Page 66 of Drawing Home
Penny didn’t know if this made her feel better or worse. She tried to put it out of her mind, but of course she kept obsessing over it until, a short while later, her dad called out, “How’s the water temp?”
“A little cold, but you get used to it.”
He walked over. He didn’t get into the water like her mom, who dipped one toe in and then, wincing, slowly waded in until she was fully submerged. He just plunged right in.
“Wow. That’ll wake you up,” he said.
He swam a lap but climbed out right after. Penny paddled around a little more but got bored without company. The point of today was to spend time with her dad, right? She headed back to the chairs, but he was so busy texting he didn’t notice her standing right next to him until she dripped onto the seat.
“Penny, back up. I’m trying to dry off.”
She knew it was a reasonable request but something about it stung. She wrapped a towel around herself and settled into a chair. She watched her father bent over his phone, his jaw set, and something strange happened. That whole feeling of familiarity, of knowing him in this special and unspoken way, disappeared. It was like looking at a stranger.
She pulled her old iPod Touch out of her bag. It was so outdated she couldn’t even get Snapchat on it, but that’s why her mom let her keep it despite the whole social media and screen ban. It still played music.
Penny put in her earbuds and closed her eyes. She was almost asleep when her father tapped her arm.
“Penny, who the hell is that?” her dad said, pointing toward the steps leading to the beach.
She squinted in the distance and saw Kyle. He took off his aviator sunglasses and waved at her, then made his way quickly across the wide deck between the pool area and the slope to the shrubbery lining the beachfront.
“Oh. That’s Kyle.”
“Is he…is that your mom’s boyfriend?”
“What? Oh—no. Remember that old lady I told you about? He works for her.”
“Hey,” Kyle said from the other side of the pool. “How’s it going, Penny?”
Her dad stood up and Kyle walked over to him.
“Kyle Dunlap,” he said. “And you are?”
“I’m Penny’s father.”
Kyle looked at Penny. “Your mom know you’re here?”
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” her dad said before she could answer. “And what are you doing on this property?”
Kyle gave her dad a smile that seemed just a little mocking. “The same thing you are, man.”
“This is my daughter’s house.”
Kyle nodded. “That seems to be the case. But who knows?” He walked up to the house.
Her dad stared after him, arms crossed, then turned to Penny, looking very pissed off. “What the hell is going on here?” he said.
“I told you about the old woman,” she said. “He works for her.”
“And your mother is just letting strangers live here with you?”
“Well, we’re not living here yet. And it’s not her fault. She can’t get rid of them.”
A strange expression crossed her father’s face, and she instantly wanted to take back her words. Nothing she said was coming out right.
“Dry off and get dressed,” her father said. “We’re leaving.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
