Page 46 of The Outpost (Jamison Valley 4)
I hoisted myself up on the rock and was just brushing off the extra water drops when Beau left the waterfall and swam to the edge of the pool. “Boone!”
The dog approached hesitantly—knowing what I didn’t—that Beau was going to pull him into the water for a bath. As quickly as Boone could swim free, he hauled his dripping body out of the water and did his doggy shake.
“Gah!” I yelled, holding up my hands to shield my face. The yell was a mistake. A couple of droplets landed in my mouth. “Yuck.” I swallowed and fought back a gag.
“Sorry,” Beau said, wading closer to the rock platform. “Get out of here, Boone.”
I wiped my face and rinsed my hands in the pool, laughing at the irony of the situation. “I was just reflecting earlier on how nice it was out here, despite my previous aversion to nature. Then I get dog bathwater in my mouth and realize I’m not as close to nature as I thought.”
Looking up from the pond, I expected to see Beau smiling at my joke. Instead he was studying my face in complete seriousness.
“What?” I asked.
“Is that true?”
“What? That I don’t like dog bathwater in my mouth? Of course, who would?”
“No.” He shook his head. “That you like it here.”
“Oh. Well, yeah.”
All the muscles in his face relaxed except for the corner of his mouth that turned up. “Good. That didn’t take as long as I thought it would.”
“Huh?”
“Nothing, Shortcake.” He chuckled and sank backward into the water. “I’m just glad you approve.”
Who wouldn’t approve of this waterfall or that water? Maybe he meant something else. Before I could ask him to clarify, he took a deep breath, then sank under the water. Beneath the surface, I could see him inching closer.
I was about to move up onto my knees when he rose up out of the water and sent a streaming burst of water out of his mouth and into my face. I did my best to block the stream but I got soaked.
“Lovely,” I deadpanned once the onslaught had stopped and water was dripping down off my nose and chin.
“Better than dog bathwater, though.”
I didn’t acknowledge the truth of that comment as I stood and dried off my face. “Don’t you think you’d better get out of there before you turn into an icicle?”
He grinned and pulled himself up on the rock. Beau tugged on his tennis shoes and wadded up his dry shirt and cargo shorts rather than put them on.
Once I had my clothes and shoes back on too, we set off back down the trail. Maybe one day I’d get the chance to visit this place again. I could take a vacation back in Montana when my ordeal with the Federovs was all over. Until then, I’d find a way to work that waterfall setting into a future novel. My memory of that magical place wouldn’t just live on in my own head but through the written word that others could cherish too.
I smiled, thinking that place might be just the right spot for my current novel’s heroine to get frisky with her hero.
“Are you going to tell me what’s making you smile?” Beau asked.
Definitely not in detail. “I was just thinking about a scene for my book.”
“How’s the writing going?”
“Good.” I smiled. “Great, actually. I’m working on my second novel. The first one is done and pretty special, if I do say so myself.”
“Impressive. What’s it about?”
“Well, since I know you will never read it, I guess I can tell you.”
“Hey, I might read it.”
“Goliath, let me assure you, it is not your type of book.”
