Treat Me (One Night with Sole Regret #8)(54)

Amanda laughed as he wiped the water from his eyes, and then he held out his arm for Julie to hold onto as she surfaced and treaded water.

"You got him, Julie Bean!"

"That was a huge splash," he said to Julie's smiling face. "My turn."

Julie swam over to Amanda as Jacob climbed out of the pool. Julie was still mostly doggie paddling, but she added a few breaststrokes to expedite her journey through the water. She took to water the same way Jacob had as a child and somehow that little connection between them made him proud.



       
         
       
        

"Are you ready for a tidal wave?" he asked as he climbed the diving board's ladder at the deep end of the pool.

"Can I do the diving board, Daddy?" Julie asked.

"When you're older," he promised. He'd love to teach her to dive, but not until he got past the fear of her getting hurt. Which would likely be never.

When he was sure his two guests were out of harm's way at the far end of the pool, he took a brisk step toward the end of the board, feeling it dip beneath his weight. At just the right instant, he used the momentum of the upward swing of the spring board to push himself into the air. He did a front summersault in midair-yeah, he was totally showing off for the ladies-and extended his body to enter the water with a quiet slosh. He surfaced to cheers and a vigorous round of applause.

"That was an awesome flip," Julie said. "But you only made a tiny splash."

"Guess I need more practice," he said with a soft chuckle. He showed Julie how to dive from the side of the pool. She dove in head first, climbed the ladder, hurried around to the edge of the pool and dove again. He couldn't believe how quickly she caught on or that she wasn't exhausted yet.

"Maybe I should get her a diving coach," Jacob said to Amanda.

"I think you've got yourself a little Olympian there," Amanda said, still floating lazily on her back. He mostly used the pool for exercise, but was starting to think Amanda had the right idea. "Wish I had half her energy."

"Can I do a flip this time?" Julie asked, jumping up and down in the puddle she'd made on the decking.

"You need the diving board to do that."

She eyed the diving board without a shred of fear in her gaze.

"And if you try to climb that thing and jump off without permission, you'll be in time out for four years," he threatened.

"I wish I was big," she said glumly.

And he wished she would stay this size forever.

To divert her attention from the diving board, Jacob collected pool toys from the deck box. Amanda joined their games, though she really sucked at diving for batons. She kept grabbing Julie's ankle instead. Julie giggled every time. They had sword fights with pool noodles and contests to see who could hold their breath underwater the longest. By the time Julie said, "I'm hungry," a couple of hours later, Jacob was running low on fuel and energy. Who would have thought a tiny little girl could completely wear out two adults?

"I'll start the grill," he said and pulled himself out of the pool with shaky arms.

While he got lunch cooking, Amanda started a rousing new game of Who Can Float on Her Back the Longest without Sinking. He supposed it was her version of the Quiet Game. Julie didn't have flotation devices built into her chest yet-and thank God for that-so the game was a real challenge for her and kept her well occupied. 

"Do you want a hamburger?" Jacob called from behind the grill. "Or I can cook some brats?"

"I'm not a brat," Julie assured him. "Don't cook me."

Jacob grinned and shook his head. "I'm talking about a bratwurst."

"What's worse than a brat?" Julie looked to Amanda for direction, but Amanda was caught in a fit of giggles.

"This," Jacob said, holding up a bratwurst for Julie to see.

"Oh, a fat hotdog," she said and crinkled up her nose. "I don't like those kind."

"One hamburger for Julie," he said. He flopped a raw patty onto the grill. It hissed satisfyingly. "Amanda?"

"Would you think I'm a pig if I asked for one of each?"

"You'll get fat, Aunt Mander."

"There are worse things," Amanda said, and Jacob flopped a couple more burgers and several brats onto the grill. With all the physical activity they'd been getting, he doubted a few extra calories would hurt either of them.

"Mommy says princesses can't be fat, so I can't eat junk food if I want to be a princess when I grow up."

Jacob supposed such a claim would be a good deterrent from unhealthy eating. Of course, it might instead lead to a lifelong harmful relationship with food.