Just Like That (The Kings)

I wanted to hate him. I should hate him.

At first glance, JP was a dick, but I couldn’t ignore the gnawing feeling that behind his cool, blue eyes was a lost little boy who was scared to death. It was almost as if he was working hard to gloss over any semblance of a human being with his grunts and dismissive remarks.

Sure, he could treat me like a stranger, but I wasn’t going to let him toss Teddy to the side without a fight. My sister’s letter was clear—JP was his father, and despite how everything had gone down between the two of them, her dying wish was for Teddy to have the chance to know him.

But I could tell—JP was guarded. It was like he was desperately hiding something.

I didn’t know what it was, but I knew one thing—in a small town, people loved to gossip, and I considered getting people to open up to me as one of my gifts.

With a sigh, I stretched my neck and took a deep, cleansing breath. While Teddy was getting dressed for the day, I soaked in the moment of quiet. When I closed my eyes, I chuckled a little to myself—it felt like yesterday when I’d set out with a newly renovated skoolie and a wild dream. All I wanted was excitement and adventure. Everything about my life up to that point had been too quiet. Then everything was flipped upside down when Olive died.

She had never even told me she was sick.

I shoved down the regret and unshed tears. I grabbed my favorite tarot deck to do a quick reading before Teddy was ready to go. I closed my eyes, shuffling the deck and repeating the same question over and over in my mind.

Okay, Universe. What do I need to know today?

I pulled three cards: Ace of Wands, the Fool, and Death.

Well, okay then.

I swallowed and arranged the cards in front of me, filtering my knowledge of the cards through my intuition.

“Oh! Do mine next.” Teddy came out from his bunk at the back of the skoolie, wearing a pair of blue shorts and a red-and-white-striped shirt with a collar.

A little professor.

I smiled. “Just a quick reading before I start my day.”

Teddy sat across from me. His soft blue eyes landed on the Death card. He pulled his lower lip into his mouth, but stayed quiet, his eyes not leaving the drawing of a skeleton in a black cloak.

“Hey.” I reached across the table to pat his arm. “This card isn’t scary. Do you want to know what they mean?”

He nodded, his eyes not moving from the set of three cards in front of me.

“Well . . .” I exhaled, sinking into my heart chakra. “It looks like I’m starting a new adventure.” I spun the Ace of Wands card so he could see it. “See this one? This one means creativity or new beginnings. Right there is a hand coming from the cloud. It means new opportunities. And this one . . .” I moved the Fool closer to him. “The Fool⁠—”

I waggled my eyebrows and Teddy giggled at the name.

“The Fool,” I continued, “usually means excitement for new things that are coming. Jumping feetfirst, even if you don’t know the outcome. Daring to make the first leap!”

“Like coming here?” he asked.

The kid was so smart. I smiled and nodded. “I think so. It’s been a good adventure so far, don’t you think?”

He nodded again but didn’t answer. Teddy’s little finger gestured toward the Death card, but didn’t touch it—as though Death itself could reach out and snatch him. “But that one’s bad.”

I shook my head, keeping my voice calm and confident. “No, it really isn’t. This isn’t death like death.” I patted his arm in quiet reassurance. “Usually the Death card is like rebirth or beginnings—a new life that can come from the end of something else.”

His brow furrowed as he studied the card. “Kind of like you and me?”

My chest pinched. I gently squeezed his arm. “Exactly like you and me. We’re starting the next chapter of our lives, and I just know it’s going to be a great adventure.”

I scooped the cards into a pile and began shuffling. “Want me to pull some cards for you?”

Teddy’s gaze moved to the skoolie’s windows as he looked across the yard to JP’s house. By the time we’d woken up, JP’s car was gone and the house was dark and quiet. I wanted so badly to look inside Teddy’s head to see what he was thinking.

Am I totally screwing this up? What do you need from me, kiddo?

Instead, I swallowed past my own guilt and uncertainty and waited for him to reply.

“No,” he finally said. “I’ll just find out when it happens.”

Despite the pint-size curmudgeon at my side, I was determined to have a good day in Outtatowner. No doubt JP was working hard to disprove my sister’s claim that Teddy was his child, but until we could go in front of the court, what else could we do?

A day at the beach would be better than sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves.

“I’m ready,” Teddy announced from the back of the skoolie.

I looked over and suppressed a laugh. He was dressed in blue swim trunks and a matching long-sleeved rash guard. His swim goggles were already on, along with a noseclip. His feet were shoved into black water shoes, and his hands were on his hips.

“Wow,” I choked out, using a cough to cover the humor in my voice. “You seem well prepared.”

“The sun’s rays contain UV light that damages DNA. One in five will develop skin cancer in their lifetime.” Teddy looked down at his covered arms. “But not me.”

My heart squeezed. “Not you, bud. Come here.”

He waddled forward in his water shoes and allowed me to wrap him in a hug. I climbed behind the wheel and buckled myself in while Teddy found a seat on the couch behind me. “Ready for the beach, Skipper?”

“Aye, aye, Captain.” Teddy saluted me as the engine roared to life. I turned the bus in a wide circle, narrowly missing the manicured plants at the edges of JP’s property.

In Outtatowner, it felt as though everything was three doors down or just a block over, but JP had chosen to live on the outskirts of town like the sourpuss he appeared to be. As a result, I’d be hauling my entire house around if I wanted us to go anywhere.

I cranked up the radio and sang along as we made our way back toward town and followed the signs for North Beach. Despite it being only 10:00 a.m., the parking lot was nearly packed. She could be bulky, so instead of cramming into one of the tight spaces in the lot, I parked the skoolie up the road.

Once we were settled, I grabbed an oversize bag and stuffed it with a blanket, my wallet, a few snacks, and sunscreen. “Should we stop somewhere to buy some beach toys?”

Teddy shook his head. “I have my book.”

I scoffed as we exited the bus. “If you say so.”

From the outside of the bus, I set up my phone to take a few pictures. The beach was just visible behind the skoolie. I grinned, giving a thumbs-up. My caption read Bus life, beach life!

I posted it to my social media profile and slipped my phone into the beach bag. We received a few odd glances and smiles as I locked up the skoolie. A couple of people took pictures and asked about my house on wheels. Teddy and I walked down the long hill that led toward the sandy beach.

In the distance, the pier jutted into the Lake Michigan waters, and an adorable lighthouse stood proudly at the end. The pier was busy with people fishing, couples walking hand in hand, and families taking photos near the lighthouse. The air was crisp and clean. Though summer was waning, the sun was warm and I hoped a day at the beach would be what Teddy and I needed to feel centered again.

I gripped his hand—he was too easy to lose in a crowd, and I had learned my mistake the first time. We made our way across the soft, pale sand toward the water’s edge. Teddy kicked up bits of sand with every step, and I adjusted my bag, searching for a small opening for us to set down a blanket and relax.

After weaving through families setting up extravagant tents with coolers, tables, and umbrellas, I plopped my bag down a few feet away from a pregnant woman and her daughter. Grabbing a blanket from the bag, Teddy helped me smooth it across the sand, and we each kicked off our shoes before sitting cross-legged on the ratty quilt.

“Want to jump in the water?” I asked, lowering my sun hat across my eyes.

Teddy’s mouth twisted as he gripped a book in his lap. I followed his gaze to the young girl kicking the waves and laughing. “Maybe.”

I rubbed his back. “You’re allowed to have fun sometimes.”

He shot me a plain look. “Reading is fun.”

“I agree. But so is swimming in the ocean and finding seashells.” I bumped my shoulder into his.

“It’s not an ocean,” he retorted.

I grinned. “Even better! No salt water to sting your eyeballs or give you a parasite or whatever other weird shit you look up on the internet.”

When he scowled at me, I grinned and playfully stuck out my tongue, which earned me the tiniest smirk. Teddy only harrumphed, but didn’t chastise me for cursing in front of him again.

I lay back, stretching across the blanket and soaking in the DNA-damaging rays while Teddy fidgeted beside me and contemplated his choice.

I let the beach sounds fade away, and it was grounding to feel the soft sand beneath the quilt and the sun’s rays warm my skin. There was no denying that slowing down and feeling a connection to the earth made everything else—losing my sister, becoming Teddy’s guardian, tracking down his dad, trying to find myself in the midst of all of it—seem slightly bearable.

I needed that strength if I was going to help Teddy absorb the crushing blow of JP’s inevitable dismissal.

I turned my head and peeked at Teddy through my eyelashes. My heart filled with love for my little nephew. It would be JP’s loss in the end. Teddy was an incredible human, and if he couldn’t see that Teddy was worth getting to know, then he didn’t deserve him in his life.

Teddy was still staring at the lake and the children playing in it as if they were a personal affront to his sensible nature. He picked at the threadbare blanket beside him.

“Fine. I’ll go.” Without any further explanation, Teddy stood and stomped toward the water.

A laugh burst from my chest and I sighed as I sat up to keep a closer eye on him. He was cautious, but I knew he wasn’t a strong swimmer, and I didn’t want him getting too far without me.

A soft laugh floated next to me, and I looked over to see the pregnant woman smiling at Teddy’s back. “For what it’s worth, I think you did the right thing”—her head gestured toward Teddy dipping a toe into the lake—“letting him make the choice on his own.”

The woman was gorgeous, with brown hair piled on her head and large black sunglasses shielding her eyes. Her two-piece swimsuit was bright yellow with little ruffles at the hip. Her exposed belly was very pregnant as her left hand stroked across it.

I smiled at her. “I’m still kind of figuring it all out.”

The brunette nodded. “We all are.” She leaned toward me and held out her hand. “I’m Lark Sullivan. That’s Penny.” She pointed to the little girl I’d seen kicking the waves earlier. Lark rubbed her belly. “This is Ethan.”

I shook her hand and smiled. “Pleasure. I’m Hazel and that’s Teddy.” The woman’s name sparked a memory as I thought about the kind, silly firefighter from yesterday. “Sullivan? Any relation to Lee? Firefighter . . . mischievous smile . . . ?”

Lark nodded. “That would be Lee. He’s my brother-in-law. You know him?”

I smiled again. “We met yesterday. Teddy took off on a little adventure of his own and wound up at the fire station. He and a few of the crew there kept an eye on him until I could get him.”

“Oh . . . so you’re JP’s mystery woman.” Lark sat at attention and scooted forward.

Heat traveled up my neck, and I was certain my cheeks were stained red. I swallowed hard as JP’s words from the night before rattled in my brain.

If the neighbors can’t hear my woman scream, then I’m not doing my job right.

My uncomfortable laugh passed between us. “Definitely not his woman, but wow—news travels fast around here.”

She looked at me over the rim of her sunglasses. “You have no idea.”

Lark continued to look at me, though I didn’t get a sense of judgment. Only pure, unbridled curiosity. It was practically oozing from her perfect, poreless face.

“So you know JP King?” I asked.

Lark watched her daughter play in the waves, and we shared a smile when Penny invited Teddy to play with her sand toys.

“Everyone knows everyone in this town—at least, if you’re a townie. But the Sullivans and the Kings have a unique, generations-long history. The families are old-time rivals, but we’re also kind of family now. The men still pull petty pranks on each other from time to time, but it’s mostly harmless.” She swatted a dismissive hand between us as she continued, “Since Russell King was arrested for the murder of his wife Maryann, things have been quiet. Deep down I think we’re all working together to find a happy ending to such a heartbreaking story. It’s a trauma bond, I’m sure. Ha!”

The uncomfortable laugh burst from her chest at the end of the ramble, and I simply blinked at her as my brain ping-ponged with all the information she had thrown at me.

It was . . . a lot to take in.

I had seen the reports in the news about prominent businessman Russell King. His fall from grace had made headlines after he was accused of harming his wife, who had disappeared over two decades earlier. In fact, it was one news station that had made a passing mention of his son, John “JP” King, taking over their business, that was the final piece to finally finding Teddy’s dad. Olive’s letter had mentioned the Michigan town and the name JP King.

Clearly it was a sign.

Had it not been for that café with the news turned up too loud, I might never have had the guts to set out and find him.

The universe had been looking out for us, that I knew for sure.

I squinted at the sun, wondering whether Lark might reveal more information about the elusive grump. “Well, would you like to hear my side of it?”

Lark squealed and scooted closer. “Would I ever!”

I liked Lark. She seemed like the kind of woman you could confide in. Olive had always been my best friend, and the pain of knowing that, despite our bond, we never really knew each other stung.

I could be a better friend next time.

Maybe I could start with Lark.