Page 9 of A Way Out
She paused in the doorway and stared. There were three children out here. They appeared to range in age from teen to maybe older elementary school. They were clustered together, all in swimsuits, towels draped over their shoulders, while Oz lectured them on the merits of water safety and obeying the rules.
Normally, Maria would have been impressed by this little scene. A father, actively involved in his kids’ lives. One who disciplined them appropriately, expected them to make smart decisions.
Except if Oz was a father, that meant there was a mother in the picture too. And that bit of information was far more crushing than it should be.
As a total aside, he didn’t look a day over thirty, and if he had teenage kids, that meant he either started in high school or he was far older than he looked.
“Mommy, I want to swim,” Riley announced, loud enough to draw the attention of Oz and all three of his children.
The youngest, a girl, abandoned her siblings and strode over Maria and Riley, just inside the open door.
“Hi,” she said, waving at Riley. “I’m Isabel. What’s your name?”
“Riley.”
“Do you want to swim with us?”
Oz jogged up and let his hands drop onto Isabel’s shoulders. “Hang on, Izzie. We don’t even know if she can swim. She’s a lot younger than you.”
“Oh, she loves the water,” Maria assured him. “She’s been taking private swim lessons since her first birthday. Her instructor says she’s very advanced. I also thought to bring her life vest. I figured we’d stay for a while and…”
And her sister wasn’t here, so that was out of the question. When was the wedding? Next weekend. Maria needed to make a plan. She was so sick of traveling at this point, but checking flights to southern Missouri should be her next priority.
“Well, if you’re cool with it, she can play with the older kids while we talk,” Oz said.
“I don’t want to intrude. I just need to call Holly back and figure out my next steps.” She needed a shower. She needed to eat. She needed a good night’s sleep. She needed to figure out where she would be staying in Missouri. If she remembered correctly—clearly questionable at this point—Holly had booked a lodge in the mountains, and all the wedding guests were staying there.
Should she let Vic know where she’d gone? And where she was heading next?
“You’re not intruding,” Oz said. “It’s your sister’s house. If anyone’s intruding, it’s us. Come on, I’ll show you to an empty bedroom.” He turned to throw the eldest two a stern look. “Stay out of the pool until I’m back.”
Once again, she followed Oz and his spectacular butt as he led her upstairs to one of what she knew were six bedrooms. This one had a Jack and Jill setup.
“I hope you don’t mind sharing a bathroom with me,” he said.
“Not at all,” she said automatically. What else was she supposed to say?
“Are you hungry? I can make sandwiches. It’s probably time to feed the kids anyway.”
“I’m hungry,” Riley announced before Maria could tell him it wasn’t necessary to feed them.
Oz chuckled. “Do you like ham and cheese?”
Riley nodded.
“Do you eat the crusts?”
Riley glanced up at Maria, clearly confused by the question.
“She eats the crust. Her nanny never gave her the option,” Maria explained, and oh God, did that sound pretentious? Add worrying about her tone to her ever-growing list of concerns.
“I ask because Izzie had a meltdown the first time I served her a sandwich with the crust on, and she was probably about Riley’s age.”
Fascinating that he hadn’t realized his youngest daughter didn’t like crusts until she was three. Vic wouldn’t be aware of a detail like that, but Oz seemed so much more involved with his kids than Vic ever had been with Riley.
Then again, toddlers were finicky little people, so it was entirely possible Izzie had developed the affinity overnight.
“I’ll go grab your luggage for you,” Oz said, but Maria shook her head.
