His mouth was moving as he went on and on about how she’d illegally moored last night, blah, blah, blah…
What he didn’t know couldn’t hurt him, but the truth was, she’d been illegally moored several nights in a row now. The first night she’d stayed in a quiet cove, but she’d been awakened at four in the morning by fishermen. And five. And six…The second night she’d found what seemed like a deserted private dock. She’d learned her mistake when the moon rose and a bunch of teenagers had shown up to smoke weed.
She still had a contact high.
Last night she’d started out near the campgrounds but had left when she’d seen a bear going through the trash cans right outside the women’s restrooms. She’d ended up having to move several times throughout the night, and what she needed more than anything was eight straight hours of sleep.
“I’ll be moving any second now,” she promised. “I’m just waiting for the rest of the fam to get here.” She smiled in a way that invited him to join her.
He declined.
“It takes my sister forever to get out of the house,” she said, hoping she was coming off as charming and not as batshit crazy as she felt. “And my mom…well, let’s just say my dad’s probably going nuts right about now. You know how dads are. Everything’s on a timetable and no one listens, and then it’s one big yell-fest instead of a good time. But no worries. They’ll be here soon and we’ll get going in no time.”
He didn’t look impressed. “It’s almost dark. You can’t still be here after dark.”
“I promise,” she said, “because that would be totally and completely illegal.” She flashed another smile.
Nope, still nothing. Instead, he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Okay,” she said. “Here’s the truth. My family’s not coming.”
He gave her a duh look.
“But I have a really good reason to be here. I swear,” she said, waiting for her brain to come up with that great reason.
“It’s for the resort,” an unbearably familiar male voice said from above the dock.
She turned her head and watched as Jacob lithely leapt over the railing and landed with easy agility on the dock. She hadn’t seen him for three days, something she told herself she’d been relieved about. She’d been working her ass off during those three days, at a myriad of temp jobs, and knew he’d been doing the same because she’d had lunch with Kenna yesterday.
She and Jacob would be working together on a bunch of upcoming lake events as the resort kicked their summer season into high gear.
Jacob’s military-short hair was growing out. He’d gotten some sun too. He stood there in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt advertising the resort, his eyes hidden behind dark lenses. She pasted on a casual smile and tried not to whimper as she watched him come closer, the soft twilight casting subtle shadows and highlights that shifted across his muscles as he moved.
“Hey, Rob,” he said to the lake patrol guy. “Been a long time.”
To Sophie’s utter shock, Rob-of-the-absolutely-zero-personality smiled widely and enthusiastically pumped Jacob’s hand.
“Heard you were back, Kincaid. Causing a big old stir in town, man. People can’t wait to see you.”
Jacob nodded easily, but Sophie could see past the calm facade. That news didn’t make him happy.
Not that she cared. “If this little reunion is over,” she said, “maybe we could get back to the issue here, which is that I don’t deserve a damn ticket because—” Well, actually, she didn’t have a because.
But as it turned out, she didn’t need one.
“You’re not going to get a ticket,” Jacob said.
She turned to him. “How do you know? You don’t work for lake patrol, remember?”
Jacob turned to Rob. “You heard that we’re taking over North Beach for some upcoming events?”
“Yeah,” Rob said. “Everyone’s looking forward to them.”
Jacob smiled. “Nice. Sophie’s on our staff.”
“Gotcha,” Rob said. “You’ll need to get her a lake pass if you’re going to keep her moored overnight anywhere other than a private dock.”
“We’ve got a private dock secured,” Jacob said, and pointed to the line of cabins and private docks to the far right—of which his was the first one. And then the two of them continued to speak casually for another few minutes while Sophie stared at Jacob.
He’d lied to that lake patrol guy for her…
After a minute she realized he was staring at her back and that Rob had left. She opened her mouth, but he shook his head and boarded The Little Lucas. Then, casual as you please, he moved to the controls, started the engine, and motored them out of the boat ramp area.
“What the hell?” she asked, the forward motion of the boat forcing her to sit in the chair next to him or fall over.