by Rose Pressey
“Chloe,” I yelled.
She didn’t look over at me. I hoped she didn’t plan on ignoring me. Now was not the time to act as if I didn’t exist.
“Chloe, wait there. I’m coming over,” I yelled again.
She finally looked in my direction. I couldn’t tell if she was happy that I was coming over or if she wanted me to stay away. The fact that she didn’t flip me off was encouraging. I’d get my boat and with any luck make it over to her before she fell in. The way she was standing in that boat it was inevitable that she’d soon take a plunge.
I ran over to my boat and untied it from the dock. What had she been thinking? In all the years I’d known her, she had never taken a boat out on the water. She’d always had her nose stuck in a book. Sure, her father had taken her fishing a few times, but she’d taken a book with her then. Something must be wrong if she’d felt the need to take her uncle’s boat out by herself. I hoped she’d explain exactly what she’d been thinking. She was just as stubborn now as she’d always been. Of course I’d always loved that about her.
I maneuvered the boat out onto the water and away from the dock. Once I steered in the direction of Chloe, I panicked when she was no longer there. How had she gotten away so quickly? She must have really wanted to get away from me. My anxiety increased when I thought about her being out there not knowing what she was doing. I made it a little closer to where she’d been when I noticed that she’d moved to the side and had only been out of view.
When I approached her boat she looked genuinely relieved to see me. That was something I could get used to, but I shouldn’t count on it lasting for long.
“You found me,” she said.
“I didn’t know you were missing,” I said as I got my boat as close as possible.
“I guess I’m a little lost when it comes to boats,” she said with a little smile.
“What seems to be the problem?” I asked.
“I can’t get the motor to stay on.” Her voice was slightly panicked.
“Why don’t you have a seat and I’ll come over there and see if I can fix it,” I offered.
She shrugged. “Okay.”
“These things can be tricky.”
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“Yes, I’m positive. It’s my job.”
She frowned and it looked as if she was a little disappointed that I’d said that. I wanted to help her more than anything, but once again I was at a loss on whether I should share that with her. I still had no idea what she was doing out there. It would be tough for her to avoid answering that question when I asked.
As she moved across the boat it wobbled back and forth. She swayed and tried to get her balance.
I reached out and grabbed her. Both boats moved back and forth and a vision of both of us falling in ran through my mind. I climbed over onto the boat. I reached out toward her and she turned around at that moment. We were face to face, her lips less than an inch from mine. I wanted nothing more than to kiss her at that moment. Her eyes met mine and for a moment I sensed that she wanted the same thing. Did I really have the nerve to kiss her? Chloe was one tough cookie and she’d likely hit me if I tried anything out of step. If I kissed her and she didn’t want it, she’d probably push me off the boat.
Yeah, I didn’t think it would be a wise decision to go in for a kiss. Our eyes were fixed on each other for a few moments longer, then she backed away. She swayed again, but managed to steady herself. Her face had turned a shade of scarlet and she avoided my gaze.
“I guess you’re wondering what I’m doing out here,” she said, still not looking at me.
“The thought had crossed my mind,” I said.
I didn’t take my eyes off her… I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
I maneuvered myself over to the motor and gave it one pull. The engine started right away. “It acts up sometimes. Your uncle always has problems with it.”
She looked a little defeated. “Thanks for helping.”
There was a silence now since I didn’t know what to say. The tree branches rustled in the wind and the water gently splashed against the swaying boat.
“So are you going to tell me why you’re out here?” I asked.
“I thought I saw my uncle.”
My eyes widened. “Seriously? Where?”
She gestured down the bayou. “I thought he was on a boat with some men.”
“What were the men doing?” I asked.
“They were on a boat, of course,” she said with frustration in her voice.
“Are you sure it was your uncle?”
She paused and then said, “No, I’m not sure. I only saw the back of him.”
“Did you get a look at the other men?” I asked.
She shook her head. The sun shone across her pretty face and I momentarily forgot what I wanted to say. “Shouldn’t we go after them?” She motioned over her shoulder.
I released a deep breath and looked down at the water. “I suppose we can look, but I can’t guarantee where they went. But first we have to take your uncle’s boat back.”
She didn’t look happy about that, but finally she nodded. “Fine, but we’re wasting time.”
“I’ll follow your boat back to the dock. Can you get it back okay?” I asked.
She scoffed. “Of course. I know exactly what I’m doing.”
I bit back a smile and climbed back to my boat. I waited until she got her boat pointed in the right direction, then I took off behind her toward the dock. She looked back a few times.
We finally made it back to the dock. I jumped off my boat and secured her uncle’s boat. Chloe didn’t waste any time stepping onto my boat with me.
“Okay, which way did they go?” I asked.
She pointed to our left. “That way.”
“How many men were on the boat?”
“Three. Two men plus my uncle. Or what I thought was my uncle.” Uncertainty filled her voice.
“Well, they have to come back sometime, so if we don’t find them then I’ll be on the lookout for when they return.”
She nodded with a little smile.
We headed down the waterway in silence. I knew that it was unlikely we would see this boat, but I had to give it a try for Chloe and her uncle too. The boat hummed along the water and the breeze blew across the air. I glanced back at Chloe and she offered a half-hearted smile. I wished I knew what was going on in her head. Had she wanted me to kiss her? Of course she hadn’t. We’d barely even spoken since she’d come back to town. Why would she want me to kiss her? But there was something about the look in her eyes.
“Do you see the boat?” she asked.
I was sorry to say that I didn’t see another boat anywhere in sight.
“I don’t see anything,” I said.
“That doesn’t mean that they’re not out here though,” she said with hope in her voice.
“No, it doesn’t mean that, but I don’t know how long it will be before they come back.”
Her shoulders slumped. “I guess we can’t stay out here forever, huh?”
Chapter Eleven
Chloe didn’t want to fight a gator
“Do you see that?” I pointed toward the vegetation on the side of the water.
Grant followed my finger with his eyes, but didn’t say anything.
“It’s right over there.” I motioned again.
I could have sworn I saw a set of eyes. My heart rate increased. I prayed that I hadn’t seen an alligator, but I knew that the odds weren’t in my favor. It was their natural habitat—there could be an alligator lurking there just waiting to make me his lunch. Now I felt trapped and helpless, stuck out there in the middle of the water.
Grant continued to stare at the area where I had pointed. His silence was making me even more nervous. If he didn’t say something soon I would go crazy. What had I been thinking by coming out here? I knew all too well that there were gators in this water. Yet I still came out here anyway. I had more issues than Vogue
magazine.
Finally, he nodded and said, “Yes, I see it now.”
Thank goodness. I’d been beginning to think I was going crazy. Grant had been frozen on the spot and I’d waited for him to finally tell me what he thought it was.
I swore that was when the thing moved. My suspicions were confirmed. “Is what I think it is?” I asked with a quiver in my voice.
He nodded and casually said, “Yep.”
“So? That’s all you’re going to say? Can’t you get us out of here? That thing is going to lunge and attack us. He’s watching me with his big black eyes. I think I saw him lick his lips.”
Grant snorted. “You know he won’t lunge at you.”
“As a matter of fact, I don’t know that,” I said around a sigh.
“That’s the Rock. He’s been around here for about five or six years. Terrorizing people all over town.”
I could have sworn there was laughter in Grant’s voice. Did he find this funny? “How do you know it’s the Rock?”
“I’ve seen him enough to know. I think he weighs about a thousand pounds.”
“Well, it’s been lovely meeting the Rock, but I think it’s time that we got out of here.”
Grant didn’t move. “He’s watching us now. Just don’t make any sudden movements and he won’t bother us.”
“Well, I’m certainly not going over there to socialize with him,” I quipped.
“It’s getting dark, that’s when they hunt the most,” Grant said, looking up at the sky.
“Thanks for making me feel better.”
“Don’t worry, alligators typically don’t like humans as part of their diets, although he might be tempted by your sweetness.”
I scowled. “Oh, save the comedy routine.”
Grant shrugged. “Of course they will eat any bad meat they can find given the opportunity.”
I frowned. “Then you’d better not tempt him them.”
Grant laughed. “It’s mating season, so he will defend his territory vigorously.”
“That sounds like a typical male,” I said.
He laughed again.
“We’re in his territory, so don’t you think we should keep a safe distance and give him his space?”
He nodded. “We’ll get out of here. Just remember to remain aware at all times. I don’t know why you’re surprised, you knew there were alligators in this water.”
“I know, I know.”
“They hide well in water, so be on the lookout for more eyes and nostrils sticking out of the water.”
“Oh, please don’t let there be more in the water. I think we’re surrounded,” I said, looking around the boat.
He glanced down. “There are no alligators around us. But just to be safe, don’t dangle your arms or legs off the boat.”
“You’re crazy, do you know that?” I asked.
“So I’ve been told,” he said without looking over at me.
Silence settled over us. We didn’t speak and the alligator didn’t make a move, although I thought I saw him blink a few times. I supposed I had been gone from the bayou for too long. I’d forgotten what it was like to live here. I had to admit I’d missed it, even if an alligator wanted me for a snack. Now I knew I missed it more than I’d realized.
“I’m glad you can remain so calm,” I said.
“It’s my job. Just take a few deep breaths and stay calm,” he said.
“How can I stay calm?”
The alligator began to move and I must have let out a little whimper. I was being a wimp. Grant was right, I had to remain calm. Freaking out wouldn’t do me any good. But my mama had known a girl who had been eaten by a gator, so I felt that my fears were somewhat warranted. The girl had been swimming in water where alligators had been known to live. I knew I would never do that.
“We just need to let him know that we are here, but no sudden moves,” Grant said.
“What? No, we want him to ignore us. That way he will go away,” I said.
Grant shook his head. “There’s an oar right there. Make noise by slapping the water with the oar.”
I reluctantly grabbed the oar and stuck it in the water. “He’ll probably eat this oar as an appetizer before he jumps onto the boat.”
Grant quirked a brow and then started to whistle.
“Why are you whistling?”
“Just making more noise,” he said.
I started whistling Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Every little bit would help.
Just then the alligator jumped into the water. His tail whipped a slice through the water. A splash made the water ripple all the way out to our boat.
“Okay, we need to get out of here,” Grant said.
Now he was saying this? I could have told him that a long time ago. As a matter of fact, I had told him that a long time ago, like when I’d first spotted the alligator.
He was moving closer toward us. Grant moved the boat. “Okay, we’ll just go out here and give him a little more room.”
“Sounds fine with me.” I put the oar back in the water before he had a chance to take a bite.
Grant moved the boat farther away from the alligator. When I looked back, I noticed that we really hadn’t put that much distance between us.
“It’s chasing us,” I said with panic in my voice.
Grant glanced back. “Damn it, Rock.”
I didn’t like the way he said that either. He didn’t sound so confident now.
I shook my head. “I don’t think the Rock is so harmless now.”
“This is what I told you about. He likes to harass people and chase them.”
“Oh, great. He’s a jerk. Now what do we do?” I asked with wide eyes.
“We move away from him more.”
We’d tried that once and it wasn’t seeming to work. But I had to trust Grant on this one because what did I know about getting away from a gator? We moved along the water and picked up a little speed. That made me feel a little more comfortable. There was no way the gator could catch us now.
“Where is it?” I asked.
Grant shook his head. “I don’t see it.”
I released a pent-up breath. Maybe it was gone. Then again, maybe it was like one of those horror movies where you thought the killer was dead but then he popped back up. That gator might pop back up at any second.
“I think we’re safe to go back over to land now.”
“If you say so,” I said, glancing around for those black eyes peeking out of the water.
“Remember that time old man Wilson was drunk and stomped on that gator in his back yard?”
I snorted. “Yeah, he practically fed it a baseball bat before he jumped over the fence and took off.”
We’d had a view of the whole scene from Grant’s window. Mr. Wilson had lived next door to Grant’s parents.
Chapter Twelve
Grant had forgotten just how much he had with Chloe
As much as I was enjoying being with her, we couldn’t stay out there much longer. For her sake, I wished the boat would pop up, but I knew it was unlikely. The men could have gone to another dock by now.
I glanced up at the sky. Shades of purple and red streaked across the sky. Soon the sun would retire for the night, bringing darkness over the bayou. If Chloe didn’t like the waters in the daylight, she would hate it at night.
“It’s getting late, we should get back to the docks,” I said.
I knew this wasn’t what she wanted to hear by the frown on her face. The air was still sticky and hot and I wanted to grab a beer. Would Chloe want to go with me? That was highly unlikely. I knew I shouldn’t even ask. Would I be able to stop myself from asking though?
She blew the hair out of her eyes. “Yeah, I guess we should go back now.”
I turned the boat around and headed back toward the dock. The sun was setting quickly, so I didn’t want to waste any more time. Whether to ask Chloe to go have a drink with me was stuck in my mind. What was the worst that she could say? She already
barely spoke to me. It couldn’t get much worse than that.
The wind gently blew her hair. If only I could run my fingers through her hair and caress her cheeks. I wondered if she felt my eyes on her. I wished I could go back and change the past. I would definitely do things differently now.
I pulled the boat up to the dock, but before I had a chance to help her Chloe had climbed off. She really was in a hurry. Did she just want to get away from me or did she have somewhere else to go?
I jumped off the boat. “Chloe, not so fast. Where are you headed now?”
She spun around and paused. For a long moment she stared at me and I waited for her to tell me it was none of my business.
Finally she said, “I have no idea what I’m doing.”
Chapter Thirteen
Chloe realized Grant was too dangerous
I had to get away from him. Now was not the time for me to start having feelings for Grant, but the way he looked at me with his gorgeous eyes and smiled at me with that beautiful smile made it harder to say no. This was not why I’d come back to Belle Grove. He was the reason why I had to stay away. Surely he knew that. He was probably just being charming to mess with me. If he thought he was going to get to me then I’d show him that he was way off base.
He stared at me and I knew that I had to get out of there. Before I could turn around and run, he stepped closer.
“I was wondering if maybe… well, if maybe you’d like to go out for a drink. It’s hot out and we could really use a drink to cool off.” A slow smile tipped the corners of his mouth.
Oh, great. It would be hard to say no to the sexual energy that pulsed around him. A hot blush crept over my cheeks. Drinking with Grant. That would really make my judgment better. My thoughts were already impaired and there was no reason to make it worse. He was still staring at me and I knew that I’d have to give him an answer soon.
