Chapter 2

“Daddy, come in the water!”

Nick cradled his cellphone and reclined in the parasol’s shade. He deleted an email. Two new emails arrived, both labeled “Urgent,” same as the other 25. He tossed his phone aside, only to clutch it again, holding it above his chest. His reflection stared back at him as if it was trapped in a 3×5 blackhole. Two small hands swiped the phone away.

Nick bolted upright in his beach chair. He gritted his teeth, but stopped himself from scolding his daughter. Adjusting his sky-blue bathing suit dotted with pink dolphins, he extended a waiting hand. His daughter hopped out of reach, out of the shade and into the sun.

“What ’cha doing, Daddy?” Noelle asked.

Water dripped from her hair, landing on the screen. She thumbed the security code, repeatedly getting it wrong. The phone buzzed several times until a warning displayed: the login would remain locked for ten minutes. Nick closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, exhaling an aggravated sigh. His long arm reached out, and his thick hand gently nudged open his daughter’s grip, retrieving his device.

“Nothing, baby,” he said, lying back in his resort chair. “Work’s been piling up, that’s all.”

“You work too much.”

Nick double-checked his phone, confirming it was still locked. He set it next to the melted daiquiri and glanced at his daughter. The sun glinted off her freckled cheeks, her teeth as bright as pearls. She had her mother’s coarse curly hair, and it bounced naturally in the wind. Nick’s hazel eyes met his daughter’s, a younger reflection of his own, brimming with unquenchable joy…