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“Yes,” I confirmed. “I will never, for as long as I live, go on Jumping Jellyfish ever again, and that’s final.”

“Okay, princess,” Callie said, looking down at her phone.

“Hey, you couldn’t go on the roller coaster,” I snapped back.

“Right,” she said condescendingly. “But that wasn’t a ride for children. Even Emma loved the jellyfish.”

I wanted to think of some clever retort, but I had to remind myself that I was the adult here.

“It’s fine,” Dean said, setting Emma down on a table. I sat down next to them, sulking.

“I’m sorry I suck,” I said, putting my head in my arms, still embarrassed about the jellyfish ride.

I felt hands on my shoulders.

“It’s okay,” Dean said, leaning down. “Everybody has their fears.”

“What’s yours?” I said, sitting back up.

“I’ll never tell,” he replied slyly, and Emma put her finger over his mouth as if to stop him from telling a secret.

“Whatever, you guys are weird together,” Callie remarked as she got up from the table. “I’m going to go find a churro.”

Chase’s eyes lit up. “Can I come?”

“Sure, whatever,” Callie said as she and Jenny walked off.

“Stay with Callie,” I told him.

“And remember your phone,” Dean added.

He nodded and ran off to follow his sister.

“You got him a cell phone? He’s like, ten.”

Dean shrugged.

“I don’t know, it made me feel better. It’s one of those pay-as-you-go phones. It’s not a big deal. Our numbers are the only ones in there.”

I sighed. Did he think of everything?

Next we went on the water tube ride, and by the end, we were completely soaked. I was wringing my clothes out, and Emma might as well have gone swimming in her clothes because she was dripping wet. I was kind of concerned.

“Do you think we should change her clothes?” I asked.

“That’s probably not a bad idea,” he said, squeezing water out of his shirt.

I couldn’t help but notice Dean’s shirt was semi-translucent when it was completely water logged. I’d seen him without a shirt before, but this wasn’t doing anything for the fact that I’d always had a weakness for white shirts and jeans on guys. Especially when Dean’s jeans were the kind that actors and models wore, unlike the common too light, unfitted “mom” jeans that certain guys I knew wore, or worse, the saggy jeans syndrome.

He ran a hand through his wet hair and smiled.

“I’ve got an idea.”

Emma’s eyes lit up when he grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms. Next, he took my hand and led us over to the nearest gift shop.

“Emma,” he said, putting her down. “Which princess do you want to be?” He pointed over at the little girls’ princess costumes.

She clapped her hands together in glee and ran over to the dresses.

“This one!” she said, pointing to a Cinderella costume.

He pulled it off the rack and brought it to me. I smiled and took it from him, and helped Emma put it on in the dressing room. She was freezing, so I couldn’t wait to get her back out in the sun in dry clothes.

When we came out, Dean took the tags from me and wordlessly paid for the dress. The salesgirl was talking to him and no doubt, flirting, but I was more focused on Emma. I picked her up and brought her outside so she could warm up. Dean followed us and put his wallet in his back pocket.

“Emma,” I said, looking down at her. “Do you have something to say to Dean?”

She stretched her arms out, obviously wanting to go to him.

“Thank you!” she yelled loudly, trying desperately to wiggle out of my arms. He reached out for her, but then pulled his phone out of his pocket. His brow furrowed when he looked at the screen.

“Uh oh,” he said, sounding concerned. “It’s Chase.”

“What?” I exclaimed, shoving it towards his face. “Answer it!”

He did, and I didn’t like what his expression turned into.

“We’ll be right there,” he said into the receiver. Then he turned to me. “He’s a ‘lost child’ up at guest services.”

I was going to kill Callie.

When we got there, we basically charged in, guns blazing. Chase was sitting behind a counter, looking upset. When he saw us, he jumped down and tried to open the gate.

“Wait now just a minute, young man,” a plump woman in her sixties disentangled him, and he looked like he wanted to cry.

She turned to us.

“Are you his…” she looked like she was at a loss for words. I think she was trying to decide what Dean and me were to him, like everyone did.

“She’s my sister,” Chase supplied. I felt like my heart was going to break in half.

“Is that true?” the woman looked to me.

I nodded.

“Name?” she asked.

“Lauren Lindsay.”

She looked at Dean like she didn’t approve of whatever was going on, and he put a hand on my back to steady me while holding Emma with the other.

“Now, I’ll just need you to fill out these papers,” she said, shoving a pen at me.

After profusely apologizing and filling out what seemed like a mountain full of paperwork, Chase was allowed out of her custody. He ran through the gate and immediately put his hands around my waist.

“I’m so sorry, little man,” I said, hugging him back.

Dean nodded at the woman, who went back to her work.

“It’s okay,” Chase said, his voice muffled against me. “I’m back.”

Dean didn’t look too happy.

“So Chase,” he said, kneeling down. “Where’s Callie?”

Chase shrugged.

“I don’t know. She went on a ferris wheel with some boy.”

“Oh my god,” I said, throwing my hands up in the air. “Seriously?”

Chase nodded.

“Where is she now?” Dean asked, far more calm than I was. He wasn’t happy though, not with the way his jaw kept twitching.

“Probably still there,” he said. “It’s the big one that takes forever. I wanted to go find a churro, like she said. I guess I just wandered a little too far and got lost. I looked for you guys but I couldn’t find you. I was going to call but then one of the security guards dragged me here before I could. They took my phone.”

I felt terrible. I was an awful guardian already.

“Is Jenny with her?” Dean asked, kneeling down to get on Chase’s level.

He shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Dean really wasn’t happy with that answer, and neither was I. We all walked over to the ferris wheel, fuming.

We posted ourselves at the exit and waited for them to get off. Jenny showed up a couple of minutes later holding an ice cream cone. When she saw Chase, she grabbed his arm.

“Thank God! I was looking everywhere for you!” She seemed genuinely concerned, unlike Callie.

“Jenny,” Dean said seriously. “Where’s Callie?”

Jenny rolled her eyes.

“Oh, I don’t know. She met Prince Charming and now they’re probably making out up there. I didn’t really feel like being the third wheel, pun intended.”

I laughed under my breath. She had a point.

When Callie’s car finally rolled around a few minutes later, Dean was every bit the concerned older brother. He stood there, arms crossed, giving her a look that could kill.

She was adjusting her too-short Daisy Dukes when she was followed out of the car by a guy in a leather jacket who looked a lot older than she did. In fact, he looked like he was almost the same age as me or Dean. A leather jacket? Could this get any more cliché?

“Callie,” I said sternly, and she frowned as she walked over.

“What? Can’t I have a little fun?” she whined.

“No,” I told her. “Not when we leave Chase with you and expect you to take care of him.”

“Hey, is there a problem here?” Leather Jacket Kid stepped in between Callie and me.

I was shocked. Who did he think he was?

Dean stepped in and put a hand on the guy’s chest, putting himself between us.

“There is a problem, and it doesn’t involve you. Leave. Now.”

Dean towered over this kid, and although he didn’t look like someone who was easily intimidated, I would be too if Dean was squaring me down.

“Whatever man, I’m out of here.” He stalked off, taking
Grease
with him.

“Callie, I can’t believe you!” I said, stepping around Dean to get to her. “Did you not remember that you needed to watch your brother?”

She looked at her nails.

“Sorry, whatever.”

I could tell that she wasn’t.

“Callie, remember what we talked about?” I asked seriously, looking her straight in the eye.

Her eyes got glassy.

“Whatever,” she sighed, pushing past me to get to Jenny.

I looked at Dean. This was so much more complicated than I thought it would be.

I THINK WE went on every single ride in Disneyland. We waited in countless lines, went to the bathrooms in every land as per Emma’s request, and Chase even got a picture with Prince Phillip because he said he wanted to be him when he grew up. At one point we lost Callie again, but found her hitting on Aladdin.

“If I were a prince, who would I be?” Dean asked Emma, who was on his shoulders.

“Um,” she looked up, deep in thought. “Prince Eric.”

She drew it out so the r’s sounded like w’s.

He laughed.

“Why do you say that?”

She pulled on his hair.

“Because Lauren is Ariel and you love Lauren just like Eric loves Ariel.”

Jenny burst out laughing, but Callie didn’t look up from her phone.

Neither Dean nor I had a witty reply to that, but I think we all knew love was a strong word.
Like
was enough for now.