by Rae Davies
Patsy glanced down at her shorts. Why did Jessica get the talent for making everything sexy? Even when they were in high school and Jessica filled in for the mascot, the boys had hooted and hollered. Who else could don ears, whiskers, and a tail and look good?
Jessica and a playboy bunny, that was who. Not Patsy.
She considered her outfit again. The denim would be hard to dry if it got wet. Something else would be a more practical choice. Patsy dug in her drawer, pulled out a pair of low-rise knit shorts and tugged them on. They looked particularly good with her swimsuit top, and it was warm.
She pulled her T-shirt off and shoved it in her bag. Grabbing her keys, she squatted down to give Pugnacious a good-bye kiss and headed to her Jeep.
Patsy swung by Ruthann’s house to pick her up before heading to Akers. The Jeep’s tires spit gravel as they pulled into the canoe rental’s lot. The grinding sound was a pleasant break from Ruthann’s yammering about Will Barnes and how cute he was and how nice he’d been and how much money he had.
“Looks like Randy’s here.” Patsy pointed at the dented Chevy truck with a spotlight and gun rack.
“Hmm. Yeah, well, he’ll be glad to see you, I’m sure.” Ruthann tugged on the elastic of her bikini top.
Patsy slid her eyes sideways, watching Ruthann. “I was hoping you’d ride with him today. Dwayne’s been pushing him at me a lot lately, and I just don’t feel like dealing with it.” Or watching you drool over Will.
“You want me to ride with him? I mean, sure, I don’t mind, but how you gonna work that?”
How was she going to work that? “Don’t worry. We just need to play some male egos is all, and that’s easier than finding a crow near a corn field.” Patsy slammed the door and trotted toward the river.
o0o
Will stood to the side, watching as a tanned sixteen-year-old flipped the silver canoe up and held it over his head. The boy walked the twenty yards to the river and settled the canoe onto a sandbar. He looked self-sufficient and confident. Maybe Will could start hauling canoers up and down the river. He’d have to be better at that than home repair.
“Where the hell are the women?” Dwayne dug into the cooler and pulled out a Busch can.
Will flicked his wrist around to glance at his watch: five past one.
Grabbing the cooler Dwayne had deserted, Randy wedged it into one of the aluminum canoes. “Give them time. They’ll be here. Besides, you’re the one that invited them.”
“All for you, bud. Just trying to give romance a little nudge.” Dwayne held his beer can out in a mock toast. “Course, I can’t say that I mind Ruthann asking Jessica along. She knows how to fill out a bikini.” He lifted an eyebrow and turned to Will. “I’m not stepping on your toes now, am I?”
Before Will could reply, Randy said, “Here they come, leastways Patsy and Ruthann.”
Patsy Lee strode toward them in nothing but a green bikini top and a pair of low-riding, navy shorts. She hopped over a fallen log and the shorts shifted down a half inch or so, revealing the slight curve of her stomach muscles. Sporty, but feminine. Suddenly, Dwayne’s beer looked inviting. Will flipped open the cooler and grabbed an icy Busch, wondering if anyone would notice if he shoved it down his shorts.
“Getting an early start, aren’t you?” Patsy Lee gave the cans in their hands a questioning look.
“Don’t start with me. Just ‘cause you been Bible beatin’ this morning, don’t mean the rest of us can’t relax a little,” Dwayne replied.
Will expected Patsy Lee to come back with a cutting remark, but she seemed to stop herself. Like she was holding back. Instead, she rolled her eyes and spoke to Ruthann. “You sure you’re not too nervous about going out in a canoe after last time?”
Ruthann replied with a blank look, but Patsy Lee kept talking. “I know you were pretty shook up when you got caught in that undercurrent.”
“What are you blabbering about?” Dwayne interrupted.
Patsy gave him a suspiciously sweet smile. “A few weeks ago we went floating. You remember right after that big rain? Well, we thought we could handle it, but the river was just too fast. Ruthann tipped over, and she was sure she was gonna drown. Like to scared us to death. She’s been nervous as a pig in a sausage factory ever since.”
“I don’t remember you telling that before,” Dwayne said.
Patsy Lee ignored him. “Anyway, I was thinking Ruthann would feel a whole lot better if she was floatin’ with someone who could handle a paddle, and everyone knows Randy can outmaneuver a mink.” Patsy Lee fluttered her eyes and gave Ruthann a little shove.
Will took another sip of beer, while Dwayne let out a snort. Randy, though, seemed taken in.
Had to respect someone that good at manipulating.
“Well, I don’t know about that, but if you think Ruthann’d be more comfortable riding with me, I’d be happy to help out.” Randy pulled the bill of his cap down a little on his forehead. “Would that make it easier for you, Ruthann?”
Patsy Lee nudged her again.
She didn’t give up. She’d make a hell of a salesperson.
“Yeah, that’d be real nice,” Ruthann stuttered.
“Well, I hope you don’t think I’m spending three hours stuck in a canoe with you,” Dwayne said.
Patsy Lee bit her lip and jerked on the tie of her shorts. It was obvious she hadn’t thought that far ahead in her plan. A stab of what might have been disappointment knifed through Will. He knew he’d been a bit rough on her last night, but for a minute, he’d thought her goal was to get paired with him. Instead, she’d been scheming to get Randy and Ruthann together. He pushed unexpected frustration aside.
“I need a partner.” Join me, he willed.
Patsy Lee gave him a surprised look. “What about Jessica?”
Will shrugged. “I’m sure she won’t mind riding with Dwayne in the interest of sibling civility.” And who really cared anyway?
“Now there’s a plan.” Dwayne grinned and popped open another Busch. “I like the challenge of keeping a canoe upright, especially with a top-heavy passenger.”
“Your lack of brains should even it out,” Patsy replied, but her eyes were on Will.
o0o
Jessica arrived twenty minutes late. Patsy had voted to leave without her, but Dwayne and Ruthann wouldn’t hear of it. When she bopped into view, Patsy gave her a cool nod and busied herself tying the cooler down with a bungee cord. Damn it all. She was wearing cut-offs with a worn-through seat. All three men seemed focused on catching a peek of her red bikini bottom through the frayed material. Patsy wanted to wrap her own hole-free shorts around Jessica’s skinny neck.
Sliding her locket along its chain, Jessica twisted her way over to Will. “You save a spot for me?”
“Over here, sweetheart.” Dwayne waved at her. With a suspicious look at Patsy, Jessica trudged over to the other canoe.
Grinning, Patsy picked up her paddle and headed to the back.
“Where are you going?” Will stopped her. “The other girls are sitting in front.”
“You know how to handle a canoe or you just eager for a dunking?” Patsy answered. “The best canoer sits in the back.”
“I think I can handle it.” Will moved to stand next to her.
Arrogant. Patsy raised an eyebrow. “Like you thought you could handle a floor sander?”
“Get in the front.”
Testy, wasn’t he? Patsy stared at him for a minute. She thought about arguing, but she could tell by the set of his jaw she wasn’t going to get anywhere.
Fine, she wasn’t afraid of a little cold water. “Have it your way but make sure your gear’s tied down. I’m not chasing your crap down the river when you tip us over.”
Will grabbed the canoe and pushed it into the Current River. Patsy hurried to hop in before it was out of reach.
It was a perfect day for floating. The sun reflected off the river and the aluminum canoe, but the cool water surrounding them kept it from being h
ot. Patsy leaned back and enjoyed the ride. It was easy-going at first, just a quiet lapping flow running next to dark, deep pools. A blue jay squawked at a squirrel in a gnarled oak that grew out over the river. Patsy grinned as the squirrel gave up his fight and scurried out of the jay’s territory.
About a quarter-mile past Akers, the Current began to run faster. Patsy sat up, but kept her paddle across her lap.
Time for Mr. I-can-do-everything-myself to perform.
o0o
The canoe bobbed and jerked. Will jammed his paddle into the water, fighting to stay on track. His biceps cramped as he struggled against the current. He could handle this. Everything was under control.
“Which direction?” he yelled at Patsy.
Leaning forward, she calmly surveyed the river ahead. “Left,” she called.
Will plunged the oar into the water on his left side. The canoe immediately surged to the right. What was up with that?
“I said left,” Patsy yelled.
“I put it on the left.” What was her problem?
“No, go left. We’re going to hit that—” Patsy ducked as the canoe charged under a low hanging branch. Popping back up, she yelled, “Not…same…you…go.”
What was she shrieking about? Didn’t she know cool heads would prevail? Determined to show he was in control, Will attempted to steer to the left. The canoe’s back end began to swing forward until he and Patsy had reversed their positions. What the hell?
“We’re going backwards,” Patsy yelled back.
Talk about stating the obvious. Did she think he was an idiot or did she just enjoy making him feel like one? Annoyed with both himself and his passenger, he felt his composure slip. He frantically switched the oar from the left to the right and back again.
“What are you doing?” Patsy was turning an unattractive shade of red. “Watch out, there’s a....”
What now? Will turned to see a boulder a foot from the canoe. He lunged forward, ramming against it with his oar.
Patsy’s cry of “No” was the last thing he heard before the icy water of the Current enveloped him. Swirling water sucked him down. He didn’t fight it, just let the mini-whirlpool pull him to the bottom. His ego was quickly dropping lower.
He’d screwed up again. How had that happened? Lately, simple things other men did as naturally as walking upright seemed to be evading him. Something slimy and thick clutched at his legs, reminding him where he was. As grim as life on land looked right now, he wasn’t solving anything lurking down here. He kicked off the bottom and surged to the surface.
Slogging out of the water, Will caught the canoe and dragged it onto the sandy beach. Patsy was already perched on a toppled tree, watching him through dripping bangs. She looked like a siren sunning herself while she awaited her next victim, though he suspected in reality he was about to encounter a shrew. Either way, Will had left his wax at home.
“So, done much canoeing?” Water flew from her hair as she shook her head like Ralph after a rainstorm.
Will concentrated on securing the canoe, wishing it had a mast he could tie himself to. Here it came.
“Know your left from your right?” She peeled off her shorts and draped them over the log.
Will blinked away the sight. The same muscle tone he’d noticed on her stomach was apparent on her butt and thighs. Hell, that wasn’t a butt. That was a booty. A vision of his hands gripping her firm backside as she pulsed up and down above him fogged his brain. And her thighs, he could almost feel the strength of them wrapped around his waist as he…
“You thinking about it?” Patsy brushed water off the thighs in question with an impatient flick of her wrist.
He blinked at her, then down at his shorts. Was he that obvious?
“Your left from your right? You trying to figure it out?” She held up first her left hand, then her right. “Maybe you could get a tattoo or something, you know, a little l and r.”
Oh, that. He tried to focus on her smart-ass question, but the pressure in his shorts was a bit distracting. Maybe he should try another dip in the frigid river. He jerked his soaked T-shirt off and pretended to wring it out.
Never show attraction or fear—they feed on it. “Just felt like a swim,” he replied.
“Really? You usually take the cooler with you?” She held out her leg, removing a stray piece of flotsam with two fingers.
Swallowing hard, he focused on the tiny piece of debris pinched between her fingers. Don’t look at her legs. “Keeps the beer cold.” Good, nice and casual. He was under control.
“Well, that’s important.” She dropped his lifeline into the river and combed through her hair with her now unoccupied fingers.
He couldn’t help but think of other things to occupy those skillful digits.
Unaware of his ongoing battle with his libido, she continued, “Next time, warn me though, so I can pull a can out. You caught me empty-handed.”
He couldn’t help but smile at her joke. “You have to stay aware.” He flipped open the cooler and tossed her a beer. “This one’s on me.”
“I think the next keg’s on you.” She picked up her shorts and climbed into the canoe. Her bikini rode up, revealing a pale V of untanned skin where her butt cheeks peeked out of her swimming suit.
He stood watching her, wondering if it was safer to stay behind on the deserted riverbank.
“What you waiting for? Let’s go, but keep the trick steering to a minimum this time. Don’t want to show up the natives.”
What do you know, the siren-shrew had a sense of humor. And from this angle—okay any angle—a very fine backside. “No, we can’t have that. They might get restless.” Grinning, he placed his cold beer can next to his groin and slipped his oar into the water.
With her eyes on the river, she replied, “You have no idea.”
No, he thought, adjusting the can, you have no idea.
o0o
An hour later, a much drier Patsy jumped out on the bank. The other canoes were already beached. Randy and Dwayne were skipping rocks off the river, while Ruthann rubbed on sunscreen, and Jessica stretched like a cat after a satisfying nap.
Or before pouncing on a well-fed Internet mouse.
“Where you all been?” Dwayne yelled.
If Patsy told Dwayne the story of their dunking, he’d make Will’s life living hell. Patsy peeked over at her canoeing companion. He fumbled with the bungee around their cooler.
“Communing with nature,” she replied.
“You couldn’t wait till we stopped?” Dwayne asked.
“Nature called.”
Dwayne strode over to help Will with the cooler. “Glad you’re stuck with her instead of me.” He slapped Will on the back.
Will popped the tab on the beer Dwayne handed him. The scrutiny in his two-toned eyes made Patsy nervous. He’d been staring at her ever since their tip-over. She’d tried to keep the mood light, but the look in his eyes had been anything but. There had been something dangerous stirring around behind those eyes. Something that made her want to run away and creep closer at the same time.
This look was different but almost as disconcerting. She shifted her gaze away, letting it rest on his chest.
Bad move. He hadn’t replaced his shirt after their jaunt into the river. It was a nice chest, but nothing special. Yeah, right. His pectoral muscles flexed as she stared.
As Will turned to secure the canoe between two rocks, she glanced over at Randy. Not even close. First, Randy had a farmer’s tan going—white chest, tan arms. Second, while Randy had a decent build, he had nothing on Will. No broad shoulders that tapered to a sinewy waist. No deep grooves to define the muscles in his back.
Bottom line, no contest. Why did the most tempting things in life also have to be the worst for you?
Her gaze shifted to Will’s stomach. She could barely keep herself from reaching out and running her fingers over each smooth, hard ridge. Damn it all. This was bad. Think spoiled rich boy, arrogant rich boy. Not willing
to ask for help. Stubborn, sexy, irresistible rich boy.
Damn it all. She couldn’t see the cockroach, just the sweet, tasty chocolate coating. Time to get busy with something else.
“Dwayne, get in gear and unload lunch. I’m hungry,” she yelled.
Will picked up his shirt and ran it over his chest. “Yeah, me too.” He wasn’t making this easy. He held her startled gaze until she flushed and looked away.
“Keep your shorts on. I’m getting it.” Dwayne struggled with the oak picnic basket, banging it against the hard lip of the canoe.
“Be careful with that. You’re going to break a strip.” Patsy grabbed the basket and examined the side for damage.
“If it’s that delicate, why’d you bring the thing?” Dwayne rubbed at a scuff mark with his thumb. “It’s fine anyway.”
If Patsy didn’t know better, she’d have thought her brother was actually apologizing in his Neanderthal way. She adjusted her own tone. “I thought it would add a little class. Besides, Granny always packed picnics in a basket. It’s tradition.”
Dwayne didn’t reply. Instead, he returned to his canoe where Jessica sat watching them.
“It’s nice. I’m surprised you’d risk getting it wet on a float trip.” Will stood close to Patsy, too close for her comfort. She could smell the sunscreen he’d rubbed on his shoulders earlier and that same musky odor she’d noticed last night. Patsy took a step back and almost lost her grip on their lunch. Will reached out and grasped the handle, his hand brushing hers. She jerked away from the distressing zap that accompanied the contact.
“This has real craftsmanship. Not like the stuff you buy today that’s all made in China.” He held the basket up to admire it.
“Thanks. I mean, it’s no problem getting it wet. Water’s good for baskets, keeps them fresh and clean.” Warmed by his praise, Patsy felt herself flush. She reached out to stroke the basket with her index finger just as Will turned. Her finger drifted from the basket up his arm. Without thinking, she let the pad of her finger drift back down over the swell of his forearm. Will froze.
“We eating or what?” Dwayne grabbed the basket, and swung around toward a big flat rock. “Let’s get the grub going.”
