Read Southern Hearts for Free Online Page B

looking at?” Tami asked.
    “Nothing.” I said, my attention still directed toward the harbor and the sprinkle of Bayliners and sailboats that were anchored near the shore. I was focused on one that was a few yards out from the pier with a tall mast and flapping sail, bleached white with several yellow stars, and the name Small Wonder stenciled to the back of the stern. A young woman clad in cut-offs and a bikini top was waving in my direction. She stepped over the taut line fencing the starboard side, walked out onto a narrow bridge, and then dived in. I stretched my neck and watched her smooth stroke, her body cutting through the water in a straight line toward me, until she reached the edge of the dock, hoisting herself up over the jagged sides until she was standing just in front of me.
    “Hi,” she said, wringing her long hair to remove the excess water.
    “Hi,” I said. “That was quite a sprint.”
    “I love the water,” she said. “There’s nothing that makes you feel more alive than cool water over your skin.”
    It was a corny comment, but I smiled anyway.
    “Do you swim?” she asked.
    “She was a lifeguard in college,” Tami chimed in.
    “This is Regency. Regee,” I said, introducing her. “Carl’s daughter.”
    “Hi,” Tami said quickly, turning back toward Gator and the paper he was writing up.
    “How about a dip?”
    “I don’t know...we’re working on party arrangements.”
    “You don’t know what you’re missing.” She jumped back into the water and floated onto her back. “It’s cold at first, but once you get use to it...it’s nice.”
    She was gorgeous, her hair slicked back to her head, her eyelashes curling upward as they dripped water, her arms long and firm as the sun reflected from the water around her muscular figure.
    Without a thought I kicked off my saddles, ripped off my T-shirt and knotted it through the belt loop of my shorts, then dove in, popping up next to her.
    “Ugh. It’s cold!” I shrieked. “I’ll meet you back at the house later, Tami,” I shouted, then rolled onto my stomach and chased after Regee as she rapidly sped ahead of me. When I got within reach, I grabbed the back of her ankle, pulling her a stroke or two behind me, then hoisted myself up the slick rungs of the ladder that striped the boat’s side.
    “Game, set, and match,” I cheered, gloating as I fell back on the fiberglass deck and then stretched out, gasping for air.
    “You cheat!” She laughed, flopping down at my side.
    “You had a head start—a few hundred yards or so, I would say,” I retorted in my defense. “It’s great out here, so calm. Is this your boat?”
    “Sort of. I’m buying it from my dad, few hundred or so more payments and she’ll be mine.” She ran her hand over the deck as if it were the mane of a furry animal.
    “God, it’s great! I love boats. Sometimes on the weekends I jog around Lake Union just to watch the fishermen come in and out from their scows.” I moved my gaze across the antique copper sextant that was perched over the gauges of the boat’s dash and watched the jiggle of liquid around the dial inside the dome of the compass. I looked out at the boats moored near the crest of Vermilion Bay, then out over Cypremort Point State Park and to the tourists snapping pictures of wildlife along the Marsh Island beach.
    “What’s Seattle like? I’ve never been there,” she asked.
    “Cold. It rains a lot. But I like it.”
    “I thought about going to school out there, then I changed my mind at the last minute. I don’t think I could leave the South; it’s part of me and I know I’d miss it.”
    “It’s a culture shock, that’s for sure.” I said, tracing her expression with my eyes as she spoke. She was lovely, and being next to her, feeling her skin casually touch mine, made it hard for me to concentrate on the conversation. It was almost torture, she was so captivating, and I had to bury the urge that was racing inside of me to