Page 20 of Seeing You

“Hmm…cake pop now, cookie later,” he said thoughtfully, right before he dug into the bag. “Thanks, Aunt Bill!”

While she drove, they talked about school and the new video game he was playing. She didn’t understand half of what he was saying, but he was excited about it, so she just smiled and nodded. But as soon as they pulled up at the entrance of Summit Ridge, the entire conversation switched gears.

“Okay, what are we doing first—alpine slide, mountain coaster, rock climbing wall, zip lining, or ATV and hiking trails? Or maybe we start with a scenic lift ride so we can scope out the sights first? What do you think?”

By this point, they were parked and climbing from the car. “Can we start with the mountain coaster? Please! Is that okay? Maybe we can do the lift at the end, like right before we leave?”

“Sounds like a plan!”

Together they made their way up to the ticket booth and Billie paid for the all-access passes for the two of them. Not only would they be able to ride all the rides and go on the trails as many times as they wanted, but there was an indoor ski facility they could use. Anything inside the actual resort hotel—restaurants, arcade, gift shop—was open to the public without a pass.

“There’s a lot of people out today,” she commented as they made their way to the coaster.

“It’s always like this on the weekends,” Silas explained, like he was an expert. “I’ve come up here for birthday parties and sometimes my grandparents bring me, but…they don’t like most of the rides and I have to ride them myself.” Stopping in his tracks, he eyed her warily. “You’re going to ride with me, aren’t you?”

Bending down until they were practically nose to nose, she told him, “Heck yeah!”

“Woo!” He took off and got a good lead on her to the coaster line.

There was no way she was going to run after him, but she also never lost sight of him. When they met up at the line, he was bouncing with excitement. And she had to admit, this ride was fun, and she was looking forward to it too.

Hearing Silas’s laughter triggered her own and as soon as they stepped off the coaster, they immediately went over to the alpine slide. There was more laughing and screaming as they whizzed down on their individual toboggans. By the time they reached the bottom, Billie felt ready for something a little tamer.

“Whew! That was fun,” she told him. “How about we grab something to drink and maybe go to the arcade for a bit before we zip line or go to the ATVs? What do you think?”

He took a moment to consider his options. “But the zip line is like…right here,” he reasoned. “How about we go on that andthengo inside for like…an hour?”

Putting her arm around him, she hugged him close as they made their way toward the queue for the zip line. “Do you negotiate with your parents like this?”

Grinning, he nodded. “Yup!”

“How often do you win?”

“I’d say it’s fifty-fifty. Mom’s definitely harder to negotiate with. She makes the rules and she wants everyone to stick to them.”

“And Levi?”

“Levi’s awesome because even when he’s totally in dad-mode, he tries to be fair.” Shrugging, he went on, “And I’m not gonna lie, I used to try to guilt him into siding with me when I was in trouble. When he and Mom first got married, I could tell that he had no idea how to discipline me.”

“So you used that to your advantage, huh?”

Another nod. “Yup. Then he sat me down one night and pretty much told me how we’re a family now—he adopted me, so that makes him my dad for real. After that, I started listening to him a lot more. He wasn’t just some guy hanging out with my mom. He’s my dad.”

Staring down at him, Billie couldn’t help but smile. “He loves you so much. It’s kind of cool to see the way he just really settled into the role.”

“Sometimes it’s weird calling him Dad, but I’m working on it.”

“Good for you.” Another hug. “And I’m sure he understands that it’s a process and not something you could just do out of nowhere.”

“Yeah, but I’m trying.”

“I’m proud of you, Silas. You’ve been very mature about the entire situation. In less than two years, you got a new dad, a new family, and now a new baby brother.”

“Cal’s kind of a pain sometimes. Like…he cries a lot and makes so much noise! I didn’t think babies could be that loud!”

“That’s how I felt when Ash and Chloe were born. Imagine all of Cal’s crying times two!”

He shuddered dramatically just as they reached the front of the line to get the gear on. Within minutes, Billie watched as Silas stepped off the platform and when flying along the line. He was screeching with pure glee and she loved that she could do this for him today. As she got hooked up to the line, she thanked the attendant, and for a second, she was frozen with fear. Taking the leap—even though she’d done this before—suddenly made her anxious.

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