A gust of wind blew across the lake and Sam shivered as it knuckled beneath her wet clothes with icy fingers. She had a sudden crazy impulse to snap back that no amount would be enough. She had jumped into the icy waters of Lake Haven to rescue his child and was still shivering from it, hadn’t she? And now he was insulting her by implying she was crass and greedy enough to let him do anything he wanted if he paid her enough money.
She could imagine her mother’s reaction too easily. After a lifetime, it was hard to shut her out. Linda would have never allowed him to use the dock. Or if she did, she might have tried to bilk entirely too much money for it.
Over the past few months as she tried to adjust to life without her mom, Samantha had become fairly good at imagining what Linda might have done in any given situation...and then doing exactly the opposite.
She swallowed her annoyance at her neighbor. Maybe he was jet-lagged or something. Or maybe it was a cultural thing, that he didn’t understand how rude his implication was that he could buy his way past any hurdle.
“Go ahead and use the dock.” She forced a smile. “It’s fine. I don’t have a boat and don’t expect to get one any time soon, so it will only be unused all summer.” As it’s been unused for every summer since she was seven years old.
Eyebrows furrowed, he studied her as if trying to figure out her game. She wanted to tell him that sometimes a generous act was simply that. Generous, with no strings attached or hidden motivations.
“Thank you,” he said. “That’s very gracious of you.”
“Your sister is my friend, Mr. Summerhill. It’s the least I can do for Gemma.”
Something in her brisk tone must have alerted him to her annoyance. He opened his mouth as if to apologize but before he could, a woman in her late sixties hurried out of the house next door. She was tall and thin to the point of gauntness, with large glasses and short-cropped hair, but her face still somehow emanated a kindness that made her plain features warm and attractive.
“Oh, good gracious. There you are. We were all supposed to be having a kip from the long flight. I close my eyes for five minutes and the two of you escape. And it looks like someone had a dunking, as well. Oh, Thomas. What have you done now?”
“I was looking for salmon and I leaned over too far and lost my balance.”
“Oh, dear. I’m sorry, m’...sir,” she said to Ian.
“We’re the ones who are sorry, Mrs. Gilbert,” the girl said, though she didn’t look particularly repentant.
“Sorry, Mrs. Gilbert,” the boy said. Samantha was relieved to see his teeth had finally stopped chattering. She wished her own would, but he had been wrapped in her sweater while she was still barely dressed.
“No harm done, thanks to Ms. Fremont here.” The woman’s employer gave Samantha a stiff smile.
“Bless you, then,” Mrs. Gilbert said, her eyes bright and so warm that Samantha immediately liked her. “Let’s get you into some dry clothes, young man. Come along. You, too, Amelia.”
They waved at Sam and then followed after the woman like ducklings, leaving her alone with their father.
She almost wished she had snatched her sweater back from Thomas before he left her alone with a man who was entirely too good-looking for her peace of mind.
It was a very good thing she had decided she was swearing off men for now or she would definitely make a fool of herself over someone like Ian Summerhill.
AFTER LETTY AND the children headed for their rental house, Ian was uncomfortably aware that he was alone with Samantha Fremont, in her thin, soaked clothing and her wet hair whose true color he couldn’t really tell.
Something told him it was probably not wise to spend much time on his own with her. How unfortunate for him that his new next-door neighbor was so lovely. Soft, pretty, curvy.
“Thank you again for rescuing my son,” he said, trying not to notice how her clothing clung to those curves. “He can be a bit of a rascal at times but I’m rather fond of him.”
“You’re welcome.” She didn’t appear to like him very much, though he couldn’t quite figure out why.
“Thank you also for your offer to allow the use of your dock. It’s very generous of you. Are you quite certain you don’t mind? We’re here until after Gemma’s wedding.”
“It’s fine.”
Yes. She definitely didn’t like him.
Usually that wouldn’t have bothered him but the woman was Gemma’s friend, he would be living next to her for the next few weeks and she was doing him the tremendous favor of allowing use of a dock to which he wasn’t entitled, contrary to his short-term rental agreement. He would be having a word with the estate agent who had helped him find the place.
“I’m sorry if I came across as too vehement earlier. I’m a professor, you see, of marine biology,” he felt compelled to explain. “While we’re here, I’m studying the particular subspecies of kokanee salmon that live in Lake Haven, which is remarkably similar genetically to a subspecies in England.”
“Funny. I would have thought you were here for your sister’s wedding.”
Ian felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment. “You’re correct. That is the main reason for our trip. In this instance, I’m fortunate to be able to combine work with pleasure. The salmon here in Lake Haven breed in chalk streams similar to a unique strain we have in Dorset and have evolved similarly. I’ve been interested in comparing the two subspecies for years, long before Gemma moved to this area to work for Caine Tech. It seems a dream come true to actually
