Page 61 of June 7

Daisy dunked her head and glided across the surface of the water.

The drizzle from the overcast day coated the glass enclosure around the pool, blocking the outside world from her view. The warm water took away the chill and comforted her.

Yesterday would've been the perfect day to have the pool party. The sun had appeared, and the temperature rose to eighty degrees. Instead, the Pacific coast bipolar mood had decided to give her the typical overcast day, which would top out at sixty degrees if they were lucky.

Thankfully, the pool was warm, and the weather wouldn't stop the kids from coming.

She dove under the surface, picked up two weighted rings, and then returned to the surface. They needed no other toys in the water for the games they'd play.

She pulled herself out of the pool and used the towel on the lifeguard chair. She'd arrived an hour early before the doors opened to decorate. Sierra and Chad had come soon after, letting Bane go to the shop.

Squeezing the moisture from her hair, she shivered. Bane had taken his promise of keeping her safe and made sure she was never alone, even at work.

After talking to Diane and letting her know about the damage done at the duplex, Daisy received permission to change some of the employees' schedules around. Tara now came when the pool opened. Even Liz, who still worked the evening shift at the pool when the adults came to rec swim, showed up to check on her during the day.

Between feeling awful about taking up everyone's time, she felt loved by those around her. Even from the bikers who went out of their way to watch the pool house during the day while they worked at the shop.

To her surprise, the Havlin members stayed back far enough that the pool visitors weren't scared off by the sight of them loitering around.

While not a great cook, she managed to throw together some basic dinners every night for Cord and Wire, who stayed on Bane's side of the duplex.

Everything seemed to be working out well. There was no sight of the man who'd hurt Dio or ruined her property in the last two weeks. She could only hope that whatever fascination he had with her was over, and they were all overreacting now.

"This is so cool." Sierra held up a cardboard cutout of Spongebob. "What are we doing with everything when the party is over? Because if we're tossing my old friend Bob, I want dibs on him."

Chad snorted. "What are you going to do with him?"

"Tape him to my wall." Sierra danced around with the cutout. "The kids are going to freak when they see everything."

"Hopefully, we can save some things and store it for next year." Daisy pulled out the streamers. "Unless everything gets wet, that's the plan."

Wetness always crept into everything in the Pacific Northwest. She couldn't store anything damp because it would mildew over the winter. While the decorations were cheap, they were enough to excite the kids.

"We'll start with the egg races. That should entertain everyone for a half hour. After that, we'll show them the baskets that will be raffled off and explain how they can enter the tickets they win in the different activities." Daisy taped the edge of the streamer to the table. "Melanie should be arriving at any time with the popcorn maker. Chad? Do you think you can help her carry that from her truck?"

"Sure." Chad blew up another balloon.

"I don't remember all the pool parties when I was young," said Sierra.

She was still young. At seventeen years old, Sierra enjoyed helping out at the parties as much as the kids liked the fun and games.

"The summer parties were something Liz and I created to entice the younger generation to become more involved in swimming. This is the third year of having them," she said.

"That explains it. I was going over to Liberty Pool since Jr. High and swimming during their summer practices." Sierra pulled out some action figures of cartoon characters. "Where do you want these?"

There would be some kids who wouldn't win a raffle basket full of goodies and would not finish the races and competitions. But, every child that came today would receive something to take home, thanks to the generous donations of the community of Seaglass Cove.

"You can put them in one of the gift sacks and take it into the office." She taped the last streamer up. "I'm going to pass those out as the kids leave."

Once everything was decorated, they cleaned the spectator's area with two minutes to spare before opening the door.

"Remember to have the visitors sit in the bleacher section. We don't want them running around the pool, even to take pictures. Unless they are suited up and have littles with them that need adult supervision." She walked toward the office. "Chad and Sierra, take the first shift on the chairs. I'm opening the door."

As she checked the locker rooms one last time, she ran into Liz, zipping up her backpack. "What are you doing here so early."

"I heard there was a party and had to come." Liz grinned. "Point me in the direction of the drinks and the men."

Liz wasn't fooling her. She knew what had brought her friend to the pool on her day off. "Bane called you, didn't he?"

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