“I don’t think—”
“You teach me how to spell with rocks, and I’ll help you cross things off of your bucket list. And I bet I can even help you add some more stuff to it. Stuff that’s not boring.”
He winked.
“I don’t have boring things on my bucket list.”
Beau raised an eyebrow. “I bet you have a bunch of museums on it.”
“They’re mostly in Europe. And anyway, we’ve already cut a deal. I’m helping you with reading, and you’re going to Brittany’s wedding with me. That’s our deal. We don’t need to add silly things like—”
“Fun? And bucket lists? You might know a lot of things, Allie Cat. But I don’t think you understand the concept of fun.”
Ha! She had fun all the time.
“What’s the last fun thing you did?”
Dang it. She tapped her toe and thought. Surely, there was something. Sweat dripped down the side of her neck. It was hot. And the Rio Verde looked crystal clear and cool.
“There are snakes in the river,” she said. And snakes did not sound fun.
“Nobody has ever been bitten here. Stay away from the banks and the cypress roots, and you’ll be fine.”
“I have two words for you,” Alice sputtered. “Amoebic meningoencephalitis.”
Beau stood up. “That sounded like at least four words.”
“It’s a type of brain-eating bacteria that lives in warm water.”
Beau unbuttoned his shirt. “Ah. Well, you only have to worry about that in non-flowing water. This section of the river is cool, spring-fed, and briskly flowing. It’s perfectly safe.”
“It’s not perfectly safe. That would imply there is no risk at all, and statistically speaking—”
His shirt fell open, and it sucked up any and all words she’d been about to utter.
“If you’re looking for a risk-free environment, Allie, you’d better go back to your little bubble of a library. Although it flooded a couple of years ago, so maybe it’s not safe, either.”
Alice crossed her arms and nervously tapped her foot. Because there was his chest. The same one he’d answered the hotel room door with. Because of course it was the same chest. How could it be a different one?
“I’m going to get in the river to cool off so I can pay attention to you and your rocks and twigs and whatnot. You don’t have to join me if you don’t want to. But if you do want to, be sure to write it down on your bucket list first.”
Alice stared in stunned silence as Beau removed his shirt and tossed it on the table. Next, he unbuckled his belt and yanked it through the belt loops so he could step out of his chaps. Finally, he removed his hat and handed it to Alice. “Watch and learn, Allie.”
“Where are you going?”
“To the rope swing hanging off that old cypress tree.”
She clutched Beau’s hat. At least he hadn’t taken his pants off.
“Beau!” she called. But he was already climbing up a series of boards nailed to the trunk of the tree. He quickly disappeared in the branches.
“Heads up!” he shouted as a boot landed with a thud next to her. Then another.
Zip.
A pair of Wranglers landed right on the table.
“Yee-haw!” Beau shouted as he swung out over the river. He let go of the rope, did a somersault, and splashed into the Rio Verde. Water droplets landed at Alice’s feet.
She crossed her arms, expecting him to pop up like a cork.
Only he didn’t pop up like a cork. Surely, he should have broken through the surface by now. He’d said the river was low. What if he’d hit his head on a rock?
She stood and walked a few feet down the bank. She’d known this was a bad idea! Why did Beau have to be so impulsive? She was in the middle of nowhere with only a horse for transportation and a man, who was twice her size, possibly in need of medical attention. And that was if she could even find him.
“Beau!” she shouted.
Nothing. Not a single ripple on the water.
Alice stomped her foot. “Dang it!”
With shaking hands, she bent over and unbuckled her sandals before kicking them to the side. Then she slid the straps of the overalls down both shoulders, because the last thing she needed was to be burdened by waterlogged denim while she was trying to drag a heavy man out of a river.
Just as the overalls slid down her hips, Beau broke the surface of the water.
Chapter
Fourteen
Beau took in a huge gulp of air, filling his lungs to capacity. Then he let it all out with another “Yee-haw!”
He loved this river. And nothing felt better on a hot day. He kicked back, letting his feet float to the surface, and looked around for Alice. When he saw her—standing on the bank with her overalls down at her hips—he took in a mouthful of water. Then he sputtered and coughed. Alice was coming in!
Alice yanked the bib of her overalls up, flattening it against her chest. What was happening? Why was she getting dressed? “Aren’t you coming in?”
Alice stared at him. “What took you so long to come to the surface?”
“I was just swimming around down there.” He winked at her. “Big lungs.”
Alice let out a huge sigh. “I thought you’d hit your head on something and were unconscious.”
“Why would you think that?”
“Because you were under for so long!”
Her hands were shaking. Her sandals were off. Holy shit, had she been removing her clothes so she could come in and save him?
The ponytail bounced and swung as Alice fought with the buckles on the straps of her overalls. Her face was red and splotchy and shiny with sweat—probably not a look Alice wore very often—and a fly buzzed around her head. She swatted at it, and Beau thought he might have heard the word dammit seep through her lips, which was also probably a rare occurrence.
She’d been ripping off her sandals and clothes to jump in the river and save him.
He grinned at
