Chapter 6: Beach Day

The next day at exactly noon Shaw was knocking at my door.

"We'll take my truck; we have to go off road for a bit and then hike the rest of the way. Are you up for it?"

"I'm capable. What about Ame? How long will we be hiking?"

"Don't worry about that, I'll carry her."

"Do I need to bring anything?" I was still new to the whole wilderness thing, and I honestly wasn't sure.

"No worries I packed us some things."

With that they were loaded up into his truck with Amelia sitting right between them in the front row. I felt a little nervous about Ame being without her car seat, but this wasn't some big city with expressways and traffic. She would be okay. The lumps and bumps of the unpaved road was actually really fun for Ame. Whenever we hit a big bump, she laughed and cheered earning laughs from Shaw and I as well. It was great seeing her experience something new and unfamiliar. When they reached their destination Shaw went to the back of the truck and pulled out a backpack.

"Okay, we have about a fifteen-minute hike this is the trail. Try to follow my footsteps if you step in the wrong spot, you might tweak your ankle."

He grabbed Amelia and put her on his neck making sure she was comfortable and holding on.

As we walked on the path Shaw pointed out various flora and fauna to Ame teaching her the entire journey to the beach. It was heartwarming seeing him interact that way with her. It reminded me of my dad, but instead of teaching her about the outdoors my father taught her to love books as he does. As he did. No don't think about that now just enjoy the moment. There was something about Shaw that struck a spark within me. A spark I hadn't felt in almost four years. When Amelia was born, I dedicated my life to taking care of her I wanted to be the best version of myself for her and quite frankly I learned my lesson with her father. But Shaw felt different. I couldn't quite put it into words, but I was willing to try with him if that's what he wanted. He clearly accepted my daughter and as long as he was willing to take things slow, I was in.

We finally arrived at a clearing in the trees, and I saw the beach. The water looked ice cold and there were mountains in the distance. It was truly breath taking.

"Wow. This is beautiful." I looked over at Shaw and noticed Amelia's eyes wide in wonder.

"Wow mom this is so cool."

"Do you want to get down and explore?"

"Yes!" He placed her on her feet, and she took off running down the beach. There weren't any other people here, so it felt even more serene.

"I see why this is your favorite place. Thank you for bringing us here."

We walked along the beach until we found a spot we liked. He pulled off his backpack and laid a blanket down for us. He began pulling out sandwiches and chips and various other snacks. The last thing out was three giant water bottles.

"Well, I guess you really did have us covered." I laughed out loud.

"Did you make these sandwiches yourself?"

"I did." He smirked at me.

We sat in a comfortable silence watching Amelia explore. It was so peaceful here, and not having other people around had its benefits. She never got to run so free before. Usually, she has to stay close and stay out of the way of strangers but not here. I knew then that I made the right choice moving here.

"Look mama! It's a crab!" She ran to our picnic setup with some poor creature in her hands.

"Good eye most people miss those because the fuzz on its back looks like seaweed." said Shaw. He sure knew a lot about animals or the outdoors in general. He was knowledgeable, my dad would have appreciated that quality.

"You seem sad all of a sudden." his gruff voice called out to me after Ame had runoff again.

"I was just thinking about my dad. He passed away almost 6 months ago now."

"I'm sorry Kat."

"I was just thinking he would have liked you, he loved people who educated themselves and not just in a formal setting. He liked people that chose to learn whatever they could."

"My father was the same. He's the one I learned from."

So, we had both lost our fathers.

"How long ago?" He looked into my brown eyes searching for something.

"Eight years." It was an old wound that never quite healed deep down.

We spent hours at the beach eating sandwiches and talking. Well, I talked and he listened. He was a great listener and by the time we were done there it felt like he knew my entire life story. I knew more about him than I did before, but that's not saying much. He came back to my place for dinner and then he left after helping me clean. It was casual and it was easy. It did however feel like the beginning of something between us and that was enough for me. He gave me his phone number and told me to call him anytime for anything. I chuckled remembering how serious he was. Just then my phone rang. Ugh it must be my mother.

"Hello?"

-Silence.

"Hello?"

-Silence.

"Mommy I'm ready for my story!"

I looked down at the phone realizing I didn't recognize the phone number on the screen. Must have dialed the wrong number. I shrug and hang up going to read and cuddle Amelia.

Once she was in bed, I texted Shaw so that he had my number as well.

'I had a great day thanx so much for taking us to the beach. Goodnight'