It never bothered him, but he knew it did Adam. Seth would like to think that being laid back so much as a kid made it easier for him to adapt to changes. More like a crisis now and again.
He was hoping he was done with them in life now though. Maybe. If they could get through tonight without Adele asking a million questions on where Ava was sleeping and then hoping they could slip it by her that Ava was in his room with the door shut.
They’d be going to bed after Adele and hopefully getting up before her.
“This beach is so much bigger than Grandma’s,” Adele said. “Can we go set up by the water?”
“Not too close,” Ava said. “The tide will change here more than on the other side where your grandmother is. How about right here in the middle? That should work.”
“Okay,” Adele said, stopping her run and then almost wiggling in place she was vibrating with excitement.
He was glad his daughter seemed as laid back as he was too.
Ava opened up the big blanket she was carrying and spread it out. Adele had a bag over her shoulder with sand toys and he had the cooler he was pulling with an umbrella strapped to it and two small beach chairs. Just enough to not make him feel like he was getting sand in his ass.
He couldn’t remember if he ever had a beach day, when he thought of it this week, and was looking forward to this.
“All set up,” he said. “Stay where I can see you, please.”
“I will,” Adele said, grabbing two buckets and going to fill them with water.
“You’re smiling a lot today,” Ava said to him.
“I am. I got thinking earlier in the week I’ve never had a family beach day. The only time I remember going to the beach was when I was with friends. I mean a public beach. My mother had her place when I was a kid.”
“We’ve spent a lot of time at the beach,” Ava said. “We had it at my parents and hung out there a lot with friends over the summer, but not everyone had beach access on the island and when you live here, you just want to get away from your parents’ eyes at times.”
“Like now,” he asked.
“I feel like everyone is watching me more and I understand it, but at the same time it’s fine. It’s going to be just fine. I feel it in my gut.”
He reached for her hand and threaded their fingers together. “What else is your gut telling you?”
“That we aren’t going to get much privacy today.”
They both looked up to see Adele come running back with the buckets. “Why don’t you take your dress off?” Seth asked. He hadn’t realized she still had it on when she took off, but now it was getting caught up in her legs when she carried her buckets of water back.
“I forgot,” she said, putting the overfilled plastic on the sand and then pulling her dress over her head.
“That’s a very pretty dress,” Ava said. “Did you pick that out yourself?”
“I did. Daddy doesn’t like to always go shopping. I know he doesn’t because we have to shop fast. But Grandma takes me to try things on and, once we know my size, then Daddy and I sit down with the computer and buy most things.”
He felt himself flush over that, but it was hard letting a man go into a woman’s dressing room and he wasn’t bringing Adele into the man’s. It was what they had to do now and it was working. She was just too young to go in by herself.
“I love to shop,” Ava said. “Maybe you and I can go together someday.”
“Can I, Daddy? Can I go shopping with Ava?”
He smiled. “I think I would love that.”
Ava laughed when Adele dumped the water on the sand and then ran back to get more.
“Why did she do that without digging?”
“Because I taught her the sand is better wet, so that is what she is doing first, and then she’ll start to build.”
“You’re pretty smart,” she said. “So, what are we doing about tonight?”
“My hope is you’ll be in my bed all night, but I understand if you’d rather not.”
“Why don’t we play it by ear?” she asked. “I’d love to do it as long as you feel comfortable. What are you telling Adele?”
“Nothing. She’ll be in bed before us and hopefully one of us wakes up before her. If not, then we’ll deal with it. This is all part of it and I’m ready for her to know that this isn’t something that is a passing thing with me.”
“Me neither,” she said.
When Adele came back, she said, “Ava, will you build a castle with me? Are you as good at it as your mother?”
“My mother loves to build in the sand. I’m not sure any of us are as good as her, but I’ll give it a try.”
“You’re going to get filled with dirt,” he said.
“Not if I take my shorts and shirt off. I’ve got a suit on too.”
“Please do,” he said, his eyebrow wiggling. Yes, he’d seen her naked, but there was something about a woman in a bathing suit that always seemed sexy to him. And it’s not like he’d seen her naked in a few weeks either.
She stood up and undid her shorts and dropped them down and then lifted her shirt over her head. “I might need some lotion on me,” she said, bending over to get it out of the beach bag she’d been carrying. He shouldn’t be shocked over the two-piece bikini that she was wearing.
The teal with big white flowers on it wasn’t overly revealing, but it showed off enough of her body that she’d be drawing attention.
“I like your suit,” Adele said. “It’s
