Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 96178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
“Do you give up?”
“Yes,” he cried, laughing, “because if you keep going like that I won’t want to blink, and all that water hurts my eyes.”
They seemed to realize in unison that his hand was wrapped loosely around her wrist, keeping her from splashing him, and they were so close that her forearm rested against his chest. With the gentlest swell, the current could bump her into him, sending all of her bare skin right up against his.
“We can stand here,” he said, and planted his feet, his chest rising several inches out of the water, which, when she stood, lapped gently at her chin. Trying to quell the vibrating hum beneath her skin, she spent a few seconds appreciating his broad shoulders as he breathed rapidly, catching his breath.
When she dragged her focus up his neck and higher, she found him watching her with an intensity he immediately wiped away. In a blink, his expression returned to his trademark breezy playfulness. “How does this compare to your swimmin’ hole back home?”
“About ten times larger, but far fewer trout.”
He shuddered.
“We stock the pond,” she explained. “There are so many, I can catch them barehanded.”
“That is…” He shook his head. “I don’t know what that is.”
“I believe the words you’re looking for are impressive, athletic, superhuman.”
“Yes, yes,” he said, laughing. “All of those.”
“From about June to late August, I swim every day.”
“By yourself?”
“Usually.”
“Doesn’t that get lonely? Or at least boring?”
Ren shrugged under the water’s surface. “If you’re raised with lots of things—people, money, games, distractions—it’s hard to live without them. But if you’re raised simply, the way I was, that’s all you know. That’s all there is.”
The reality of her life back home suddenly pressed down like a rain cloud.
“You haven’t talked about them much the last couple days,” he said quietly. “But I know you’re thinking about your parents a lot.”
Ren looked up at him. She was, and she wasn’t. Edward seemed to take up every corner of her mind these days, but the silent, pulsing heartbeat in the background was her parents, Christopher Koning, the mystery of it all, the truth she hoped to find.
“I know my parents will always be there for me. Or I hope they will, even if I don’t always do things the way they would want me to. But being away from home has made me realize how much more there is for me out here. That I can love being out in the world and love being on our land, too.” She felt his attention on her as she tilted her face to the sky, closing her eyes. “But, wow, do I love our land. During the summer, I swim at night, and I’ll float on my back, just staring up at the stars. You wouldn’t believe how many you can see out there, where there’s no city lights. I spend all day working my tail off, just so excited for the reward of getting into the pond and staring up at the stars.”
“Is that why you draw fireworks around everything?”
She looked at him in surprise, having forgotten he’d seen her drawings. “No. I’ve always drawn those. My earliest memory is standing in a field, and there’s a big crowd of people. I’m holding a sparkler in one hand, and it feels overwhelming until a big hand comes around mine and all of my worries go away. I hold my sparkler up and stare at the sky behind it, exploding in fireworks.”
“Whose hand was it?”
“I don’t know. I always assumed it was Steve’s, but we’ve never set off fireworks. To him, it would be like lighting your money on fire. Also, I can’t remember him ever holding my hand.” She inhaled slowly as hope seemed to balloon in her throat. Another life unfolding. “When I got those results back…”
“You thought it might be a memory. With Christopher Koning.”
“Yeah. That night…It was magical. The flowerworks seemed to go on forever. It’s like I can still see them when I close my eyes. I dream the sky is full of them.”
“They’re beautiful, Ren.”
Her stomach warmed with the compliment. “Thank you.” She stepped forward, setting a hand on his chest. “I think you’re beautiful.”
Edward frowned, glancing down at the water lapping gently against her fingers, his chest. He seemed to sense the transition in her, the suggestion that they could stop talking for a little while.
“You know, what we were talking about back there,” he said, tilting his head closer to shore. “About how I stopped us from going too far last night…”
She waited, but her heart did an uncomfortable stutter, watching him piece together the words.
“I don’t want you to regret anything after this trip,” he said, finally, and the intensity seeped back into his eyes. “From blackmail to a sort of truce to hot-tub kissing to voluntarily sharing a bed…It’s been a wild ride for me—I can’t imagine what it’s been like for you.”