Page 32 of His Greatest Treasure

“Nobody told me you were in Canada, let alone Vancouver. If they did . . .” I don’t finish my sentence.

Would it have made a difference if anyone had told me? I still wouldn’t have sought her out. There were too many answers to questions that I didn’t want to know.

“If they did, then what?”

I shake my head. “Nothing.”

“Nova, we’re going back inside,” she orders, turning her back to me.

The little girl looks up from her drawing and frowns. “Do we have to, Mom?”

“Yes. I have to empty the pool and clean it out before we can use it again.”

No. I’m not going to feel guilty for this. It was deserved. Right?

My jaw tightens as I stare at the blue sky and curl my fingers in the water. With a long inhale through my nose, I slide off the pool floatie and hop out of the pool. Avery looks at me when I grip the metal fence an inch from where she holds it and then haul myself over it the way I did earlier.

“What are you doing? You’re not welcome in our yard!”

I ignore her and crouch in front of the pool. The strong smellof the jiggling substance inside of it isn’t a good addition to my guilt-lined stomach.

It’s too heavy to lift in one go, so I shove my hands into the Jell-O and start pulling it all to one side in preparation for emptying the pool.

“Stop,” Avery blurts out, moving to my side, so damn close I can feel the heat from her legs against my arms. “Just leave it, and I’ll get rid of it later.”

“I’ve got it,” I grunt.

“I said to stop.”

“And I said that I’ve got it.”

“Can I help?” Nova asks, padding with bare feet to my other side.

“Yeah,” I tell her.

“No,” Avery says at the same time.

Nova takes my approval as permission despite her mother’s frustration and digs her tiny hands into the mess. I watch her smile, excitement making her eyes glitter. The sight is nice.

I’m too busy watching Nova play in the Jell-O to prepare myself for Avery’s next move. The splat of gelatine on my neck and chest is a jolt to my system. In disbelief, I lose my balance and fall back onto my ass, the grass cushioning my fall.

“I said to stop, Oliver.”

With a swipe of my hand, I clear the mess from my skin and pin her in place with a heated gaze. She blanches, losing her bravado and slowly creeping backward.

My fists are full of Jell-O in an instant. I pull my arm back and then throw the first fistful at her. It hits her dead smack on the chest, and the gelatine slithers down and between her tits before dropping to the ground.

Nova gasps, but it’s an excited sound. A beat later, she’s tossing a fistful of her own at her and squealing, a high-pitched laugh following after. It’s a sound that reminds me of my childhood, and I release a laugh of my own.

Avery watches me carefully, dissecting my every action. Ithrow another batch of it at her to keep her distracted from her own thoughts. It hits lower this time, sticking to her exposed belly.

“You’re in trouble now,” she warns.

“Uh-oh!” Nova shrieks while grappling for more Jell-O.

I fill my hands and toss some at Nova, her head falling back with a dimpled grin before she’s stalking toward her mom. Avery’s eyes bulge when she notices me, and then she’s darting away, running around the yard.

When I start to chase after her, Nova joins in, and the easy laugh that escapes her makes me stumble. It’s a sound I haven’t heard in ten years but somehow is even better now.

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