The Buckhorn Brothers Box Set: Sawyer\Morgan\Gabe\Jordan (52 page)

“What are you so happy about, Gabe?”

Uh oh. He glanced at Sawyer, saw his smirk and concentrated on drinking his tea. Sawyer knew without a doubt that he wouldn’t even consider telling Honey to mind her own business. By virtue of being female, she was due all the respect his brothers didn’t warrant. He just naturally tempered himself around women—well, all but Red. She seemed to bring out the oddest reactions from him. Damned if he wasn’t looking forward to seeing her again.

What would she look like in a bikini?

“There he goes, grinning again.”

“Actually,” Gabe said, ignoring his brother, “I was just thinking of a woman.” That was true enough, and not at all uncommon. In fact, Honey gave him a fond look of indulgence, patted his shoulder, then went to her husband’s side. Sawyer sure was a lucky cuss. Honey was a sexy little woman—not that he thought of her that way, her being in the family and all. But he wasn’t blind. She was a real looker, and best of all, she loved his brother to distraction.

Sawyer gave a grievous sigh. “He’s in lust again. Just look at him.”

That drew Gabe up short. Lust? Hell, no, he didn’t feel lust for Little Red. Amusement maybe, because she was unaccountably funny with her freckles and her red corkscrew curls that hung all the way down to her fanny.

And frustration, because she simply had no idea how to accept no for an answer and she trussed herself up in those schoolmarm clothes, to the point a guy couldn’t even tell what he was seeing.

Maybe even annoyance, because her stubbornness rivaled his brother Morgan’s, and that was saying a mouthful. But not lust.

He grunted, earning an odd look from Sawyer.

His invitation for a swim was simply his way of keeping the upper hand. And thinking that, he said to Sawyer, “If a funny little red-haired woman tries to talk to you about me, don’t tell her a damn thing, okay?”

Sawyer and Honey blinked at him in confusion, but he didn’t bother to explain. He hurried off. Knowing Red, if he was too late, she’d give up on him and go home. She wasn’t the type of woman who’d wait around, letting a guy think she’d be happy to see him when he did show up. No, Red would probably get her back all stiff and go off asking questions of every available body in the area.

And he really didn’t want anyone filling her head with that nonsense about heroes. Best that he talked to her himself. And that was another reason he’d engineered the date. No, take that back. Not a date. An appointment. Yeah, that sounded better. He’d arranged an appointment so that at least she’d get her stupid story straight.

Hell, he had plenty of reasons for seeing her again, and none of them were about lust.

He did wonder what she’d look like in a bikini, though.

* * *

S
HE WAS STILL
in full armor.

Gabe frowned as he climbed out of his car and started down the hill. Judging by the color of that long braid hanging almost to the dock, the woman with her back to him was one Miss Elizabeth Parks. And she wasn’t wearing a bikini. He consoled himself with the fact that at least she was waiting for him. There was a certain amount of masculine satisfaction in that.

The second he stepped on the dock, she turned her head. He noticed then that she was sitting cross-legged instead of dangling her feet in the water. She had her shoes and frilly little white socks on. Socks in this heat? He stopped and frowned at her. “Where’s your swimsuit?”

She frowned right back. “I have it on under my dress. Surely you didn’t think I’d drive here in it? And you’re late.”

She turned away and with her elbows on her knees, propped her chin on a fist and stared at the lake.

Gabe surveyed her stiff back and slowly approached. He wasn’t quite sure what to expect of her, so he said carefully, “I’m glad you waited.”

With a snort, she answered, “You made it a part of the deal. If I want to ask you one measly question, I had to be here.” She waved a dismissive hand. “I figured you’d show up sooner or later.”

Not exactly the response he’d hoped for. In fact, she’d taken all the fun out of finding her still here. “Well, skin out of those clothes then, so we can get in. It’s hot enough to send a lizard running for shade. That water’s going to feel good.”

She didn’t look at all convinced. Peering at him with one eye scrunched against the sunshine and her small pointed nose wrinkled, she said, “The thing is, I’m not at all keen on doing that.”

“What?”

“The swimsuit thing. I’ve never had much reason to swim, and this boat dock is pretty crowded….”

“You want privacy?” Now why did that idea intrigue him? But it was a good idea, not because he’d be alone with her. No, that had nothing to do with it. But that way, if she asked her dumb hero question, no one else would be around to contradict him.

He liked that idea. “We can take a fishing boat back to a cove. No one’s there, at least, not close. There might be a few fishermen trolling by, or the occasional skier, but they won’t get near enough to shore to look you over too good.” He gave her a crooked grin. “Your modesty will be preserved.”
Except from me.

Her face colored. “It’s not that I think I’d draw much attention, you understand. It’s just not something I’m used to.”

With the way she managed to cover herself from shins to throat, he didn’t doubt it. “No problem. The cove is real peaceful. I swim there all the time. Come on.” He reached down a hand for her, trying not to look as excited as he suddenly felt. “Do you know how to swim?”

She ignored his hand and lumbered to her feet, dusting off her bottom as she did so. “Not really.”

Rather than let her get to him, he dropped his hand and pretended it didn’t matter. But he couldn’t recall ever having such a thing happen in his entire life, and he knew right then and there he didn’t like it worth a damn. “Then you’ll need a flotation belt. There’s some in the boat. You got a towel?”

“My stuff is there.” She pointed to the shore where a large colorful beach towel, a floppy brimmed hat and a pair of round, blue-lens sunglasses had been tossed. Next to the pile was her infamous notepad, which made him frown.

Gabe had his towel slung around his neck, his mirrored glasses already in place and his hat on backward. He carried a stocked cooler in his free hand. “Let’s go.”

He led her to a small metal fishing boat, then despite her efforts to step around him, helped her inside. The boat swayed, and she nearly lost her balance. She would have fallen overboard if he hadn’t held on to her.

He managed not to smirk.

He tossed her stuff in to her, then said, “Take a seat up front and put on a belt. If you fall in, it’ll keep you from drowning until I can fish you out.”

“Like you did the carp?”

Her teasing smile made his stomach tighten. “Naw, I kissed the fish and threw him back in for luck.” He glanced at her, then added, “I wouldn’t do that to you.”

Her owl-eyed expression showed her confusion. Let her wonder if he meant he wouldn’t kiss her or he wouldn’t throw her back. Maybe keeping her guessing would take some of the edge off her cockiness. He hid his satisfaction as he stepped into the boat and tilted the motor into the water. He braced his feet apart, gave the rip cord a tug, and the small trolling motor hummed to life.

After seating himself comfortably, he said, “We won’t break any speed records, but the ride’ll be smooth.”

“Is this your boat?”

“Naw. Belongs to Rosemary. But she lets me use it whenever I want.”

“Because you do work around the dock for her?”

Tendrils of hair escaped her long thick braid and whipped into her face. She held them back with one hand while she watched him. The dress she wore was made like a tent—no shape at all. From what he could see, it pulled on over her head, without a button or zipper or tie anywhere to be found. The neck was rounded and edged with lace, and the sleeves were barely there. But at least it was a softer material, something kind of like a T-shirt, and a pale yellow that complemented her red hair and bright blue eyes.

Gabe pulled himself away from that distraction and reminded himself that lust had nothing to do with his motivation today. He smiled at her. “Is that your question?”

“What?”

“Your one allotted question. You want to know about me working at the boat dock?”

Her frown was fierce. “Just making conversation.”

“Uh-huh. You know what I think? I think you figured you’d sneak a whole bunch of questions in on me and I wouldn’t notice.”

She bit her lips and looked away. Gabe couldn’t help but laugh out loud, it was so obvious she’d been caught. Damn, but she was a surprise. She sat there with her little feet pressed primly together—those damn lacy ankle socks somehow looking kind of sexy all of a sudden—while her snowy white sneakers got damp with the water in the bottom of the boat. Her hands were clasped together in her lap, holding onto her big floppy hat, her eyes squinted against the wind and sun. Her freckles were even more noticeable out here on the lake. She wasn’t exactly what you’d call a pretty woman, certainly not a bombshell like Sawyer’s Honey or Morgan’s Misty. But there was definitely something about her….

“Where are we going?”

She sat facing him in the boat, so he pointed behind her to where the land stretched out and the only living things in sight were a few cows grazing along the shoreline. The man-made lake was long and narrow, shaped a lot like a river with vacation cabins squeezed into tight rows along both sides. Several little fingers of water stretched out to form small coves here and there, only a few of which were still owned by farmers and hadn’t been taken over by developers. The land Gabe lived on with his brothers had a cove like that, a narrow extension of the main lake, almost entirely cut off from the boating traffic since it was so shallow. But it made for great swimming and fishing, which was what the brothers used it for.

Though they didn’t have any cows there, it was peaceful and natural and they loved it, refusing to sell no matter how many times they were asked and regardless of the offer. They jointly owned a lot of property, and in two spots runoff from the main lake had formed a smaller lake and a pond. Gabe intended to build a house on that site some day.

“We’re going
there?
” Lizzy asked, interrupting his thoughts. She sounded horrified.

Gabe bobbed an eyebrow. “It’s real private.”

“Are the cows friendly?”

“Most bovines are. You just don’t want to walk behind them.”

“They kick?”

She sounded appalled again, so he had to really struggle to keep from laughing. “Nope. But you have to be real careful where you step.”

“Oh.”

Slowing the motor, Gabe let the boat glide forward until they’d rounded the cove and nudged as far inside as possible. Someone in years past had installed a floating dock, but it had definitely seen better days. It tended to list to one side, with three corners out of the water and one corner under, covered by moss. But at least it was a good six feet square and didn’t sink if you climbed on it.

Gabe threw a rope around a metal cleat on the side of the dock. It was strange, but his heart was already pounding like mad—he had no idea why—and he had to force himself to speak calmly.

He looked at her, saw her shy, averted gaze and felt the wild thrum of excitement. He swallowed hard. “This is as far as we get, so you can skin out of that dress now.”

She peeked at him, then away. “Why don’t you go ahead and get in, then I’ll…inch my way in?”

“Have you ever driven a boat?”

“No.”

“Do you know how to start it?”

She glanced dubiously at the pull start for the motor, then shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

He nodded. “So at least I know you’re not plotting on getting me overboard then taking off.”

Her eyes widened. “I wouldn’t do that.” She chewed her lip, looking undecided, then admitted, “It’s just that I hadn’t figured on how to go about stripping off my clothes out here in the open.”

“With me and the cows watching?”

“Right.”

He could have offered a few suggestions, but that would be crass. Besides, he was afraid his suggestions would offend her. Likely they would.

Oh, hell, he knew damn good and well they would.

“All right. I’ll turn my back. But don’t take too long. You can put your folded things on the cooler so they won’t get wet.” Before he could change his mind, he turned his back, stepped on a seat and dove in. He heard her squeal as the small boat rocked wildly.

The water was shallow, so he made the dive straight out, and seconds later his head broke the water. He could easily stand, so he waded to the dock, keeping his head averted, then rested his folded arms over the edge of the aged wood. He could hear her undressing.

“The water feels great.” His voice shook, damn it.

“It’s…green.”

He cleared his throat. “Because of the moss.” She probably had her shoes off already, and those ridiculous, frilly, feminine little socks that looked like they’d come from a fetish catalogue, though he doubted she knew it. He pictured her wearing those socks—and nothing else. The picture was vague because he had no idea what the hell her body looked like, but the thought still excited him. Dumb.

Did she only have on the dress, or was she wearing other stuff over her suit? He cleared his throat and mustered his control. “Aren’t you done yet?”

“Well…yeah.”

His head snapped around, and he stared. She stood there, pale slender arms folded over her middle, long legs pressed together, shoulders squared as if in challenge. And her suit wasn’t a bikini, not that it mattered one little bit.

“Damn, woman.” The words were a choked whisper, hot and touched with awe. It felt like his eyes bugged out of his head.

She shifted nervously, uncrossing and recrossing her arms, taking her weight from one foot to the other, making the supple muscles in her calves and thighs move seductively.

Gabe had no idea if she blushed or not because he couldn’t get his gaze off her body and onto her face.

The one-piece suit was simple, a pale lime green, and it covered enough skin to make a grandma happy. But what it left uncovered…