Giselle's POV

I couldn't believe I was able to convince Ricky to come with me to a river with us over the weekend. If anything, he would be able to spend time with his sister. But he wasn't thrilled about stripping down into a swimsuit. I figured this would be the last chance to do something like this with September ending and before the coldness of October arrived. There we were with me, Ricky, Ava, and Lady. Liam wasn't able to join us. My phone was flooded of his messages of him complaining about being at the hotel. Regardless, we were going to have fun. Ricky was somehow able to borrow a truck. The truck came in super handy for the rough surfaces we had to drive over to get to the river. It was also able to carry the small boat that we would float down the river on. Once we parked, we were outside with our clothes off. Me and Ava in our bikinis with our perfect tans, Ricky in his swimsuit with his less than stellar tan. Thankfully, a little girl like Lady didn't have to worry about her image. Lady was beyond excited to be in the river. With all my strength, I had to force her to put on sunblock. Her excitement died as she stood at the entrance of the water.

"What's wrong? I asked standing next to her.

With a big gulp, she spoke. "I can't swim."

My feet kneeled on the ground of the water with me touching her shoulder. "You don't have to worry about not being able to swim because we're going to be on the boat."

"What if I fall off and drown?"

Hoping to give her some comfort, I gave her a hug. "You won't drown. I'll be with you the whole time. There's no way I'd let that happen."

Ricky soon made his way to the river and softly dropped the boat. He was the first to get in with Ava in second. Lady held my hand as I helped her unto the boat. Once she was in the boat, a smile gleamed over her face. I could sense the proudness in her as she sat in my lap.

"You're pretty brave. I'm so proud of you. Did you know when I was a little girl like you, I was afraid of the water? I never wanted to go to the pool. But one day at the pool, my brother held my hand and we walked in together. A little girl like you can do big things."

Her face blushed. For the next couple hours, it was smooth sailing across the river. Nothing but soft wind and the soothing noise of the river. Ricky led the boat down the river not wanting to talk. It was obvious he kind of wanted to get this trip over with. Ava also noticed and suggested we sing a song. Lady was in high agreement.

"Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream," everyone except Ricky sang. "Merrily, merrily, life is but a dream." Lady wanted to sing this song for the next two hours. In that time, we made it to the end of the river and back to where we started. Getting off the boat, we decided to take a break for dinner. Ricky was able to set a fire and we cooked hot dogs. We all sat and ate in peace and quiet watching the natural flow of the river. Ricky briefly found my hand and held it. When we finished our hot dogs, Ricky brought out the material for S'mores. The sun was beginning to set. A moment was had teaching Lady how to make a S'more. Breaking a graham cracker in half for her, she got a handful of marshmallows and tried to shove them on the stick. The fire burnt a few of them. Once she was ready, I helped put her burnt marshmallows in between her crackers. Her mouth was in Heaven. As we sat around the fire eating our snack, Ricky spoke.

"Who wants to hear a scary story?"

"Me!" Lady shouted.

"No Ricky! No scary stories."

"Don't worry. It won't be that scary."

I had no choice but to agree as he stood up and began telling his story.

"Many years ago, there was a lady walking at a beach looking for seashells. As the day was ending, she came across a striped shell. Seeing that this shell was special, she dumped the other shells she found and took this one home with her. One stormy night while the lady was sleeping, there was a shake at the window. She soon heard a knock at the door. Who could it be?"

"It was the police!" interrupted Lady. "They were coming to arrest her."

With all of his might, Ricky was doing everything he could to not laugh. "No, it wasn't the police. Nice try. No, it was actually her daddy who died when she was a teenager. Out of fear, she invited him for dinner. They ended up eating hot dogs. Once dinner was over, the lady was on the floor dead. The dead daddy took the seashell and went to the beach. To this day, nobody knows what happened to him or where the seashell is."

A second later, he dropped a striped seashell out of his pocket. For a brief second, Lady jumped out in fear but somehow began laughing. He also chuckled realizing how silly his story was and how smart this little girl was.

Ava's POV

Not only did Ricky bring a truck, a boat, and food, but he also brought a guitar. For someone who didn't want to do this trip, he certainly came prepared.

"I shot the buffalo, but the buffalo couldn't shoot me," he sang. We all just sat and listened over the fire while he sang and played. "Mama always told me never shoot them buffalo, but oh I'm a bad boy and never listen. I shot the buffalo."

Slowly but surely. Lady's Eyes slowly began drifting off. Once she was sleeping, she fell into Giselle's Lap. Ricky smiled at the sight and continued singing. Something about this moment made me feel happy. With Giselle at my side in the night, my heart felt at ease. Her hand touched the floor leading my hand to touch hers. She was fine with this and I was glad she was. One could only hope this moment would never end. As an hour passed the fire began to die out with Ricky not knowing any more songs to sing.

"Any requests?"

Nobody had any requests. My head was now leaning on Giselle's Shoulder leaving me to feel safe and secure. It was as if at this moment, I knew who I was. Once the fire was completely out, Ricky stood up.

"Alright, I guess it's getting late. We should probably head back. I'll put Lady in the Truck."

Softly, he picked her up and held her. My eyes noticed a quick smile on his face while he was rubbing her hair. Within a couple of minutes, we were all ready to go. Giselle and Lady slept the entire way back with me fully awake. I couldn't help but smile and give a little giggle which Ricky noticed.

"You awake?" he quietly asked.

"Yup."

"You have fun today?"

"I had a lot of fun. What about you?"

He took a moment to think about it. "Yeah, I'd say I had fun. Glad I came."

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Next Chapter: Giselle ponders over her future after graduation.

Do you think Ricky will come around to Lady?