Brown-Eyed Girl (Travis Family #4)(42)

Joe seemed in no hurry to get out of the pool. After pushing back his wet hair, he braced his folded arms on the tiled edge. Feeling that it would seem rude to just walk away, I lowered myself to sit on my heels, bringing our gazes closer to the same level.

“Did Haven enjoy the party?” I asked.

Joe nodded. “It was a good day for her. For all of us. The family doesn’t want to clear out yet – they’re talking about sending out for Chinese.” A brief hesitation. “Why don’t you stay and have dinner?”

“I should probably go home,” I said. “I’m tired and sweaty. I wouldn’t be good company.”

“You don’t need to be good company. That’s the point of family: They have to tolerate you anyway.”

I smiled. “It’s your family, not mine. Technically they don’t have to tolerate me.”

“They will if I want them to.”

Hearing a mockingbird’s raggedy cry, I glanced at the distant tangle of trumpet vines and wax myrtle that bordered the bayou. Another mockingbird responded. Back and forth, one aggressive shriek after another.

“Are they fighting?” I asked.

“Could be a boundary dispute. But this time of year, there’s still a chance they’re courting.”

“So it’s a serenade?” The birds shrieked with all the musicality of torn sheet metal. “God, how romantic.”

“It gets better when they reach the chorus.”

I laughed and made the mistake of looking into his eyes. We were too close. I could smell his skin, sun and salt and chlorine. His hair was disheveled, and I wanted to smooth the wet locks, play with them.

“Hey,” Joe said gently. “Why don’t you come in here with me?”

The look in his eyes sent a rush of hot color over my face. “I don’t have a swimsuit.”

“Jump in with your clothes on. They’ll dry out.”

I shook my head with a flustered laugh. “I can’t do that.”

“Then take them off and swim in your underwear.” His tone was practical, but I saw the mischief in his eyes.

“You,” I informed him, “are out of your mind.”

“Come on. It’ll feel good.”

“I’m not going to do something stupid with you just because it feels good.” After a pause, I added with chagrin, “Again.”

Joe laughed in that soft way he had, smoky and deep in his throat. “Come in here.” He caught my wrist lightly with one hand.

“There’s no way I’m… Hey.” My eyes widened as I felt him exerting tension on my wrist. “Joe, I swear I’ll kill you —”

One gentle tug was all it required to pull me off balance. I toppled forward with a little scream, into the water, readily enclosed in his waiting arms.

“Damn you!” I began to splash him furiously, flailing. “I can’t believe you did that… Stop laughing, you idiot! This is not funny!”

Snorting and chuckling, Joe grabbed me and pressed kisses wherever he could, on my head and neck and ear. I struggled indignantly, but his arms were too strong and his hands were everywhere. It was like wrestling an octopus.

“You are so damn cute,” he gasped. “Like a little wet cat. Sweetheart, don’t wear yourself out, you can’t kick someone underwater.”

As he played and I struggled, we slid to deeper water, and my feet left the bottom. Instinctively I clutched at him. “It’s too deep.”

“I’ve got you.” Joe was still standing, one arm locking low on my hips. Some of his playfulness melted into concern. “Can you swim?”

“It would have been nice to ask before pulling me in,” I said testily. “Yes, I can swim. But not well. And I don’t like deep water.”

“You’re safe.” He pulled me closer. “I’d never let anything happen to you. Now that you’re in here, you might as well stay for a few minutes. Feels good, doesn’t it?”

It did, although I wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of admitting it.

My clothes turned virtually transparent, the wet cotton billowing and undulating like the fins of exotic sea creatures. One of my hands encountered the diagonal scar at the side of Joe’s chest. Hesitantly, I let my fingertips follow the slight ridge.

“This is from the boat accident?”

“Uh-huh. Surgery for a blood clot and a partially collapsed lung.” One of his hands ventured beneath the drifting hem of my tunic to find the bare skin of my waist. “You know what that whole damn experience taught me?” he asked softly.

I shook my head, staring into his eyes, seeing reflected glimmers of sunset like tiny rushlights.

“Don’t waste a minute of your life,” he said. “Look for every reason you can to be happy. Don’t hold back, thinking you’ll have more time later… none of us can ever be sure about that.”

“That’s what makes life so scary,” I said soberly.

Joe shook his head, smiling. “That’s what makes it great.” He lifted me higher, closer, and my hands crept around his neck.

Just before his lips met mine, a sound attracted his attention. He glanced over his shoulder as someone approached. “What do you want?” he asked irritably.

I started as I heard his brother Jack’s laconic reply. “Heard someone holler.”