Page 24 of Seal of Approval

“I’ll need to leave early to pick up the kids. I don’t want to drive home from the bus stop in the middle of it.”

Storms could be gnarly out here, the wind so strong it would push the car sideways and the rain so heavy you couldn’t see through the windshield.

“I can do the other jobs while you get them.”

My shoulders relaxed and I smiled up at him. I’d been concerned I wouldn’t be able to fit it all in. I still couldn’t bring myself to ask for help. Ethan probably wouldn’t say no. But that wasn’t the point. The children were my responsibility. No one else’s. If someone offered help, like he just had, that was a different story.

“Excuse me, Ethan,” one of the twenty-somethings said as she approached. “Can you zip my wetsuit up, please?”

I stepped forward with a fake sweet smile before Ethan had a chance to reply. “I’ll do that for you.”

Her face dropped but she turned around anyway. Me zipping her up was better for all of us. No mixed messages involved. And I knew Ethan hated the attention. When I finished, her friend joined her and they started talking to Ethan, giggling and flipping their long locks. Seriously, he was at least ten years older than them and not interested. Couldn’t they see he was only being polite?

I let out a harsh breath. I needed to survive them before I survived the storm tonight.

A woman in her forties approached me. She squirmed in her wetsuit in an attempt to get comfortable I assumed. She glanced at Ethan who was making his way to the next group and gave me a smile.

“Must be hard watching young women fawn all over your husband.” She said it loud enough for the young women to hear.

I let out a harsh breath. “You’d think I’d be used to it by now.”

“From the look on your face, I’d say not.” She patted my arm and walked back to the man she was with.

The two young women spoke animatedly to each other. I spun around and faced the opposite direction, my eyes wide. Why on earth had I just played along? To save Ethan, that’s why.

It’s not like I was jealous. Ethan was a nice guy and if I could save him from being uncomfortable, I would. I was sure he’d do the same for me. Not that I’d have men fawning over me. And if they showed the faintest interest I’d stay away. Far away. So far, they’d forget I even existed.

I glanced at Ethan. He gave me a lopsided smile, and I couldn’t help but return it. I loved the way the upward curve of his lips changed his face, making it softer and happier than he usually seemed. He needed to smile more. Why? I didn’t know. The stupid whirlpool of feelings had me thinking crazy things.

We all made our way to the boat and as we headed off, Ethan talked about sea lions.

“Does anyone know the difference between seals and sea lions?”

When he received no answer, he continued, “Two differences are that sea lions have larger flippers than seals, which means they can walk on land rather than wiggle on their bellies. They also have visible ear flaps.” He continued, his animated voice keeping the attention of our guests. Even though I was driving, he always kept my attention too.

* * *

Ethan was doing some work at the table when we got home. His laptop was open in front of him, and he was referring to his iPad as well as shuffling through one of his many piles of paper.

“How did you go with getting everything prepared for the storm?” I asked.

“All sorted. Was the drive home OK?”

“Yes. A bit windy but nothing dramatic.”

I passed him as I walked into the kitchen with the kids’ lunch boxes and noticed the back of his neck was pink. “Did you forget to put your sunscreen on today?”

He shook his head. “I put it on this morning.”

Rose stopped beside him. “Your face is a bit pink and your neck. Did you forget to reapply? I forget to reapply all the time, but Mum reminds me. She also tells me that the UV rays don’t hide when it’s cloudy.”

Ethan touched the back of his neck. “I must have forgotten.”

I wonder what he was doing that had him so absent-minded. Probably thinking about the sea lions as he did the things on our storm prep list. “Rose, can you go cut an aloe vera leaf for me and then go and get changed?”

She rushed to the front yard and soon returned with a leaf.

“The aloe vera will help soothe the burn and hopefully it won’t worsen,” I said to Ethan. “Take your shirt off and I’ll apply it.”

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