Page 56 of Protect Me
A flash of color streaked by my right side, then ended in a squeal and a hearty splash. Astonished, I registered that Kate had run past me and thrown herself into the water, cannon-ball style, seconds after the water splashed my cheeks. She stood, cackling hysterically, and my throat tightened.
Quiet, mousy Kate wore a pair of athletic shorts and a sports bra. Her hair cluttered around her face, wet and tousled.
So much lovely skin.
Heart hammering, I shuffled into the water, grateful for the hidden escape my aviators provided. Damn, but I hadn’t thought this out. Alone with Kate, who sparkled like a star, with so much of her body I’d want to touch.
Nope, I commanded myself.Get it back together.
She dropped back into the water, taking to it like a fish. With a gleeful sound, she swam deeper. It dropped off not far from this gentle entrance, and soon she tread water. Nothing but green trees and blue skies joined us. Shallow waters gave way to cooler depths as the muddy bottom disappeared, but the chill refreshed against a bold sun.
“Hey, guppy,” I called. “Wait for the slow poke.”
Kate laughed and slicked hair out of her eyes. “I loved swimming in the lake with Vini and Appa.”
I really laughed then. “Appa and his hairy chest. The man could swim forever with so much hair making him buoyant.”
She giggled, and the shared memory warmed me as much as the sunshine. I leaned back, letting the summer heat tilt across my neck.
“Thanks, Vik.” Her smile stretched so far her eyes crinkled. “I’d forgotten about this place. It makes me feel like your parents are here, and we’re kids again. We made so many great memories.”
“Like the time Vini tried to jump from a tree into the water and broke her ankle?”
She laughed. “You had to carry her out on your back.”
“She screamed in my ear the whole time,” I muttered.
“Or Appa forgot to pack up the food, and a bear came in the night. Amma was so angry.” Another peal of laughter joined the first. “She never let him live it down.”
“Vini slept through Amma shrieking when the bear nosed her tent.” I snorted. “She always slept like the dead.”
Kate twirled through the water, like a sprite brought back to life. With neat wake lines soaring out from either side, she cut across the lake, toward a fallen tree. Moss dotted the water-darkened top.
I followed like a helpless puppy.
The morning passed in a quiet lake adventure, without another soul to be seen except Kate. She drew tiny miracles to her. Speckles of moss that floated on top in the shape of a dragon. Peeping baby birds in a nest. A quiet fawn on the far side of the lake that didn’t startle when Kate watched it, curious as a kitten.
She quietly grabbed my arm and pressed a finger to her lips. Not far away, a dragonfly hovered over the water, then sped off. The far reach of Tempest Lake drew a mother moose and her calf in, then back into the weeds after they drank. Nature warbled lazily around us, quiet, messy, and calm. A new side of Kate—an open, unafraid side—sprawled with glittering array.
Vini had been right.
Adulthood had ushered her into the world a totally different, stronger version of herself. I couldn’t help my rapture over such a transformation. The urge to form a glass bubble around us, keep us in this moment forever, crept over me as the minutes ticked by.
Hours later, she sat cross-legged on a blanket. Her shirt was damp where her wet bra touched it, her hair loose and drying around her ears. She popped a grape into her mouth and peered into the trees thoughtfully.
“It’s been so long,” she murmured.
I sprawled next to her on my side, toying with a piece of long-stemmed grass. Seeds gathered on the ends, jingling together. “Since what?”
“Since . . . nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“I haven’t just donenothingin awhile. Not in a way that felt so . . .”
“Safe?”
Her brow cocked, then she nodded. I hadn’t meant to supply the word, but couldn’t stop it once it was out. For Kate, the word had to feel loaded, fragile. The utter peace of her expression gave her away.
