Just a Summer Fling (11 page)

“Is that safe?” Charlotte asked.

“Fairly. The horses see pretty well in the dark, and they know the way. And it’s a clear night, with an almost-full moon. But it’s not as safe as riding in daylight.”

“You do it?” Ashley asked.

“Yeah,” he admitted. “But sometimes I do stupid things.”

“So do I,” she said firmly. “And I’d love to go to the creek. If it’s okay with you.”

Put that way, Josh couldn’t really object. So he clipped an extra lead rope to the far side of Ember’s halter and moved the first one from under his chin to up on the side of his jaw, then pulled himself onto the horse’s back. He could tell everyone was watching him, and he didn’t like it. “It’s your show,” he said to Kevin. “We going?”

So Kevin and Casper led the way, with Daisy the Demon Dog enthusiastically scouting ahead. Ember didn’t like being at the end of the line, of course, but that was good. Teaching the horse to be patient was useful training, and
more importantly, it gave Josh something to think about other than Ashley.

Except that she ended up right in front of him as they fell into single file at the edge of the forest. Right where he could watch her most easily, and without having to pretend he wasn’t. It felt almost dirty, like he was spying on her, but where else was he supposed to be looking?

At the trees, probably. She obviously was. The forest was darker than the open field had been, so she couldn’t be seeing much, but she was peering around herself with clear delight. At least, he was pretty sure she was delighted. He could only see her face in occasional profile and it always seemed to be smiling, so that was good. And her back was straight but not strained; she looked relaxed, but interested.

“We should have brought bug spray,” Charlotte said from her spot behind Kevin. She was windmilling one of her arms, clearly trying to ward off mosquitos.

“Think of it as feeding the forest,” Ashley suggested. “We need to make a little blood sacrifice in order to be admitted.”

“The little bastards can have all the blood they want—I’ll cut my arm open and they can come drink from it if it’ll stop them from biting me. It’s the itch I can’t stand!”

“And the malaria,” Josh said quietly.

Ashley twisted around in her saddle to stare at him with a raised eyebrow. Her expression clearly asked,
Malaria? Really?

He grinned at her and shook his head.
No. No malaria.

Her frowned response was a teasing rebuke, and he almost turned Ember around right then. He almost sent the horse galloping back to the barn, hell, maybe past the barn, farther away, somewhere Ashley Carlsen would never be able to find him. He wanted to get away because he knew what was happening. He hadn’t been careful enough. He’d
thought he’d built up enough resistance to handle a little casual contact like this, but obviously he’d been wrong.

There was something about the woman that made its way through his best defenses, and the only reason he didn’t turn the horse around and take off was because he knew it was already too late. She’d made it past his best barriers and she was inside him now. There was nothing he could do to get her out, not until she decided to leave. And when she did, he’d be left with a gaping hole in all the spaces she’d inhabited.

He stared at the back of her head and a part of him hated her. Because she was going to hurt him. Bad. And she’d just skip back down to Hollywood, not a care in the world, laughing about her summer fling with the handyman. Yeah, she’d been slumming, but he’d been convenient. Handy.

It didn’t mean she was thoughtless. Well, yeah, probably it did. But just thoughtless, like she wasn’t thinking about it. Because why should she? She wasn’t cruel, just . . . one of them. She was a summer person. That was what he needed to remember.

He watched as she ducked down to peer under some overhanging branches, trying to understand the forest beyond the path, and the tiny bit of hatred washed out of him. He couldn’t be angry at her for this. It was all his fault. He’d known better, and he’d let it happen. It was only fair that he’d be the one to suffer the consequences.

She turned around again, a vague shape in the dim light until she smiled and her teeth gleamed white. “I can hear the water,” she whispered.

She was exploring, having an adventure. She’d managed to keep that part of herself alive, and he envied her. But maybe he didn’t have to keep holding back. He was already totally screwed, so it wasn’t going to hurt him any worse if he let himself have a little fun. Let himself enjoy whatever time they did have together.

So he allowed his memory to go back to his first discovery of this creek, and he remembered the sense of wonder he’d felt. She was open and willing to share that with him, and he should let himself enjoy it with her. “Wait ’til you see it,” he promised, and this time when she smiled at him, he let himself smile back.

Eleven

ASHLEY KEPT LOOKING
for elves. She knew it was stupid, and if someone had asked what she was doing she would have lied. Well, no. If most people had asked, she would have lied. But she was pretty sure she would have told the truth to Josh.

After all, it was his forest. And the way he maintained the trail suggested that maybe he wasn’t immune to the elf-wishing himself. The trees were trimmed back far enough that it was comfortable to ride, but the forest wasn’t denuded and sanitized like some of the parks Ashley was used to back home. There were moss-covered logs for the horses to step over, loose rocks and roots on the trail itself—obstacles that probably should have been cleared in the name of safety, but that made it all feel much more organic and magical when they were left behind. They made it seem like Josh wanted visitors to his forest to step carefully, avoiding the obstacles, the fungi . . . the elves?

She didn’t notice the horses in front of her coming to a
halt and probably would have ridden Rocky right into Sunny’s yellow butt if the horse hadn’t hesitated enough for her to start paying attention.

“We’re there,” she heard from somewhere around her left thigh, and she looked down to see that Josh was already dismounted, looking up at her curiously.

“I was somewhere else,” she said apologetically.

He stepped back as she slid off Rocky’s back, then said, “He ground ties. Just drop his reins and he won’t go anywhere.”

She stared at him. “Really?”

Josh shrugged. “Well, if a dragon came, he’d probably run. But he won’t just wander off.”

“The elves would protect us from the dragon,” she said before she realized it made her sound insane. Then again, he was the one who’d brought up dragons, so how bad was it for her to counter with her own mythical creatures?

Apparently not too bad, because he just nodded. “That’d help. So as long as Rocky knows that, he won’t go anywhere.”

Apparently Sunny and Casper could also be trusted to stay put, but Josh used his lead-rope reins to tie Ember to a sturdy tree. “He’s still young and stupid,” he explained.

By the time that was taken care of, Kevin and Charlotte were out of sight. Josh didn’t seem too surprised. “There’s a bunch of little pools,” he explained. “None of them more than four or five feet deep, at the most. So don’t kick too hard or you’ll scrape your feet on the bottom. And the water’s pretty cold.” He frowned. “And we’ve got to make the ride back to the house, and then you’ll have a drive home. This is really a pretty crappy place to go swimming, especially when you’re living right next to a great lake.”

“I like it,” she protested. It felt strange to be defending the forest against the criticisms of its owner, but she charged ahead anyway. “I’ve gone swimming in pools and oceans
and lakes and rivers. But I don’t think I’ve ever gone swimming in a forest stream.”

“You’ve probably never gone swimming in a sewer, either, but that doesn’t mean it’s something you should put on your bucket list.”

“Wow. You’re determined to be grumpy about this?”

He looked at her for a moment, then shook his head. “No. Sorry.” He reached over his shoulder and grabbed the back of his T-shirt, then dragged it up and over his head in one casual, almost dismissive gesture. She supposed he must have dropped the fabric on the ground when he was done, but she didn’t really notice because she was too busy staring at his chest.

She’d never seen him shirtless before and it was frustrating that this first glimpse was only lit by the sparse moonlight filtering in through the branches overhead. Even in the dim light she could see enough to know that this torso deserved to be warmed by the most brilliant rays of the sun. She’d known Josh was fit, but he was more muscular than she’d expected, with enough definition to make a Hollywood trainer feel insecure about his job prospects. The trainer probably wouldn’t approve of the hair dusting over Josh’s chest and then trailing down in a thin line to his jeans, but Ashley found herself wanting to reach out and touch it. Well, she wanted to touch
all
of him.

He didn’t seem to notice her attention. He was moving around . . . pulling off boots and socks, she realized, and then he was unbuttoning his jeans and her mouth was suddenly dry. She looked away, strangely frantic, then let her gaze return. She felt like a virgin, apprehensive but tempted, and it made no sense that a woman of her age and experience would get this worked up over a little . . .

Oh. Not actual nudity. He was leaving his boxer briefs on. She should have known that.

He glanced over at her and she managed to tear her gaze away from his ass quickly enough that she was pretty sure
he wouldn’t have noticed. “You chickening out?” he asked gently.

“No.” Her assertion probably would have carried a bit more weight if there were any evidence she was getting ready to go swimming. But Josh was polite enough to not point that out. Instead, he turned and walked carefully toward a large rock that jutted out into the stream.

He was giving her a little privacy, she supposed, and she quickly pulled her shirt over her head, letting the cool night breeze dance along her too-warm skin. She felt stupidly shy. Josh had seen her in a bathing suit, and her underwear was no more revealing than a bikini would be. And she’d done topless scenes, too. Being half-naked on a soundstage full of virtual strangers should surely have inoculated her against any concerns related to one man and a moonlit night.

She tried to relax as she tugged off her boots and then wriggled out of her jeans. It was just swimming. Kevin and Charlotte were . . . Well, it wasn’t totally clear where they were, but probably not far. Close enough to count as chaperones, as if Ashley had any reason to need supervision. She grinned to herself. Based on past behavior, it was Josh who needed to worry about protecting his virtue, and he seemed okay with it all.

That realization helped, and she picked her way toward the water, stepping carefully in her bare feet.

Josh was already in, his hair wet and gleaming dully in the moonlight. The water came up to the middle of his chest. Too low for someone who was treading water, so he must be standing on the bottom. He was looking casually downstream; he could see her with his peripheral vision and was close enough to help if she needed it, but he wasn’t staring at her. The etiquette of underwear-swimming, she supposed.

“The rocks there are almost stairs,” he said, gesturing vaguely toward the overhanging boulder. “Easiest way to get in and out.”

She followed his advice, shivering as the cool water hit her knees, her thighs, her tummy, and finally her breasts. She was determined not to complain, but she knew she was breathing more quickly than she should be, almost gasping each breath into a chest tightened by cold.

“It takes a minute to get used to it,” he said calmly, turning to face her now that she was mostly submerged. “The cool will take the itch right out of any bug bites, though.”

“Excellent,” she said with only a slight shiver in her voice.

“You enjoying the experience so far?” he asked with a smile.

“I’m glad I’ve done it once,” she said, leaving it unsaid that she probably wouldn’t be looking for a repeat visit.

“Look up,” he said softly, and as soon as she did the cold didn’t matter anymore.

She’d never seen stars the way she saw them when she was in Vermont. The clear air combined with the lack of much light pollution to make the distant lights seem impossibly vivid. There were more of them than made any sense, and a glowing white band that made her understand how the Milky Way got its name. As she looked up from the water, the branches overhead framed the view, making it all seem more remote, and more perfect.

“Lie back,” Josh suggested quietly. “Let yourself float.”

She hesitated, then did it. She shivered as new areas of her skin were exposed to the cool water, but her feet bobbed easily toward the surface and she kept herself in place with only the slightest movement of her wrists.

When she felt the first gentle touch on her ankle, she kicked and pulled her head out of the water; Josh pulled his hand away quickly. Then he slowly, carefully brought it back. “Trust me,” he said, and she did.

He wrapped his hands around her ankles, his index finger extending halfway up her calf, and slowly guided her body farther into the pool. She didn’t understand what he was doing, really, but she let herself go with it.

It was almost startling when she felt herself caught by the current. But Josh’s hands were still firm on her ankles and as the water tried to catch her and carry her away it pushed her down toward him until her feet were braced on the middle of his chest.

It was like artificial gravity, the force of the water making her feel as if she was standing on his body, but the stars were still in front of her and that only made sense if she were lying down. For a moment her senses rebelled and she felt absolutely dizzy. Then she let go of her attempts to sort it out and just let herself feel, and it was perfect. The water was cool but his chest and hands were warm, and her ears were underwater so there were hardly any sounds, just a dull rush. Her hair tickled her shoulders and she was weightless. She felt like she was floating in space instead of in a stream, except she was anchored to Josh and he was more earthy and real than anyone else she’d ever met.

How could someone so determined to keep his own feet on the ground give her the freedom to fly?

*   *   *

IT
all felt strangely anticlimactic. Kevin and Charlotte had eventually reappeared from wherever they’d been, and Josh and Ashley had climbed out of the water and fumbled into their clothes. They’d all been quiet on the ride back to the farm, and Josh had thought about inviting them into the house for a drink but decided against it. They’d just given the horses a quick brushing and turned them out into their pasture, and then the women had climbed into their car and Kevin had climbed into his, and they’d gone.

So Josh was left alone on his porch, his underwear soggy and cold beneath his jeans. Daisy the Demon Dog stared at him like she, too, was expecting something a bit more exciting to round out the evening.

“Did I call Ember a drama queen?” Josh asked the dog.
“’Cause maybe I should have been talking about myself.” He’d been the one thinking about it like it was a done deal, a foregone conclusion that something was going to happen between him and Ashley. “She just wanted something quick and easy,” he told the dog. “And I turned that down. It’s done. It’s over.”

Daisy stared at him for a while, then stood up and trotted down to the tree line, coming back with a stick. She dropped it at his feet and when he threw it she chased it obligingly, although of course she didn’t bring it back. Demon dogs might chase things if the mood struck them, but they didn’t retrieve on command.

He stayed on the porch, watching the night, while he drank a beer and then another. He was trying to decide between going to get a third and going in to change out of his damp jeans when he saw the headlights on the driveway. Daisy came tearing in from wherever she’d been and for a moment he thought she might actually throw herself at the car, but she swerved enough to just chase alongside it, her gaze locked on the person in the driver’s seat.

Josh was looking at the exact same place. He stood up and stepped down off the porch, wishing that he’d gotten changed at some point so he’d look a bit less like someone with bladder control issues.

But when Ashley got out of the car her shirt was damp along her breasts and he knew her jeans would be clammy, too, and he decided it was good that they matched.

She stood by the door of the car, not even closing it, and she stared at him while Daisy sniffed her and then trotted off. He supposed it was up to him to say something, but he was afraid it would be the wrong thing. What words would make her get back in the car and what words would make her stay? And which of those things did he want anyway?

So he stood at the bottom of the porch, and she stood by the car, and they both stared. Finally, she shook her head as
if waking from a dream. “I didn’t want it to be over,” she said, just loudly enough for him to hear. “We don’t have anything else planned. You’re done working on the cottage, and you said only two riding lessons, and that’s totally fair. More than fair. It was really generous of you. But that meant there’s no other reason for me to see you, and I felt like . . . I felt like it wasn’t finished. Or maybe just that I don’t want it to be finished.”