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“You’re blushing.”
“I am not.”
“You are.” She put her hands on her hips, her elbows jutting out.
“I don’tblush.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be some sort of notorious ladies’ man?” she said, tilting her head.
“Am I?”
Josie shrugged with that stupid, adorable grin still on her face. “I maybe looked you up before you got here.”
“I’m that interesting, huh?”
“I wanted to get to know the guy I’d be working with.”
“I think we know each other pretty well by now,” Sawyer said. He hadn’t realized he’d been moving, one foot in front of the other, till he was standing right in front of Josie, just inches apart, looking down at her. There was that tension again, rearing its head, like an invisible string pulled tight between them. Josie stepped back, almost reluctantly breaking the spell, and waded into the creek, dipping under the water and sluicing the hair back off her face.
Sawyer let out a breath with all of the force of an archer’s arrow and, after stripping down to just his boxers, followed her in. The creek wasn’t particularly deep, not enough to go diving about in the depths, but it was plenty deep enough to lay backagainst some sun-warmed stones and let the cool water run over his aching muscles. Josie switched around from lying back and relaxing to wandering up and down the creek, inspecting rocks she thought were pretty or looking for frogs.
Sawyer watched her as she went about her adventures, lost in her own world as she made a pile of pretty stones on the bank of the creek that she wanted to keep. Joyful, that was the word for her. Everyone could be happy, everyone could be sad, but it was a rare sort of person who found joy in the smallest things like creeks and stones and frogs, no matter what else they were feeling. It was refreshing being around someone like that, more refreshing than a dip in a cold creek on a hot day.
It had been a long time since Sawyer had been able to just stop, sit back and relax. But here he was, not thinking about all that much except the feeling of the water on his skin. It had been even longer since he’d thought about thegoodparts of growing up here, this creek being one of them, his own special hiding place. He tended not to think about his childhood too much because even thinking about the good things always led back to the day his mom died, to the grief and confusion that followed, to school where the only place he’d even halfway belonged was the football field… But right now, none of that came. It was only the good memories, the fresh air and a spitfire ranch hand splashing about nearby that came to mind.
Eventually, though, the sun started to dip, and it was a fair trek back to the house even with Josie’s truck waiting for them, so they forced themselves out of the creek and halfway back to reality. With no towels to dry off with, they sat on the bank and let themselves drip dry under the still-baking sun. Sawyer was happy to stay there as long as possible, reluctant to get back to the house and the real world attached to it.
For once, Josie was quiet as they sat there, looking almost pensive as she watched the water trickle by, the sunlight still dancing across its surface. Sawyer had seen her snarky and moody before, tired and fed up, but he hadn’t seen her like this.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked.
She didn’t answer him at first, and he didn’t push her to. It was clear she was thinking deeply about something. Sawyer was overcome with the urge to know every thought that went through her brain, to know every nook and cranny of her mind, to know every part of her.
“I was thinking…” she said, sounding almost reluctant to say it out loud. “I was thinking that I’m sad.”
Sawyer frowned. That definitely hadn’t been what he’d wanted to hear.
“I didn’t upset you, did I?” he asked, mentally scanning backwards in time trying to pinpoint if he’d done something. That earned him a smile — Josie’s ability to smile so warmly even when she was sad amazed him — and she shook her head.
“No, you didn’t do anything. I’m just sad that the ranch is up for sale. That we’re going to lose all of this.”
She nodded at the creek, but Sawyer knew it wasn’t just that…
“You really love the whole place, don’t you?” he asked, voice soft to match hers.
She nodded. “Me and my folks aren’t exactly close. I spent more time here than at home towards the end of high school, and then they were like, you’re eighteen now! Time to fend for yourself, and that was pretty much that. Your dad gave me a job even when he didn’t exactly have a lot of money to hire someoneon. Luke said you send back money all the time, and I should probably be thanking you because I think that’s one of the only reasons I’ve been able to keep a job here for so long.”
She scratched at her knee absentmindedly while Sawyer felt his heart break a little bit. He wanted to scoop her up and never let her go. He wanted to make sure that she never had worries about money or if she was going to have a roof over her head. He wanted to give her the world.
“I can get another job,” Josie said, still picking at her knee. “Or get more hours at the diner, maybe both. I’ll figure something out. I always do. But it’s still sad, you know? There’s something special about this place. At least I think so.”
“I think you’re right,” Sawyer said and was surprised that he meant it. No matter how far he had run, how long it had been since he’d set foot here, she was right. It was special. How could he sit here on a warm bank with crystal clear water running past him, acres of land surrounding them and so many memories baked into the foundations of the place and claim that it was anything but special?
“Only a few more things to cross off the repair list,” Josie said, crunching the dry grass under her bare toes, unable to stop fidgeting if her life depended on it. She sounded even sadder, as if Sawyer was one more thing that she was about to lose.
“Maybe I should stick around longer than planned.” The words surprised him more than they seemed to surprise Josie. This morning he’d been vowing to himself not to get involved with her, that he was going back to Houston as soon as possible… So why had his brain spit out that he was thinking of staying longer? And why was it a relief to say it?
She just looked at him, long and hard, that piercing gaze she had pinning him to the spot. It was then that Sawyer gave up trying to pretend that he could ever stay away from her.
