Page 42 of Love At The Shore
Lucas closed his eyes.
No.It couldn’t be her…not now. Could it?
Sure enough, when he opened his eyes, Jenna stood glaring at him with her arms crossed and her brow furrowed. Lucas thought about shoving the stopwatch into his pocket and feigning innocence, but somehow he didn’t think that would fool anyone, least of all the most conscientious mother on the planet.
“You’re early,” Nick stammered.
Busted.
No matter how hard she tried, Jenna couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Lucas…child-averseLucas McKinnonwas at the summer camp pool, and it seemed as if he was acting as Nick’s personal swim coach.
Was she in an alternative universe or something? Never in a million years would she have expected Lucas to go out of his way to help her son. Yes, he’d been letting Ally walk Tank every morning lately. But this was different.
Sodifferent.
Coaching required time and effort. It required commitment, and Jenna was fairly certain Lucas didn’t know the meaning of the word.
Yet here he was with a whistle around his neck and a stopwatch in his hand. It was utterly confusing.
And kind of…sweet. Endearing, even.
At least it would have been if anyone had bothered telling her it was happening.
She narrowed her gaze at Nick as he climbed out of the pool.Really?This wasn’t like him. Jenna and her kids didn’t keep secrets from each other. She’d always been especially proud of the close relationship she had with Nick and Ally. They talked about everything. She thought they had, anyway.
Nick sloshed his way to the nearby bleachers and sat down. He couldn’t seem to look at her as he toweled off and slid his feet into his flipflops. Jenna didn’t know whether to feel angry or heartbroken.
Lucas’s continual presence wasn’t helping matters.
“I think I should probably leave you guys to it,” he finally said.
“That’s probably a good idea.” She tried to smile but it wobbled off her face.
She kept her arms crossed as he walked away.Keep it together. Hadn’t she already made enough of a spectacle of herself in front of him, what with the fence and everything?
Lucas took a seat on the bleachers on the opposite side of the pool, as if they were members of opposing swim teams. For some reason, the thought made Jenna feel even worse—as did the tender expression on Lucas’s face every time he glanced at Nick.
Lucas didn’t even like kids—at least that’s what he’d implied since the day she’d moved into the duplex. The affection in his eyes while he’d been grinning down at that stopwatch said otherwise, though.
She took a deep breath and sat down beside Nick. Trying to stand while she processed what she’d just seen simply wasn’t possible. “I don’t get it. We tell each other everything.”
Nick cast a wistful glance at Lucas. “I know you don’t like him.”
“Maybe as a neighbor, but this is different.” This wasn’t about distractions or noise or Tank jumping in the middle of her work.
This was about Lucas helping her kid…
Even after she’d built a literal barrier to keep him away.
But it was also about Nick lying to her. They’dbothlied to her.
“He’s a good coach, Mom. I mean, he’s not my coach but he’s been helping,” Nick said.
“That’s not the point.”
“And my time is improving. Slowly.” He gave her a hopeful grin, and somewhere beneath the guilt in his expression she saw something else there.
Pride.
