voice jolted her to her senses so fast she stumbled back a bit, but he never let go of her hands. “Whoa. You okay?”
“Uh, yeah.” Blinking hard, she gave herself a mental shake as everything around her came into focus. “I’m…oh my God…
what am I doing?
”
“You’re wading.”
Jessie froze in place, causing just enough of a wake to make the water lap against her legs, about halfway up her shins.
“No! I—”
The whole time she’d been staring at him, mentally tabulating everything he had going for him and sinking farther into the color of his eyes and that damn smile, she’d also been inching deeper and deeper into the lake without even knowing it.
And it was all because she’d been looking at
him,
thinking about
him,
what that smile did to her and how much she’d like to run her fingers through his hair and—
What?
No! That was…crazy. Those weren’t things she thought about with Finn.
Not Finn
. And yet there she was, shin-deep in water.
“Oh
shit,
” she muttered. “That’s um…
wow
…okay…um…”
“Just keep breathing.” His voice, as deep and smooth as always, eased the frown she felt across her forehead and forced some of the confusion from her head. “Do you want to come out a little deeper?”
“No!” She might still be baffled about how she got out as deep as she already had, but she wasn’t the least bit confused about going any deeper. In fact…“I think I need to get out now.”
“You sure? You’re doing great.”
“Yeah, I’m…yeah.” She took a step back, tugging him with her because he still had hold of her hands. “I…
ouch
.”
Pulling her right hand free, she held it out to her side, hoping it would help balance her, and turned so she was walking forward again. She’d made it all the way into the water, avoiding almost all the sharp rocks along the way, but now that she was trying to get out, it was as if her feet actually sought out the sharpest of the sharp.
“Careful.” Why was he laughing? This wasn’t funny. And why wasn’t he hitting any sharp ones?
It couldn’t have been more than a dozen steps to dry land, yet it seemed to take forever to get there, and when she finally made it, Finn was right beside her, holding her hand even after she was balanced again.
“There you go,” he said. “You did great.”
“Yeah,” she scoffed, slamming the door on images of Tracy that tried to creep in. “Great. Piece of cake.”
Let go of his hand.
The order went straight from her brain to her fingers, which immediately sprang straight out, but it was another couple of seconds before Finn let her go, and when he did…
No
. It was nothing. It was just because he’d been her balance, her strength, and her soothing voice of calm when she’d needed it in the water; that was why it felt cold and lonely when he let her go.
She’d done it; she’d actually made it into the water. More important, she’d made it out again. The rush of relief sent tears spilling down her cheeks and caused her fingers to tremble so much that she dropped her towel twice before getting a good grip on it.
With a few quick wobbly wipes, she dried her eyes before Finn could see, then ran the towel over her legs and feet before pulling her sneakers back on.
“Here,” he said, holding out his hand. “Give me your towel. That way if we run into one of the others on the way back…”
“Right. Thanks.”
Jessie was still trembling as they passed the work shed, and it only got worse when Finn suggested they meet at the lake every night that they could.
It was rare for guests to wander that far from the lodge, and Kate and Liam preferred to be alone in their A-frame every night, but if someone else was at the lake before Jessie and Finn got there, they’d just say they were out for a walk.
In the kitchen, as they washed up their mugs, Jessie finally managed to sigh out most of her lingering anxiety.
“Thank you,” she said, albeit a little quieter than
“Uh, yeah.” Blinking hard, she gave herself a mental shake as everything around her came into focus. “I’m…oh my God…
what am I doing?
”
“You’re wading.”
Jessie froze in place, causing just enough of a wake to make the water lap against her legs, about halfway up her shins.
“No! I—”
The whole time she’d been staring at him, mentally tabulating everything he had going for him and sinking farther into the color of his eyes and that damn smile, she’d also been inching deeper and deeper into the lake without even knowing it.
And it was all because she’d been looking at
him,
thinking about
him,
what that smile did to her and how much she’d like to run her fingers through his hair and—
What?
No! That was…crazy. Those weren’t things she thought about with Finn.
Not Finn
. And yet there she was, shin-deep in water.
“Oh
shit,
” she muttered. “That’s um…
wow
…okay…um…”
“Just keep breathing.” His voice, as deep and smooth as always, eased the frown she felt across her forehead and forced some of the confusion from her head. “Do you want to come out a little deeper?”
“No!” She might still be baffled about how she got out as deep as she already had, but she wasn’t the least bit confused about going any deeper. In fact…“I think I need to get out now.”
“You sure? You’re doing great.”
“Yeah, I’m…yeah.” She took a step back, tugging him with her because he still had hold of her hands. “I…
ouch
.”
Pulling her right hand free, she held it out to her side, hoping it would help balance her, and turned so she was walking forward again. She’d made it all the way into the water, avoiding almost all the sharp rocks along the way, but now that she was trying to get out, it was as if her feet actually sought out the sharpest of the sharp.
“Careful.” Why was he laughing? This wasn’t funny. And why wasn’t he hitting any sharp ones?
It couldn’t have been more than a dozen steps to dry land, yet it seemed to take forever to get there, and when she finally made it, Finn was right beside her, holding her hand even after she was balanced again.
“There you go,” he said. “You did great.”
“Yeah,” she scoffed, slamming the door on images of Tracy that tried to creep in. “Great. Piece of cake.”
Let go of his hand.
The order went straight from her brain to her fingers, which immediately sprang straight out, but it was another couple of seconds before Finn let her go, and when he did…
No
. It was nothing. It was just because he’d been her balance, her strength, and her soothing voice of calm when she’d needed it in the water; that was why it felt cold and lonely when he let her go.
She’d done it; she’d actually made it into the water. More important, she’d made it out again. The rush of relief sent tears spilling down her cheeks and caused her fingers to tremble so much that she dropped her towel twice before getting a good grip on it.
With a few quick wobbly wipes, she dried her eyes before Finn could see, then ran the towel over her legs and feet before pulling her sneakers back on.
“Here,” he said, holding out his hand. “Give me your towel. That way if we run into one of the others on the way back…”
“Right. Thanks.”
Jessie was still trembling as they passed the work shed, and it only got worse when Finn suggested they meet at the lake every night that they could.
It was rare for guests to wander that far from the lodge, and Kate and Liam preferred to be alone in their A-frame every night, but if someone else was at the lake before Jessie and Finn got there, they’d just say they were out for a walk.
In the kitchen, as they washed up their mugs, Jessie finally managed to sigh out most of her lingering anxiety.
“Thank you,” she said, albeit a little quieter than
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