Page 4 of A Rancher's Heart
The star of her floor show stepped to the edge of the rocks and paused long enough for Tamara to take a final, sweet mental snapshot. In appreciation of the human form, like anyone in the medical field would have—
As the man threw himself silently into the water, a bitter taste hit her tongue. She wasn’t part of the medical community anymore.
Fired. Out of a job, and what’s worse, her nursing certification had been revoked. One well-meant but slightly illegal decision years ago, and it was all over. Illegal, not immoral, she reminded herself. Even knowing the consequences, she’d do it again in a flash.
She watched her current mood-booster take strong strokes across the pool, headed toward the waterfall, as she considered what had really gotten her into the mess. Her impulsive nature, yes. And being too interested in other people’s business. She didn’tthinkshe was a busybody, and she always meant well.
Only whenmeaning wellwent bad, it soured over everyone. Bottom-line, she needed to change her habits. And this was as good a time as any, considering Heart Falls was a clean slate, and all.
Tamara leaned against the rock behind her, hands resting on her knees. She’d been told about the lookout by her cousin’s fiancée, Dare, who used to live in the area. The same friend who’d gotten her the job she was about to start.
The trip to Heart Falls passed quicker than expected, and it was too early to show up at the ranch. From what her friend had told her about the lookout, it had sounded like the perfect place to pause for a finalget her head on straightopportunity.
I will change, she swore.No matter how tempted she was to act impulsively in the future, she needed to—
Down in the pool, the swimming man had lasted longer than Tamara expected. Hypothermia wasn’t something to fool around with, and the water had to be bitterly cold.
He was headed for the rocks, and she breathed a sigh of relief as he placed a hand on an outcropping and pulled himself up.
Her sigh turned into a gasp, and she shot to her feet as the man fell backwards and disappeared beneath the surface. She hesitated for a couple of seconds before heading farther down the path, one eye on her footing and the other on the water surface.
He didn’t come up.
By the time she got to the bottom of the trail, Tamara was full-out sprinting, racing around the perimeter of the pool to the rocks he’d originally jumped off. She peered into the water, but couldn’t see anything.
Swear words echoed in her head as panic tried to take control.
There. Oh my God,there—the hazy shape of an arm.
Tamara shouted for help as loudly as she could as she stepped out of her runners. She dropped her glasses on top of them then took a deep breath, moving to the edge of the rocks.
No hesitation. She threw herself off.
Icy-cold water compressed her chest in a vise. Her face went numb, bare skin tingling as if she were being chewed on by millions of tiny fish with razor-sharp teeth. Panic hovered.
Had she been worried about hypothermia? Forget that—someone would cut their bodies from the ice years from now like preserved wooly mammoths.
She peered around quickly, grateful she’d landed close enough to her target to see him. She snatched at the nearby limb, wrapping her fingers around a thick, solid calf, ready to pull him to safety.
The foot shot out of her grasp straight toward her, connecting with her gut and hip hard enough all the air she’d been holding escaped in a sudden rush. An instant later, stars formed in front of her eyes.
Her only goal was to get to the surface as quickly as possible, but her arms wouldn’t move. The only thing keeping her from dragging in a lungful of water was she’d been winded hard enoughnothingseemed to work.
The stars were fading from bright white points to dark black holes before she summoned every remaining bit of strength, kicking frantically toward the shimmering surface of the water.
Her head broke free. She hauled in a breath through the pain. Gasping sounds echoed in her ears even as other noises registered. Someone else was coughing and sputtering.
Tamara twisted to the right to discover her missing man had made it to the surface. Thank God. She was gratefulandcautious. Panicky stranger close by in the water? Not what she wanted to deal with when she could barely breathe herself.
She lay back and floated, keeping a watchful eye on the dark-haired blur. He was far enough away she could fend him off if he headed her way and tried to take her down.
It hurt to take a deep enough breath to speak. “You okay?” she forced out shakily.
A string of growled curses mixed with spitting and sputtering floated back to her.
Well, then.
Maybe he was embarrassed at having to be saved, but it was too cold to stay in the pool and deal with the jackass. She headed toward the shore where it would be an easy walk out of the water instead of a climb. No way was she attempting that rock face without her glasses.
