Laughing lightly, he followed suit and got in behind her. Sunlight hit his face as they paddled out of the boathouse, gliding onto the pristine lake.
That was one thing about Florida weather—it turned on a dime. Last night had been National Geographic scary, and today the water was like glass and there were no clouds in the sky. Though he knew they only had a couple hours before the weather shifted again.
“So how are your brothers doing without you?” she asked as she slipped her life jacket on.
He kept his on the seat next to him. “I’m sure they’re fine. I lost service sometime last night. Still haven’t gotten it back.”
“Yeah, I alternate between one bar and zero. Guessing the storm knocked a tower out.” She turned her face up to the sun and let her paddle sit still for a moment.
He watched the way her curls gleamed under the sunlight and wished he had the right to run his fingers through them, to cup her head as he took her mouth. “So do you kayak or canoe much?”
“Not really. Though Bianca’s gotten me out on the water a few times. She’s an avid kayaker.”
He sliced his oar through the water and she did the same. “I didn’t think you liked her.” Mac might not pay attention to everything in town, but he did pay attention to anything involving Adeline.
She let out a surprised laugh, the musical sound echoing over the lake. “We definitely didn’t always get along. Though I didn’t know you were aware of that.” She glanced over her shoulder, her brown eyes curious.
“I notice things.”
She paused and turned back around, continuing to slice her paddle through the water.
A few birds swooped overhead and he inhaled the crisp winter air. The winter down here was a whole lot different than up north. It wasn’t a biting cold, even in December, but it was crisp and refreshing. There was a reason so many people retired to the state.
“Getting kidnapped with someone will definitely change things up.” Her tone was neutral as she finally responded.
Oh, hell. Way to go, dumbass. He couldn’t believe himself. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t even thinking. I wasn’t trying to bring that up.” Bianca and Adeline had both been kidnap victims, and had thankfully both been rescued, relatively unharmed. Adeline still had some burn scars on her arm though. Faded now, but they’d never go away.
“I know. It’s fine. Talking about it actually helps. She’s been someone to talk to, someone who understands what I went through because she did too. And…now that she’s come out,” she continued, “she’s more secure in who she is. I think a lot of her mean girl attitude was a façade because she hadn’t quite figured out who she was. Or she wasn’t ready to tell the world anyway. Not being able to live authentically… I imagine that hurts inside and comes out in anger or other ways.”
He assumed Adeline meant because Bianca had come out as gay. Before, she’d had the reputation of flirting with married men and Mac figured it was because she wasn’t ready to accept who she was, and married men were safe to flirt with. Not that he was in the habit of analyzing people. Bianca had certainly never flirted with him.
“I’m glad you’ve got someone to talk to. If you ever need another ear, I’m here,” he found himself offering. And he meant it.
“You know, from most people I would think that was a bullshit offer, but I believe you. Thanks.” Turning around, she gave him a soft smile and he felt it all the way to his core as sure as if someone had sucker punched him.
Yeah, he was in trouble.
He’d known it, but today…damn. The pull he felt to her was out in the open and he couldn’t rein it back in if he’d wanted to.
They paddled their way around the lake, as if they’d both made a unified decision to head left and loop all the way around.
“These homes are gorgeous,” she said about ten minutes later.
The silence between them wasn’t awkward, it was…nice out here with her. Peaceful. He’d wanted to get away from people, but Adeline definitely wasn’t people. Being around her soothed something inside him and he wasn’t sure he wanted to dig deeper into the analysis of why. Hell, he didn’t have to dig deep. He knew exactly why he liked being with her.
“Yeah, Derek and Madison put a lot of work into their place too. His dad left it to him.”
“That’s right, I forgot you guys went to high school together.”
“Yeah. He’s come a long way since those days too.”
“Too?”
He just snorted. Mac had been an irresponsible jackass back then—as a lot of teenagers were. Mac was glad he’d grown out of it, and that Adeline only knew him as the man he’d grown into.
He just hoped that he could be someone she relied on, turned to. Let in.
Chapter 5
Adeline looked over her shoulder as the wind suddenly shifted and that was when she saw it—behind them the sky was covered in near-black clouds, a faint strip of pale blue beneath it making it a terrifying postcard, it was so surreal. The canoe rippled against the water as more wind kicked up, shoving them hard to the west.
“Mac?” she asked as water splashed her face.
“I see it.” And he was already shifting the boat back around, his forearms flexing as he sliced the oar through the water.
Following suit, she did the same, working against the wind as they maneuvered it around.
The wind kicked up again, sending a flurry of cold slicing through her as the first drop of rain hit her face. What the hell? It was still freaking sunny out. She cut through the water with her oar, a sense of urgency eating through her veins as they paddled. She’d thought they had plenty of time before the weather changed to get some fresh air and sunshine. Thankfully the wind was at their backs, helping to propel them forward as they quickly worked to get to their cabin.
Splat. Splat. Splat.
The rain fell harder, pelting her in the face. She winced at the stinging but kept up her pace, slice, slice, slice. The oar slicked through the pitching water with each stroke, her arm muscles straining. With each little wave, more water sloshed into the canoe. A teeny bit of panic slid through her as she worried what would happen if they didn’t make it back in time. She could swim, but it was freezing. Even if it was Florida, the water was damn cold.
Too cold for their bodies to withstand long-term.
“Here.” Mac’s voice made her turn. He held out his ball cap. “It’ll protect your face.”
“It’s fine.” Though the rain was cold and annoying.
Ignoring her, he put it on her head and tugged it down.
It fit perfectly so he’d clearly already changed the Velcro strap. Damn. The man was ridiculously thoughtful, and it really did help against the stinging rain. She figured his beard helped protect his face at least, and didn’t feel so bad for taking his hat. She started paddling faster, squinting against the downpour as they cut straight down the middle of the lake.
A chill had started to invade her veins, but relief surged through her when she spotted the boathouse through the rain.
Dark clouds rolled over them, however. Now they were surrounded by the gray on every side. Thunder rumbled, the sound ominous, as if it was right on top of them.