Page 60 of Dreaming at Seaside
Caden nodded, but she could tell he was chewing on the information.
“You’re worried?”
He shifted her chair so her knees were between his legs. “Not really. I trust Evan.”
“I know I draw on what my mom said a lot, but she used to say that when you have children, you teach them right from wrong, giving them the tools they need to make good decisions, but you can’t force them down the right path.” She leaned forward, and he met her halfway, so they were eye to eye. “Then all you can do is hope they do the right thing.”
He kissed her and smiled. “She’s right, but the fatal flaw in that thinking is that you only know if they’ve made the wrong decision after they’ve already made it. That’s the part that’s hard to swallow. I spent my life taking care of Evan. Now my job is the same, to keep him safe, but it’s hindered by a teenage attitude.”
“Oh yes, that fine line between boy and man.”
“It would be easier if we hadn’t moved. I knew his friends, and they were good kids. Here the kids are a mystery to me. I saw them in town, and then again at the beach the other day, and the kids were, I don’t know, rougher, maybe. Hardened in a way that his old friends weren’t.”
Bella leaned back in her chair. “Well, thisisa tourist town, so I’d imagine that the kids who live here year-round probably spend summers the way I did. I was always with a pack of friends, riding bikes from one place to the next. It wasn’t the ocean breeze that blew through my hair at that age. It was newfound freedom. I had a bike, a new teenage body, and friends who wanted to have fun. Life was good. And what makes it even better for kids who live here year-round is that a new crop of hot girls or guys arrive weekly.”
Caden rose and began clearing the table. “Let’s not go there. I’m still getting used to him wanting to text someone more than he wants to hang with me.”
“Maybe it’s me he doesn’t want to hang with. It’s an adjustment for him to have to share you.”
“It’s not you. He told me he likes you, and that you’re…” Caden arched a brow. “Hot.”
Bella smiled as she carried the dishes inside. “At least you know the boy has good taste.”
Caden followed her inside. “He saw that picture you sent in your sexy little nightie and boots.”
Bella gasped. “Oh no. He did not.”
“Sure did. But he decided you were hot before that.”
She fisted her hands in his shirt and buried her face in his chest. “I’m so sorry. I’ll be more careful.”
“It didn’t seem to faze him. He just asked if we were dating.” Caden lifted her chin and kissed her. “I’m so glad we are.”
“Mm. Me too. I’m sorry about being so wishy-washy today. I’m definitely falling for you and Evan.”
Caden narrowed his eyes. “MeandEvan?”
“You’re a package deal. How could I fall for you and not him?”
“He’s not easy to fall for at the moment,” Caden said with a serious tone. “But you couldn’t have made me happier than you did by including him.”
“He’s just being a teenager, and besides, I’ve seen flashes from the non-testosterone zone, and I like them. He’s not going to be a teenager forever. I would like to spend time with him, though. I can’t just monopolize you.”
“I think at the moment he’s happy to let you monopolize me.” He kissed her again. “When we first moved here, we went surf fishing a lot. We’d get up at five o’clock in the morning, some days before school, and last night when I asked him if he wanted to go this morning, he said,Get up at five? No way.”
“That doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to spend time with you. It means he’s realizing that he can be separate from you. He can sleep later and go out and have as much fun with his friends as he would with you. He’s cutting the umbilical cord.”
Caden leaned against the sink and folded her into his arms. “Like I said, I get it. It’s just not easy. He’ll always be my number one responsibility, and I’m not giving that up because he wants some freedom.”
“You shouldn’t give it up. Just don’t take it personally.”
“What are you up for? Want to go for a walk? Watch a movie? Sit outside and count the stars?”
Evan burst from his bedroom mumbling under his breath. He stormed out the back doors and paced the yard.
Caden stepped toward the door, and Bella grabbed his arm. “Don’t you want to let him blow off steam first?”
His concerned eyes locked on Evan, then shifted to her, then back to Evan. “He never storms off.”
