by Kathryn Shay
Alexis watched him dry his chest and run the towel over his hair, then carelessly smooth it back. When he plopped down only a few feet away, she tracked a drop of water on its way down the center of his chest: trickling over his breastbone through a mat of curly hair...caressing his abdomen...dripping into the green trunks. His hips were slim, his legs muscular and his stomach flat. Pilots needed to stay in shape, she knew. When she glanced up, he was staring at her.
Embarrassed, she turned her head quickly; after an awkward silence, she heard him yell to the bow. “Jeff, head over to that cove on the starboard side.” At his son’s questioning look, Spence finished, “We’re gonna get Miss Alexis up on skis.”
o0o
THE WAIST-DEEP water lapped around Alexis’s body, kissing her hips, hugging her thighs. She’d removed her shorts, but not the yellow T-shirt that fell just to the bottom of her bathing suit. Spence had seen a strip of lacy black spandex peeking out from underneath; it conjured visions of a dark bedroom and tangled sheets.
“Are the bindings snug?” he asked, as she faced forward and he stood behind her.
“Uh-huh.”
He’d talked her into this by promising to review the correct form for skiing, step by step. “Hold on tight to the handle and bring your knees to your chest.”
She did.
Grasping her hips just below the life jacket, his fingers rested lightly on her T-shirt, but he could feel womanly flesh beneath them. He breathed deeply. “There, that’s good. Keep the skis at a forty-five degree angle, with the tips three to six inches out of the water.” He edged closer to peer over her shoulder—to check the skis, he convinced himself. She was breathing a little fast. Well hell, he was too, except he wasn’t nervous about the skiing. Her ponytail bobbed him in the face, and he caught a whiff of wildflowers.
“Keep your legs together.”
She choked back a cough.
“You ready, Dad?” Jeff called, from the boat where he waited with Jamie as his spotter.
Spence held up his palm to indicate stop, or in this case, not to start yet. He wasn’t quite ready to let Miss Alexis go.
“Release the rope if you fall.” Close enough so that he could whisper in her ear, he relished the feel of her. A little tremor coursed through her and sweat beaded on her neck and face. His, too.
When she inched back, he cursed the life vest she wore.
“I’m ready.” Her response was breathless.
“Be patient. It may take you several tries to get up.” Not him, though. He was glad the lake covered his lower body. “Don’t hold on if the water ahead looks like something you’re afraid to ski across.”
Again the nod. She was so close her hair tickled his cheek.
He couldn’t resist. His arms encircled her and he covered her grip on the handle. She sucked in her breath, but didn’t move away; as a matter of fact, she leaned back more. “Just checkin’ that your hands are in the right position,” he lied, hoarsely.
No comment. Waiting a long moment, he savored the feel of her body nestled in his, her scent filling his nostrils. Finally, he drew back and gave Jeff the go ahead.
Jamie shouted out, “Knock ‘em dead, Mom.”
As Alexis took off, Spence cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, “You can do it, Lexy.”
It took her four tries. Four excruciating, wonderful, tense, delightful tries—of adjusting the vest, the tautness of the rope and the angle of her legs. From the shore, he watched as she gained confidence. Squatted on the skis. Gradually straightened. Remembered to lean into the turns. She’d skied before, and eventually, like riding a bike, it all came back to her.
By the time Jeff picked her up and returned to fetch Spence, she was beaming like a kid who’d mastered her first two-wheeler. As he climbed into the boat, she said, “Thanks. That was fun.”
“Life should be fun, Lex.” For a long time, he looked into eyes that glistened with pleasure. Would they do that when she ca—he cut off the thought and glanced at his watch. It was five o’clock.
“I’ve got time for ice cream before I have to go to work,” he told everybody.
“It’s suppertime.” Jeff and Alexis chimed, almost in unison.
Jamie rolled her eyes at Spence, then said to her mother, “Come on, Donald, live a little.”
Spence glanced at Alexis.
Shrugging, she said, “Oh, okay. I’m game,” surprising him.
In ten minutes, they pulled up to Frosty’s, a local ice cream stand at the end of the lake. It perched precariously on the water, a forty-by-forty weathered gray shack that Spence frequented. After mooring, Jeff and Jamie offered to get cones and raced each other to the stand, which even at the dinner hour, had a long line of people. Spence and Alexis seated themselves at the end of the dock at a round wrought iron table. She chose a chair right next to him, close enough to touch. Silent, they both stared out at the water. It was gilded with a fine layer of sunlight, and still; the boats knocked softly against the wood of the dock and the seagulls squawked around them.
“You did good, Lexy,” Spence finally said. His tone was playful.
She smiled at him, gratefully, tenderly, and with something else in her eyes. “Thanks. I used to love skiing.”
“I can tell. You caught on so fast.”
“I think I stunned Jamie.”
“A healthy thing to do to your child, now and again.”
“I’d forgotten how much I liked this stuff.” She waved to indicate the lake. “How much I missed it.”
“We give up a lot, without even knowin’ it.”
His gaze had strayed to Jamie and Jeff, laughing together in line. From a distance, they could be siblings out for ice cream on a summer afternoon.
“We do.” Alexis reached out and touched his arm gently. “I think he wants more of your time now, Spence.”
“Until Judd gets to him. I wonder where Grandpa is today.”
“I—”
Spence shook his head. “Let’s not talk about them. The day’s been too nice to spoil.”
She nodded and turned in her chair to stare back at the lake. The movement pulled the wet T-shirt across her breasts. He could see the outline of her black swimsuit through it—scooped low in the front. He wished she’d take off the damn shirt.
His gaze dropped down. A little more black lace peeked out from underneath the hem of the top. The suit was high cut at the legs so he could see a patch of white skin that had been hidden from the sun by a more modest suit. Her creamy smooth skin lured his hand like a magnet.
On her left thigh was a bruise. He reached out to that instead. “Look.”
Surprised, she glanced down. His fingertips lightly grazed the red area just beginning to show on the side of her leg. Goose bumps formed on her skin when he skimmed it.
“Must be from the water slappin’ you when you fell.” His voice was a rusty whisper.
“Must be.” So was hers.
He ran his fingers back and forth just above the red spot. “It’s already starting to turn blue.”
She nodded, swallowing hard. “I bruise easily.”
He’d have to be careful when he touched her.
Slowly, his hand slid up to the top of her thigh. Her skin was golden brown here and taut. His gaze locked with hers as he trailed his palm to her knee. Her eyes darkened to grass-green, and her lips parted. Spence heard laughter from a distance and realized the kids were coming back. Gently, he squeezed her knee and drew his hand back.
Neither of them spoke.
Their eyes stayed on each other.
He gave her a little grin.
She returned it.
And then Jeff and Jamie reached their table.
o0o
JUDD KEAGAN watched the sports coupe that Jeff had taken from the marina glide around the lake with sleek precision and felt a pain shoot through him. It was a heart attack of a different kind. An emotional arrhythmia that wouldn’t kill him, but crippled him at times like these, when he wa
s so acutely excluded from his son’s life.
Turning back to the marina, away from the sight, he was unable to banish the image from his mind: his son at his grandson’s back, pointing out over the water. Two females—probably the Castles, sitting closely together at the back of the boat.
Somber, he stared at the newly erected sign that had been designed for their franchises. It read KeagCrafts, Inc. in large, black, letters which could be easily spotted from the water; below, in smaller print, the sign read Life’s too short to live without one.
Well, he’d gotten part of it right. Life was too short. And he’d made a lot of mistakes. Frustrated, he headed for his Jaguar. The evening sun glinted off its sleek green paint. Judd heard himself laugh, but it was the harsh self-mockery of a man who’d screwed up. He’d gotten the expensive car, and all the other possessions he’d coveted. When he’d worked on the docks in Rochester, he’d vowed to make it big. Vowed that his own children would never have to scrimp and save and struggle to make a living, like he had.
Unlocking the car, he thought about how he’d been able to realize that dream. Only Spence had turned the tables on him. His son had rejected Judd’s offer of ready-made success. Offer, hell. It was a demand…
“What do you mean you’re not going to Yale?”
“I don’t want to study business.”
“What do you want?”
The kid had shrugged. His hair had grown past his ears, his levis and T-shirt hung loosely on his thin frame. “Maybe I want to fly.”
“Nonsense. You’ll go to Yale. I don’t want to hear anymore about it …”
Spence had obeyed his command not to speak of it again. Judd didn’t know until he received a letter from Fort Bragg that his only child had joined the Air Force and was on his way to Iraq; the kid was indeed going to fly.
Away from him.
For good.
Judd slid into the front seat, started the car, and pulled away from the marina, feeling weary and old.
CHAPTER SEVEN
A DEEP MALE laugh drifted out of the operations center, curling through Alexis like a sexy whisper in the night. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat in the room next door and attempted to distract herself from the earthy sound by studying Grant Richards’s office. Although small, the room was well-furnished with a big teak desk and teak bookshelves stuffed with aviation and medicine texts. On the wall were Guardian memorabilia— photographs of the ship, ads for major fundraisers and numerous articles from magazines and newspapers. A huge window looked out over the grassy field surrounding the base; the office was welcoming and comfortable, but didn’t calm her. She was anxious today and chided herself for it. The reason was laughing in the operations center not twenty feet away.
She’d avoided Spence for over a week, since the afternoon they spent waterskiing. Rightly so, as she was uneasy with the intimacy that had grown between them like a tangible force. The reason for her discomfort, of course, was the fact that he was a pilot in the organization she was considering for a million dollar grant. Alexis also suspected that he was avoiding her. She didn’t blame him. He was already walking an emotional tightrope with two workaholics in his life, and that was a good enough reason for him to stay away from her.
No amount of reasoning stopped the memories, though, as her feminine side—her Lexy side—surfaced. As she absently rubbed her palm over her bare knee, a slow wave of desire washed over Alexis. His hand had been tanned, and his fingertips calloused on her skin. His touch had been warm and male and she’d basked in it, wanted it on other parts of her body with a force that shocked her.
Then there were the dreams—unzipping that navy flight suit, slowly, savoring every inch it bared. She could almost smell his musky, woodsy scent…
“Alexis?” Swiveling in her chair, she saw Grant in the doorway. He resembled her father, dressed casually in tan slacks and a light blue-and-white striped shirt. A reminder of her father helped. Like a cold shower. He handed her a cup of coffee. “You were day-dreaming.”
Embarrassed, she glanced down at the publicity booklet gripped in her hand. She’d been perusing it when her thoughts had strayed to Guardian’s head pilot.
“Vacation has broken my concentration, I guess.”
“You look rested. Healthier.” He took a seat behind the desk. “Catasaga Lake is working its magic on you.”
She smiled. Grant was right. She’d gained five pounds, which gave her an excuse to buy some new clothes—summer casuals, like the light cotton peach skirt and blouse she wore now; though they weren’t her usual style, she liked them. Soon she hoped to outgrow all of Jamie’s eclectic purchases. “Lake living is soothing.”
“Life’s too short to go through it at warp speed.”
“Is that from one of Spence’s poems?”
Grant laughed. “Could be. In any case, it’s true.”
“I know,” she said, pressing her hand to her stomach. She held up the booklet to lead the conversation back to business. “This annual report is impressive.”
“Thanks. Evan did a great job with it.” He checked his watch. “You’re meeting with him at noon, right?” She nodded. “What would you like to discuss with me?”
Bending down to her briefcase, she drew out a legal pad and pen. “The obvious. Why did you start Guardian ten years ago?”
Brown eyes studied her knowingly. “You’ve heard the story.”
“Yes. But not from you.”
Briefly, he glanced out the window and when his eyes returned to her they were filled with sadness. “My oldest son’s daughter was involved in a bad accident on the Interstate in years back. Her neck was injured, and her spinal cord compromised. Had she been transported properly and received expert medical care immediately, she would have lived. As it was, by the time she got to the hospital, it was too late. She died after three days in intensive care.”
Although Alexis had read a brief statement about the accident in Guardian’s publicity literature, hearing it described from a grandfather’s perspective was much worse. “I’m sorry, Grant.”
“So was I. I decided to investigate the feasibility of medical helicopter transport in upstate New York.” He waved his arm around the room. “Guardian is the result.”
“You must be proud.”
“I am. Since then, we’ve provided emergency transport for over four thousand patients.” Again, his gaze was knowing. “What do I have to do to get your funding, Alexis?”
Her smile was immediate. Which surprised her. In the past, she would have quelled any friendliness and teasing with a curt, corporate remark to put the grant applicant in his place. “Just what you’re doing. I want a real sense of this operation—what it does and how much it helps people.” She sobered. “Most of the other agencies we fund are as deserving as you are.”
“Do you like working for the Castle Foundation?”
“It’s been my favorite division so far.”
“You’ve worked in all three and abroad?”
“Yes. In various companies, for fifteen years. When my father needs something done, I go to the targeted business and take care of it, whether in Asia, Europe or the States.”
“It must be hard traveling all over the world.”
Avoiding the question, she said, “You seem to know the scope of Castle Enterprises.”
“I’ve done some investigating of my own.”
She didn’t take umbrage at his reference to her research on the base. “Then you know we assess many different organizations for possible funding.”
“But you like us.”
“How can you tell?”
“Your face—it’s very expressive. I watched you when Spence and Jim returned from the rescue last week.”
“Foundation business has always thrilled me.”
“Ever think of settling down with one company? Or one division?”
Before she could answer, Evan Redman materialized at the doorway. The director of public relations was grinning broadly. Dressed i
n a light blue cotton shirt and pleated navy dress pants, he looked casual but elegant. “I’m sorry to interrupt.” He nodded to her. “Hello, Alexis.” Facing the owner he said, “You’ve got to come out here, Grant, and see this. You too, Alexis.”
Grant nodded as if these kinds of interruptions were commonplace. As CEO, he could have reamed out Evan for interrupting vital business. She probably would have. But it appeared there were more important matters at Guardian than money. Grant strode through the door and Alexis followed him out to the main reception area.
Several personnel had gathered around a young girl and a man. From their close resemblance, Alexis guessed the visitors were father and daughter. The man was about forty and dressed in a mechanic’s uniform. The girl was near Jamie’s age, with long red hair and freckles. She was dressed simply, in a Catasaga High T-shirt, shorts and sneakers. But her face glowed at Spence, who stood front and center in a gathering that included Teddy Ford, Sally, the dispatcher, Carl, from operations, Betty, Grant’s secretary, and several other office workers.
Spence’s face glowed, too. His hair had fallen into his eyes as he looked down at the girl. “What can I do for you, Annie?”
Shyly, she smiled up at him. “I wanted to give you something.” She held out an envelope.
“What’s this?” Spence reached for it.
“Remember when you talked to me at the accident? I told you my aunt was taking me shopping for summer clothes.”
“Uh-huh.”
She glanced at her father who nodded encouragingly. “Daddy said Aunt Megan got better because of this place. And he told me you guys need donations to stay in business. I want to give you the money I was gonna spend on clothes this summer. So you can keep helping people.”
Spence cleared his throat. Alexis saw Betty turn away and wipe her eyes.
“It’s not much,” Annie said. “But I can earn more baby-sitting, which I’ll donate, too. I want the people who saved Aunt Megan to have it.”
