Late Saturday afternoon Stan Hawley drove back up to the lake cabin.
He'd spent four days alone in the city house, thinking and sweating out his problem. He had left that morning before Robin was up so he wouldn't have to face her, look at her after what he had done the night before.
In the four days of hard thinking, Stan had come to several conclusions. First, he had thoroughly enjoyed the sex session with his ten-year-old daughter. The first guilt and remorse gave way to analysis and rationalization. He had decided that it was a natural attraction.
He loved the child, and when she came to him that way, his instincts had turned his love to natural desire. He had wanted her and he had taken her. He no longer felt guilty about it. He could not change what had happened. He didn't want to. He would cherish the memory of that night for a hell of a long time to come.
But he had come to another conclusion and decision. He couldn't let it happen again. He couldn't fuck his own daughter again-no matter how much he wanted to. And he had to tell her. He had to make it clear to her that she could not try to get him alone, could not try for a repeat of the actions of that night on the boat. She wouldn't like it, he knew, but it had to be done. She would have to wait until she grew up and then find her own man…
The thing that surprised Stan Hawley most was how readily Robin agreed when he stated his case that night. She smiled at him and said, "Okay, Daddy. I understand. Is it okay if I go for a boat ride with Kevin and Drew and Jodi now?"
"Sure…" He watched his child run down the bank and climb into the speedboat where her sister and brothers were already waiting for her.
The boat sped off, leaving a trail of whitewater behind it. Stan Hawley shook his head and marveled at the resiliency of youth.