Perfectly Able (2 page)

I practiced my breathing technique and my stroke, as my hands sliced through the water
. I knew that it would be much different during an actual triathlon because I would be surrounded by other swimmers. After several minutes, I slowed, allowing myself the luxury of catching my breath and scanning the coastline to see how far I’d gone.

I turned around and forged ahead
, back toward the cabin.

As I approached the shore, I spotted her
. Standing on the back deck in her jeans and sexy, red tank, she shielded her eyes from the sun and leaned against the railing, scanning the water in my direction.

I hadn’
t planned on an audience, and I frowned, aggravated with my sister for putting me in this predicament in the first place.

Water sluiced down my body
as I walked toward the shore, taking deep breaths. Standing in two feet of water, I leaned over and propped my hands on my knees, allowing myself a few moments of rest. Fish nibbled at my toes, and I started moving again, making my way to my towel and flip flops on the edge of the shoreline.

I slid my feet into my flip flops and toweled my hair dry, leaving it in disarray
. My fingers pushed through the short strands, and then, I dried my torso and arms, flipped the towel over my shoulder, and made my way back to the cabin.

She watched as I approached the steps that led to the deck.

“Are you hungry?” she asked, pulling her hair up into a ponytail and fastening it in place.

“Maybe
a little bit. You?”

She nodded.

“Let me rest a few minutes, and I’ll fire up the grill. Do you eat hot dogs?”

She nodded again
. “I’ll get everything ready.”  And before I could respond, she had disappeared into the house.

I plopped down at the picnic table, my body facing away from the tabletop
. Gazing at the lake, I noted the tranquility as water pooled at my feet. I was aggravated at Kelsey and Brandy for ruining the week that I had dedicated to training and organizing my game plan, so that I could succeed at the triathlon. Planning was an essential part of meeting my goals. Looking at Ava all week wouldn’t be difficult, but that had both good and bad consequences. It was obviously good because what guy didn’t enjoy looking at a beautiful female. It was bad because I had a very specific purpose for coming this week, and it had nothing to do with women.

Standing, I kicked my flip flops off and crossed the deck, the freshly-stained planks of wood warm against the soles of my feet
. I uncovered the grill and ignited it.

A few minutes later, Ava reappeared with
everything necessary for our meal.

“I can cook them if you want,” she offered, brushing a loose tendril of hair from her face
. I caught myself watching the gentle movements of her fingers.

I forced my eyes to the grill
. “I got it.”  I set the plate on the side shelf of the grill and placed the wienies over the fire.

She watched me silently, wringing her hands
. Then she said softly, “I’m really sorry about pulling my gun on you.”

I gazed at her. “No harm done. I’ll let my sister carry the blame for that one.”

“We don’t have to eat together if you don’t want to,” she said.

I may not have planned on company this week, but I wasn’t a total ass
. “I definitely think we should eat together. I mean we did just wrestle each other. We should be able to make it through a meal with no problem.”

A hint of a smile crossed her lips, and I had the distinct feeling that she was relieved.

“Besides, how am I gonna hear you compliment my mad grilling skills if we aren’t eating together?”  I winked at her, hoping to smooth things over in case I’d sent her the message that I didn’t want to be here with her.

“
So you’re the Grill Master?”

“I’ve mastered several skills
. Grilling just happens to be one of them.”

Her eyelashes fanned across her cheek as she coyly shifted her line of vision from me to the deck boards around
our feet.

I turned my a
ttention to the grill, using a fork to turn the wienies. “So you know I have a little sister, and I know you have at least one sister. Any more siblings?”

“
I have two sisters. Daisy’s the youngest. She’s eighteen, and she just graduated from high school. London’s in college, and she’s twenty. Do you have other siblings?”

“Luckily, no. You see how much trouble Kelsey is. I’m not sure I’d survive another sibling.”

With the smell of the grill wafting through the air, I turned off the gas and removed the wienies. “Hot dogs are served.”  I carried the plate to the picnic table, where Ava had arranged the drinks and the condiments.

I loaded two hot dogs with all the trimmings and sat across the table from her
. “So what do you do, Ava?”

She squeezed a thin line of mustard down the middl
e of her hot dog. “I’m a real estate agent.”

“So if I wanted to buy a house, you could help me out?”

“Yes.”

Her eyes lifted to mine, and
I noticed they were the color of blue topaz. She wore no makeup, but with her natural beauty, she didn’t need any, and I imagined that if she had worn makeup, I wouldn’t have noticed the smattering of faint freckles that dusted her nose, which for some unknown reason, I found hot as hell.

“Good
,” I said, concentrating on our conversation, “because once I cross
complete a triathlon
off my list, the next item is
buy a house
.”

Her lips weren’t quite as plump as I usually liked them, but they were shapely and I found myself staring. She puckered them into a frown and pointed at me.
“You have a list?” she asked, her eyebrows arched in question.

“Doesn’t everybody?”

She laughed in disbelief. “No. Most people our age don’t know what they’re gonna eat for supper, much less when they’re gonna
complete a triathlon
or
buy a house
.”

“Well, most people do have some kind of goals
. I just write mine on a list and keep them in my wallet, so I can look at them every day.”

“I would’ve never imagined you as a list-maker.”
  She took a bite of her hot dog.

“And why’s that?” I asked as my curiosity piqued.

She swallowed. “I guess because I would picture a list-maker with a pocket protector and glasses.”  Her gaze fell to my bare chest.

“Now how do you know I don’t own a pocket protector?”

“Do you?”

“No.”

The corners of her mouth tilted up. “There’re some things a girl just knows.” She looked me in the eyes. “So why
do
you keep a list?”

“Because
a lot of successful people write their goals down and look at them every day.”  I tapped my temple with my fingertip. “It keeps you on track by keeping the things that you want to accomplish in your mind.”

“Ah,” she said, grinning as she took another bite of hot dog.

“Go ahead. Laugh,” I taunted. She hadn’t been the first woman to make wisecracks about my lists, but I didn’t care.

“I’m not laughing,” she countered.

“But you
are
smiling,” I accused.

She lowered her gaze to her hot dog
. “Yes, but it’s because I’m….”

“Because you’re what?
  Amused?  Humored?”  I watched her, waiting for her response.

Shyly, she lifted her eyes to mine
. “Impressed.”

Impressed?  Hell, now
she had me totally off-guard. I was used to my girlfriends thinking it was some kind of an odd quirk, kind of like my acute aversion to liars. And maybe it was, but….

“I would say that you, Ridge Sutherland, will live life to the fullest
. You won’t spend one minute wishing you’d done anything differently because you know what you want, and you’re going for it. That’s impressive.”

I was flabbergasted
. I ran my palm across my chest as I stared at Ava Nottingham. She had just amazed the hell out of me. “Damn, a woman who gets it.”

A smile broke across her face, reaching the depths of her azure eyes
. Looking at me thoughtfully, she asked, “So what else is on your list?”

“
Just the usual stuff. It’s anything that I’m determined to accomplish, any goal or activity, like buying a house. I really do need a real estate agent soon.”

“Let me know when you’re ready, and I’ll hook you up.”

I held my hand across the table. “It’s a deal.”

She slipped her hand in mine, and we shook on it.

We fell into a comfortable silence, and after we had finished eating, Ava stood up and said, “You’re right. You do have mad grilling skills. I really liked your wienie.”  Her face turned bright red, and then she collapsed back down on the bench and facepalmed. “No, I did not just say that,” she whispered to herself.

I laughed
. “Don’t worry. I don’t kiss and tell.”

She groaned
. “I am so embarrassed.”

“Don’t be.”
  I shifted the conversation in hopes of easing her discomfort. “I’m already wearing my swimming trunks. Why don’t you put on your bathing suit and go for a swim with me?”

She froze
. “Uh, n-no,” she sputtered. “I need to clean up this mess.”

“I’ll help you clean up
. Then we can go for a swim. You did bring a swimsuit, didn’t you?”

“I did, but I think I’m just gonna catch up on some reading tonight
. Thanks, anyway.”

I stood and put the condiments back in the plastic bag
, while she closed up the remaining hot dog buns.

“You can go ahead.
”  She motioned toward the lake. “I’ll get this.”

“No, it’s okay
. I’ll help.”

“I got it, Rid
ge. You should go ahead and swim.”

I watched her, wondering if this was one of those times when a wom
an just wanted to be left alone. Finally deciding that it must be, I released the bag of condiments. “Okay.”

When I reached the lake, I waded out waist-deep and dove in, my body gliding along just beneath the surface
. I kicked powerfully, propelling myself rapidly.

I replayed our conversation over in my
head, hoping I hadn’t somehow offended Ava. Failing to come up with anything, I decided that it was the fickle ways of women and brushed it from my mind. I had a triathlon to complete, so I swam harder, concentrating on my goal.

I returned to the cabin a half hour later and found Ava sitting in a chaise lounge on the deck reading a book
. Her jean-clad legs were crossed at the ankle, and from the bottom of her tennis shoes, her feet appeared small, at least in comparison to my own.

“How was your swim?” she asked as I sat at the picnic table.

“Awesome. How’s your book?”

“It sucks.”

“It does?”

She nodded, her
sky-blue eyes peering at me over the top of the book. “The main character’s boyfriend just died.”

“Ouch
. Succumbed to a disease?  Injured in a car wreck?  Devoured by a man-eating shark?”

“She killed him.”

“That’s not good.”

“Actually, that’s the good part
. He was an ass.”

“Then why did you say it sucked?”

“Because she got caught.”

I chuckled
, thinking maybe I should thank London for taking the bullets. “Remind me not to piss you off this week.”  I scanned the scenery. “There’re way too many places here to dispose of a body.”

She lowered the book to her lap
, shooting me a mischievous grin. “It’s good for a man to feel a little fear.”

“Should I sleep with my door locked tonight?”

Her smile widened. “You should sleep with your door locked every night.”

“I’ll add that to my list.”

Her laughter tinkled through the late summer air.

I toweled off my chest and arms, and I could feel
her watch me. When I looked at her, she quickly diverted her attention back to her book.

“So why did you come here this week?” I asked,
sliding my body around and sitting down backwards at the picnic table, so that I could towel off my legs.

“I don’t know
. To meditate, I guess. Think about things, about life, about what I want.”

“Did you just break up with your boyfriend or something?”

She sat up a little straighter and stared at me. “Why would you say that?”

“I don’t know
. You’re a beautiful girl who’s secluded herself in the middle of nowhere and who’s fantasizing about killing off men.”