Here With Me

For some reason, it makes me chuckle. “How?”

“Well…” She looks back and forth from me to the waiting ATV. “I can keep you company.”

“I don’t need company. Do what you need to do.” The rubber is on the rim, and I check the seal. A few minutes hooked to the air compressor has it full and ready to go.

“I can drive it back to the house… if you trust me on it.”

“Actually, that would be helpful.” I lower the jack and carry the tools to my truck, dropping them in the back. “Hop on and make sure I got it secure.”

I walk back to where she’s already carefully stepping over the mud to straddle the vehicle.

She rises on the pegs to kick the starter and her skirt floats up, giving me a teasing glimpse of the smooth skin running up the back of her thigh.

I’m sure it’s why I make the rookie mistake of standing right behind the damn three-wheeler when she hits the throttle and the new tire spins, showering me with a spray of thick, black mud.

“Shit… Ease off!” I shout over the noise of the engine.

It takes a few seconds for the large tire to find traction, and when she lets go of the throttle the vehicle rolls forward to firm ground.

“What’s wrong?” Mindy looks over her shoulder at me, and her eyes go round as saucers… right before she explodes in peals of laughter. “Oh no! Sawyer!”

“Yeah. Oh no.” My voice is flat.

She kills the engine and hops off, running to where I’m looking down at the mud covering the entire front half of my body. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know…” She’s saying the words, but they’re punctuated by nonstop giggles.

“For some reason, I don’t believe you.”

“No, I really am… Sorry…” She snorts.

She actually snorts.

“I’ll let you drive my truck back.” I’m not getting in it like this.

“Hang on.” She grabs my hand and gives me a tug. “Come on.”

I glance up at the pond, and my stomach tightens. With the way my mind has been fixed on her today, it feels dangerous. “No, I’ll head back—”

“Sawyer LaGrange.” Her voice adorably fussy. “It’s hot, you’re a mess, and the pond is right there. Noel will have a fit if you go in the house like this.”

She’s right, and I figure I’m mature enough to handle swimming in a pond with an old friend. Until she elbows me in the ribs.

“Last one in’s a rotten egg!” She takes off running, and I must have a moment of temporary insanity. I take off after her, almost beating her to the pier.

She lets out a shriek when she spots me, but I lose time pulling off my cowboy boots. Her bare feet thump on the boards as she runs all the way to the end of the pier and lets out a victory yell.

I only have a second to register her pink lace panties as she grabs the hem of her dress and whips it over her head before jumping into the water.

I guess I’m the rotten egg.

Instead of stripping off my muddy clothes, I wade into the warm waters, slowly making my way to where her dark head breaks the surface.

“This feels so good!” She cries, turning to face me and immediately frowning. “What are you doing?”

“Trying to get the mud off my clothes.”

“Seriously?” She dog paddles towards me. “How are you going to get home with your clothes all wet?”

“The same way I was going to get home with them all muddy.” I’m moving deeper into the pond, closing the space between us, feeling like I’m venturing into a house fire.