I was still internally seething from the obnoxious conversation I had just had with my father over the phone. We hadn’t necessarily had a blowout fight, but I was still left reeling from it and the annoyance had been high enough for me to hang up on him.

I never hung up on my father. Guilt began to gnaw at me, but I tried to suppress it. I sat on the edge of the dock, clutching the sides of my head. I rubbed my aching temples. My father sure knew exactly how to get a rise out of me.

I just needed a minute or so to regroup, and then I could plant myself back into the action of the surrounding wildlife. I would be able to shift my concentration as soon as I allowed myself to calm down a notch or two.

“He doesn’t even know what he’s talking about,” I huffed to myself under my breath. “Neither one of them do. They just want what will make them happy. Screw what I want. That’s always been their mentality. Why should now be any different?”

I knew I sounded bitter, and honestly, I was really feeling the depth of my dad’s shallowness as it hit me like a ton of bricks. How dare he try to trick me into coming home in order to be set up again with another dull man that I would inevitably have no interest in? How dare he use my love of art against me? They were self-proclaimed match makers, and frankly, I was sick and tired of being a pawn in their little games. It was no wonder that Brian moved halfway across the country to play out his man whore shenanigans in the sunny state of Florida. Becoming a lady-whore wasn’t even in my plans, but if I wanted to live a stress-free life, I had to get my parents off my back the same way Brian did. I just wasn’t bold enough or stupid enough to marry anything that had a dick and a huge net worth.

If it didn’t work out the first time, then why would my parents even want to stay on my case and keep pursing what they visualized as the perfect man for me? When were they ever going to realize that it was my life, and they couldn’t control my emotions no matter how hard they tried?

All the questions swirling around in my head were moot. It was a lost cause to even meander over the prospective idea that my parents would ever leave me alone and give me the space to live my own life according to my own plan.

I appreciated the simplicity of blending in with nature and being captivated by a flock of geese playing on the water. Was that really so terrible? It wasn’t like I was going out and selling drugs or anything.

I still had a wholesome personality. I wished my parents could see through their materialistic veils and realize that there was more to life than how much money you had or how much stuff you had in your house.

I took a deep breath and groaned as I stood up. I couldn’t sit here all day and have a pity party for myself. The sun was warm on my back, but the gentle breeze kept me cool. It was a perfect day.

The clouds were starting to break apart like giant puzzle pieces in the sky. The sun was playing hide and seek. We all could use a little extra vitamin D in our lives, in my opinion.

“I’m just going to forget that conversation even happened,” I said to myself as I untangled myself from the rope of my camera bag. “Yep.” I nodded assertively, needing the extra encouragement to convince myself. “I’m going to get on with the rest of my day and ignore the helicopter parenting that my parents still want to give me.”

I pulled out my camera and wiped it down with the protective cleaner cloth inside the bag. I heard the friendly caw of the dove again, humming somewhere off in the distance. Animal’s made better companions than people. I chuckled at the thought. At least they didn’t argue with you.

The flock of geese had moved along, so I decided I would try to get some decent shots of the lake itself with the mountains cascading in fiery reds and oranges in the background. I leaned down again, attempting to angle the shot just how I wanted it.

I was meticulous if not a perfectionist when it came to executing my shots just right. The landscape took care of the rest, but I had to make sure the scene was set to my own standards.

“That’s not great,” I mumbled as I shifted my weight, closed one eye and opened the other into the viewfinder of my lens. “Better…”

I planted myself flat down on my belly and propped my elbows up, holding onto the camera with both hands. “There we go,” I said, feeling more satisfied with the angle now that I was lined up at eye level with the dock and the lake. I was able to squeeze in more of those voluptuous mountains in the background from this view.

The surface of the water was as flat as glass. There wasn’t even a ripple anywhere that I could see. The smoothness went on forever, making the horizon seem like it went on to an infinite paradise.

“Beautiful,” I whispered and held my body extremely still.

It was time to focus in on the award-winning shot.

In the distance, I heard the light fluttering of a wind chime that was apparently dancing in the breeze. The sound tickled through my ears, but it didn’t relax me. I didn’t remember seeing any houses down this path. Who would have put a wind chime here?

Sure, I was on a dock, but there were no signs that would have pointed me in the direction of assuming that anyone had been out here in a long time. There hadn’t even been a boat hooked to the dock. The area was all but destitute, despite the magnificent views.

I glanced over my shoulder, too curious to let it go. I knew I would have to refocus my shot, but I didn’t mind. I had that prickly feeling on the back of my neck, like I couldn’t prevent myself from turning around and looking behind me.

Much to my relief, I was still alone. I breathed out a sigh, but I still had that feeling as if someone was watching me that I couldn’t shake.

“Hello?” I asked of the wind, but there was no return answer, only the continued breeze that grazed against my cheek.

I shrugged and turned back around, shifting my energy back to the shot. “There we go,” I said.

This time, it didn’t take me as long to secure the right angle. The scene was perfect. I was ready to click the lens. The shutter made a little snapping sound as I took a few shots. I was happy with the results as I looked at them on the screen, but I knew I needed more wildlife. I used my zoom as makeshift binoculars, trying to find a deer or squirrel or anything on the embankment on the other side.

The animals out here in the wild did a fantastic job of keeping themselves camouflaged. Everything seemed to blend into together on the ground in one simplistic earthen hue. I pointed my camera back to the water’s edge.

I was still flat on my belly. My legs were in a straight line behind me, and my elbows were still propped up against the edge of the wooden deck, now warming hotter in the evasive sun. I was in my element. I was in a zone of concentration.

That was, until I heard the sound of a male voice behind me.

“Excuse me,” the man said. His voice was neither friendly nor aggressive. It was flat and even toned.

I jumped up and nearly dropped my camera. I was so startled I couldn’t even see straight. How could I not have heard him walking up behind me? It was scary to realize how close he had approached without me realizing that he was there.

“I’m sorry.” I pushed my hair behind my ears. I felt the flush of embarrassment heat my cheeks. I knew I was probably blushing an uncomplimentary shade of crimson right about now. I stepped aside. “Am I in your way…?”

I trailed off as I peered up into a set of very familiar eyes. Those beautiful, mysterious gray eyes. When they stared at you, it was as if you felt the window to your soul opening and you could just be yourself without any strings attached.

I remembered eyes just like that. They had belonged to a man who had made me feel safe and secure when I was with him, but it had been so long since I had seen him. A number of years had gone by. Now, he was like a phantom in my memory, a ghost of my past that I didn’t know how to dig up or re-explore.

But…the man standing in front of me looked so familiar.

I felt my jaw slacken. It hung there, gaping open as a reflection of my pure astonishment at who I saw standing there across from me on the small dock. I couldn’t move or react in any capacity at first.

The man had a rugged beard that added to his mountain man type of charm. He was wearing a plaid shirt and faded jeans. He was staring at me curiously, inspecting me through those smoky eyes. He looked suave and appealing.

His dark blond hair was trimmed short and tousled a little on the top. He was the epitome of masculinity and he looked completely sexy standing there.

I blinked as if I were just dreaming this little scenario as it unfolded. Had I fallen and now I was passed out, alone on the dock and having a vivid imaginary encounter? I thought about pinching myself to wake up, but the scene was clear as day. This situation was really happening.

I would recognize those broad shoulders and those dreamy eyes anywhere. His lips were cherry red and curled into a perplexed, sexy grin. We were at a stalemate. Neither one of us flinched or made a move in each other’s directions.

I suddenly felt dizzy. I was clumsy as it was, so I felt like I had to clutch onto something for support. My camera felt heavy in my hands. I swayed backwards, but I miscalculated my steps. I reached for the beam on the dock, but in vain. My hands fumbled into the open air, not able to grab onto anything tangible.

“Blake?” I called out in a quizzical voice.

His eyes widened in surprise, probably because I had known his name.

After that, everything happened so fast. Before I knew it, gravity was pulling me down, but at the same time, I felt weightless. I slipped off the side of the dock and tumbled backwards. Gravity took me down and I landed with a splash into the icy cold water of the lake, camera and all.