After Zoe and the kids left for the beach, Dan and George were left alone in the cabin. This was Dan's chance to interrogate his father.
"Dad, why'd you tell Zoe that I loved her?"
"So you do love her!" George exclaimed. "I wasn't sure, but now I know!"
"Dad, honestly, why'd you tell her that?"
"Because I knew you'd be too scared to tell her yourself and I thought that she had to know."
"Our relationship is none of your business, why do feel the need to pry into my life?"
"I want to see you married with children before I die. Your mother never got to meet her grandchildren, but I'd like to."
"You are so stubborn. I can't talk to you anymore. I'm going to head down to the beach with Zoe."
"Okay, I'll just stay here and watch some TV." George said, taking a seat on the couch.
Dan left and walked the five hundred yards to the dock where Zoe was sitting watching the kids play in the water in her swimsuit. Zoe turned around when she felt Dan step on the dock. "What are you doing out here?" She asked with a smile.
"I thought I'd join you and maybe go for a little swim later." Dan said, taking a seat next to Zoe.
"We should go for a boat ride tonight, I think we should discuss a few things in private without any possible interruptions."
"That might be fun." Dan said, as he placed his hand on top of Zoe's hand on the dock and gave it a squeeze. They looked at each other and both smiled.
"Do you really love me?" Zoe asked, quietly so the kids couldn't hear.
Dan looked away from her and stared across the lake. "I don't know why my father told you that."
"So you don't love me?" Zoe asked again, feeling a little sad about it.
"I didn't say that. I just… you know why don't we wait until we go on our little boat ride tonight to discuss this?"
"Okay."
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After they were done swimming, everyone went back to the cabin for some dinner, hamburgers, baked beans and potato salad.
"Who wants to play a game with me?" Hannah asked, after they had cleaned up everything from dinner. "Aunt Zoe, do you want to play something?"
"No, thanks, sweetheart. I was going to go out on the boat with Dan later on."
"Can I come?" Hannah asked getting excited.
"No, I have to talk to Dan alone." Zoe said. "Maybe Taylor or Cliff will play with you though." Zoe suggested, looking to Taylor for assurance
"Yeah, sure." Taylor said, "What are we going to play?" she asked as they disappeared into another room to get a game.
"So, Dan, do you want to go on the boat ride now?" Zoe asked.
"Sure, I have to get the boat into the water first though."
"Do you need help?"
"No, I don't think so, you can wait on the dock while I back the boat into the water." Dan said, grabbing his dad's car keys.
Zoe did as Dan said and went to the dock as she watched Dan unhitch the boat from the trailer and drive the car back to its parking spot.
"Alright, Zoe, get in the boat." Dan instructed, as he pushed the boat closer to the dock. "Hold on to the edge of the dock so I can get in then." He said, as Zoe got in the boat and proceeded to hold on to the dock as Dan got out of the water and into the boat.
"So where are we going to go?"
"Not far, I don't really know the lake that well, so we don't want to get lost." Dan said as he started up the motor of the boat and backed out into the open area of the lake.
They drove for about five minutes before Dan stopped the boat somewhere on the opposite side of the lake.
"So, what do you want to discuss out here?" Dan asked, sitting across from Zoe.
"I know I've talked a lot about this, but it has to do with what your dad said to me. If what he said is true, that can really change our relationship."
"About that, Zoe, I don't know why my dad said that, actually I do know why he said that. He thinks I'm too scared to actually tell you how I feel, but…"
"How do you feel?" Zoe interrupted, hoping he'd say what she wanted to hear.
"Zoe, I love you. I've loved you for a long time, but I was always afraid to say so because I thought it would ruin our relationship, but I'm willing to risk that now."
"I want to risk it too, because I love you too." Zoe admitted her feelings, giving her some feeling of relief.
Dan smiled. "I'm so glad to hear you say that, as will my dad when we tell him. He's been trying to get us together this whole weekend and it just started!"
"Yeah, I could sense that, but I'm glad he was so persistant in getting you to do something about it." Zoe said, as she stood from her sitting position on the bench and took a seat next to Dan. She smiled as she leaned in to kiss him. Dan met her in the middle as their lips met and he tenderly kissed her.