“Have you finished taking a dip?”
I had just poked my head out of the water. With my hand, I pulled my hair back and rubbed my eyes.
“Come on,” Rucker said, reaching out to help me out of the water.
I had barely set foot on the rocks when he was already wrapping a bath towel around me.
“Thank you. You’re a real mother to me.”
“I’ll show you if I’m your mom!” he cried, throwing me on his shoulder to spin me like a top.
“Okay, okay! I take it back,” I yelled, laughing.
He put me back on the floor, a smile on his face.
“Gwen didn’t want to come with you?”
He lifted his head to look at the house that overlooked the cliff, with a happy face.
“No. She’s out with Corwin and Morel.”
I wrapped the bath towel around my chest and sat down on the frozen rock. Rucker sat down next to me laug
