Charming Hannah (Big Sky #1)(32)

“Me too. Are you ready to turn back?”

“Is that the other head of the lake?” she asks, pointing ahead of us.

“Yes.”

“Well, then I guess we should turn back, since there’s nowhere else to go.”

I show her how to turn around, and she’s mimicking my movements. But then a bee flies by her face, and she shakes her head, flailing with her hand, and rocks the kayak too hard to recover.

She falls into the water with a shriek, and before I can jump in and help her, she’s grabbed the side of the kayak and pulled herself out of the water, panting and laughing at the same time. She’s soaked through.

“Are you okay?” I’ve paddled over to her and am holding her kayak to mine. She’s started to laugh.

“Good God, that’s fucking cold!” Her nipples are pressed against her soaked tank top, and she’s shivering a bit, wringing her hair out. “No wonder fish don’t live there. Nothing could live there.”

“You’ll warm up quickly. It’s ninety today. Probably eighty on the lake.”

“Whew, I’m awake now,” she says and laughs again, turning her face to the sun, soaking in the warmth. “Beginner’s luck.”

“You’re stunning.”

“I’m a mess.” She turns that smile to me. “If I lean your way, can you kiss me without dumping us both back in this water?”

I don’t answer, I just lean toward her slowly and she follows, kissing me with not a little heat. Her lips are cold. She backs away and then her eyes widen in fear.

“Fuck! I lost the oar!”

“I saved it,” I assure her and pass it to her.

“You’re my hero.”

I laugh and tuck her wet hair behind her ear. “Are you ready to go back?”

“Yes. I have to paddle to get my body heat back up.”

“I should have brought a sweatshirt or something, just in case.”

“I don’t think we have the cargo space for that,” she says. “I’m fine. I might just paddle faster this time.”





Chapter Nine


Hannah

I’M NOT GOING IN that water. Not today, not ever.

I stare down into the lake, not even hearing the voices around me. It’s the Fourth of July, just three weeks after being on a different lake with Brad up in the park. But this is different. This lake killed a young boy this summer, and I will not touch the water.

We all gathered at Jacob and Grace’s house on the lake a few hours ago. And by we all, I mean Brad and me, Jenna, Max, along with Grace and Jacob of course.

And let’s not forget Brad’s parents.

They just arrived in town for the remainder of the summer, and I’m meeting them for the first time today, on a pontoon boat.

On killer water.

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Mary Hull says with a smile and takes a sip of her cold can of Coke. “I’m so happy that we get to spend the day with you.”

I nod and force a smile, trying desperately to calm down. But some of our group is on a ski boat, tubing and water skiing, in the water, and I just can’t breathe.

I’m terrified.

Not that I’ll let anyone else here know that.

“Hannah?” Grace asks, frowning.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“I asked you what kind of medicine you practice, dear,” Mary says. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” I clear my throat and try to focus, ignoring the fact that Brad is currently water skiing in the water. “I’m sorry, my mind wandered. I am an OB/GYN. I share a practice here in town.”

“How lovely,” Mary says with a smile. “It must be wonderful to deliver babies into the world.”

“It’s hard work, and sometimes sad, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

“The guys are having fun,” Grace says, pointing to the boat whizzing by about a hundred yards away. Max is in the water now, with Brad, Jacob, Jenna, and Bruce, Brad’s dad, in the boat. “I can’t water ski. I’d drown.”

“No, you wouldn’t,” Mary says with a laugh.

“Oh, I would,” Grace assures her. “I’m as clumsy as they come. My name is not appropriate for me.”

We all laugh and I finally start to relax. I decide to go up to the roof of the pontoon boat so I can sit in the sun for a little bit and just be calm.

Just be.

“If you ladies will excuse me, I’m going to soak in some sun.”

“Won’t you burn?” Mary asks.

“I’m the only redhead I know who tans,” I reply with a shrug. “But I won’t stay out for long.”

They both nod happily and I can hear them chatting away as I climb the ladder to the top of the boat. This is an impressive watercraft. With two levels, a slide off the back, and seating for twenty, it’s huge. Even this upper deck has an umbrella I can open for shade if I get too hot.

I could live on this boat.

And the best part is, there’s no chance of falling into the water the way I did when we went kayaking. That was humiliating, but we laughed it off and had a great day.

I don’t want there to be any chance that I could fall into this water. I know that Brad made sure the electrical issue was fixed, but it still happened. Someone died.