in wait for his return.
She raised one eyebrow at Jess. “Should I have worn a swimsuit?”
“No, but Cole might wish he had in a few minutes.”
“Uh-oh. What’d he do to deserve this?”
“Trust me. In case you start to feel sympathetic, he earned every one of those balloons. And I’m going first.”
“This have anything to do with turtles?” Hayley stared straight ahead, but Jess could see her cheek twitching as she tried to keep a straight face.
“It looked like a rock, okay?”
Jess felt her stomach flutter as Cole approached the fire circle, his eyes growing wary as he spotted the girls lounging on the logs.
He looked down at the items they’d spread on a flat rock. “You gals find everything?”
“Sure did,” Jess said. “You?”
“Still looking for my hat, but I’m pretty sure you guys cheated.”
“Oh, we cheated.” Jess raised her eyebrows.
He raised his to match. “Just curious—where’d you find the fire-bellied toad?”
“It’s right behind us.” Britney poked her thumb over her shoulder. “Want to see it?”
“You bet I do.” Cole took a step forward, then stopped, looking left and right, seeming to sense a charge in the atmosphere. “Hold it.”
Jess pointed. “Don’t you want to see it, Cole?”
“Sure do. You know what, though?” He reached out for her hand, pulling her directly in front of his body, making her laugh. “You lead.”
She tried not to lean back against him. Tried not to inhale the mixed scent of his soap and aftershave. Tried to walk steadily and talk without gulping.
She nodded. “Right this way, cowboy.”
Jess took two steps toward the girls, putting three fingers up in front of her stomach where Cole couldn’t see them. Then she mouthed 3-2-1 and ducked, and there was a mad scramble as the girls leaped off the logs and grabbed the balloons. In the ensuing confusion, he lost his grip on her hand, and she headed straight for the laundry baskets.
“Jess?” Cole narrowed his eyes at her as she grabbed a couple of balloons and joined the circle of girls edging closer and closer to him.
Jess bounced the balloons slowly in her hands. “So here’s the thing, Cole. It seems I’m having a little trouble staying dry here at Whisper Creek, and so far, this trouble is all your fault.”
His eyes traveled down her body and his mouth opened as he got to her jeans. “What happened?”
“Rogue turtle accident. Seems we have a lot more of those around here than we do fire-bellied toads.”
“Oh, boy.” He put a hand through his hair as the boys slyly snuck around and grabbed water balloons as well. “This isn’t going to end well, is it?”
“Not for you, Cole. Not for you.”
She conjured up her best innocent smile as she motioned the girls forward one step. Cole backed up, smiling nervously, but he was surrounded now. “You should really be careful about messing with girls, Cole.”
He laughed shortly. “Not the first time I’ve heard that.”
“Ready! Set! Go!” Jess yelled, and then the air was filled with multi-colored balloons. She laughed as a water balloon hit him squarely in the chest. Another one hit his shoulder, and a third one splashed his wrist. Then a volley of them pummeled every inch of his body.
Through the smacking and splashing, the only thing Jess could hear were the peals of laughter from the kids, and it wasn’t thirty seconds before Cole was dripping from head to boots.
Good. Served him right.
Jess laughed as she watched the kids lob balloons at him, impressed with their aim and strength. Finally the volley slowed, and with a loud sploosh, one last balloon hit him square in the stomach. The laundry baskets were empty.
He stood in the center of the circle, dripping wet, and the kids giggled nervously as they waited to see what he would do. Jess still had one last balloon hidden behind her back, just waiting for the ideal moment to launch it.
Cole made a slow circle, nodding his head thoughtfully as he landed his eyes on each of the kids. However, when his gaze landed on Jess, his feet stopped moving and he put a hand to his ear.
“What’s that, Bryan? She still has a balloon in her hand?”
Jess turned her head quickly to see a little redheaded boy jumping on his toes, grinning in glee. It was all the distraction Cole needed. The next moment, she found herself pinned against him, his arm around her waist and her balloon in his other hand.
Uh-oh.
She squirmed as he held the balloon directly over her head.