Backwoods. Jill Sorenson
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watched her wade into the lake, his neck flushed. “Splash me.”
“Why?”
“For luck.”
She’d never heard of such a thing, but she splashed him. The water hit his face and shoulders, trickling down his chest.
He shook it off like a dog and lumbered to his feet. Vanity had her wondering if he’d been overheated—aroused, even—because of her. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d given a man an inappropriate erection.
Hiding a smile, she ducked under the icy water and swam to the cluster of boulders. Brooke and Leo were already jumping from the opposite side. Abby hauled herself onto the lowest boulder, with some difficulty. The path to the top was wet. She used the same handholds and footholds that Brooke and Leo had used, her mouth pursed in concentration. It was an undignified climb in a bathing suit, with Nathan right behind her. If she’d known a hot guy would be staring at her butt in broad daylight, she might have gone tanning or had her cellulite zapped.
She reached the plateau, breathless. “I didn’t enjoy that.”
“I did.”
Abby laughed, accepting his help to stand up. A wave of dizziness struck her as she peered over the edge. “Oh God.”
“What are you doing?” Brooke yelled from below.
Nathan kept a firm grip on Abby’s hand. “What does it look like? We’re jumping.”
Leo put two fingers in his mouth and whistled to cheer them on.
Brooke was less than thrilled. “Be careful,” she said with a frown, as if uncomfortable with the role reversal.
“I’ll try not to break a hip,” Abby said.
Nathan smiled at the joke, squeezing her hand.
He’d been wrong about the power of her imagination. Reality was worse. It looked so much higher from up here. The distance to the water made her stomach flip. She felt like she was standing on the roof of a skyscraper.
“I can’t do it,” Abby said.
“Sure you can. I’ll go first. When I call out to you, jump. If you wait too long, you’ll overthink it.”
Brooke swam to the underwater obstacle with Leo and gazed up at them.
“Don’t push me,” Abby said.
He let go of her hand.
“I can’t feel my face.”
“As long as you jump away from the boulder, you’ll be fine,” he said. “Keep your arms and legs straight.”
She was about to tell him not to leave her when he did it. He just leaped off the edge like it was nothing. His body hit the water, arrow-straight. When he resurfaced a few seconds later, he was grinning.
“Come on,” he said, swimming backward to give her some room. “You can do it.”
Abby didn’t want to. She pictured herself fainting and dashing her head against the rock. “I have to sit down.”
“Don’t sit down. Jump!”
She looked for a way out, her shoulders shaking. The path they’d climbed would be difficult to descend. More dangerous than jumping. Leo gave her a thumbs-up signal. Brooke clapped a hand over her eyes. Nathan wagged his fingertips forward.
Abby jumped.
She was only airborne for a few seconds. Then she hit the water with a hard splash. It penetrated her eyelids and rushed in her nostrils. Panic bubbles emerged from her throat. After sinking deep, she clawed her way to the surface, gasping as she broke through.
Brooke swam to her side, excited. “Mom! You did it!”
She had done it. And she never wanted to do anything like it again.
“How was it?” Nathan asked.
“Horrible.”
His smile faded. “You didn’t think it was fun?”
“No.”
The three of them seemed baffled by Abby’s response. Tears stung her eyes. She turned and swam to the narrow beach, collapsing on the sand.
Nathan joined her. “I’m sorry,” he said, chagrined. “I thought you’d enjoy it.”
She put a towel around her shoulders, still shaking.
“I feel like a jerk.”
Abby didn’t blame him for trying to help her. Maybe she was beyond hope. She practiced her steady breathing and positive visualization techniques. The sun warmed her wet hair. After a few moments, she calmed.
And she noticed a change.
The next time Brooke dived off the edge, Abby didn’t freeze up as much. She knew the drop wasn’t deadly. She’d survived it.
“To be honest, I’m surprised you even climbed up there, let alone jumped,” Nathan said. “It was pretty scary.”
She wiped the tears from her cheeks. “It was.”
“You’ve got balls, lady.”
“I feel better.”
“You do?”
She nodded. “I didn’t like it, but I’m glad I did it.”
He studied her with a quiet sort of admiration, as if seeing her in a new light. His regard for her went deeper, slipping below the surface. He was attracted to her for reasons other than the way her breasts looked in a bikini. She thought about his offer to relieve her tension the old-fashioned way and realized then that it would never happen. They couldn’t have a no-strings sexual affair. The strings were already there.
A scream rang out across the lake, startling her. Abby scrambled to her feet. Her damp towel fell off her shoulders.
Nathan rose with her. “What was that?”
Leo and Brooke were treading water near the boulders, so the cry hadn’t come from either of them. It sounded like a woman.
Another shriek followed, high-pitched with terror.
“Someone needs help,” Brooke said. She started swimming toward a thatch of trees on the opposite side of the lake.
Abby covered her mouth with one hand. Her first instinct was to tell Brooke to stop, and the reaction shamed her. She’d always taught her daughter to help others, especially other girls. She went out of her way to do the same. But this was different. It was a threatening sort of unknown. An icy fear gripped Abby’s heart and wouldn’t let go.
Leo accompanied Brooke with no hesitation whatsoever. Nathan waded into the water, cursing under his breath. He swam toward them, his strokes sure and swift. Abby couldn’t just stand there, frozen and helpless.
She dove in and started swimming.
Although Brooke had an early lead, Leo was the strongest swimmer. He caught up with her near the middle of the lake and pulled ahead. Nathan showed his athletic prowess by passing Brooke and continuing after his son. They were all scared. The race to the other side was no friendly competition, no fun adventure.
Leo climbed out of the water first, his chest heaving. Nathan was right there with him. Brooke arrived shortly after.
Abby concentrated on steady strokes, trying not to panic. By the time she stumbled onto the shore, Nathan and Leo were arguing about what to do. They stood in front of the thick copse of pine trees, faces tense.
Panting from exertion, Abby walked toward Brooke.
“Stay here,” Nathan ordered Leo.
“Fuck, no,” Leo said. “I’m going with you.”
Nathan reached down and picked up