Page 25 of Summer Heat
"You can scroll through your phone. I do it too." No one was a perfect parent.
"She's a good kid."
I knew she was, but there was something about him saying that that got to me. "Thank you."
He lifted the bags of food. "But we worked up an appetite. Want to eat in the conference room or at the beach?"
"Beach!" Maya yelled from the bathroom, and we laughed.
"Beach it is." I cleaned up my workstation.
"It sucks you have to work weekends," Shep said.
"Are you going to put a good word in for me and get me out of weekend duty?"
Shep's smile slid off his face. "I don't think my word will do much for you. But you could talk to Hudson."
I shrugged. "I don't mind working weekends. It's just one morning a month."
At home, Shep had already gathered the beach items, so we changed into our suits and walked to the beach. We set up the umbrella, chairs, and towels before unwrapping our subs.
Shep opened the bag of plain chips and popped one into his mouth. "Now, this is the life."
"Do you come out here often?" I asked him between bites of my turkey sub.
Maya had already eaten her sub in the truck and was digging in the sand nearby.
He frowned. "Not really. I go for a run in the morning. That's about it."
I gestured at the beach that appeared to be private. "That's such a shame when you have the beach as your backyard."
"If I had a kid living in my house all the time, I'd obviously use the beach and the pool more."
"Do you want to settle down?" I asked, unscrewing the lid on my iced tea.
Shep shook his head. "I'm not the kind of guy that settles down."
"Are you sure about that? You took Maya to the playground, you danced with her at a festival, and now you're playing with her at the beach."
He raised a brow. "I'm not playing with her yet. But we need to build a castle with a moat."
"Can we?" Maya asked hopefully, lifting her head.
He rubbed his stomach. "A man's gotta eat before he builds a castle."
Maya's lower lip protruded as she concentrated on packing her bucket with sand.
"You're good with her." I suspected he was good with all kids.
"I have two nieces and a nephew."
I didn't think it was just because he was exposed to kids in his family. He was a natural with them.
Shep polished off the rest of his sub, cleaned up his trash, and swiped the crumbs from his lap before joining Maya in the sand. He sat cross-legged next to her, detailing his plans. He kept his voice low, presumably because it was a secret, and she nodded at him seriously.
I pulled out the book I'd brought with me but never had time to read. I tried to focus on the words on the page and not the sweet way Shep interacted with Maya.
Before long, they had a castle built, then dug the moat. I snapped pics when they weren't looking. I wanted to remember this day forever.
