A Baby and a Betrothal (13 page)

He knew Katie was more confident now, but he hadn't expected her to volunteer for something like this. He hoped Matt took it easy on the two women. Depending on the boat's driver, tubing could be fun or it could be a crazy ride.

As Matt's boat sped off toward the open middle of the reservoir, Natalie came to stand next to him. “Is Katie tubing?” she asked incredulously.

“Yeah.”

“You took her swimming last week, right?”

He gave a brief nod, cursing under his breath as the tube disappeared around a bend in the lake.

“She's not afraid anymore?”

“She's good,” he said, more for his own benefit than Natalie's. “She can handle this.”

His stomach lurched as the boat came back into view. “If that idiot will slow the hell down. He's going way too fast.”

“Can we go to the cliffs now?” Austin asked.

“In a minute,” Natalie said automatically. Noah heard her breath catch as the inner tube hit another boat's wake and popped into the air a few feet. Both women held on and Matt headed toward the center of the reservoir then spun the boat in a wide arc. The tube skidded across the water, bumping through the waves as slack filled the line before it jerked tight again.

“They're heading for us,” Natalie murmured.

Noah shook his head and glanced past the front of Liam's boat. “He's taking them to the edge of the reservoir.” The concrete dam front loomed on the other side of the cliff face. It was where the water from the mouth of the Hidden Creek River flowed into the dam. A rope and buoys floated fifty yards in front of the dam, alerting boaters and swimmers that the area was off-limits. It made that stretch of water almost empty compared to the popularity of the rest of the lake on a weekend holiday.

“Liam, head toward the dam.” As his friend hit the throttle, both he and Natalie dropped into seats.

Austin leaned forward around Noah. “Is that Miss Katie?” he asked, pointing at the inner tube skimming through the water.

Natalie's smile looked forced as she turned to her son. “Sure is, bud. She's quite the daredevil, isn't she?”

Noah glanced at the boy and saw his eyes widen. “That's way faster than you went on the wakeboard, Noah.”

“That's faster than anyone should be driving with the reservoir so crowded.” As if his words were an omen, a small Jet Ski took a sharp turn then stalled out, stopping directly in the path of Matt's boat. Noah cursed as the boat swerved one way then the other. He could see the men in back laughing and pumping their fists as if egging on Matt's reckless driving. The tube hit the boat's wake and ricocheted into the air before slamming back down. It immediately flew up again and this time one of the women came off, bouncing across the water like a skipped stone. Lelia hit the water and popped back up thanks to her life vest, brushing her hair out of her face.

Noah's vision turned red as he saw Matt bump knuckles with one of his friends on the boat. But he didn't slow down, instead making another wide turn then a sharper one, sending the tube airborne and Katie soaring through the air along with it.

“Katie,” Natalie yelled. “Liam, get to her now.”

But unlike Lelia, Katie didn't pop up out of the water. Instead, her life vest immediately surfaced. Empty.

“Where is she?” Natalie screamed.

“Stop,” Noah yelled and stripped off his shirt, diving in toward the place where the yellow life vest bobbed empty in the water.

Chapter Thirteen

F
or a few moments, Katie didn't register anything but the sensation of flying through the air. Then she hit the water with a force that tore the air from her lungs. Her arms already burned from holding on to the handles of the inner tube, so she pumped her legs, finally surfacing with a choked breath.

When she began to sink again, she patted her chest and realized with a start that the life vest had ripped off when she landed. Panic seized her as a wave splashed over her head. She focused on treading water, squinting against the sun's reflection on the lake. Surely Matt would be coming for her any second, but it was hard to see anything beyond the waves from various boat wakes swelling around her. Her heart squeezed and she struggled to rein in her hysteria. A flash of yellow caught her gaze as the water receded for a moment.

Her life vest.

Make it to the life vest.

Her arms felt like lead weights as she lifted one then the other out of the water.
You can do this
,
she told herself, but the voice in her head sounded like Noah's. Coaxing her, calming her and making her believe she could overcome the fear that had been a part of her for so long. She could almost hear his voice calling to her.

Then he was in front of her, appearing over the crest of a wave, her life jacket in his hand. “Grab on,” he said and she reached for it. Reached for him.

His arms went around her waist. “I've got you, sweetheart,” he said against her hair, his voice thick with emotion. “Damn, you scared me.”

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Fear and panic still lapped at the corners of her mind, just like the water rising and falling around her.

“Focus on me,” he said and she did. On his blue eyes, even brighter against his sun-kissed skin, on the scruff on his jaw. His thumb brushed across her cheek, the slight pressure making her wince. “You already have a bruise forming. Just a minute more and Liam will have the boat here.”

“What are you—” Water splashed into her face and she coughed again.

“Katie, are you okay?” She looked up as she heard Natalie yelling to her.

Her brain wouldn't register why her friend was peering down at her from the side of a shiny blue-and-silver speedboat.

“Where's Lelia?”

“She's fine.”

“What about Matt and the boat?”

She felt Noah stiffen, his lips thinning into a tight line. “Let's get you to safety. Then we'll deal with Matt Davis.”

“My arms...” she whispered. “I don't think I can pull myself out of the water.”

“I'll help you.” He swam them toward the back of the boat, where Liam had slung a plastic ladder next to the engine.

“Pull her up,” Noah commanded, positioning Katie in front of the ladder. “Step up as he lifts you, Bug,” he whispered in her ear.

Gritting her teeth against the pain, she took hold of the metal railing. With his hands on her hips, Noah held her out of the water while Liam gripped under her arms and hauled her onto the boat. She stumbled and Natalie grabbed her around the waist, helping her to one of the seats near the front of the boat as she wrapped a towel around Katie's shoulders.

“Are you okay?” Natalie repeated her earlier question.

Embarrassment washed over her. After all her preparation, she'd needed to be rescued from the water yet again. “I'm fine,” she mumbled, but they all knew it was a lie.

Apparently Austin believed her because a wide grin broke across his face. “That was so cool, Miss Katie. You must have caught six feet of air.” He stood on tiptoes and reached his hand above him to indicate how high the inner tube had flown. “Then you slammed down on the water.”

She could return his smile now that she was safely on the boat. So many parts of her body ached, but the reality was she'd made it.

“You hit so hard your life vest came off,” he all but shouted. “Wait until I tell my friends that story. They won't believe it from the cupcake lady.”

“Austin, enough.” Natalie's tone was firm but gentle.

“Sorry.” He looked at Katie, sheepish. “No offense.”

“None taken.” She ran two fingers over her cheek. It hurt but not as badly now. “I was wearing one of the larger life vests because Lelia's so tiny she needed the woman's size. I thought I'd tightened it enough, but it must have slipped over my head on impact.”

“Impact,” Noah growled, sounding disgusted. “What the hell was he thinking taking you on that kind of ride?”

“Don't make this a big deal, Noah.” Katie lifted her chin. “I mean it.”

He opened his mouth to respond, but at that moment Matt's boat came closer. The guys on the boat were cheering with shouts of “Awesome, Katie,” “Sweet dismount” and “You nailed it.”

“You want to swim over and we'll get you back in the boat?” Matt called. Lelia stood next to him, grinning from ear to ear. It made Katie feel like an even bigger wimp.

She sucked in a breath as Noah snapped, “You're an ass—”

“We're heading to shore,” Liam said, cutting off Noah midsentence. “We'll meet you over there.”

Matt nodded, still smiling as Liam motored away.

Natalie reached out to take Katie's hand. “You're sure you—”

“Please don't say anything,” Katie said, glancing from Natalie to Noah. “None of them knew I was nervous on the water.”

“It doesn't matter,” Noah yelled over the roar of the engine. “He shouldn't have been driving that fast.”

Katie agreed, but she wasn't going to fuel Noah's anger by admitting it.

The ride across the reservoir to the grassy shore below the parking lot and picnic area lasted only a few minutes. In that time, Katie took stock of what had happened. She blamed herself for letting Matt and his friends convince her to get on the tube in the first place. She liked Matt, but the more time she spent with him, the more she realized he was an adrenaline junkie like her father. As much as she wanted to fit in with him and his friends, someone like Lelia had much more in common with them. Most of the talk on the boat today had centered around the best spots around Crimson for mountain biking and rock climbing, both sports Lelia had been eager to try. Other than another inner-tube ride, Katie could think of nothing she'd want to do less.

“I need a bathroom break,” Natalie said as they pulled into a space between two smaller boats.

Noah hopped into the water, hauling the boat to shore with the rope Liam tossed him. As muscles bunched in his arms and across his shoulders, Katie's mouth went dry and she dropped her head into her hands. She was pathetic.

Austin jumped into the water, too, leaving Natalie and her alone in the boat.

“Why were you guys out there?” she asked, lifting her gaze. “Liam normally hates crowds. A holiday weekend on the lake can't be his idea of a good time.”

“Noah was worried about you.”

“Why? Didn't he think I could handle it?”

“From what I could tell, it's because he cares about you.” Natalie shook her head, one side of her mouth curving. “I've never seen him like that. He had us motoring all over the lake to find you.” She held up a hand when Katie would have argued. “Not because he didn't think you could handle yourself. He wanted to look after you. Like a friend, but it was more. A lot more.”

Katie sighed, looked at Noah standing on the bank talking to Liam and Austin. “This was the summer I was going to get over him, Nat. There's no future there.”

“Are you sure? People change. Sometimes they only need to open their eyes to what's in front of them.” She gave Katie's shoulder a squeeze. “I think the combination of seeing you with another guy then hurtling across the lake may have done that for our buddy Noah.”

Katie thought about that. Yes, she'd vowed to move past her feelings for him. She wanted more from life than he was willing to give her, and the frustration at her unrequited love was beginning to take a toll on their friendship. But what if Natalie was right? Had she given up too soon? Or was he only interested in her because suddenly she was out of reach?

She glanced up as Matt's boat pulled in at the end of the line of boats docked below the picnic area. One of his friends was driving now, and Matt climbed off the front to beach the boat and tether it to a tree stump. She closed her eyes so she wouldn't be tempted to compare him to Noah. Matt was handsome, but her body didn't react to him like it had to Noah moments ago.

“That won't end well.”

Katie blinked at Natalie's words. As Matt finished knotting the rope, Noah was stalking toward him, every muscle in his body radiating anger.

She scrambled forward, holding the towel around her waist as she threw her legs over the side of the boat. She made her way up the shoreline, picking her way over the rocks that dug into her bare feet.

“You're a reckless idiot,” Noah yelled, pushing Matt in the chest.

The other man, several inches shorter than Noah, stumbled back, the easy smile disappearing from his face. “What the hell was that for?” He took two steps toward Noah.

“For putting those women in danger. You were driving like an idiot with them on the tube behind you.”

“Who are you, the coast guard?” Matt came forward until his chest almost touched Noah's. “We were having fun, Grandpa.”

Noah's head snapped back as if Matt had actually hit him. In his circle of friends, Noah was the life of the party. Katie knew he cultivated and protected that image like a coveted prize.

“Fun?” Noah all but spit the word in Matt's face. “You almost killed Katie.”

Matt's expression registered shock then anger. “She was having a good time.”

“She's afraid of the water,” Noah ground out.

Katie was right behind them but stopped as the group took in Noah's words. Again embarrassment rolled through her. “I'm fine,” she said tightly, unwilling to look at Matt's friends on the boat. She kept her gaze fixed on him and Noah.

“Is that true?” Matt backed up from Noah a few steps. “Why didn't you say anything?”

“It's not...” She trailed off. How could she deny something so much a part of her, even if she didn't want it to be? “I was having fun.”

Noah cursed under his breath. “Are you joking?” He turned fully toward her, blocking Matt's view with his body. “That was the opposite of fun for you.”

“I wanted to get on that inner tube, Noah. No one forced me.”

“He shouldn't have been driving like that.”

“I'm sorry,” Matt said behind him. “Katie, you should have signaled me to slow down.”

“I thought it was great,” Lelia called from the boat.

Katie narrowed her eyes at the woman.

“Sorry,” Lelia muttered. “But I did.”

“You're enough,” Noah whispered, pitching his voice low enough that she was the only one who could hear him. “Just the way you are, Katie. You don't need to try this hard.”

His words cut across her, turned her insides to liquid and fire. All she'd wanted in life was to be enough for someone. Without having to try. She'd
always
had to try, as if she was inherently lacking as a person. She'd told herself she was turning over a new leaf, but it felt as if she'd traded one mask for a different guise. She'd wanted to move off the sidelines so badly that she'd pitched herself headfirst into becoming someone she was never meant to be.

“Okay,” Matt said, stepping around Noah. “Now we know that you're not one for adventure.” His voice was kind, but there was a note of disappointment in it she couldn't miss. He held out a hand to her. “Let's have lunch. Then you can keep the boat steady while the rest of us cliff jump.”

On the boat, Lelia clapped her hands.

Noah snorted and bent so he was looking into her eyes, his gaze intense. “You're not going back out there with him,” he said softly.

She bit down on her lip, glanced at Matt. “I came with them, Noah. I don't want anyone to think that ride rattled me.”

“Who cares what they think?” he shot back.

“I do.”

He straightened and turned on his heel. “Liam, I'm done for the day. I'll catch you back in town,” he called and stomped off, heading up the hill.

Matt rubbed his hand along her upper arm. “Damn, that was intense. Makes me want a beer.” When she only stared, he dropped his hand. “You brought lunch, right?”

She nodded. “In the cooler on the boat.”

“Great.” He chucked her on the shoulder. “That was a massive crash,” he said with a boyish grin.

Katie looked between Matt's boat to where Liam's was tethered five feet away. Natalie raised her eyebrows, her silent question clear to Katie.

“I'm not going back on the boat with you.” She spoke the words out loud and saw Natalie nod in approval.

Matt shrugged. “Suit yourself. Can we still keep the food?”

“Sure.”

“Katie, do you want me to come with you?” Lelia spoke from the deck of the boat.

“No, you stay.” She smiled. “Have fun and take tomorrow off. I'll see you at the bakery on Tuesday.”

The young woman squealed with delight. “Really? Tomorrow off? You're the best boss ever.”

The best boss, the best friend, the best committee chair. As long as it meant putting other people's needs in front of her own, Katie was a veritable expert.

But what about what she wanted? If she had to admit the truth, she was so unused to taking care of her own needs, she barely registered having any. Her eyes drifted to the parking lot above the reservoir.

“Take these,” Natalie said behind her, and Katie whirled, unaware of her friend's approach. Natalie handed her a pair of slip-on sandals. “They'll make getting up the hill a lot easier.”

Katie dropped the shoes to the ground and slipped her feet into them. “I'm sorry this day was so much trouble for you guys.” She hitched her head toward Liam and Austin, who were busy tying a lure to the end of a fishing pole.