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The way she described it was appealing. It was the same reason I loved fishing. But I couldn’t let her lack of concern for her safety go. “You didn’t look at the forecast?”
“I think you know I didn’t.” She paused, biting her lip. “Thank you for rescuing me.”
I had no doubt she could have gotten herself out of the river. She was scrappy and determined. Not much had changed over the years. “I’m just glad I was there.”
“Me, too.” We were quiet for a few minutes while she ate.
She must have been hungry because she cleared the platter.
When she was finished, I asked. “You want me to walk you back to your house?”
Sending her on her way was the right thing to do. Because the air between us was charged with electricity that had nothing to do with the passing storms.
Her face pinched. “Honestly? I don’t want to be alone.”
I should tell her I did, but as her unsteady gaze met mine, I couldn’t. I wanted to spend more time with the girl I used to know and learn more about the woman she’d become.
CHAPTER2
Riley
Isat on the edge of Easton’s couch, gripping the water bottle, my heart pounding in my chest. I didn’t want to be stuck in my grandfather’s house during a storm. I didn’t want to be alone with the memories. I couldn’t do it.
I went out on the water to escape, and for a little while, I felt free. No responsibilities. No memories to confront. I focused on balancing my feet on the board and easing the dull ache between my shoulder blades as I paddled with the current.
As a single mother, I rarely got a chance to go out on a paddleboard anymore. It was a rare treat.
The other thing I’d never admit to Easton was that I wanted to talk to him.
Whenever I visited my grandparents’ home as a child, I looked forward to seeing him. To going on whatever adventure he’d planned for us that day.
It was easy and fun. There were no expectations. I could get as dirty as I wanted to. Whatever we found, toads, crickets, or worms, stayed at Easton’s house.
Easton studied my face for a few seconds before he said, “You can stay.”
I relaxed until the thunder rumbled again, louder than before.
“Sounds like another storm is rolling in.”
There, in Easton’s house, I felt safe. The rain pounded on the roof, the fire hissed and crackled in the hearth, and his presence steadied me.
At home, my daughter filled in all the empty spaces. But alone in my grandfather’s house, I was bombarded with memories of him. It wasn’t a place I wanted to be right then. I wanted to lose myself in something or even someone else. And maybe the man in front of me was the one I should do that with.
With my daughter, Maddy, at home, I didn’t indulge in one-night stands or many dates. Her father lived in Baltimore, but he didn’t see her on any set schedule. Maybe a couple of weeks in the summer and every few weekends during the school year. I was her sole caregiver. And with that, came responsibilities.
That weekend I was supposed to be cleaning out the house while my brother, Logan, and his wife, Ashley, watched her.
Watching the light of the fire dance over Easton’s face, my heart picked up for a different reason. I was very aware of Easton as a man. The way he’d easily hauled me out of the water and set me carefully on the deck. He was almost desperate to get me inside, to warm me up.
He’d been worried about me. He’d given me clothes and food. When was the last time someone had taken care of me?
It had been far too long, and I liked it way too much.
I looked away from him to the rough water. “I can’t believe I was out there in this.”
The wind had kicked up right as the sun was setting. By the time I’d tried to make it back, it was too late. The thing that saved me was the wind pushing me into the side of Easton’s pier. I liked to think I could have pulled myself out of the water, but I wasn’t so sure. I was exhausted from paddling most of the afternoon. I would be eternally grateful that Easton saw me. That he pulled me out.
The storm was intensifying, the lighting and thunder close together. The trees swayed in the wind. The rain pelted the back wall of the windows.
