This Heart Of Mine

hair was the same rich color as the maple syrup he'd poured over the pancakes she'd made. He felt as if he were watching her come back to life. Her skin had lost its pasty look, and her eyes had begun to sparkle, especially when she wanted to give him a hard time.

Those eyes… That wicked slant shouted to the world that she was up to no good, but he seemed to be the only one who got the message. Phoebe and Dan saw brainy Molly, the lover of children, bunnies, and ridiculous dogs. Only he seemed to understand that Molly Somerville's veins had trouble rushing through them instead of blood.

On the flight back to Chicago, Dan had lectured him about how seriously she'd always taken everything. How as a kid she never did anything wrong. What a good student she'd been, a model citizen. He'd said that Molly was twenty-seven going on forty. Twenty-seven going on seven was more like it. No wonder she'd made a career as a children's book author. She was entertaining her peer group!

It galled him that she had the audacity to call him reckless. He'd never have given away fifteen million dollars. As far as he could tell, she didn't know anything about playing it safe.

He saw another flash of red in the water. All those years of summer camp had made her a good swimmer with a steady, graceful stroke. And a nice, neat body… But the last thing he wanted to do was start thinking about her body again, so he thought about the way she made him laugh.

Which didn't mean she wasn't a pain in the butt. She had a lot of nerve trying to poke around in his head, since it was screwed on a lot tighter than hers ever would be.

His eyes flicked back over the lake, but he couldn't see her. He waited for a flash of red. And waited… His shoulders grew tense as the surface remained smooth. He took a step forward. Then her head bobbed up, little more than a dot in the distance. Just before it disappeared again, she managed to shout one faint word.

'Help!'

He started to run.

Molly held her breath as long as she could, then resurfaced to fill her lungs. Sure enough, he'd just thrown himself into the water with a very nice racing dive.

This should get his adrenaline pumping.

She flailed around until she was sure he'd spotted her, then went under again, diving deep and swimming off to her right. It was a rotten thing to do, but it was for the greater good. A bored Kevin was an unhappy Kevin, and it was long past time he had some fun at the Wind Lake Campground. Maybe then he wouldn't be so anxious to sell it.

She surfaced again. Thanks to her crafty underwater change of direction, he was heading too far to the left. She caught another breath and went back under.

As Daphne went under for the third time, Benny swam- Delete that. As Benny went under for the third time, Daphne swam faster and faster…

Being rescued by Daphne would serve Benny right, Molly thought virtuously. He shouldn't have gone swimming without a buddy.

She opened her eyes underwater, but the lake was murky from all the rain, and she couldn't see much. She remembered how squeamish some of her campmates used to be about swimming in a lake instead of a pool- What if a fish bites me?-but Molly had grown used to it after her first summer, and she felt right at home.

Her lungs were starting to burn, and she came up for more air. He was about fifteen yards to her left. She refused to think about the boy and the wolf as she made her next move.

'Help!'

He pivoted in the water, wet blond hair sticking to that superb forehead. 'Hold on, Molly!'

'Hurry! I've got a'-hole in my head-'a cramp!' Down she went.

She cut to the right, swam the pattern, headed for the sideline-made ol' Number Eleven work for it.

Her lungs were burning again. Time to resurface near the goal line.

He'd spent two decades picking out receivers in a crowd, and he spotted her instantly. His stroke was powerful, and she got so caught up watching the way he churned through the water that she nearly forgot to go under again.

His hand brushed her thigh, then fastened around the skimpy bottom of her bathing suit.

His hand. On her butt. She should have thought further ahead.

He jerked hard on the suit to pull her to him, and the skimpy pair of ties that were holding it on snapped. He clamped his arm around her and pulled her to the surface.

The bottom part of the suit didn't come along.

As it trailed away in the water, she could only wonder how she'd gotten herself into this situation. Was this going to be her reward for doing a little good in the world?

'Are you all right?'

She glimpsed his face just before he started hauling her toward the shore. She'd really scared him. Part of her felt guilty, but she still remembered to cough and gasp for air as he dragged her through the water. At the same time she struggled with her modesty.

He wasn't even breathing heavily, and for a moment she let herself relax against him and enjoy the sensation of his body doing the work for hers. But it was hard to be both relaxed and bare-butt naked. 'I-I had a cramp.'

'Which leg is it?' His own leg brushed her hip, but he didn't seem to notice anything was missing.

'Stop-stop for a minute, will you?'

He slowed in the water and turned her in his arms without letting her go. She saw that anger had replaced his concern. 'You shouldn't have been in the water by yourself. You could have drowned.'

'It was… stupid.'

'Which leg?'

'My… left. But it's better. I can move it now.'

He let go of one arm to reach for her leg.

'No!' she squeaked, afraid of what he'd encounter on the way.

'Is it cramping again?'

'Not… exactly.'

'Let's get to shore. I'll look at it there.'

'I'm fine now. I can-'

He didn't pay any attention. Instead, he started hauling her toward the beach again.

'Uh, Kevin…' She coughed as she caught a mouthful.

'Keep still, damn it!'

Nice way for a PK to talk, especially to a drowning victim. She did her best to keep her lower half away from his lower half, but he kept sliding against her. Slip sliding… slip sliding… She groaned against a rush of sensation.

His rhythm changed, and she realized he'd touched bottom. She tried to disengage herself. 'Let me go. I can walk now.'

He swam farther in before he loosened his grip and stood. She dropped her feet.

The water came to her chin, but it was below his shoulders. Wet strands of hair plastered his forehead, and he looked grumpy. 'You could be a tad more grateful, you know. I just saved your annoying life.'

At least he didn't looked bored any longer. 'Thank you.'

He still had her arm, and he began moving toward the shore. 'Have you ever had a cramp like this before?'

'Never. It took me completely by surprise.'

'Why are you dragging your feet?'

'I'm cold. Probably a little shocky. Would you lend me your T-shirt?'

'Sure.' He kept heading toward the beach.

She dragged her heels. 'Could I have it now, please?'

'Now?' He stopped. The water lapped at her breasts. The red top had pushed them up quite nicely, and his gaze lingered. She noticed that his lashes had formed aggressive little spikes over those sharp green eyes, and she fought a sudden wobbliness in her knees.