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“I mean it, Spence. I don’t want you here.”
“You just think you don’t.” He pulled off his pants, tossed them aside, and stood in front of her. His hairy belly hung over white boxers, pasty legs protruding beneath.
“Spence, I don’t like this.”
“You brought it on yourself, Miz Meg. If you’d gone to Dallas with me like I wanted yesterday, we could have had this discussion on my plane.” He dove in. The splash hit her in the eyes. She blinked, and within seconds, he’d surfaced beside her, his hair plastered to his head, rivulets of water running through his blue-black beard. “What’s the real problem, Meg? You think I won’t take care of you?”
“I don’t want you to take care of me.” She didn’t know if he intended to rape her or if he merely wanted to make her submit to his authority. She only knew she had to get away, but as she backed toward the riverbank, his arm shot out and he grabbed her wrist. “Come here.”
“Let me go.”
His thumbs dug into her upper arms. He was strong, and he lifted her off the rocky bottom, exposing her breasts. She saw his lips coming toward her, those big square teeth aiming for her mouth.
“Meg!”
A figure shot out of the trees. Slim, dark-haired, dressed in hip-hugging shorts and a retro Haight-Ashbury T-shirt.
“Haley!” Meg cried.
Spence jumped back as if he’d been hit. Haley came closer, then stopped. She hugged herself, crossing her arms over her chest and clutching her elbows, unsure what to do next.
Meg didn’t know why she’d shown up, but she’d never been so glad to see anyone. Spence’s heavy, drawn eyebrows jutted ominously over his small eyes. Meg made herself look at him. “Spence was just leaving, weren’t you, Spence?”
The fury in his expression told her that their love affair was over. By puncturing his ego, she’d moved to the top of his enemies list.
He pulled himself out of the water. His white briefs clung to his buttocks, and she looked away. Haley stood frozen in the shade, and he didn’t spare her a glance as he jerked on his pants and shoved his feet into his shoes without his socks. “You think you got the best of me, but you haven’t.” His voice was almost a growl as he snatched up his shirt. “Nothing happened here, and don’t either of you try to say otherwise.”
He disappeared up the path.
Meg’s teeth were chattering, and her knees had locked so she couldn’t move.
Haley finally found her tongue. “I’ve—I’ve got to go.”
“Not yet. Help me out. I’m a little shaky.”
Haley came toward the bank. “You shouldn’t swim here by yourself.”
“Believe me, I won’t be doing it again. It was stupid.” A sharp stone bit into the ball of her foot, and she winced. “Here, give me your hand.”
With Haley’s help, she made it up onto the riverbank. She was dripping and naked except for her panties, and her teeth wouldn’t stop chattering. She grabbed the towel she’d brought with her and sank down onto the sun-heated rock. “I don’t know what I’d have done if you hadn’t shown up.”
Haley looked toward the path. “Are you going to call the police?”
“Do you really think anybody wants to take Spence on right now?”
Haley rubbed her elbow. “What about Ted? Are you going to tell him?”
Meg imagined the consequences of doing just that and didn’t like what she saw. But she also wasn’t keeping this to herself. She rubbed her hair with the towel, then balled it up. “I’ll call in sick at work for the next few days and make sure Spence can’t find me. But as soon as that bastard’s down payment is in the bank, I’m telling Ted exactly what happened. A few other people, too. They need to know how ruthless Spence can be.” She clutched the towel. “For now, keep it to yourself, okay?”
“I wonder what Spence would have done if I hadn’t shown up?”
“I don’t want to think about it.” Meg grabbed her T-shirt from the ground and pulled it on, but she couldn’t make herself touch the bra he’d held. “I don’t know what stroke of luck brought you here today, but I sure am glad. What did you want?”
Haley twitched, as if the question startled her. “I was— I don’t know.” Color flooded her face beneath her makeup. “I was driving, and I thought you might want to . . . go get burgers or something.”
Meg’s hands stalled on the hem of her T-shirt. “Everybody knows I’m staying at Skeet’s. How did you find me here?”
“What difference does it make?” She spun around and headed for the path.
