Free Road to Reality by Natalie Ann

didn’t think he was a junk food junky.
    Zoe finished off her chips in record time and started to rub her eyes, a sure sign she was getting tired. “Naptime, Mommy.”
    Mac looked on in amazement. “I’ve never heard of a child doing that before. If anything, most parents complain they can’t get their children to take a nap and have to lay them down kicking and screaming, or let them fall asleep with the TV on.”
    “Oh,” Beth said, flustered as she turned to Mac. “I’m sorry. Sometimes she can skip a nap, but not often. I thought today might be the day, guess not. I should probably get her home.”
    “Why? She can take a nap here, right? She can lie down either on the couch, or if that won’t work, then my bed.”
    Beth froze at the thought of his bed. No, no way was she going into his bedroom. Not happening, especially with Zoe here, however innocent it may be. 
    She looked over at the couch, which had a large footrest in one corner making it look like a small bed. Between the arm on one side and the rest of the couch on the other, Zoe would be safe enough.  “Well, if you don’t mind, the couch would be fine. But Zoe needs to go potty first,” she said, picking her up off the chair and carrying her to the little half bath. 
    She was walking back down the hall with Zoe next to her when Mac came down the stairs with a small blanket in his hands. “The central air can get a bit cool so I grabbed a blanket for her too.”
    “That was thoughtful. Thank you.”
    Once Zoe was lying on the couch, tucked in nice and snug with one arm around her doll, Beth walked back to the kitchen and started to automatically clean up the remains of their lunch. “I’ve got it,” she assured him when Mac tried to help.  “Seriously, I appreciate you feeding us,” she said awkwardly.
    While she finished cleaning up lunch, he put the rest of the color samples and blueprints away.  Thankfully, they were able to get all of that sorted before Zoe decided she was hungry. When everything was stored in its rightful place they walked over to the couch together, Beth suddenly realizing she didn’t have the first clue what to do with herself. 
    Mac sensed her discomfort and suggested in a whisper, “Want to go for a walk by the water with me? It’s not far, and we can leave the door open and listen for her.”
    Beth looked out the existing sliding glass door and noticed the water wasn’t that far from the house, close enough that they could hear Zoe if she called out to them. “But your air conditioning is on.”
    “No problem, I’ll leave the door open a crack. It won’t make much of a difference.”
    “Then, that would be nice.”
    He reached for her hand and threaded his fingers through hers, gently pulling her out the door, leaving it open a crack like he said as they made their way to the water.

His Loss
     
     
    His strong hand holding hers felt oddly right. She would never admit it, but she’d never had her hand held by a man before, not even her father. It felt like she always dreamed it would—strong and comforting.
    “It’s so peaceful here,” she mused, listening to the birds in the trees surrounding his house.  She could see a house through the trees to the right, but nothing to the left, the trees being too thick on that side.  “Do you have a neighbor over there?”
    “Yes, but their house is set back further from the water than mine. Before the trees bloom you can see the house clearly. It’s still far enough away we aren’t on top of each other though.”
    They reached the water’s edge where she noticed a small beach that Zoe would love to play on, along with a dock holding a Pontoon Boat.  Well, he did ask if they wanted to go for a boat ride, but somehow she hadn’t pictured Mac owning something quite like that.
    “I borrowed the boat from my sister’s in-laws for the day. I thought Zoe might enjoy a ride on it.  It will go slow and she can walk around and be safe enough.”
    “Your