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Alex rummaged through a duffel bag and helped both Josh and
Kristen put their shirts on. When he was finished, Josh grabbed a
bag full of plastic toys and shovels and ran off, stopping a few feet
from the water’s edge. Kristen trailed behind him.
“Do you want me to head down there?” Katie asked.
He shook his head. “No, they’ll be okay. This is the part they’re
used to. When I’m cooking, I mean. They know to stay out of the
water.”
Moving to the cooler, he squatted down and opened the lid. “Are
you getting hungry, too?” he asked.
“A little,” she said before realizing that she hadn’t eaten anything
since the cheese and wine she’d had the evening before. On cue,
she heard her stomach growl and she crossed her arms over it.
“Good, because I’m starved.” As Alex began rummaging through
the cooler, Katie noticed the sinewy muscles of his forearm. “I was
thinking hot dogs for Josh, a cheeseburger for Kristen, and for you
and me, steaks.” He pulled out the meat and set it aside, then
leaned over the grill, blowing on the coals.
“Can I help with anything?”
“Would you mind putting the tablecloth on the table? It’s in the
cooler.”
“Sure,” Katie said. She pulled one of the bags of ice out of the
cooler and simply stared. “There’s enough food for half a dozen
families in here,” she said.
“Yeah, well, with kids, my motto has always been bring too much
rather than not enough, since I never know exactly what they’ll
eat. You can’t imagine how many times we’ve come out here and
I’ve forgotten something and have had to load the kids back up
and run to the store. I wanted to avoid that today.”