CHAPTER FOUR

 

 

Cait laughed out loud as she chased Archie’s wake towards the north side of the lake. His jet ski was going full-throttle, since there weren’t any other craft around, and she was having an awesome time jumping the waves he was creating.

The sun was beating down on her shoulders, the cool water of River’s End Lake was dotting her legs, and she was testing her abilities. Her spirit was soaring, so why shouldn’t she laugh out loud? This, this, was pure joy.

Yesterday’s UTV lesson had lasted until lunchtime, when they’d headed for the Kafé sweaty and covered in dust. It hadn’t been an ideal eating situation, but for some reason, with Archie, Cait hadn’t cared. Maybe it was because he didn’t seem to care what she looked like, or how dirty they both were. Either way, it had ended up being a thoroughly relaxing meal, where they discussed the mechanics of various UTVs, and some of the tricks she’d seen done with them.

If lunch had been surprising, then the day had been even more surprising. Archie was good. He was a wonderful student; intent and eager to learn. He tried a technique again and again until he got it right…until even Cait herself was impressed at his devotion. He wanted to master this skill, and that was amazing to watch.

But this morning, when she’d showed up to pick him up for another day of lessons, she’d caught his slight grimace. Maybe he’d worn himself out the day before…or maybe he liked to switch things up as much as she did.

“Unless you’d rather try something else for the day, and go back to the trails tomorrow?” she’d suggested.

His eyes had lit up. “What else do you have around here?”

That’s when she suggested jet skis, thinking she’d have to teach him how to use them too. But he’d surprised her yet again by knowing not only how to ride one, but some tricks she’d never seen.

Yeah, she was enjoying jet skiing with Archie St. John. She told herself it had nothing to do with how amazing his rear end looked in those swim trunks, or the way his bare chest had that sprinkling of brown hair over those amazing pecs…but she suspected she was lying to herself.

The best part was that he’d left off his colored contact lenses. It was probably because he didn’t want to lose them in the water, but a part of Cait wondered if her words from yesterday had anything to do with his decision.

Up ahead, Archie—it was amazing how easy it had become to think of a world-famous actor by his first name—had looped around in a shallow turn, and was heading back towards her. She jerked her handlebars to the right to hit his wake; the trick was the glide over the first set of waves, and hit the second set hard enough to launch the jet ski into the air.

It worked, and she howled with glee as she slammed her machine back into the lake.

She was still laughing as she eased off on the throttle and turned back towards him. He’d also turned, and they were heading for one another once more, but more slowly. She was pleased to see he understood safety on these things, too.

Before they reached one another, both of them took their hands off the throttle completely, dropping their machines into idle speed. Then, right as they came abreast, Cait yanked her kill switch at the same time Archie mashed the ignition button, and both jet skis turned off.

Without speaking, they both reached their left hands towards one another, and clasped forearms. The simple way to catch and hold the machines steady pulled the jet skis towards one another, and again, they moved in tandem without discussion, leaning away and using their left feet to keep the machines from slamming into one another.

Impressed how coordinated they were, despite having only known each other one day, Cait looked up to see him smiling just as hugely as her. Anyone watching them might’ve assumed them to be old friends, at how well they worked together.

Old friends…or maybe more?

The thought flustered Cait, and although she didn’t stop smiling, she did loosen her grip on his arm. He did too, but didn’t drop it completely; her hand dropped into his, and he held it, so their jet skis were very slowly rotating around their clasped hands, out there in the middle of the lake.

In the sudden silence, Cait was sure he’d be able to hear her heart pounding. Not just from the excitement, or the sight of his bare chest sparkling with drops of water, but the feel of his hand in hers.

“So!” she blurted out, desperate to draw attention elsewhere. “Where’d you learn to ride like that?”

His smile grew. “Clapped Out.”

She hadn’t expected an answer like that. “What?”

As she watched, his entire demeanor changed. He slouched on the saddle, his free hand lying limply, palm up on his opposite knee. His shoulders slumped, but his hips were cocked, along with his chin. Between one blink and the next, he went from being a well-built fighter in the prime of his life, to being a surly teenager.

“I was like, playing Caleb Nutter, yeah? He’d been working in his dad’s shop, but what he really wanted to do was like, race bikes. Dirt bikes, yeah? And no one thought he was worth a thing, so he had to show ‘em all. So, like, I had to, like, learn the skills, ya know? Skills to pay the bills.”

Cait couldn’t help it; she burst out laughing. It was remarkable how he’d been able to not only nail the body language and tones of this character, but even the eye movements and facial expressions. The person she was holding hands with wasn’t Archie St. John anymore, he was a kid who was willing to claw his way up the charts to be the best.

“And jet skis came into this…where?” she managed in between her giggles.

He blinked, and just like that, became Archie again, sitting up straighter and moving his shoulders into a different position. He smiled slightly, and she liked that she could tell, even behind his beard.

“My trainer started me on jet skis, to learn the motion and the movements and the art of leaning. Because they hurt less when I fell off.”

She had to laugh again at that. “I’ll bet they did!”

It was hard to make herself drop his hand, but she did it knowing if she didn’t do it now, she wouldn’t be able to. Running her hand across her thick hair, she smirked at him. “And now you’re pretty good at it, huh?”

He shrugged modestly. “I work at things until I’m as good as my character would be, if possible.”

Yeah, he’d shown that yesterday. It was amazing how he was able to become so many different people so quickly.

“Well, Mr. Hollywood, I’ll race you back to the boat house!”

Without even acknowledging her challenge, Archie pressed his ignition button and surged away from her, making a tight turn back towards the far shore as she fumbled to replace her kill switch. His laughter floated back with his wake as she gunned the throttle to catch up.

A huge smile on her face as she raced to beat him, Cait was struck with a thought:

Life would never be boring with Archie St. John.

 

 

Archie didn’t think he’d laughed so often in his life. Being around Cait just made him want to smile, to chuckle, to laugh, and wasn’t that an odd response? He’d been around plenty of funny people—he’d been funny people—and Cait wasn’t particularly funny. It’s just…she made him happy. Made his chest feel lighter, somehow.

It was weird, but he liked it.

They’d stayed in their bathing suits after their fun on the lake, because Cait had mentioned the hot tub at the Aquatics Center, and he’d perked up.

“Is it big enough for two?” he asked.

She chuckled. “It’s big enough for twenty. Most of the cabins around on the property have their own hot tubs, but we added this one to entice athletes to the center.” A sigh, not entirely wistful. “Since the spa over at Quinn Valley opened up, most of the athletes have been heading up there, because the waters and natural springs really are incredible. Ours are fake, but still nice.”

He didn’t like to see her doing anything besides smiling, so he grabbed her hand. “Lead on, dear Cait!” he exclaimed, unconsciously slipping back into what Mum had called his theater voice, loud and British.

It worked; she smiled again. “You’re not going to start quoting Shakespeare at me, are you?”

“Why, Cait!” he continued in the same voice. “Never say you’re familiar with that classic, Taming of the Shrew!”

“Hey!” She bumped her shoulder against his as they walked. “I might look like an outdoor goddess, but I can read.”

“Indeed,” he murmured, glancing over at her appreciatively.

She blushed, her cheeks darkening further, and his smile grew.

“So, my outdoor goddess,” he teased, “Where’d you learn to ride jet skis like that?”

When she shrugged, he realized they were still holding hands, and didn’t that feel natural? How odd, that it could feel natural to hold a woman’s hand when he barely knew her. Oh well, he was trying to remedy that.

“I told you I don’t like doing the same thing every day, right? So I’ve got a bunch of jobs at the ranch, but I end up doing a lot of work in the Aquatics Program in the summer. Lifeguarding, swim coach when Joey isn’t available, river rafting, kayaking, canoe instructor… You name it, I’ve done it.”

It was nice to stroll across the ranch, hand-in-hand, their t-shirts thrown over their shoulders and their flip-flops slapping against the path. Archie let himself breathe in the fresh air—so different from LA!—and tilted his head back slightly to catch all of the sun’s rays.

“And how about the UTV driving?”

“That’s not as in-demand as ATVs, but I lead tours in both. In the last year in particular, there’s been a rise in Bigfoot sightings around the ranch, so most often I’m ferrying a bunch of camera-toting tourists up the mountain to look for him.”

“Have any of them caught a photo?”

He could hear the smile in her voice when she replied, “Not yet.”

“Hmm. And where’d you learn to drive like you did yesterday, Ms. Outdoor Goddess?”

“Hermann, Missouri,” she replied promptly.

The unexpected answer dragged him to a halt, and his brows drew in. “What?”

A teasing glint in her mismatched eyes told him she’d gotten the result she’d wanted. “Along the Missouri River there’s a cabin on a bluff that once belonged to Garland Boone, Daniel Boone’s nephew. It’s still habitable, if you can believe it, thanks to the property’s owner.” She began to swing their locked hands back and forth slightly, but didn’t break the contact. “Dad’s a big history buff, so he weaseled an invite to check it out…and it turned out the guy who owns the cabin—nice guy—also owns a huge chunk of the area. He gave us a tour of it on a UTV, then he let me drive…and I was hooked.”

“Wow.” Archie couldn’t help his impressed whistle. “That’s quite the story. You’ve traveled a lot, then?”

“Forty-eight contiguous states and Alaska!” she replied promptly, then tugged him into movement again. When they were strolling once more, she continued. “Do you know how tough it is to drive from Idaho to Maine? With two middle-schoolers in the backseat?”

Oh yeah, she’d mentioned she had a brother only a year older. What had his name been…?

“Did Patrick enjoy it as much as you—wait! Patrick? Petruchio and Katherina? No wonder you knew Taming of the Shrew!”

She laughed again, bold and free and appealing. “Guilty as charged. Mom was an English professor, and she owns the bookstore in Quinn Valley. She made us read all the comedies, but that’s the only one I remember, because of our names.”

He was halfway through the unconscious movement of lifting her hand to kiss her fingers, when he realized what he was doing and turned it into an extra-large swing instead. Although it had felt natural, it was entirely too soon to think about kissing her hand…or any other part of her.

Wasn’t it?

“But no, Ricky didn’t like travel as much as I did. Dad and I went together to Alaska just two years ago.”

“Any interest in Hawaii?”

She shrugged. “Eventually. But for now I’m focused on Central America.”

“Really?” This woman just kept surprising him. “That’s remarkably specific. Can I assume you’ve got a plan already?”

“You know it!” she said, laughing. “And thanks to your little sojourn on the ranch, I’ll be able to get started this winter.”

“Wait.” He pulled her to a stop again, serious all of a sudden. For some reason, he didn’t like the idea of her gallivanting away. He wanted her where he could find her again.

Which was weird.

He was frowning when he asked, “What do you mean, ‘thanks to me’?”

She shrugged again, apparently not bothered by his frown. “A year ago my brother helped me buy a Toyota Tacoma with only a few thousand miles on it. I’ve been saving up for a while to be able to turn it into a hardcore overlanding vehicle. You know, one of those trucks with the cab for living and supplies or tools, plus the water tank, extra fuel tank, larger tires, better suspension, raised air intake, specialized jack, the winch on the front… Once I’ve got ten thousand in my saving account, I’m going to have his garage start on the upgrades. I might be able to head out as soon as next spring!”

“To Mexico?”

“Through Mexico. I eventually want to hit Africa, but I figured I’d start small, and head for the Panama Canal. Dad said he’d fly down there to cruise through it with me.”

“And he’s okay with you going on this—this adventure by yourself?”

“Sure.” She flashed that too-wide smile again. “Life’s an adventure, remember?” She sighed happily, and pulled him into motion once more. “Just imagine, every day waking up in a new place. Imagine seeing Belize! Or Madagascar. Or—or—man, any of the amazing places in this world!”

As they approached the Aquatics Center, he realized he was feeling a little…jealous? No, that wasn’t it. He frowned as he tried to figure out why his chest was so tight. It wasn’t that he disapproved of her going off to see the world, it was…it was that the idea of her doing it alone bothered him. No, not alone…he was bothered that she didn’t want to see it with him.

His frown grew. He barely knew the woman! But he couldn’t deny the powerful urge to be the one to show her the amazing sights she wanted to see.

“Well,” he mused out loud, “I guess I’m glad I could help in some way.”

“Oh, you are,” she said, apparently not noticing his introspection. “The rate I’m being paid these two weeks means I’m that much closer to finally achieving my dream.”

“Won’t you miss the ranch, and your family?”

When she shrugged again, her arm jerked his, and he found himself holding her hand even tighter.

“I rarely go home as it is, but I chat with them every day. As I told my best friend just the other day, I can still call home, no matter where I am. Luckily, Dad understands my drive to see the world. To climb trees in the rainforest, to hike up a sand dune on the Skeleton Coast, to dive near the Great Barrier Reef.” She sighed happily.

He swallowed down whatever this weird feeling was, and focused on her happiness as she spoke about her dream.

“Do you scuba dive, too?”

“Not yet!” She flashed that too-wide smile. “But I’ll learn!”

As he held the door open for her, he thought of a way to encourage her. “I had to learn for Nisshin Maru. I was Pierce Chappell, an undercover reporter hoping to expose a whaling ring fronting as research.”

Her lovely eyes lit up as she turned to him. “Really? And of course you had to learn how to do the real thing, if you wanted to play the character.”

“Become the character,” he teased. “And yes. I did.”

She let go of his hand for the first time since their walk began, and he felt a little chill…but only for as long as it took for her to latch both her hands to his forearm and smile at him.

“Will you tell me all about it?”

His grin was genuine as he led her towards the large hot tub. “Gladly.”