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“Oh, Amy’s not trying to make sure you are good enough for me. She gave her stamp of approval long before I’d ever met you.” Taylor’s eyes widened at how cold the water was. Her skin goose-bumped. “Wowzers, where are the ice cubes coming from?”
Jack chuckled. “This is fed from an underground spring about a mile from here and is a bit brisk when you first step in. You’ll get used to it and it’ll feel good in this heat.”
The water temperature was definitely a direct contrast to the late morning sunshine, but Jack was right in that the longer she was in the water, the more she adjusted to the temperature.
A step ahead of her, Jack stopped walking, let go of her hand, and bent down to study the water in a semi-shallow spot where the creek bed was readily visible.
“Tell me you’ve not found a snake,” she ordered, trying to see what he was looking at and not spotting anything. She took a step back, just in case.
“No, but it is possible we might see one. If we do, just don’t panic. Odds are it’ll be more scared of you than you are of him.” At her look of alarm, he grinned. “No worries, Taylor. If anything tries to bother you, I’ll rescue you.”
“Yeah, yeah, but who’s going to rescue me from you?”
He waggled his brows. “You have all the power where I’m concerned.”
“What’s that mean?”
“That whatever you say goes. That’s why I haven’t pushed this past week. Nothing will happen between us until you give the word that you’re ready.”
She was still pondering his comment when he reached down in the water and scooped up something with his hands.
Something that was alive.
“Don’t throw that at me or I may never forgive you.”
“I won’t but come and see.”
Taylor carefully made her way across the rocky creek bottom to stare into Jack’s cupped hands.
“Is that a baby lobster?”
Looking up at her, he grinned. “I take it you’ve never seen a crawdad before?”
She shook her head. “Is that what that is?”
He nodded. “Technically, it’s called a crawfish, but you won’t hear anyone around here call it that.”
“Those are claws, though, right?”
He nodded.
“Will he pinch you?”
Jack shrugged. “It’s possible but in all my years of catching crawdads I’ve yet to have it happen.”
“You’ve done this a lot?”
“Played in creeks catching minnows and crawdads? My whole life.”
“Music festivals and catching crawdads. Sounds a little idealistic, Jack.”
One corner of his mouth lifted. “At times.”
Sensing there was something more behind his half-smile, she asked, “And at others?”
He shrugged. “Nobody’s life is perfect, but I have no complaints.”
“Our childhoods couldn’t have been more different.”
