She blinked, clearly confused at my change in direction. But she didn’t budge until well after my fingers left her face. “I have both of those,” I said softly. “But the journey’s the thing, not the finish line.”
The moment must’ve gotten to her too because her eyes softened and she smiled. More importantly, she hadn’t pulled away. Or told me to back off. I was making progress. “The journey’s the thing ... I like that. I like it a lot,” she said.
“I like you, Summer Stafford.”
“I ... like you too.”
I couldn’t help but throw my head back and laugh at the uncertainty in her voice. “You might want to work on your delivery. Someone less sure of themselves might think you’re only being polite.”
“I mean it,” she said, her voice firmer. “I find your point of view refreshing.”
“Refreshing. Now there’s a compliment every guy wants to hear. I’m sure it’s right up there with nice and a good personality.”
“You are nice.”
I groaned. “I hope not. I don’t think there’s any way to come back from those two.”
She put a hand on her hip, her lips sticking out in the slightest hint of a pout. God, she was sexy when she stood like that. Concentrate, Ford. The girl’s speaking. Eyes up.
“You don’t want me to think you’re nice?” she asked.
I leaned in close and whispered into her ear, enjoying the shiver that rippled through her as I whispered, “Not always.”
Chapter Ten
Summer
“In these times I don't, in a manner of speaking, know what I want; perhaps I don't want what I know and want what I don't know.”
―Marsilio Ficino, The Letters of Marsilio Ficino, Vol. 3
Friday’s work day flew by. Before I knew it, quittin’ time had come and the entire staff headed to the creek to see the race. I waited until they’d all left before making my way down. I needed the peace and quiet, especially when I knew the sort of ruckus I’d face when I arrived. I trudged up the path, lost in the same back-and-forth debate with myself I’d been having for days now.
I should’ve spent more time thinking about this race or planning a strategy but all I’d been able to think about for the past three days was Ford. His hands, his mouth, the clever way he always challenged my thinking. I’d never met a guy who was both physically and intellectually attractive before. It was a lethal combination.
And the remark he’d made about not wanting me to think he was nice ... I’d lain awake in frustration over that comment, unable to sleep until my massaging hand had finished the job his words and his kiss had started. Even then, it didn’t squelch the desire and I woke frustrated and grouchy.
That day in the woods, the heat had been a living thing winding itself inside me. And back in the greenhouse, I’d wanted to kiss him again but had a feeling if I did I’d crawl all over his body like some kind of horny monkey. Real attractive.
Instead, I’d pretended I hadn’t understood that last innuendo and gone back to quizzing him about plants. I’d finished off my lemonade and gotten the hell out of there, making an extra effort to avoid him ever since and trying to come up with how to handle the dilemma that was Ford O’Neal.
Days later, I still had no idea.
The things he’d said about life being about the journey reminded me of what Casey had said the other day. About taking a risk and doing something outside my comfort zone. Adding something new to my list. Yes, I’d kissed Ford and that had been enough to satisfy my deal with Casey, but turned out, it wasn’t enough for me. I wanted more. More kisses. More experiences. More of the journey.
Problem was, Ford’s journey, at least how it intersected with mine, was short. Four more months and he’d be gone. That would make this nothing more than a fling. I’d never, not once in my life, had a fling. Not even a one-night stand. It was too irresponsible, but more than that, it was pointless. Why get into something you knew from the start wasn’t going anywhere? I could almost hear Casey’s voice in my head in answer. Oh, it’s going somewhere all right. Straight to the nearest bedroom.
That thought should’ve been a strike against the idea. Instead, it ignited the rush that always seemed to accompany thoughts of Ford. Besides, said the devil on my shoulder, maybe a fling was just the direction I needed to finally figure out this new version of Summer I’d been looking for since Christmas break. I would just have to do it without getting attached.
The sound of voices up ahead brought me out of my thoughts. I rounded the bend and stopped cold when I saw the amount of people gathered at the bank of the creek. Most of them were Heritage employees but there were people from town, too. I knew all of them by face if not name. Most I hadn’t seen since last fall before I’d gone back to school. I hadn’t been prepared to face them before. To do so now made my heart thump double-time. When had a creek race become this exciting?
“Hey, Summer!” Leslie, Joe’s wife and my best friend from high school, waved and walked over.
“Hey, Les.” I let her pull me into a hug and returned the squeeze with genuine warmth. Leslie was one of the few I was happy to see—with her, I didn’t mind letting my baggage show. At least now that I’d processed it all myself. “What is everyone doing here?” I asked.
“They’re here for the show,” she said.
“But how did they all know?”
She gave me a knowing look. “Casey,” we said in unison.
“He must be really nervous about his chances,” she said.
“Why is that?”
“Five bucks says he brought the crowd to rattle you. He wants you distracted.”
“Well, it’s working,” I muttered.
“Uh-uh. Don’t let them get inside your head. You can do this. Casey’s way out of shape. All he does is eat Mazie’s pasta and lay underneath hoods.”
I squared my shoulders. “True. I got this.”
“Besides, Casey’s roommate has been talking all kinds of trash to Casey about how you’re going to kick his ass. Apparently his money’s on you.”
“Ford bet on me?”
“That’s his name,” she said, snapping her fingers. “Yeah, he’s got your back. And thanks to him, so does half the crowd. Casey’s plan backfired. You’ll have your own cheering section.”
I groaned and bent over, hands on my knees. “That makes it so much worse.”
“Having a hot guy sticking up for you is worse how?”
“It just is,” I insisted.
“Huh. Because I’ve seen him up close, and sweetie, he can get inside my head, or whatever else he wants, anytime.”
I straightened, my eyes wide. “Leslie,” I hissed. “You’re married.”
She laughed. “Does that mean I’m blind? Please don’t tell me you haven’t noticed.”
“I ... may have,” I said slowly.
“Then what the heck are you waiting for? The second coming?”
“I’m taking some time for myself right now.” Even to my own ears, the words sounded hollow and, well, lame.
Leslie’s expression softened. “I heard you ended it with Aaron. I’m sorry it didn’t work out, Summer. You deserve to be happy.”
“I’m sorry you heard it from someone else,” I said, remembering my promise to Joe at dinner that first night. “I was going to come see you.”
“I know you were, hon. No worries there. I just want you to know I’m here for you, whatever you’re going through.”
I could feel my eyes cloud over. I so did not want to talk about this right now. “Aaron just wasn’t the one.”
She nodded. “Nothing you can do will make him be, either. You have to be true to yourself.”
I looked away, scanning the crowd instead of meeting her eyes. I didn’t want to let my thoughts run too deep into this line of talk. It would do more than distract me—it would upset me. And then Casey would win before we began. “Can we talk about this later?”
Her eyes widened. “Oh, sure, sweetie. Sorry. You
have a race to win. Come on, I’ll walk you down. Make sure no one messes with you.” Without waiting for a reply, she took my arm and led me toward the creek. It was almost funny watching her petite hands tap people on the arms, parting the crowd so fiercely for me.
I found Casey standing in the center of a group of friends, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet as he nodded at whatever Frank was saying. Talking ceased when they caught sight of me and Casey grinned.
“You ready for this, Stafford?” he said.
“Ready to kick your ass,” I shot back.
His grin widened. “Let’s do it.” He peeled his shirt off and handed it to Frank. I did the same with the sundress I wore, revealing my bathing suit underneath. I became acutely aware of the flesh exposed between the two pieces of fabric that covered me. But I couldn’t worry about that. Leslie was right—I couldn’t let all these people get into my head.
Someone whistled and I followed the sound until I spotted Jimmy Duncan smiling widely, his gaze trained on my chest. A hand shot out from beside him, planting a fist in his ribcage and Jimmy yelped and jumped away. My dad glared at Jimmy, daring him to complain, and shoved his hand back into his pocket.
Thanks, Dad.
Frank cleared his throat and turned to face the crowd, holding up his hands for attention. “Okay, listen up!” He shushed everyone until most of the noise had died down and then continued. “I’m going to explain the rules so shut up and listen. The creek race is three parts. First, a swim. That one’s all about speed. Second, a breath hold. That one’s endurance. And third, a jump off the rope swing. That one’s strength.”
“And style,” Casey added.
I grimaced. The breath hold used to be my best category. I wasn’t so sure anymore, after spending so much time away from the water. Hopefully Casey hadn’t been practicing. And the jump off the rope swing, I sucked at that. It’s where Casey always won. He had no fear like a normal person, no caution. He’d swing out and do the craziest flips, landing cock-eyed on the water and getting slapped by the surface. But no matter how hard he hit, he always came up laughing. I’d come away with more than a few bruises trying to one-up his crazy dives.
“Summer here is the challenger so Casey gets to choose which event he wants to start with,” Frank finished.
“Swim,” Casey said easily.
The crowd cheered.
Frank positioned us on the bank of the creek at the lowest point. The water’s surface was white with the rushing of the current. This was the only place the creek was deep and wide enough to make it a challenge to swim across. It also had a current just strong enough to make it dangerous if you got tired. I’d been swept away more than once, banging into the rocks farther down and coming home with cuts and scrapes.
I stretched my arms above my head in anticipation, staring at the far bank, envisioning arriving there. Before Casey.
Frank produced a whistle from his pocket. This creek race was the most official and well-attended I’d ever seen.
“You ready for this?” Casey whispered.
“No smack-talking,” Frank snapped before I could shoot back a smart-ass response. Frank pointed his finger in Casey’s face, then mine. “Conserve your oxygen.”
“Casey’s all hot air anyway,” I muttered.
Behind Frank, Ford chuckled and we locked eyes. Goose bumps broke out over my arms and sent a tingle down my back. I shivered. Heat rose to my face at the knowledge my reaction to him had been noticeable—by everyone here.
“Let’s do this. I’m getting cold,” I said to cover it up. Ford gave me a knowing wink and I looked away, my face burning now.
Ignore him. Ignore him. Ignore him, I chanted silently. I stared again at the far side of the creek.
“We’re just waiting on—Okay, we’re ready,” Frank said.
A body appeared on the other side of the water. “What’s Joe doing?” I asked, squinting in order to recognize him. He walked right up to the water’s edge and stopped.
“Judging,” Frank said. “He’s going to be my eyes over there. So no cheating. Whoever grabs Joe’s hand first wins.”
Casey rubbed his hands together. “Let’s do it.”
Frank raised the whistle to his mouth. I took my stance. Beside me, Casey did the same. When the whistle blew, we dove in.
The temperature of the water startled me for a split second and then my body adjusted to the coolness. I threw my arms forward and kicked my feet, cutting through the frothy surface as fast as I could. I didn’t look to see how close Casey might be. I concentrated on breathing and kicking and the arc of my arms. The current tried pulling me right but I angled my stroke so that I swam a little left. I couldn’t afford to end up too far from Joe.
Before I knew it, I was on the other side. Winded and arms aching, I reached out—and caught sight of Casey’s fingers pulling away just as my own touched Joe’s palm.
“Whoop!” Casey hollered, falling back into the water with fists pumping into the air.
I scowled and hauled myself out, ignoring the calls and cheers from the crowd on the other side.
Joe pointed and yelled for their benefit, “Casey wins!”
More cheers.
Casey hauled himself out of the water and threw an arm around my neck. I twisted away easily and laughed at the goofy victory dance he did. “Round one is mine,” he sang.
“You just wait,” I said. “I am the breath-hold champion.”
“Ah, but you don’t realize my strategy,” he said, tapping a finger to his temple. “You’re winded now and your lungs are going to give out early from that swim.”
I arched a brow at him. “Won’t yours have the same problem?”
His smile faltered. “Well, damn.”
I smirked. “Flawed strategy. Doesn’t surprise me.”
“All right, you two. Get back over there for the breath hold,” Joe said.
I shook my head. “I’m not wasting my energy swimming back.”
“I got it covered. Come on,” Casey said. I followed him down the trail a few feet where it curved hard right and the current slowed down. It was shallow enough to wade here and I followed Casey in and across easily.
“I heard you already completed the newest item on your list,” Casey said.
I shot him a sideway glance. “What exactly did you hear?”
He shrugged. “That it was so hot you had to leave the woods for fear of starting a forest fire. Apparently, you’re a decent kisser. Who would’ve guessed?” I tried hitting him but he was too far away for my fist to connect. “Whoa. Calm down. Conserve your strength. I, for one, am relieved that Danny’s skills didn’t rub off on you permanently.”
“You are such an ass.”
“Old news. Seriously, though. How does it feel?”
“How does what feel?” I asked. We reached the other side and started back toward the waiting crowd.
“Being spontaneous. Fun. Living without a plan?”
I eyed Ford from a distance while I considered Casey’s question. Casey hadn’t been far off about the heat of that kiss. It’d been all I could think about these past few days. Ford made my pulse jump in a way it never had, and I woke each morning excited about the possibilities of the day.
Maybe living without a plan was what I needed. I thought of Ford’s offer to “hang out” and “have a good time.” I still wasn’t sure about my ability to have a fling. A short-term, no strings, no plan sort of thing. But I was getting closer and closer to wanting to try.
“Jury’s still out,” I said finally.
“Maybe you need to collect more evidence,” Casey said.
I chewed my lip, looking away from Ford before he could catch me staring. “Maybe I do,” I agreed quietly.
I won the breath hold contest and Casey got yelled at by Frank for cussing when he lost. The rope swing was last. My muscles were starting to tighten from the swim and then standing around in a dripping bathing suit. Why hadn’t I brought a towel? Right. Thoughts of the
blue-eyed Plant Whisperer had invaded and replaced common sense.
I did what I could to stay limber, pacing the grassy area while Casey prepared to make the climb to the rope. Ford appeared at my side and draped a towel around my shoulders, rubbing the fabric against the length of my arms. “Thanks,” I said, grateful and touched at his attentiveness.
“This is quite the event,” he said.
My stomach muscles tightened at his proximity. He wasn’t even touching me—or looking at me for that matter, yet at the mere sound of his voice I was instantly turned on and trying to remember why I shouldn’t allow my body to rule my actions.
Aaron. Mom. Dad. Love hurts.
I repeated the words until the “yuck” settled into the spot in my stomach that usually fluttered when Ford was near. It was the only thing holding me back from the idea of being with Ford—in any capacity. I’d seen the damage of love firsthand, or what passed for it anyway. I wasn’t sure I could resist falling if we took this any further. And if I fell, I wasn’t sure I could get back up. I wasn’t sure of anything when it came to the opposite sex anymore.
We both watched as Casey reached the top branch of the tree. The crowd cheered him as he posed with the rope between his hands. He played into it, posing a few more times and getting the crowd going. Then, with a final hoot, he grabbed up the slack and swung out. When he reached the farthest point, he let go of the rope, tucked his body, and rolled into a somersault midair before straightening out flat, right down to his pointed toes, belly-flopping into the water. The splash was more of a smack as he hit abdomen first. The crowd grimaced and then cheered as Casey’s head broke the surface.
I shook my head at Casey’s grin as he swam for shore and began my upward climb. A forward roll-belly flop combo? I could do so much better.
“Good luck,” I heard Ford call behind me.
I climbed up until I reached the branch with the rope and walked carefully out to grab it. From below, I heard Leslie yell, “Go, Summer! You got this, girl!”
I smiled but didn’t look. I didn’t want to see faces.
I grabbed the rope and adjusted my hold, taking a deep breath and envisioning my stellar dive as the crowd erupted with cheers and shouts even before I hit the water. Yup. That was about to happen. I tightened my hands around the rough material and pushed off.
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