Lindsey didn't want to sit and chat- he didn't have it in him to share a casual, or cordial conversation with her, not after that many years, so he decided not to even try.
Instead, he headed down the beach, getting in a morning stroll before he went back to make sure that Penny was still doing alright... He knew she wouldn't be feeling too great when she woke up, and he didn't want her to be all alone like that.
Usually he didn't have to be the hovering parent... That was normally Barbara's job, but since she wasn't around to be the level headed one, Lindsey knew he had to be.
He wasn't really used to doing the whole fatherhood thing alone, without their village, but that didn't mean he didn't try...
He always did his best and the first person to tell anyone that would have been Penny, herself.
Now, as for Stevie, she was feeling a little more let down in the way they had handled that, even though she knew, from the moment she saw him that it wouldn't be easy.
Anyway, she was slightly embarrassed after he left, so she brought her scone and her coffee out to the pool, where absolute silence awaited. It was just her, the soft music flooding through the speakers and calm still water.
It gave her a moment of clarity, which is exactly what she needed in order to think about how she was supposed to move forward with her relationship that she was hoping to build with Penelope...
The truth was, she hadn't been an overly motherly woman in the last twenty years of her life. It really didn't feel natural to try to raise children that weren't hers, so she didn't even try.
And that might have been the root of her issues with Dan's kids, but that didn't really seem to matter to her in the moment... The only person she was really worried about was Penny, who she couldn't even say anything to.
She honestly didn't want to tell her, not right away and for some reason, she didn't feel like it was even her place to do so... It wasn't that easy and Stevie knew she had a lot of people and a lot of feelings to take into consideration before she even thought about being honest in that aspect.
She wanted to love and admire her daughter from afar for a little while longer before they had to work out all the logistics.
Anywho, it wasn't until much later in the morning when Dan and Macy traveled down to join her, but only to throw a beach ball back and forth around the pool, while the blonde watched from a distance.
And that just put in stone how boring Macy actually thought Stevie was... She never wanted to do anything fun and why Dan wanted to marry her was beyond his teenage daughter.
"Hey..." Penny's soft, yet slightly raspy voice filled the air, which caused the older woman to turn in her chair. "I'm sorry to bother you again," she chuckled softly, taking a seat in the sun bed right next to Stevie without hesitation.
Sitting up a little more, Stevie let a warm smile trail across her face. "You aren't bothering me at all, honey." She assured, actually very relieved to see her doing so well that morning.
Penelope returned the soft grin, eyes scanning over Stevie's face. "I just wanted to say thank you for stepping in when that man was bothering me and making sure I made it back to my room safe." She announced, feeling very fortunate to have had her there the night before.... Even if it was really embarrassing for her. "You didn't have to do that, but I am so appreciative of the fact that you did." The way she said that caused Stevie's heart to sink into the pit of her stomach... Thanking her mother for doing things that normal mothers wouldn't think twice about.
Shaking her head lightly, her eyes grew much softer as she tried not to look back at her too intently. "Don't even mention it." She suddenly felt this immense amount of guilt wash over her... Penny should have known.
"You're so kind." Penelope let out a faint laugh, reaching out to take the blondes hand in hers for a split second.
"So are you." Stevie replied as she lightly tilted her head to the side to stare at her a little better.
If you asked Lindsey he would say that Penelope looked exactly like her mom did at that age, but if you asked Stevie, she would tell you that Penny had a lot of wonderful characteristics from her father... She was a good mix of both.
"What are you doing today?" The younger woman asked a moment later, not even taking into consideration how awkward that might be... After all, they were just acquaintances still.
Chuckling softly, Stevie glanced over at Dan, who was too busy playing ball to even notice her eyes on him. "I'm not doing anything today." She shrugged lightly, eyes melting right back into the identical ones that Penny had inherited.
She wanted to tell her how beautiful she was, but she definitely didn't want to weird her out, so she decided not to.
"If you're hanging out with your family, don't feel-"
"No." She shook her head, not intentionally cutting her off so abruptly. "What do you want to do?" She wondered, heart beating a mile a minute... She was so excited.
"Well, my dad and I are going off the island to my favorite little restaurant..." she lingered, which caused her mother to crease a brow instantly. "I would really like to take you out to dinner to properly thank you, and I'm sure he would love for you to tag along as well." Penny had not a single clue and it was quite obvious.
"Um," Stevie bit down on her bottom lip, wanting nothing more than to accept that invitation but knowing how much Lindsey would hate it. "I don't want to intrude on that time with your father." She admitted.
It sounded like something special for them and she wasn't going to step on anyone's toes, especially not his.
"Oh," she shook her head, waving a hand lazily. "We're leaving in a few hours and we drive the coast." She announced as she slowly began to push herself up to stand. "You're welcome to come, but don't feel like you have to." She quickly added with another toothy grin. "But I'd be really happy to spend the day with you."
