which made him frown.
Gabe had his towel slung around his neck, his mirrored glasses already in place and his hat on backward. He carried a stocked cooler in his free hand. “Let’s go.”
He led her to a small metal fishing boat, then despite her efforts to step around him, helped her inside. The boat swayed, and she nearly lost her balance. She would have fallen overboard if he hadn’t held on to her.
He managed not to smirk.
He tossed her stuff in to her, then said, “Take a seat up front and put on a belt. If you fall in, it’ll keep you from drowning until I can fish you out.”
“Like you did the carp?”
Her teasing smile made his stomach tighten. “Naw, I kissed the fish and threw him back in for luck.” He glanced at her, then added, “I wouldn’t do that to you.”
Her owl-eyed expression showed her confusion. Let her wonder if he meant he wouldn’t kiss her or he wouldn’t throw her back. Maybe keeping her guessing would take some of the edge off her cockiness. He hid his satisfaction as he stepped into the boat and tilted the motor into the water. He braced his feet apart, gave the rip cord a tug, and the small trolling motor hummed to life.
After seating himself comfortably, he said, “We won’t break any speed records, but the ride’ll be smooth.”
“Is this your boat?”
“Naw. Belongs to Rosemary. But she lets me use it whenever I want.”
“Because you do work around the dock for her?”
Tendrils of hair escaped her long thick braid and whipped into her face. She held them back with one hand while she watched him. The dress she wore was made like a tent—no shape at all. From what he could see, it pulled on over her head, without a button or zipper or tie anywhere to be found. The neck was rounded and edged with lace, and the sleeves were barely there. But at least it was a softer material, something kind of like a T-shirt, and a pale yellow that complemented her red hair and bright blue eyes.
Gabe pulled himself away from that distraction and reminded himself that lust had nothing to do with his motivation today. He smiled at her. “Is that your question?”
“What?”
“Your one allotted question. You want to know about me working at the boat dock?”
Her frown was fierce. “Just making conversation.”
“Uh-huh. You know what I think? I think you figured you’d sneak a whole bunch of questions in on me and I wouldn’t notice.”
She bit her lips and looked away. Gabe couldn’t help but laugh out loud, it was so obvious she’d been caught. Damn, but she was a surprise. She sat there with her little feet pressed primly together—those damn lacy ankle socks somehow looking kind of sexy all of a sudden—while her snowy white sneakers got damp with the water in the bottom of the boat. Her hands were clasped together in her lap, holding onto her big floppy hat, her eyes squinted against the wind and sun. Her freckles were even more noticeable out here on the lake. She wasn’t exactly what you’d call a pretty woman, certainly not a bombshell like Sawyer’s Honey or Morgan’s Misty. But there was definitely something about her....
“Where are we going?”
She sat facing him in the boat, so he pointed behind her to where the land stretched out and the only living things in sight were a few cows grazing along the shoreline. The man-made lake was long and narrow, shaped a lot like a river with vacation cabins squeezed into tight rows along both sides. Several little fingers of water stretched out to form small coves here and there, only a few of which were still owned by farmers and hadn’t been taken over by developers. The land Gabe lived on with his brothers had a cove like that, a narrow extension of the main lake, almost entirely cut off from the boating traffic since it was so shallow. But it made for great swimming and fishing, which was what the brothers used it for.
Though they didn’t have any cows there, it was peaceful and natural and they loved it, refusing to sell no matter how many times they were asked and regardless of the offer. They jointly owned a lot of property, and in two spots runoff from the main lake had formed a smaller lake and a pond. Gabe intended to build a house on that site some day.
“We’re going there?” Lizzy asked, interrupting his thoughts. She sounded horrified.
Gabe bobbed an eyebrow. “It’s real private.”
“Are the cows friendly?”
“Most bovines are. You just don’t want to walk behind them.”
“They kick?”
She sounded appalled again, so he had to really struggle to keep from laughing. “Nope. But you have to be real careful where you step.”
“Oh.”
Slowing the motor, Gabe let the boat glide forward until they’d rounded the cove and nudged as far inside as possible. Someone in years past had installed a floating dock, but it had definitely seen better days. It tended to list to one side, with three corners out of the water and one corner under, covered by moss. But at least it was a good six feet square and didn’t sink if you climbed on it.
Gabe threw a rope around a metal cleat on the side of the dock. It was strange, but his heart was already pounding like mad—he had no idea why—and he had to force himself to speak calmly.
He looked at her, saw her shy, averted gaze and felt the wild thrum of excitement. He swallowed hard. “This is as far as we get, so you can skin out of that dress now.”
She peeked at him, then away. “Why don’t you go ahead and get in, then I’ll…inch my way in?”
“Have you ever driven a boat?”
“No.”
“Do you know how to start it?”
She glanced dubiously at the pull start for the motor, then shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
He nodded. “So at least I know you’re not plotting on getting me overboard then taking off.”
Her eyes widened. “I wouldn’t do that.” She chewed her lip, looking undecided, then admitted, “It’s just that I hadn’t figured on how to go about stripping off my clothes out here in the open.”
“With me and the cows watching?”
“Right.”
He could have offered a few suggestions, but that would be crass. Besides, he was afraid his suggestions would offend her. Likely they would.
Oh, hell, he knew damn good and well they would.
“All right. I’ll turn my back. But don’t take too long. You can put your folded things on the cooler so they won’t get wet.” Before he could change his mind, he turned his back, stepped on a seat and dove in. He heard her squeal as the small boat rocked wildly.
The water was shallow, so he made the dive straight out, and seconds later his head broke
