Page 26 of Hot Summer Nights

Both sisters cut off their parents and have only grown closer over the last five years. I couldn’t be prouder of her, of both of them actually. They’ve both come so far from when I first met them, but I know that it hasn’t been easy for either of them, especially Record. So many things that her parents and sister told her, or rather blamed on her, had to be untangled.

She opened up to me when we were dating more, and every time she did, I would hold her while she cried and reassured her that she did nothing wrong. There were still times when she would try to pull away from me because she was convinced that she was going to hurt me, or rather the curse was. It was hard to see her beat herself up, and I vowed to kill her parents if they ever came near her again.

They haven’t. I think that they got the message the last time that they were here because they haven’t tried to reach out since. Last we heard of them, they had lost their house and had left Michigan and headed south. Neither girl tried to find out where they went. They were both just happy to be done with them.

I was worried that their lack of a bond or connection would hurt Record, but she’s made a new family here, one who loves and supports her no matter what. Callie has become her biggest cheerleader and I know that it means a lot to Record.

There are still times when Record blames herself or stresses about the curse. The first time that I got hurt fixing a car when she was around was a big one, but we’ve worked on it a lot in the last five years, and now she seems to be better.

The trauma and lies that her family put her through took a while to untangle, but she’s happy now and an amazing mother to our little girl.

Ivy stirs in her car seat and I move to unbuckle her as the front door opens and Record’s familiar blue hair comes into view. Callie is right behind her, and I stand and give a small wave as they head my way.

“Hey,” I greet my wife, and she grins at me.

“Hey, sorry I’m late.”

“We just got here too,” I tell her. She leans up to kiss me.

Ivy reaches for her right away and I let Record take her from my arms.

“How’s my little baby?” she coos at Ivy and I smile as I watch them interact.

Record is exactly the type of mom that she deserved, that we all deserve. She’s patient and loving. She would do anything for our girl and for me, and I know that I’m damn lucky to have her as my wife.

“Did you miss Auntie Callie?” Callie coos at Ivy and she laughs, smacking her hands together.

“That’s a yes then, huh?” Record says with a laugh.

“Want me to take her?” Callie asks Record, and she kisses Ivy’s head before she passes our baby to her sister.

We watch them head down the back porch steps to the beach to join our friends and I pull her into my side more as we follow slowly.

“Your mom called me on the way over here. They’re thinking about putting an offer in for a house here in town.”

I nod. My parents love Record, Callie too, and ever since we got married, they’ve been talking about moving closer to us. Once we had Ivy, they talked about it a more, so I’m not surprised that they’re finally going to do it.

“That will be nice. They can watch Ivy for us and we can go out for a date night,” I say, nuzzling her neck, and she beams at me.

“Uh, we can watch her too!” Lyla interrupts.

I kiss the top of Record’s head before we turn to face her friends.

“Yeah! We should set up some weekly or biweekly babysitting routine so that we can all get a little break,” Sutton says and I can already see her starting on the project in her head.

“Sounds like a plan,” I say as I lead Record over to where Callie and Ivy are sitting at the patio table.

I pull out a chair for her, and she smiles as she takes a seat. Ivy is busy looking around the backyard, her eyes wide and locked on the water. We both think that she’s going to be a swimmer because she’s always absolutely fascinated by it.

We actually just put an offer in for a house a few doors down from Lyla and Hudson. We probably won’t hear back for a few days, but I think that we have a real shot of getting it.

It will be nice to be close to our friends, and I know that both of my girls want to live by the water.

Record started her art classes the first summer that she was here and they were a huge hit. She loved working with the kids and creating new class plans or pieces of art. We ended up going up to Sault Ste. Marie for some of the craft festivals and she sold some of her pieces there as well.

Once the summer was over, I taught her how to paint cars and she loved it. She has a schedule now where she does three art classes a week, usually at night, during the school year, and helps me out at the shop an additional two days a week.

The mechanic shop has taken off since she joined. I’m more organized, and with her doing bodywork, I can focus on the engines. We ended up hiring someone a few months before Ivy was born, and I’m glad that we did. We could use all of the help that we can get now that our little one is here.

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