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They slowed when they reached the barnyard, but there was no sign of Copper there or under the trees surrounding the old farmhouse. As they jogged past, she let out the two-toned whistle she used to call Copper—but the dog didn’t appear. Which was extra worrisome, because his recall was really good. He was the definition of a Velcro-dog: he always kept her in his line of sight, he always checked back in with her, he always came when called.
“Heath, what’s going on?” He was already running again, headed into a gully. At the bottom, between willow trees that obscured the full view, a flowing creek sparkled—a siren call to an overheated dog on a hot day.
“The current gets strong down there, before it feeds into the swimming hole. And after the storm—” Heath pressed even faster, and she couldn’t keep up.
“Copper!” She whistled again, her chest tightening as she did. If anything happened to Copper... She couldn’t let herself even think it. “Copper, come!”
When she finally hit the pebbled and coarsely sanded bank of the creek, Heath was already there, doubled over and heaving, but holding onto the collar of her happily wagging dog.
“Oh, thank God.” Lena’s knees buckled and she dropped to the sand, only to be rushed by a wet and sandy Copper, who went straight for her face, offering kisses. “You had me so worried, buddy!”
“I’m sorry.” Heath’s words came between still-heavy breaths. “I… I panicked.”
Away from the shallows, towards the middle of the creek where the water ran a deep blue-green, the current rushed. “No. If he’d gotten out into that—” She released Copper from the death-grip hug she’d locked him in, just enough to point. “If anything had happened to him—he’s all I’ve got.” She swallowed hard, trying to get control of her emotions. She was all over the place.
Heath sank to the beach beside her and ruffed Copper’s scruff. “You had us worried, mate.”
Mate.
The familiarity made something inside her go warm and melty, and then Copper licked Heath’s forearm. The man smiled—actually smiled, the first true smile she’d seen out of him, aside from when she’d been dying laughing over the suitcase incident. Then he’d looked half-embarrassed, half-amused. This was a different kind of smile.
“He only licks people he likes.” She could have sworn Heath’s cheeks coloured, before he pushed himself upright. She couldn’t remember Copper ever licking Zach, even though Zach had been the one to give him to her. Of course, he’d barely been around to watch the puppy grow into a dog, but in the months before he’d left, Zach had always treated Copper like an afterthought.Kind of like he did with me.
Heath turned back to her. “You still want to go to the swimming hole?”
“After that sprint? Heck yes I do.”
Lena couldn’t helpbut stare when Heath stripped off his shirt and kicked off his shoes the instant they pushed through the willows. The man was powerfully built, his shoulders and arms contoured with well-defined muscles. She’d noticed the night before, of course, when he’d answered the door shirtless. But he’d been intimidating then. Now he was… something else. She wanted to run her finger along the curves of his tattoo and the swells of his muscles. Which… woah. Was not an appropriate thought to be having.
Without even waiting for her, he clambered onto one of the boulders that lined the edges of the deep pool.
The sun played across his tattoo, and for the first time she saw the puckered skin the swirls of tribal designs hid. A nasty scar.
A prickle of awareness made her glance up and Heath met her gaze. He’d caught her looking.
A split second later, he plunged into the water.
Copper dashed from where he’d been sitting at her side into the shallows, staring intently at the spot where Heath had disappeared. After a second, he let out a sharp bark, then another.
Heath popped up for air with a head toss that flipped his slightly too-long hair away from his face, and Copper went silent. “Welcome to Rock Pool.”
The place, with its rough granite boulders marking the bank, made her think of Miner’s Hole, Carissa’s favourite spot on the river in her hometown back in California, and she had to resist the urge to pull out her phone to check for a message. Instead, she peeled off her own shirt, grateful she’d changed into her bathing suit before they’d left the house, even as her every nerve prickled with the awareness that she was being watched.
When she looked up, Heath’s heated gaze was heavy on her— until he raked his eyes upward and met hers. The instant he realised she’d caught him staring, it was like he’d been burned. He whipped away with a splash and swam for one of the boulders jutting out of the deep water.
From the bank, Copper barked until Heath hoisted himself up onto the rock, showing off those shoulders and biceps as he did. Maybe it wasn’t intentional, but she hoped it was. Either way, she liked the show. It was nice to allow herself to feel attracted to someone after being alone for eight months.
As soon as Heath was out of the water and settled onto the rock, he called to her. “You coming in?”
“Of course!” She toed off her shoes and that was when she realised she’d been waiting for him to be looking before she shimmied out of her shorts. She was crushing hard. Or transferring her pent-up feelings for Zach onto the nearest available man. She didn’t know. She wasn’t sure she wanted to. Rather than spiral into an over-analysis of her wildly inappropriate feelings, she scrambled to the top of the same rock Heath had jumped from.
“You sure it’s safe?”
“Absolutely.” He was so serious, so earnest.
“Okay. I’m trusting you.” After that, she didn’t hesitate. She took the plunge.
8
