then surprised me by laughing,
"What's so funny?" How could he laugh? "It's pretty easy to figure out that I didn't do
this."
"Oh, really? And why is it so easy. Mr. Big
Shot?"
'It's easy because it says 'Ty and me.' I don't
think I would have written 'Ty and me,' even though
you believe I'm too much in love with myself. Also, look at how crudely this heart is drawn. It's not carved so much as scratched. Anyway, why would I put something indelibly into this rock for anyone to see if
I was trying to be surreptitious?"
"Sur what?"
"Sneaky, hidden. Pass a high school
equivalency exam," he muttered.
I squeezed my eyebrows together and studied
the heart in the rock. Of course he was right about it
saying "Ty and me." Why hadn't I realized it? He sat and folded his hands over his lap. I
returned to my seat and for a moment neither of us
spoke. The boat rocked gently in the breeze and my
pounding heart slowed down,
"Look," he said in a much calmer tone of voice.
"what we have here is an adolescent fantasy. It's not
uncommon or even unexpected, especially with a girl
so isolated. Don't you think I'm aware of all that? I do
the best I can. That's why I want to bring her up to a
level where she could enter a structured school
environment quickly and have more normal
experiences."
"That's all I want for her as well," I said. "It's hardly normal to bring her to that motor
home and show her a nude sex doll.'
"It's not a sex doll and I didn't show it to her.
She wanted to go into the motor home to see it and I