Chapter Four #3
She heard his footsteps. He stepped into the doorway and she looked up, immediately aware of every inch of him. His wide shoulders leaned casually against one side of the door frame. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at her, his dark eyes focused solely on her.
“Finished?” he asked, taking note of her replacing a CD in its case.
“I’ve been listening for a couple of hours. I’m not finished. It’s fascinating. I love the rhythm of the songs. And the words are funny sometimes.”
“Take a break. We’ll go for lunch.”
“I’m working with Sam this afternoon around three,” she said, longing to ditch the library and go wherever he asked.
What about her vow to resist temptation?
“We’ll be back by then. I picked up lunch from the store. Bella makes a great picnic basket.”
“Are we taking your motorcycle?” she asked.
“Nope, walking. Come on. Best time of day.”
He turned.
He seemed so sure of her, she thought, following along. She had to admit to being intrigued.
As soon as they left the library, Kirk picked up a basket sitting near the door. He nodded toward the left and they walked a short distance, then he turned and began following a well-worn path that led into the shady area of the woods that grew up right next to the town.
It felt cooler once they were sheltered from the sun.
Dappled spots of sunshine moved as the leaves responded to the light breeze.
It was hushed in the woods, only the sound of their footsteps and birds singing in the distance.
A few puddles were visible from yesterday’s storm, but the ground underfoot for the most part was packed and dry.
Angelica was enchanted. She followed, not talking.
Sometimes she watched Kirk as he took long strides and seemed to be part of the nature they invaded.
He was comfortable in this environment. She watched the path, lifted her gaze to the leafy roof over their heads, took a breath of the fragrant air.
The trilling of the birds could almost be set to music, she thought, hurrying to keep up with him.
The path was well defined. She wouldn’t get lost even if he went ahead. She wondered about the early settlers to this area. If the trees had always grown so close together, so thick, it was a wonder anyone had carved out a place in Kentucky.
When she heard the gurgling of a brook, she searched ahead of them.
It had to be close. It sounded lovely. Two minutes later they stepped into a wide clearing where a rock-strewn brook roughly cut the space in half.
The water splashed against and over the small stones and rocks, twisting almost back on itself once, and then headed straight down into the trees.
“This is magical,” she said, taking in the pretty clearing.
Sunshine kissed the grass beneath the opening in the trees. The water gave a tireless melody. The bird song topped it off.
“Can you hear the water?”
“When I’m this close I can. I remember as a kid hearing it long before I reached the opening.”
“Why aren’t trees growing here?”
He put down the basket, opened it and brought out a red-and-white checked tablecloth.
Shaking it out to spread on the ground, he said, “No one knows. But as long as I’ve been coming here it’s been open like this.
Almost as if there’s something in the soil toxic to trees.
Yet there’s other vegetation growing, so it’s not sterile soil. ”
Angelica knelt down on the edge of the cloth as he began unpacking the lunch. Cold fried chicken, buttered rolls, potato salad, and iced drinks. In no time she was enjoying the meal as much as she enjoyed the setting.
He didn’t talk and neither did she. Her gaze darted around as she memorized the place.
Closing her eyes once, she tried to imprint the sound of the brook and the rustle of the leaves and the bird song forever on her memory.
Would she be able to recall this special moment when she was stomping through the slushy New York winters?
“Very nice,” she said when she opened her eyes. Kirk leaned back on one elbow and studied the stream.
“I thought you’d like it.”
“Do you come here often?”
She leaned back on one hand, staring at the brook. The water glinted in the sunshine, the pleasing sound soothing. Now that she’d eaten, she could almost take a nap.
“I haven’t lately. It’s not exactly a place to come alone. I eat at home.”
“Thank you for bringing me, it’s lovely.”
“In a while, we can hike upstream a bit. About a mile farther is a waterfall which dumps into a swimming hole. We could go swimming, it’s hot enough.”
“I don’t have a suit,” she said.
“Me either, so?”
Angelica looked at him. The teasing light in his eyes gave him away. She swallowed and shook her head. He laughed.
The image of the two of them swimming without a stitch on wouldn’t leave.
She’d never been skinny-dipping. But she’d bet lunch that Kirk had more than once.
Who with, she wondered? Girlfriends from high school?
Was there a special woman in his life now?
Probably not or he wouldn’t be so available. Were the women in Smoky Hollow blind?
They left the picnic basket at the edge of the clearing. Kirk said it’d be safe, and there was no reason to carry it up and back.
The stream meandered. The path along its side wasn’t as well defined as the one from town to the clearing had been.
Sometimes they stepped over exposed roots of trees, around clumps of ferns.
Once they crossed on stepping stones. Angelica wished she’d brought her phone.
But it was back at the cottage turned off so her parents couldn’t reach her.
She’d never expected to be hopping from rock to rock to get across some stream of water when she awoke that morning. She laughed and Kirk turned to look at her.
“This is very different from New York City,” she explained.
“Better?”
She nodded, scrambling to catch up. He seemed to walk along at the same pace no matter what the terrain. She was a bit out of breath keeping up with him. And while the path was primarily in shade, it was growing warmer by the minute.
“We’ll be there soon,” he said, turning and heading on again.
When they reached the pool, Angelica almost suggested they follow his original idea and plunge in.
She was hot and out of breath. The water looked cool and inviting.
The waterfall was a three-foot-tall curtain spilling over a wide lip of rock.
She’d love to swim beneath it and have it rain down on her.
“Is it deep?” she asked.
The water was so clear she could see the rocky bottom. It didn’t look deep.
“About four or five feet. Very deep when one is Sam’s age. Not so much now. But it’s refreshing.”
He stopped by the edge and trailed his hands in it. Then he flicked her with water.
Surprised, she leaned over and slapped a wave of water at him. Only a little reached her target. She danced away when he splashed her again. Laughing, she wished she could douse him.
He cupped water in his hands and started for her, devilment in his eyes. Angelica shrieked and turned to run. A second later her entire back was wet. She laughed again and turned.
“No fair, you have the advantage,” she said, when he turned to get more water. She didn’t have clear access to the pond. Darting to the left, she tried to go wide, but he turned and threw water at her again.
Laughing so hard she almost fell, she reached the edge of the water. Ignoring her shoes, she waded in and began splashing water at him. He joined in and before five minutes passed they were both soaked.
Angelica plopped down at the edge of the water and just let Kirk’s attack wash over her. She felt deliciously cool in the hot afternoon. She’d squish all the way home, but for now it felt marvelous.
A minute later another wave of water washed over her as he sat right down beside her on her left.
His dark hair glistened with water. Drops clung to his eyelashes.
“Now do you want to go skinny-dipping?”
“No need, I’m soaked.” She glanced at him. “Next time I’ll bring a bathing suit.”
She’d have to buy one as she hadn’t brought one. Did the local store carry any? Maybe she’d need a ride to Bryceville.
“Spoilsport,” he said easily.
“You must have had a great childhood,” she said looking around and imagining Kirk and his friends roaming wherever they wished, safe and happy and free.
“Sure did.”
“Are you an only child?”
“Only child of an only child of an only child,” he said.
“So no cousins to play with.”
“Plenty of others around.”
“Do your parents live in Smoky Hollow?”
“There’s only my granddad. He’s still here. He raised me.”
Angelica swished her hands through the water, letting the cool liquid drip when she raised her palms. She remembered that’s what the store owner had said.
“I should get home. I’ll need to change before Sam comes,” she said slowly.
She looked at Kirk. “Thanks for the picnic and bringing me here. This is such a lovely place.”
He nodded in acknowledgment, then leaned over and brushed his lips against hers. It was a momentary touch which was over far, far too soon in Angelica’s opinion. She felt an explosion of feelings, indescribably exquisite, with merely that brief contact.
Without a word, he rose and offered his hand to pull her up. His touch seemed electric. Water streamed from them both as she snatched her hand back and looked everywhere except at him.
He kissed her!
Her heart pounded. She wanted to touch her lips with her fingers, stop a moment and savor the feelings that roiled inside.
Instead, she turned and stepped back on the path, her shoes squishing. She knew she’d be uncomfortable all the way home. But that didn’t faze her. It was that brief kiss that dominated her mind.
She didn’t know how to react. Should she say something? Ignore it. Laugh it off. Her back to Kirk, she wrung water from her shirt, pulling it away from her body. Her pants were dripping at every step, her shoes dribbling water as she walked.
Taking a breath, she turned. Kirk had taken off his shirt and was wringing it out.
She almost caught her breath at his masculine beauty.
She knew his shoulders were broad and muscular.
He looked like some kind of perfect male form that artists would long to paint.
His skin was tanned and taut over muscles in his chest and flat stomach.
She was mesmerized. It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen men in swimming trunks or something, but none she could remember looked like Kirk.
When he donned the damp shirt, she was disappointed. But she hoped he never suspected.
“Ready?” he asked.
She nodded, and followed him as he led the way along the stream and back to the picnic area. This outing was the most spontaneous fun she ever remembered.
And his kiss was not something she’d ever forget.
By the time they reached Webb Francis’s home, her feet felt rubbed raw from walking in wet shoes and socks. Her shirt and cotton pants had dried for the most part, but she couldn’t wait to get them off.
“Next time bring a bathing suit,” he suggested as they parted.
She hesitated a moment, then nodded. Sounded like he planned on a next time. She wanted to nail that down, but still feeling awkward about that kiss, she just waved goodbye and turned to enter the cottage. She had not been expecting another kiss.