Facing the Music (Rosewood 1)

Ivy turned to look at him and rolled her eyes. “Of course not. I had Ruth put a basket together for me this afternoon. Then I stopped at Rosewood Bakery and picked up some dessert from Miss Estelle.”

“That sounds great. I—” His sentence terminated as he felt a sharp tug on his lure. He’d got one and it was a big one. Maybe his biggest catch of the day. “Here we go!” he shouted. “Go grab the net, will you?”

Ivy leaped up to grab the net they’d left on the rear platform of the boat earlier. She’d helped him scoop up the last two fish, so she was a pro by now. He was working on reeling in his catch when he heard the buzz of another boat coming near on the water.

Blake looked up just in time to see Ned Tyler zip by in his boat. He threw up a hand to wave, then quickly returned to fighting for his fish. “Hold on, Ivy, the wake’s coming. It can be a little rough,” he said, his eyes focused on the pole and line in front of him.

“What did you—?”

Ivy’s question was interrupted by the wave of the other boat’s wake, rocking theirs up and down. Blake braced his feet for the movement he was accustomed to. That was when he heard a shriek silenced by a loud splash. Blake looked over his shoulder to find he was alone on the boat.

Forgetting his catch, he quickly cut his line and set his pole aside, rushing to the back of the boat. He wasn’t too worried; they were in only seven feet of water, but if anyone could find a way to drown, it would be Ivy.

Blake found her just off the stern, bobbing like a cork in her life jacket, her hair plastered to her beet-red face. “You should’ve told me you wanted to go swimming,” he said. “I’d have brought my trunks.”

In her hand, Ivy was still clutching the net, although he was pretty certain she was about to chuck it at him. He took it from her, tossing it aside, then reached out for her hand. “Put your foot on the side of the motor.”

A second after they made contact, before he could tug, he saw a wicked gleam in her eyes. But it was too late. With his balance off-center, Ivy tugged instead.

Blake tumbled head first into the lake. He fought his way back to the surface, then clambered through the water to capture Ivy in one arm and grip the boat with the other. She gave out a loud squeal as he grabbed her and tugged her body against his. Well, as close as he could get it with that giant life preserver around her neck.

“You,” he said, “are a very naughty girl.”

Ivy grinned wide, far more pleased with being in the water now that she wasn’t alone. “I am a naughty girl,” she agreed. “I should be punished.”

“Oh really?” Blake said, his eyebrows shooting up. The cold water did little to prevent the warm surge of desire that started pumping through his veins as she squirmed against him. “What exactly do you have in mi—”

“Eeee!”

Blake jerked back, his eyes wide at Ivy’s sudden declaration of distress. “What’s the matter?”

She looked panicked at the murky water, her feet kicking frantically beneath the surface and inadvertently pummeling his shins. He’d pay for that later. “Something slimy just touched my leg.”

“Relax. It was probably just a freshwater eel.”

“What?” Ivy shrieked, her eyes getting bigger than he’d ever seen them before. “Are you kidding me? There are eels in this lake?”

Blake chuckled. “There are, but they like the deeper waters. I was just messing with you.”

Ivy punched him in the arm and started climbing back into the boat. He followed behind her, whipping his wet shirt over his head. “You just wait until I wash the fish muck off you, girl. You’re going to pay.”

Chapter 17

“You smell much better now.”

They were having a picnic dinner on a blanket sprawled across the wood floor. After returning to the cabin, they’d bathed, christened her bed, bathed again, changed into dry clothes, and put together the dinner Ruth had packed for them. Ivy was absolutely stuffed, but that didn’t stop them from putting a slice of red velvet cake from the bakery on a plate to share.

Blake was sitting beside her and he looked up from the plate with a bite of cake midair on his fork. “I went out to the lake smelling just fine. If I smelled funky after you pulled me into the water, whose fault is that?”

“You looked hot,” she said with a smile. “I was just being helpful.”

Blake put the cake into his mouth and shook his head. “If you’d been sincerely helpful, you wouldn’t have gotten that spanking.”

Ivy blushed and accepted the bite of cake he fed her. The last half hour or so, they’d eaten in relative silence. Ivy knew Blake wanted to say something. She was content to wait for him to figure out how to phrase it.

“Ivy . . .” he said at last.

“Yes?”