seem to be the one who actually does.”
Danny’s eyes turned smoky as he looked down at her and graced her with half a smile. Without thinking it through, Jessie tucked her hand around the back of his neck and pulled him close enough to plant a kiss on his warm lips.
When they parted, she smiled at him. “I just think you’re . . . extraordinary.”
“I like you very much, too,” he teased.
“Are you going to call Kaye and tell her you solved her mystery?”
“I want to stop in Yucaipa on our way back Tuesday and see if I can get her necklace first.”
“That would be an added piece of good news, wouldn’t it?”
“I think it would.”
“Hey, you guys,” Allie shouted at them from the other side of the room. “We’ve got everything we need for s’mores. Are you coming?”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Danny told her, his eyes trained on Jessie. “I do love a good s’more.”
Jessie giggled, and she slipped her hand inside his as they headed through the glass doorway to the deck.
By the time the last embers in the copper fire pit dwindled down to nothing and far too much chocolate, marshmallow, and graham crackers had been warmed and consumed, Jessie felt more than ready for her head to fall on a pillow. Unfortunately, all that sugar had other effects on Allie. The girl chattered all the way down the hall and into the bedroom, throughout their turns in front of the bathroom sink, after pajamas had been donned, lights turned off, blankets tucked under chins. Yes, Allie was still talking.
“. . . and I told her it wasn’t going to work like that. She had to play hard-to-get and not let him think she liked him, you know? Boys get a head full when they think a girl likes them, don’t you think so?”
Jessie yawned. “I think it depends on the boy, honey.”
“You think so? I never met a boy who didn’t get a head full when he found out for sure.”
“You know what, Allie?”
“What?”
“I’m really tired. I don’t want to be rude, but I can’t stay awake another minute.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“We’ll talk more in the morning, okay?”
“Yeah, okay. You’re going paddleboarding with us, aren’t you?”
“Mm . . .”
The next thing Jessie knew, the sun had pushed its way through the window and flooded the whole bedroom. The bed Allie had occupied the night before sat conspicuously empty under a heap of disheveled blankets. Jessie made up both the beds before she dressed and ventured down the long hallway to the living spaces of the house. Through the glass, she spotted Danny lounging on the deck, reading a newspaper, and sipping from a cup of coffee. She stopped in the kitchen and poured herself a cup before joining him.
“Good morning.”
He looked up and broke into a full grin when he saw her. “Morning. How’d you sleep?”
“Like a rock.” Once Allie quit talking, anyway.
“Good. Interested in paddleboarding with Riggs and Al after breakfast?”
“Ha!” she croaked. “I don’t think so. I have a hard enough trouble staying upright on dry land. A surfboard is so far out of my element.”
“It’s not like surfing. It’s much calmer. I think you might enjoy it.”
“How much balance do you need?”
“Well, some,” he teased. “But . . . minimal in comparison to surfing.” He paused while she thought it over. “I brought a nice long board that works well for beginners. Give it a try.”
She nibbled the corner of her lip before shrugging one shoulder. “Okay.”
Two hours later, Jessie thought better of the casual agreement as Danny fed her instructions from a board adjacent to hers.
“You’re always going to grip the paddle with one hand at the end and the other holding the center of the shaft. Like this.”
Her knees ached as she examined his demonstration. “When can I stand up? My knees hurt.”
He chuckled. “Get up one foot at a time and stay in the middle of the board.” As she pushed upright, he added, “Good. That’s right. Wait!”
Too late. Her other foot slipped over the side of the paddleboard, and she fell off into the water. When she breached the surface again, Danny, Allie, and Riggs were cackling like irritating hens.
“It’s all right,” Danny told her. “Just climb back on and try again. Keep your feet parallel this time.”
She groaned, not really wanting to try again. However, on her third attempt, she found herself standing, balanced, and paddling along next to Allie. She now felt pretty happy she’d stuck with the efforts to stand upright.
The sun’s noontime rays cut through the tangle of leaves hanging from the border of trees, playing glittery tricks on the smooth surface of the water. Jessie dipped the paddle into the lake with the blade angled away from her and pushed it through the water. With her hands firmly in place, she lifted it to the other side of the board and repeated the action, not even trying to suppress the happy giggle that bubbled up from inside.
“Check you out,” Riggs called to her with a nod. “Lookin’ good!”
“I think I’ve got it, right?”
A couple of kayaks brimming with rowdy teenagers rounded the curve. The ruckus distracted Jessie for just a moment, and she nearly lost her balance before recovering.
“Hey, Dad! I’ll race you,” Allie called out, and she and Riggs took off across the lake as if sliding on glass.
Danny navigated his board closer to Jessie’s as they moved out from under the shade of the trees. When the golden sunlight found him, the blonder sections of his multifaceted hair kindled into blazing streaks. His gray tee and long black shorts took on a silvery glint, and he lowered the sunglasses from the top of his head to the bridge of his nose.
“You know what I was thinking?” he asked, completely unaware of how weak in the knees just the sight of him left her.
“What’s that?”
“During the spring and summer months, you can take the ski lift to the top of the mountain. What do you think of grabbing some lunch and taking it up?”
“Really? That sounds like fun. I should probably change clothes though—”
“Why? You look beautiful.”
“Lies,” she muttered with a laugh, adding, “I look like a drowned rat.”
