Page 21 of Icebound Hearts

“Yeah!” Jake nods as he carries a bunch of bananas over to the fruit bowl. “Daddy said that’s what friends do for each other!”

Violet chuckles at his exuberant declaration, shooting me a small smile before she resumes unpacking the bag. If I was hoping to be subtle about the fact that I picked up a few of her favorites, I obviously blew it, because I notice she has a small reaction every time she pulls one of them out. She even moans softly when she sees the package of chocolate cookies—a sound that doesn’t help the inner conflict raging inside me one bit—and as she goes to put the smooth peanut butter and the cookies away in the pantry, she crosses close behind me and murmurs, “Thank you. Really.”

I nod, pleased and embarrassed all at once.Jesus fucking Christ, have I felt this awkward around someone since I was a teenager?

Once all the groceries are put away, I hang the reusable bags on a hook in the pantry and then glance at my watch. Jake is spinning in circles in the middle of the kitchen, clearly having more energy to burn off, and I chuckle as Violet and I watch him.

“What do you want to do for the rest of the day, kiddo?” I ask. “I don’t have a game tonight, so I’m all yours.”

Jake stops spinning abruptly, wobbling a bit as he gets his bearings. He scrunches up his face, considering his answer carefully, then lights up.

“Let’s go swimming!” He turns to Violet. “Doesn’t that sound fun?”

“It sure does.” She beams at him, then cocks her head to one side. “Is there somewhere near here for you guys to do that?”

“Yeah, there’s an indoor community pool not far away that he loves going to.”

“Can Ms. Violet come with us?” Jake asks, turning pleading eyes on me.

I hesitate. It’s not that I don’t want her to come, but I don’t know what the protocol is for these kinds of things. Before she came to live with us as Jake’s nanny, I usually only called in sitters when I was going to be away from the house for a game or practice or something. It’s honestly been amazing to have her here to help out with Jake even when I’m home, and to have another adult around to talk to. But is it inappropriate to ask her to come with us? Technically, I gave her the afternoon off, so it’s not like she’s on the clock.

“You don’t have to,” I tell her in a low voice. “I’m sure you have other things to do.”

She shrugs. “I mean, if I’m invited, I’d love to go. I can only read for so long before the words start to blur on the page, so I could use a break from Julia anyway.”

“You’re definitely invited,” I say—maybe a little too quickly—and I’m rewarded by a beaming smile.

“Then, yeah. Swimming sounds fun.”

“Yay!” Jake claps his little hands, practically vibrating with excitement at the prospect of Violet joining us.

I know the feeling.

Ignoring that thought, I stride over and scoop him up, then glance over at her. “I’ll get him ready, and then we can head out?”

She nods. “Sounds good to me.”

Chapter 8

Violet

Jake and Sawyer head to the men’s locker room when we get to the pool, which is a local YMCA kind of thing. In the ladies’ locker room, I dig my barely used swimsuit out of my bag. I bought it for a vacation I took a couple of years ago to celebrate a work milestone, but the memory makes me frown.

I love the swimsuit, but I hate the memories attached to it. I’m not going to let that ruin a fun afternoon with Sawyer and Jake though, so I glance around quickly to make sure my corner of the locker room is mostly empty, then strip down to change.

The two-piece swimsuit fits me perfectly, and it’s a deep shade of dark blue, my favorite color—but when I turn around and see the reflection of the vertical scar that runs down my chest in a nearby mirror, I grimace.

I’m self-conscious about the scar and typically wear clothes that cover it up, but I was feeling much more confident about myself back when I bought the suit. It’s not like I have anything else to wear though, so I’m just going to have to suck it up and be prepared for Jake—or worse, Sawyer—to ask questions about it.

It doesn’t matter, I tell myself firmly.Jake’s just a kid, and Sawyer is one of the kindest people you know. They won’t judge you.

Everything will be fine, and life has worked out amazingly well for me so far since coming back to Denver. On top of everything else they’ve done, Jake and Sawyer have both been incredibly sweet to me, so I have no reason to think this will be any different.

Drawing a deep breath, I bolster my courage and self-confidence, then stride toward the door at the back of the locker room that leads to the pool.

Jake and Sawyer are already in the water when I arrive at the pool area, and I’m amazed at how good of a swimmer Jake is for his age. He’s not wearing floaties or a life vest, but he’s bobbing across the surface effortlessly like a water bug. Sawyer has his back to me, but when Jake spots me and waves, Sawyer follows his gaze.

He freezes, and the smile he was wearing drops away as his eyes lock on me. I swear I see a flash of something on his face, but it passes quickly as he composes himself. Still, goosebumps race across my skin and my body temperature skyrockets. Feeling a blush and a nervous laugh come on, I decide to just jump in. I pull my legs into my chest at the last second before I crash through the surface, sending water cascading toward Sawyer and Jake.

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