface,” he said, flipping her back onto her back. “Need to get one of those mats, right?” he asked her, reaching for his phone.

“You’ve spent enough—”

“Got plenty more to spend,” he said.

“Coast…”

“Zoe…”

“Hey, look,” he said, turning the phone to my daughter. “They make gel-filled ones now where little animals movearound. What do you like more… fish or turtles? Yeah, fish are pretty cool. You want the pink ones or the yellow ones?”

“Ooh,” Lainey hooted up at him.

“Yeah, that caterpillar thing is cool too. And add to cart. What the fuck is this? You want some socks with toys attached? Stick those in your mouth instead of your toes.”

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