Page 22 of Resisting the Fall

“Maven, I’ve been married to you before. It wasn’t that bad.”

I scoffed, hating that my first instinct had been to laugh. “That’s because last time I liked you.”

He chuckled, like I was just being funny.

Irritation buzzed in my chest. Apparently, Ben needed to realize how unpleasant the quickest route could be. And conveniently, my schedule was free.

Rowdy laughter in the distance had Tate and me picking up the pace along the pathway to Leeland’s pond. It was nearly four, but it was still uncomfortably hot thanks to the summer humidity and the fact it had hit ninety-five today. And considering I hadn’t stopped since waking up before dawn to help Dad with the hay, spending the rest of the morning at football camp, and then heading straight to the workshop to assist Wally, I was desperate to get in the water.

“Finally decided to join us?” Carson called from the dock.

“Some of us had to work today,” I called back, pulling off my shirt and tossing it at the base of the sycamore. Tate did likewise.

The sound of giggling sent me searching the water near the dock, and only then did I realize that among the usual faces—Will, Dominic, James, and Ryan—there were a few I’d never seen before. All of them girls.

Tate and I shared an eager glance, then headed toward the group.

Carson introduced us to four girls about our age—a group of cousins whose family had rented a place up the road for a family reunion through the end of the week—and we were soon all swimming and laughing and chatting.

After a while, I swam out to the small floating island, and Alana, a strawberry blond with insane blue eyes and a pretty smile, followed. She sat next to me, and we talked about the upcoming school year and where she planned to go to school when she graduated at the end of the year.

“How about you?” she asked. “What colleges are you going to apply to next year?”

I shook my head. “Twelve years is enough school for me.”

She looked slightly surprised by my response, but then she smiled. “My parents would freak if I told them I wasn’t going to college.”

“My dad’s a farmer, so he gets it.”

Her gaze roved down my torso and settled on my arms briefly before her blue eyes returned to mine. Then she leaned in toward me, her shoulder brushing mine. “I should have guessed you were a farm boy with that physique.”

I gave a hard swallow, not exactly sure how to respond.

“Carson!” Maven’s voice pulled my gaze toward the dock. She stood at the end of it, her hands cupped around her mouth, trying to get her brother’s attention.

Carson and another of the girls—maybe Zoe?—had swum across the pond and were taking their sweet time heading back. The rest of the group sat along the dock, talking and soaking up the last rays of sunlight.

“Carson!” Maven tried again, then shook her head, clearly agitated.

“I don’t think he can hear you,” I called. “Want me to swim out and get him?”

She crossed her arms and didn’t look at me.

Tate glanced at me, then back at Maven. “Want one of us to go get him?” he repeated.

“Could you?” Maven asked Tate.

Tate shot me another brief look, but then he nodded and dove into the water.

Maven waited with her arms folded across her chest, her gaze fixed on the opposite side of the pond. She was wearing a white tank top over a swimsuit, and her pair of cutoff shorts made it difficult to look away. Ever since Keith had mentioned her being hot, I couldn’t unsee it. Which had made things feel a little weird between us. Or maybe it was in my head.

“Who’s that?” Alana asked.

“Carson’s sister.”

“Do you need to go talk to her?”

I shook my head but kept my gaze on Maven. She was clearly avoiding looking at me. “Actually, I’d better. Sorry.”