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There wasn’t a speck of concern in his reply. Just humor. “I hate to doubt a lady, but I am a little curious about how you plan on calling your big bad sheriff brother-in-law. Because if my eyes didn’t deceive me—and they rarely do when I’m truly focused on something—you aren’t carrying a cellphone.”
Most women would be a little intimidated about now. It was dark. He was a stranger. She was alone . . . and naked. But Liberty wasn’t most women. She had a drawer of first-place ribbons in both the breaststroke and the hundred-yard dash. She knew she could outswim and outrun this cocky man with both hands tied behind her back.
She stared him down. “I don’t need a cellphone when I was voted loudest cheerleader ever to grace the halls of Wilder High. Leave now or I’ll make sure people hear me scream in the next county.”
He held up his hands, moonlight reflecting off a pair of extremely well developed biceps. “Now don’t get all riled, darlin’. I’m not here to cause any trouble. I heard how pretty Cooper Springs is and had to see it for myself.” He lowered his hands and continued to tread. “I also heard that this property no longer belongs to the Holidays. And I’m assuming you’re a Holiday.”
Damn, the townsfolk of Wilder. They never had known when to keep their big mouths shut. “Yes, I’m a Holiday and you’ve heard wrong. Possession is nine-tenths of the law. And as long as my family is still living on this ranch, these springs are ours.”
“That’s not quite how the law works, but I’m not here to argue over who does and does not own these springs.” He glanced around. “There seems to be plenty of space for two insomniacs to enjoy a late-night swim. I’m Jesse Cates, by the way. A mediocre rodeo roper and a restless wanderlust.”
“So, basically, you’re a rodeo bum.”
His teeth flashed. “Pretty much. And you are?” When she started to answer, he cut her off. “No, wait. Let me guess. You’re one of the infamous Holiday sisters. Since I heard Sweetheart and Clover are married and you don’t seem to have a husband in tow, I’m going to say you’re either Liberty, Belle, Halloween, or Noelle. Since I also heard that Belle and Liberty live in Houston and Noelle in Dallas, I’m going to have to go with Halloween. Or Hallie, as I hear you prefer to be called. And I can’t very well blame you. I love the holiday, but sure wouldn’t want to be named after it.”
Liberty didn’t correct him. “It sounds like the townsfolk have been running off at the mouth.”
“What can I say? I have a way of putting people at ease. It’s my face. Red hair and freckles aren’t what you’d call threatening. If you could see it, you wouldn’t be at all worried about sharing your springs with Opie Taylor.” He pleaded, “Come on. Let me stay. I give you my word I’ll keep my distance. I just need to get rid of some pent-up energy.”
Since Liberty knew all about having too much energy, she understood his dilemma. “Fine. But get too close and I swear I’ll scream these trees down.”
Again, his smile flashed. “I believe it.” With only a slight hesitation, he dipped under the water and started to do laps. She joined him, but kept on her side of the springs.
He was a good swimmer. His strokes were strong and consistent. He easily kept ahead of her. Which made her swim faster. But just as she started to pass him, he moved ahead again. It wasn’t a race, but it sure as hell felt like one. Liberty wasn’t about to let him beat her or outlast her. Even though her lungs burned and her muscles had started to cramp, she swam like she was swimming for the gold. But every time she started to pull ahead, he caught up. She got the distinct feeling he was toying with her.
Which really annoyed her.
At the opposite shore, she stopped swimming and came up for air. He went only a few strokes farther before he too stopped. During the swim, they had gotten closer. Liberty realized it had more to do with her than with him. He had stayed on his side, while she had been the one who had edged over in his lane. This close, his shoulders looked even broader and his biceps even bigger. It was still too dark to see his features clearly, but she could tell he was handsome with a strong jaw and that cocky smile.
“I won,” he said in his thick east Texas drawl.
“I wasn’t racing,” she lied.
“Sure you weren’t.”
It annoyed her that he read her so easily. “I wasn’t. If I had been, you wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“Then let’s go again.” She started to decline, but he added, “Unless you’re not up for the challenge.”
Even though her lungs still burned and her muscles felt like they had been wrung through her great-grandmother’s antique washing machine, Liberty had never been able to ignore a challenge. “Oh, I’m up for it. But a challenge isn’t a challenge without a reward. Twenty bucks says I’ll beat that cocky grin off your face. Unless that’s too much for a rodeo bum.”
The cocky grin got even bigger. “Actually, I was thinking more of a hundred.”
She snorted. “As if you have a hundred.”
He stared back at her, his eyes dark and intense. “In the pocket of my jeans lying right over there by that tree, darlin’.”
She hadn’t really given much thought to what he had on under the water. Knowing he was probably as naked as she was made a tingle of sexual awareness settle in the pit of her stomach. She tried not to notice the way water droplets clung to his naked shoulders or the way the muscles in those shoulders flexed as he treaded.
“Fine,” she said. “A hundred it is.”
“And you have a hundred with you?”
“Well, no. But I’m good for it.”
“I’m not saying you aren’t a woman of your word, but you can’t bet something you don’t have. I have a hundred so I can bet a hundred. What do you have?”
“I don’t usually bring money with me when I go for midnight swims.”
