“O-kay…but the water’s pretty calm and there isn’t a lot of wind…”
“Trust me, a boat is very sensitive to all those elements even if they don’t seem that bad to you. And because of that, you have to learn to get a feel for the boat and how it responds.”
“Why? I mean, it shouldn’t be that difficult. When I drive with Aunt Syd, she starts the car and it goes. Shouldn’t it be the same with a boat?”
“Different conditions, different type of vehicle, and the surface you’re driving on is different.” He paused. “You’ll understand more when you’re older and driving. But you need to always be aware of your conditions and how choppy the water is because sometimes a turn of the wheel may not always change the boat’s direction exactly as planned. The most important lesson is to always pay attention to the weather and the water conditions. They can change in the blink of an eye.”
Haley nodded but seemed to relax.
Kyle took a step back and then another until he came to sit beside her. Reaching over, Sydney took one of his hands in hers and squeezed it. With her head resting on his shoulder, she said, “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For this. The idea to pack up a cooler and come out on the boat. It’s a perfect night.”
He gently pulled his hand from hers and wrapped his arm around her, hugging her close. “Well, it was a pretty spectacular afternoon,” he whispered, “and that was all your doing, so I’m glad I could do this.”
She blushed remembering how wild they had been just a few hours ago.
Sex with Kyle had always been good when they were younger. But now? Damn. As much as she hated the thought of how many women he’d been with over the years, he had certainly learned a few things which made their current sex life spectacular.
“Aunt Syd, you should try this! It’s so cool!”
“That’s okay,” she replied, smiling. “You’re doing a great job.”
The praise made Haley smile even more. “Thanks!” She continued onward for a few minutes. “Hey, if we stayed on this path, would we be able to get to Florida? You know, to Grandma and Grandpa’s?”
“Um…”
“You’re kind of heading in the right direction,” Kyle interjected. “We are heading southwest. But you can look at the compass to your left or pull up the GPS screen and program it in. I have a feeling it would take a long time.”
She shrugged. “It would be a cool way to go down and see them, don’t you think, Aunt Syd?”
“It would certainly be an adventure!”
They all sat quietly, each lost in their own thoughts when Haley spoke again. “So um…I have a gymnastics meet Wednesday after school, and I know you’re both working and all and probably can’t come, but…” She shrugged. “I just thought it would be cool if you were there. You know, but no biggie if you can’t.”
Sydney was just about to respond that she would be there when Kyle beat her to it.
“What time does it start? Because I’ll skip lunch on Wednesday so I can leave whatever job we’re on early if I have to. Or if Jake sends me on a job that’s too far out of town, I’ll take a personal day.”
It didn’t seem possible to love him more than she already did, and yet…the fact that he was showing her niece that she was a priority had her heart feeling like it was ready to burst.
Haley turned and looked at him. “Really? You’d skip work?”
He nodded.
“I mean, you don’t have to,” she quickly added. “There will be other meets so…again, no pressure.”
“Isn’t this your first official meet?” Kyle asked.
“Well…um…yeah.”
“Then of course I’m going to be there! Are you kidding me? I kind of feel like it’s because of me that you’re kicking ass as a gymnast!”
“Kyle,” Sydney said wearily. “Language.”
Haley, on the other hand, was laughing. “Oh, really? Because of you? How do you figure that?”
“Well, I was the one who told your aunt about that air mat thing you’re using in the yard,” he reasoned. “And I’m the one who introduced you to Violet—first through her awesome videos and then by getting you private lessons with her.”
“One lesson!” Haley challenged even as she still laughed. “Oh, by the way, has she mentioned asking me to babysit for Eli? Because when we were over there, I told her how I’m old enough to babysit. I even took the Red Cross babysitting course and have my certification card and everything. So, you know, if you all want to go out on a group date or something—hint, hint—then I can totally watch Eli.”
“Um…”
Patting Kyle on the leg, Sydney opted to respond to this topic. “Violet hasn’t called, but I do remember her mentioning it. I had no idea you were so interested in doing it. You didn’t really react when she brought it up.”
“I was playing it cool, Aunt Syd. Sheesh. Besides, at the time, I was way more interested in the gymnastics stuff she was teaching me. But I thought it could be cool to do a little babysitting and make some money.”
This was new…
“Oh, really? And what do you need money for?”
“You know, for when Janie and I go to the mall or just…I don’t know…I feel like I should be making a little money. Mom and Dad used to give me an allowance, but you don’t, so…”
“Oh, my goodness!” Sydney cried as she came to her feet. “You should have said something! I had no idea!” Grabbing Haley, she hugged her tight and noticed Kyle quietly get up and step behind the wheel. “I’m sorry. I never even thought about an allowance.”
After a minute, Haley pulled back and gave her a small smile. “It’s okay. Really. You can’t know everything, Aunt Syd.” She shrugged. “I just didn’t know how to bring it up. Besides, you’ve been busy with your new job and the house and Kyle, so I didn’t want to bother you.”
“Haley, you aren’t a bother. We’re a team, kiddo. We have to talk to each other. There are so many things that I am completely clueless about because I never had any kids of my own. Please just…you know…be patient with me.”
Haley studied her hard for a moment. “Do you want to have kids of your own?”
Sydney couldn’t help but glance at Kyle and was a little relieved that he wasn’t looking back at her. But yeah. She did want kids. With him.
“I do,” she said honestly. “I have no idea when it will happen, but…yeah. That was always something I wanted—to get married and have kids.”
“Oh.”
Pulling back, she gently cupped Haley’s face. “That is a long way off, okay? There’s nothing at all for you to worry about.”
Haley nodded but didn’t say anything else to her. Instead, she turned to Kyle. “Can I steer some more?”
“Yeah, sure.” He stood by until she got situated and then sat down next to Sydney again. “You okay?”
“Sometimes I feel like I’ve got it all under control and I’m doing a good job and then bam! Turns out I’m not.”