Page 46 of A Summer Mismatch
“I’ll have to let you know all the details later. But Willow asked that I take them for a week while she gets back on her feet, and now they’re crying.”
Her heart broke, hearing Leo and Amelia’s wails. “They’re homesick. They know something’s going on, and whether they understand or not, it’s hard to leave in the middle of that.”
“I don’t know how to fix this,” he said, sounding on the verge of crying himself. He cleared his throat a couple of times.
She wished he was there, and she could pull him into a tight hug. “Sometimes it can’t be fixed. But they need to get their mind off of whatever is going on.” Reading buddies probably wasn’t the best fit for them right then, not when they’d most likely want to cling to their uncle.
A dog barked, and Logan shushed him.
“That’s not the infamous, door-opening Gatsby?” she asked.
“One and the same.”
Oh boy. He was in for a challenging few days. “What about a beach day?” she suggested. “Get some buckets and nets from the dollar store, and let them pick out whatever snacks they want, too. You can spend the day at the beach. Dogs are allowed on the beach at The Palms, so you could go there and not have to worry about leaving Gatsby home.”
“That might work,” he said, sounding relieved. Sometimes just having a plan helped. “And its Friday, so tonight is the Dive-in Movie.”
“The what? I didn’t think we had drive-in movies close to us anymore.”
“It’s Dive-in, like diving into the pool. You haven’t heard about this?”
The sound of the kids’ crying was quieting as they listened to Julia and Logan talk over the Bluetooth speaker. “No.”
“It’s down at The Palms community center. There’s a huge screen by the pool, and my grandparents say you can float while you watch a movie. I’m not sure what tonight’s movie is. I’ll have to look it up.”
“Cameron would love that.” He loved being in the pool almost more than anything, and to combine that with his other love of watching a movie? It sounded like his version of paradise.
Her parents had probably brought Cameron to the dive-in movie before, but somehow it had never come across her radar. Perhaps because she was so busy saying yes to all the things she didn’t want to do, it didn’t leave her much time for the things that sounded fun.
“Why don’t I meet you guys at the pool?” she asked on impulse, wanting to do more to help. “I have some fun activities you can borrow that’ll keep the kids distracted.”
“That would be amazing,” he said fervently. “Thank you, Julia.”
“I’ve got you.”
And he had her, completely.
Julia showed up at the dive-in movie,The Little Mermaid, with two tote bags overflowing with games, books, crafts, movies, and treats—for both humans and dogs.
Grandma Winnie had whipped up the tote bags that afternoon when Julia had told her about Logan’s unexpected visitors, one each for Amelia and Leo. One was pale blue with bright pink flamingos dotted across it, and the other was lemon yellow with a dark green alligator pattern.
The sun had already started to set, leaving the sky a dusty pink color. The scent of chlorine brought her right back to her childhood and the pool in the backyard that she and Eliana had swam in for hours every day.
Julia spotted Logan right away as she and Cameron approached the pool. He hadn’t seen her yet, and she loved getting a second to watch him, unobserved. He wore sky blue swim trunks that showcased his very toned body. She’d been pressed up against those abs a few times, but even she couldn’t have imagined all those muscles hiding behind his scrubs.
He turned and caught her appreciative stare, and he gave her a slow, delicious grin with raised eyebrows. It made her heart skitter to a stop before setting off to the races faster than she could keep up.
She stepped toward him, but then Leo ran at Logan—who was not paying any attention whatsoever—like a tiny offensive lineman and knocked Logan’s knees out from under him. Logan’s arms waved wildly, but nothing could be done for it as he crashed into the pool with a loud splash.
Water soaked everyone within splashing distance, and a few residents called out in dismay.
Julia covered her mouth to hide her grin.
“Sorry!” Logan called as his head broke the surface. He whipped his wet hair from of his eyes. He hopped out of the pool, water dripping down his very touchable abs, and chased after a giggling Leo. “You little scamp! Get back here.”
Logan pretended that Leo ran way too fast to be caught and bent over his knees as if to catch his breath. He threw Amelia a wink, to where she sat with her feet dangling in the pool, a serious expression on her face.
“Pool!” Cameron exclaimed with his hands over his head. He wore his Spiderman swim trunks and a life-vest to help keep him afloat. Even though they’d be floating around in tubes, it was going to get dark, and Cameron loved his vest anyway.
