Dorcas clenched her jaw as she despaired of George ever maturing into his Guardian position.
Ambrose finally stepped into the fray. ‘‘You aren’t acting like a dragon who deserves a present,’’ he said. ‘‘In fact, I was planning to read something to you, but now I’ve changed my mind.’’
George stopped dancing and took out his earbuds. ‘‘You were going to read to me?’’
‘‘Yes, but I—’’
‘‘Nobody’s ever read to me before.’’
Dorcas sensed a disaster coming. If George expected to be entertained and got a lecture instead, the meeting would deteriorate even more. ‘‘Ambrose isn’t going to read you a story, George. He just copied out a bunch of quotes that he thought you should hear.’’
George looked at Ambrose. ‘‘At least somebody still cares about me.’’ He glared at Dorcas before sitting down with a thud that shook the ground. ‘‘I’m ready, dude. Lay it on me.’’
Ambrose settled himself beside George and pulled his journal out from inside his jacket. Dorcas watched in amazement as he read about the joys of early rising and George hung on every word. There the two of them sat, the wannabe biker and the rebellious dragon whose scales were mostly still greenish brown. But as the reading session continued, Dorcas swore the tips of George’s scales began to change color.
Annie treated the kayaking date with Jeremy the same as she would an outing with a girlfriend. That made her preparations supereasy. She wore an old pair of walking shorts, a T-shirt, and a Northwestern University sweatshirt to keep her warm.
A little lipstick and a quick brush through her hair, and she was ready. When he pulled up in front of the Winston house at five thirty, two kayaks tied on top of his Suzuki Samurai, she grabbed her purse and went out to meet him.
Jeremy turned to her with a smile as she hopped in the car before he had a chance to shut off the engine. ‘‘Either you’re eager to go or you don’t want me talking to your mother and sister.’’
‘‘Trust me, you don’t want to go in there. They’re wrestling with the seating arrangements for the reception. As it stands, the entire town will be gathered around table one, because that way, nobody will be offended.’’
‘‘You’re right. I’m staying out of that.’’
‘‘But I do really want to go kayaking. It’s always looked fun to me, but I never knew anybody who could teach me how to do it.’’
‘‘Then I’m your guy.’’ He pulled away from the house. ‘‘You look great, by the way.’’
‘‘Thanks, but these are really old clothes.’’ Ever since seeing Jeremy at Click-or-Treat today, she’d been trying to figure out what was different about him. The easy compliment was a typical example. Yesterday he would have stuttered over it. Today he was as smooth as glass.
‘‘You looked great earlier today, too,’’ he said with the same calm assurance. ‘‘I just didn’t have a chance to say so.’’
‘‘Billie and her bobble-heads do tend to take over.’’ She glanced at him and discovered that his profile was quite nice to look at. The leash he’d attached to his glasses made him look like the athletic type, but it was more than his accessories turning her on.
Until this moment, she’d never taken the time to notice all of his attributes—his thick, dark hair, strong nose, sensuous lips, and square jaw. She could tell he’d shaved before picking her up, which gave him points in her book.
‘‘We need to get something straight.’’ Then he laughed. ‘‘Absolutely straight. That’s me, Annie.’’ He flashed her a grin. ‘‘I’m not even slightly gay.’’
The words registered, but the grin was the part that supercharged her libido. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been that attracted to a man’s smile. Well, yes, she could—Zach when they were sophomores. He’d been able to make her panties wet with a smile before she even understood what wet panties were all about.
Now she knew all about the wet-panty syndrome, and Jeremy, of all people, was creating the same effect. ‘‘I guess I jumped to conclusions.’’
‘‘Yeah, well, I didn’t explain myself well. I’d told Ambrose I’d come over to his place so we could talk magic. He was the guy I was seeing.’’
The whole magic schtick was working on her, too. She’d never known a magician, but she’d seen
The Illusionist,
and the whole concept of a magician oozed mystery and sex appeal. Any man who could say a magic word and produce a perfect red rose sprinkled with dew would certainly get her phone number. If he played his magic cards right, he’d probably get a whole lot more than that.
But she was jumping the gun. Right now they were having a friendly conversation, and she needed to hold up her end. ‘‘Ambrose seems like a fascinating person. ’’ She thought Jeremy was ten times more fascinating, but she wasn’t ready to tip her hand quite so soon. ‘‘I wonder if he’d let me interview him for my next story.’’
‘‘You could always ask. He and Dorcas came to town last summer, and nobody can figure out the attraction to Big Knob. You haven’t met Dorcas yet, but she’s pretty polished, too. They both seem to belong in some upscale boomer community with gourmet restaurants and art galleries lining the street.’’
‘‘Maybe it’s the beginning of a trend—sophisticated urban dwellers head for the classic simplicity of small-town America. How’s that for a story angle?’’
‘‘Very good.’’ He turned down the dirt lane that led to Deep Lake. ‘‘I can see why you’ve done so well in Chicago.’’
‘‘I’m hanging on by my fingernails in Chicago.’’
Jeremy pulled into a parking space close to a small beach and turned to her. ‘‘That’s not the word in Big Knob. In this town you’re a superstar.’’
She couldn’t pretend that she didn’t like hearing that. ‘‘Then I shouldn’t spoil the image.’’
He reached across the console and took her hand. ‘‘Couldn’t happen. Not with me. I’ve had a crush on you since I was fourteen.’’
She drew in a quick breath. So Gwen had said, but Annie hadn’t expected Jeremy, always the shy type, to say it out loud. ‘‘That’s very flattering.’’
‘‘I’m not here to flatter you. And I’m not here to be your pal.’’ He looked into her eyes. ‘‘You might as well know this up front, Annie. I want you.’’
To Annie’s complete surprise, the feeling was mutual.
Dorcas watched from her kitchen window as Jeremy loaded a picnic supper and a couple of rolled blankets into the cargo area of his red kayak. He also tucked in the bottle of wine she and Ambrose had given him.
Dorcas stroked Sabrina, who sat on the windowsill and was also observing the activity down by the lake. ‘‘Everything’s progressing nicely, Sabrina.’’ The cat purred in loud approval.
As Jeremy instructed Annie in the proper use of her paddle, things became quite cozy down on the beach. Dorcas could feel the sexual vibrations from where she stood in the kitchen.
By the time Jeremy had helped Annie put on that silly skirt thing that kayakers had to wear and settled her in his kayak, the heat between those two was so obvious it made Dorcas smile. Jeremy was making all the right moves, even to the point of giving Annie his kayak, a beauty that Sean had built for him, and taking the substandard blue one for himself.
Judging from Annie’s body language, she was responding with enthusiasm to all that gallantry. They were off to a great start, but Dorcas had studied the file Maggie had supplied the day before. She’d also made a few discreet inquiries this afternoon about Annie Winston.
This was a woman who wouldn’t easily give up the excitement of big-city life without a good reason. Dorcas decided it might be wise to provide one.
‘‘Come on, Sabrina.’’ Dorcas grabbed her leather jacket from a peg near the back door. ‘‘Since Ambrose is still at Click-or-Treat playing with his MySpace page, this is the perfect time for us to meander down to the lake.’’
Normally Jeremy hated the part where he had to wade into the cold water of Deep Lake. Fed by an underground stream rumored to originate in northern Canada, the lake never seemed to warm up, even in summer. This time of year it felt glacial.
At the moment, glacial was exactly what he needed to cool his heated body parts. Helping Annie learn the basic paddling stroke had created some self-control problems. He prided himself on his ability to keep his urges at bay, but he’d never been this close to Annie before. To complicate matters even more, she’d begun sending
I’m available
signals.
During the brief lesson, she’d relaxed against him as if daring him to take her in his arms. He damn near had, probably would have for sure if he hadn’t remembered that Dorcas and Ambrose’s kitchen window looked out on this tiny beach area. He wasn’t in the mood to put on a show.
But he was definitely in the mood. Annie’s voice had dropped into the ultrasexy range, and when her gaze met his, it was warm and welcoming. As a result, he was hard and hyperventilating.
The torture continued. He had to make sure her life jacket was cinched up, and then show her how to put on the protective skirt. By the time he’d helped her into the kayak, he was shaking from the effort to restrain himself. He tightened the noose holding the skirt around the cockpit opening, making it waterproof.
During a normal kayaking lesson, Annie would have to roll the kayak and demonstrate she could loosen the skirt and get out safely. But neither of them were in wet suits, and the lake was so calm that Jeremy couldn’t see putting her through that exercise.
He’d save that part for another time, if there ever was another time. This was only supposed to be a brief introduction to the sport. He stepped deeper into the icy water and shoved the red kayak out onto the lake.
He’d given her his boat because he wanted her first kayaking experience to be a good one. Sean, whose carpentry skills were amazing, had built this one for him and had insisted on painting it red, supposedly to give Jeremy some pizzazz in his new sport. The kayak sure was visible.
The blue one he now pushed into the water belonged to Bruce, who was responsible for Jeremy getting into kayaking in the first place. It wasn’t a particularly good one—the rudders didn’t react well— and Bruce was leaving it in Big Knob when he and Melody moved to Hawaii.
He’d offered it to Jeremy, who was glad to have it for this date but didn’t really want it permanently. He had high standards in most things, which probably explained why nobody but Annie had ever interested him.
Annie floated in her kayak, her paddle held in both hands, and waited for him to pull alongside. The lake was as still as Jeremy had ever seen it, which was good for Annie’s first try at this. Wind and choppy water made the learning curve steeper, and he’d have felt more obliged to explain the rollover technique. Most beginners weren’t crazy about that maneuver, and it might have put Annie off.
‘‘It’s incredibly beautiful out here,’’ she said. ‘‘We’re just catching the beginning of the sunset.’’
‘‘Uh-huh.’’ He had a tough time appreciating the sunset when there was Annie to look at. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes sparkled with excitement. He’d thought she could never look more beautiful than she had riding on the float as Miss Dairy Queen the summer of her junior year, but he’d been wrong. Tonight he saw more than a pretty girl. Annie had turned into an incredibly voluptuous woman.
‘‘Thank you for suggesting this,’’ she said. ‘‘What a fantastic idea.’’
‘‘Wait and thank me after you’ve paddled across the lake,’’ he said. ‘‘You’ll be using muscles you didn’t know existed, and you might be a little sore.’’
‘‘I don’t care. I had sore arm muscles plenty of times when I was a softball pitcher.’’ She lifted her paddle and dipped it into the water. ‘‘Am I doing it right?’’
‘‘Not bad. Remember to twist at the waist and make that figure-eight pattern I showed you.’’
‘‘Right.’’ She started off. ‘‘If you follow behind me, you’ll be able to check my technique.’’
‘‘Okay.’’ He’d planned to follow, anyway, so that she could set the pace. ‘‘Looking good, Annie. You’ll probably take to this the way you did to pitching.’’
‘‘You know, I miss softball. I thought about joining an adult league in Chicago, but there was never time.’’
Once again he was reminded of the difference between big-city and small-town living. In Big Knob they always seemed to have time for the extras. For one thing, nobody ever got stuck in traffic.
This evening on the lake was a perfect example of the pace of life around here. Except for the occasional twitter of a bird settling down for the night, there was no sound except the liquid slide of their paddles through the water. No honking horns, no jackhammers, no blaring music, no sirens.
‘‘Look, there go Mr. and Mrs. Mallard.’’ Annie stopped paddling long enough to point out the ducks crossing their path. They left a V-shaped wake that fanned out over the otherwise smooth surface as they swam toward the shore.
‘‘In another few weeks we’ll have ducklings around here.’’
‘‘I remember. They’re just too cute, like a miniature flotilla.’’
‘‘Yeah.’’ Jeremy loved the ducks, the lake, the trees. He craved this kind of peaceful setting, especially after a day spent in the café, which might well be the noisiest place in town if you didn’t count the school gym during a basketball game.
Annie’s voice drifted back to him. ‘‘Are the Knob Lobbers still competing?’’
‘‘Yep. If you were going to be here next week you could see our first home game.’’ But she wouldn’t be here next week. Because that depressed him, he decided not to think about it. ‘‘Have you figured out a story for tomorrow?’’
‘‘Maybe. I saw Clara Loudermilk heading into the Bob and Weave today, which reminded me about her husband Clem and the bra patent that made him so rich.’’
‘‘You’d never know he was rich to look at him. Still dresses in denim overalls. Clara’s the one who’s spending the money. Sean built her a high-end sun-porch this past winter.’’