Brock crested the hill and his heart began to thud in excitement. He recognized the horses grazing below him and should have known she'd swing by here. It had just been that kind of day.

After he'd ridden home with Jackson, doing his best to dodge or ignore his probing questions, his day had only gotten better when his mother had come out to the barn looking for him. She very rarely left his father alone, even a couple weeks now after the heart attack, so he was a little shocked to see her. When she'd seen the split lips he'd been sporting, she'd gotten alarmed.

"It's nothing, Mama. I got into it a little with the CNC guys last night."

"At the bar?" she demanded.

"Yes. At the bar."

"I don't understand why you go there, Brock."

He sighed, feeling like he was eighteen again. He didn't dare tell her about sleeping it off in the drunk tank. Yes, he used to live it up a lot, but he'd matured, mostly.

Now he only went occasionally, when the stresses of the ranch got to be too much. He lived and breathed this ranch, but sometimes he had to get away from it.

And sometimes he had to be in an environment where he had someone to look at other than Jackson and the hands. Female companionship was a nice change to any man still breathing.

"I don't go very often, you know that, but sometimes I have to get off this ranch," he admitted.

His mother's concerned expression softened. "I know you do, honey. I just worry about you when you do hang out at that place."

Brock turned back to the bridle he was stitching. "So, what did you come out here for?"

His mother cocked her head. "You, know, it completely went out of my head. Oh… now I remember. We have an appointment with the heart doctor in Amarillo next Tuesday. I think your father and I might stay down there a couple of days. There's a resort that I've wanted to take him to for a long time, and now that he's cut back on the ranch work, I talked him into trying it out."

Brock straightened, tipping his hat back and grinned at her. "I can't believe you talked him into doing that. Go, Mama!"

She grinned, nodding. "It's only taken me forty years to get him to slow down." She shrugged. "I just wanted you to know. I'll make up some casseroles and there will be lunch meat, but you'll have to feed yourself for a few days. Maybe Payton can cook you a hot meal."

Brock waved a hand. "I can make do. It's not like I'm going to starve. Go and have fun. You guys deserve it."

She leaned forward and motioned him down. Brock leaned into her kiss and squeezed her shoulders. Ever since Dad’s heart attack, she'd been right there with him, every hour of the day and night. Brock had always admired his parents' relationship, but the past couple weeks had exemplified everything a marriage should be.

Maybe his restlessness stemmed from the fact that he was just plain lonely. Mom and Dad were doing well, and now Chad and Lora were moving forward with their lives as a couple. Even Emily had a significant other.

He looked toward Oasis. It was beckoning to him. Down there at the water was a woman that might make him forget his loneliness.

Knowing it was not the best of ideas, he still guided his horse down the hill to the fenced paradise. It was lush with trees and underbrush, so opposite of most of the land around them. They'd had snow this year, but not as much as usual and the rain had been non-existent, so the Oasis looked even more decadent against the dry scrub everywhere else.

Mineer snorted out a greeting as they entered the gate. Brock stripped Bravo of his tack and let the gelding go. The pasture wasn't huge but they had enough to graze on for a while.

Then, feeling like a bit of a stalker, he walked up the rise to look down on the pond.

Damn, there she was. Floating on her back with her taut, tan nippled breasts pointed to the heavens.

Brock turned away, fighting himself internally. It wasn't right to look at Payton like this. He clenched his fists and debated what to do. She hadn't seen him yet. He could walk away and she would be none the wiser.

But the perfection of her body would haunt his dreams if he left.

Remembering the taste and feel of her lips from this morning taunted him to not pass up this chance.

Fuck, when had he ever been so turned on?

Never.

Why did it have to be Payton, though?

Brock glanced down the hill. Payton was still floating, her pale skin gleaming in the bright light of midday, and the cloud of her long hair floating out behind her. Tucking his chin, he started down the hill. He'd give her a chance to spot him so she could duck under the water.

Just as he hit the pebble beach, she called out a hello. Brock waved and looked from beneath the rim of his hat. She'd sunk to the vertical, the water lapping at her chin. Color brightened her cheeks, but she didn't acknowledge that he'd probably seen her.

The fringe of trees leaning over one side of the pond offered a fair amount of shade, and concealment. Brock watched as she moved in that direction.

"Sorry to interrupt you," he said, his voice carrying easily over the water.

Payton laughed. "It's your pond. I'm the one trespassing."

"Oh, c’mon. You know this place is as much yours as anyone’s."

She smiled, the surface of the pond rippling as she treaded water. Brock wanted to see all of her again, but didn't want to make her uncomfortable. "Mind if I come in?"

Her big green eyes widened and she glanced around. "Umm… I'm not wearing much."

Feeling a little wicked, Brock shrugged negligently. "I've seen you in a bikini before. Bra and panties aren't much different."

Payton winced. "Uh… yeah… I'm not even wearing that," she admitted.

Brock paused in pulling off his boots. He'd wanted to tease her a little, but her admission that she was naked, something he already knew, sent a shaft of arousal through him. When he stripped down, she was going to get a hell of a show.

The teasing faded from his expression. He'd wanted to see her, but if it continued in this direction things were going to change between them, and he wasn't sure he was ready for that.

"If you toss me my bra and panties I'll put them on," she offered.

That seemed like a good compromise. If she was covered, he'd be all right. Right?

Brock followed the line of her finger as she pointed him in the direction of her clothes. There they were, folded nice and neat. Hell, even her bra and panties were folded. He tried not to look at them as he pulled them from the pile, but it was hard not to notice the little scrap of lace that must be her bottoms. The delicate fabric caught on his rough fingers. The bra seemed sturdier but still not especially big.

Against his volition, his body began to harden. It was just a bra. And a tiny little barely there piece of lace. Fuck.

Firming his jaw he wadded up the fabric and tossed them to her. As she reached out of the water to catch them the top swell of her breast teased him before she plunged under the water again. As she shifted and moved in the water trying to put the items on, he turned his back and started unsnapping his shirt. It fell in a sweat stained pile. Maybe he should have just worn it.

Thinking about the colt he needed to train later in the afternoon, he began unsnapping his jeans. If he kept his mind on other things maybe his body wouldn't embarrass him.

The farm truck needed spark plugs. His ear was attuned to the sound of her behind him though. Every move she made he could imagine seeing.

"Shit," she cursed. There was more, louder splashing.

"You all right?" he asked.

"Umm… kinda. I dropped the bra getting my panties on," she laughed.

Brock swallowed, hard. Fuck this was a bad idea. If she had no concealment on top it would be harder than hell to keep his eyes off of her. The spring water in this pond was damn near clear. Clenching his jaw, he fastened his jeans back up. There was no way he could put that shirt back on though. It had too much nastiness on it. He moved a few steps up the beach and sat down.

"Aren't you coming in?"

He looked at her across the expanse of the water. "I don't think that's a good idea, Payton."

She didn't say anything for a long minute. "Why not?"

Waving a hand, he glanced up at her. "Because you're basically naked."

She laughed and he looked down at his hands. There was a splinter on the inside of his middle finger. Pulling the pocket knife from the corner of his jeans pocket he leaned close to tease it out with the tip.

"Brock."

He glanced up from beneath the rim of his hat and lost his breath. Payton had moved to the beach and started walking up out of the pool. Water sluiced down her lean body, running around her full breasts and down over her voluptuous curves. Her dark nipples were beaded tight as if the air was too cool. As he watched, those damn lace panties appeared and it was just as amazing as he expected. They barely covered any part of her rounded hips. Or the darkness at the apex of her thighs. He jerked his gaze away.

"What are you doing, Payton?"

"I'm showing you my boobs so you'll get over it and get in the water. You're sweaty and grungy. I can see it from here. You need to take a dip. Just consider me one of the boys, Brock. You always used to."

Yeah, that sure as fuck wasn't happening today. He coughed a little to clear his throat. "I'm good, Payton. You know," he said, pushing to his feet, "I may just get out of here and leave you to it."

Leaning down, cringing from the pain in his ribs, he snatched up the shirt and started walking away. He heard the splashing behind him but didn't expect the hard grip on his arm pulling him to a stop. He refused to look at her.

"Why are you being like this?" she demanded.

Growling in frustration, he turned to face her. "Because I'm trying to do the right thing here and you're not helping matters. We can't go down this road. This is not going to happen."

His gaze flicked down her bare body and he damn near keeled over, in spite of his hard words. He'd been with beautiful women before, but something about her was almost ethereal. The tips of her breasts were almost against his chest. Just a few tiny little inches separated them. Her tan skin was smooth and flawless. And her eyes, he sighed inwardly. Her beautiful damn eyes were promising things she probably had no idea of.

"Why not?" she demanded, planting her hands on her almost bare hips.

"Because it's wrong. You're like my kid sister. I shouldn't even be looking at you."

"But you are," she said softly. "And I love the way you look at me. Whether you realize it or not, you watch me a lot. Every time I come over here, I feel your eyes on me. I used to think you were being cautious of my welfare on the ranch, but the way you look at me now is very different. And I’m not your kid sister."

"You've grown up," he said softly.

Payton snorted and tossed her sodden hair over her shoulder. "I grew up a long time ago, Brock. You just weren't looking at me in a way that would allow you to see it."

Taking a tiny step forward, she closed the distance between them, her bare breasts against his bare chest as she leaned up for a kiss. Brock forced himself to stand still as her lips connected with his own, but inside his body was rioting. Every instinct he had told him to reach out and grab her and fuck her until neither of them could walk.

No, she'd just kissed him this morning. He needed time to think about this.

Cupping her head in his hands, he pressed a kiss to her forehead and turned and walked away.

---

Payton could have screamed in frustration, but she didn't. Instead she watched Brock's muscle-corded back walk away from her and up the slope. And she thought about the progress she was making.

She'd given him several shocks today, first with the kiss this morning, then with the deliberate teasing just now. He was reacting better than she ever could have hoped for. He hadn't completely shut her down, so that was a plus. And she could see the way his body reacted to hers. There was no concealing that.

But was his body reacting to her or just because she was female? Brock had dated some truly spectacular skanks in his life. None recently though. Probably because there's been too much going on with his father and the ranch and wedding and everything.

Turning, she headed back down the path and waded into the water again. Reaching the point she'd measured from the shore she dove beneath the water to retrieve her bra. She hadn't actually lost it, just weighed it down with a rock to sink to the bottom. When she'd seen Brock at the top of the rise about to come down the slope, she'd wanted to take advantage of the situation. So, she'd let him see her body and though he'd wanted her to cover up, she hadn't wanted to cover up.

Laughing lightly she swam toward the shore. She'd lay out her panties and bra and let them dry in the sun while she swam some more. The cool water was positively lovely.

That was one thing she felt bad about. Brock hadn't had a chance to cool off. He had a couple miles worth of riding to do to get back to the shade of the barn. Maybe she should have dressed and made it easy on him, but she wanted him to finally see her. It was impossible to know what kind of relationship they would have if he wouldn't even see her as a real, honest to God, grown up woman.

Payton swam for a while longer, then walked up out of the pool and stretched out upon the towel. Even deep in the shade her body began to dry immediately. She closed her eyes and let herself dream.