Chapter Five
Although the sun hadn’t cracked the horizon quite yet, Cayden grabbed her fishing rod and walked up the path to the Scotts’ house. “I see the band is back together.” She nodded at the Winnebago.
Levi continued to pack the truck with equipment. She couldn’t tell his mood in the early morning darkness, but she had an idea.
Once he loaded his tackle box and rod, he reached for hers. Their fingers grazed at the tips. Neither pulled away from the touch. “Apparently, we need adult supervision,” he groused.
“We always did.” She whistled for the dog. Belle ran from the back of the house and Cayden opened the truck’s door. “Hey, beast,” she greeted the blue beauty. After a few good stumbles, the dog scrambled in. Cayden stepped in behind her.
“If she falls in the water, she’ll sink like a stone.” Levi got into the truck with a grunt.
“She’ll be fine, grouchy.”
Belle was originally Levi’s dog, but he worried about his parents traveling alone and made them take the pit for protection. As they drove past the main resort to the dock, Belle rested her head on Cayden’s shoulder. She petted the sweet girl’s muzzle.
It would take less than eight minutes to trek the gear up the trail, but nobody wanted the hassle. “The bugs are going to eat you alive in that.” Levi parked the truck before he gave her camouflage, green bikini cover-up an appreciative glance.
“I’m drenched in tea tree oil, I’ll be fine.” Several boats lined the dock. She followed him to the Scotts’ fishing boat. He took her hand to help in her while Belle made a jump for it.
Once they got settled, he started the motor and steered them to the middle of the lake. Cayden cast her line first, then put her earbuds in from her phone. After a good ten-song shuffle on Pandora, Levi nudged her leg.
“You got one,” he grunted.
She opened her eyes to the full rays of sun and braced her rod to reel the carp in without fanfare. “How long was I out?”
“It’s 11:00.” Reaching for his beer, Levi took a long swig.
“Did you bring enough for the class?”
A lopsided smirk graced his lips. “I didn’t know you would be coming.” He drank a little more to taunt her.
“Levi…”
“You know the rule. It’s B.Y.O.B around these parts.” This time he took a good long drink while staring at her.
Anger reared up at his pettiness. Mad about his parents and who knew what else, she would be damned if he took it out on her. She quickly swiped at the bottle, but he managed to dodge her attempts.
“You’re going to flip us,” he warned. As she crawled over to his side of the boat, Levi grabbed her waist to stop her. “I swear, Cayden—” Before she could change direction, he brought his head down and captured her lips.
When he moved his mouth against hers, the taste of beer touched the tip of her tongue. It wasn’t the first time they kissed. However, Cayden didn’t expect the rush of heat that instantly warmed her body.
Nor did she count on the shock of coolness once he stopped. Levi’s blue eyes darkened. The realization he broke his own rule to never touch her again probably just occurred to him. She took the bottle of beer she filched from his hand and drank the rest. “Remember this when you have to clean the fish.”
Whomever caught the most got off scot free, so Cayden made sure she always beat Levi and never got bogged down with that disgusting task.
“One of the ranch hands posted your picture to some Rich America site.” He held out his phone.
“Ponies!” she cried at the whimsical creatures on his screen.
“That’s all you have to say about it?”
“Mutha-fucking ponies.” Cayden winked with a smile and grabbed her reel before she sat back down.
“Once again, you’re missing the point.”
Weight beneath the water tugged on her line. She struggled with the fish but managed to pull the rock bass from the water. Harder to control due to its size, it took her a minute. “I’m sure we booked out the resort after that picture posted,” she huffed, out of breath.
“In other words, you don’t mind people thinking you’re a spoiled brat?” He brought another beer out of the cooler while peering at her through heavy lids.
“Why?” she asked. “You do.”