Love You Through It

Chapter Three

"I know I'm going to sound like a five year old here but I don't care. Dad, are we there yet?"

"Not yet. Sign says another half a mile." She groans, instantly regretting flip flops. 

"If you want, I'll carry you." Landon smiles. 'God, he's so sweet.' She thinks.

"Okay. Are you sure?"

"Absolutely." They stop walking, and Landon squats down in front of her with his back to her so she can climb onto his back. She wraps her arms around his shoulders and he stands up, supporting her on his back. She may be 5'8, but she only weighs 120 pounds, which is nothing for Landon. When he was seventeen, he enlisted in the military. Nine months later, he was honorably discharged for a medical reason. He'd had to carry 180 pound backpacks before, so 120 pounds was nothing. 

"Thank you." Samija smiles. He carries her the last half a mile and sets her down on the sand. 

"Anytime." Landon smiles at her.  She pulls her shirt off to reveal a blue Hawaiian printed tankini top. Erik hands Landon his towel and lays his towel down on the sand. 

"Here's your towel kiddo." He says and hands Samija her towel. She lays her towel next to Landon's. 

"Who's up for a swim?" Landon asks peeling off his shirt. 

"Sure!" Samija pulls off her leggings and puts their clothes in the beach bag. "I'll race ya." She giggles and takes off running. Landon runs after her.

"I'm not a part of this race." Erik calls after them as he walks towards the water.

"Too old to run, Dad?" 

"Yeah, maybe." He chuckles.  Samija makes it to the water first and runs straight in. 

"Okay, you win. This time anyway." Landon laughs as he runs into the water and stands next to Samija. 

"I'll always win, Landon." She splashes him. Erik stands next to them in the water and joins in on the splashing. They swim for a couple of hours, then go sunbathe. 

"So we have won the first 22 races of the season. Let's keep up this winning streak. We have the potential to win all 41 races this season." Erik spoke up. 

"It would be great if we could win the entire season. Is it possible though?" 

"It's definitely possible, Landon, as long as you don't crash and no one crashes you out on purpose." 

"I say, let's do this. Let's win every race this season!" 

"I know we can do this guys." Samija says tiredly. They continue to talk for a few hours. Samija falls asleep laying in the warm sun.  

"It's about four, we should head back." Erik says looking at his watch. 

"Do you want me to wake her or just carefully pick her up and carry her?"

"Let her sleep. She's had to deal with us guys all day." Landon gently lifts her up with one arm behind her knees and the other behind her back. Her head rests on his shoulder as she sleepily wraps her arms around his neck. Erik picks up all three towels and shakes them out. He shoves them in the bag along with Samija's flip flops. They start walking back to the track. 

"So are we heading out tonight or in the morning, Erik?" 

"I'd say in the morning. The RV drivers need to be well rested too." 

"Alright, I was hoping you'd say that. Who's RV are we going to? Yours or mine?"

"Your RV is more spacious and we can all relax in a bigger RV." The walk was a little over an hour and they made it back to the RV at quarter after five. "I'll order some food in. What do you want? There's Subway, Jimmy John's, Domino's, Olive Garden and Papa John's."