He's No Prince Charming (15 page)

Sierra rolled her eyes. “You gotta say it like you mean it, Dakota. And say
ass
, not
butt
.”

“Okay, how’s this?” She cleared her throat and stood up straighter. “Don’t you dare laugh, or I’ll kick your ever-lovin’ ass!” She jutted her chin in the air for good measure.

“Should I ask what’s going on here?” Trace inquired with a slow shake of his head.

“No,” Sierra answered firmly.

“Then that means you two are up to no good,” he replied. Gil put his paw on Trace’s leg, begging for more, when Trace paused from scratching his ears. But Trace straightened up from his kneeling position and absently rubbed his thigh. Dakota had noticed, though, that he seemed to be walking a bit better, but she wasn’t about to ask or comment on it.

“Lucky you happened to be out on the lake and spotted Dakota floppin’ around in the water.”

“I wasn’t flopping around,” Dakota protested, but it was now pretty obvious that Trace was out watching after her and not on his regular rounds. She knew he wouldn’t like it if she called him on the fact, but felt another shot of warm fuzzies that he cared enough to take the time to keep her safe. He continued to be her reluctant hero, but was her hero yet again, like it or not.

Ever since her career went down the toilet, she had gotten used to no one caring. Sure, her mom and dad called, and she visited them in Florida when she could. They cared, but after that, the list was rather short. Caring, she decided as she looked over at Trace, was pretty damned sexy.

“Hey, Sierra,” Trace said, “I’m going to show Dakota around the lake. Is there something in the kitchen you can toss us together for lunch?”

“Sure, I just made a batch of potato salad, and I’m having cold cuts, and cookies for dessert if Grady hasn’t eaten them all. Sound good?” Sierra asked.

“Perfect,” Trace answered. “A jug of sweet tea would be great too. That okay with you, Dakota?”

“Sure,” she answered, “but are you sure about leaving your office? I don’t want you to have a mountain of work staring you in the face on my account.”

“I’m caught up,” he promised her. “And I’ll have my phone on, if anyone needs me. By the way, here’s your tote bag from the boat,” he said, and handed it to her. “I think I heard your phone ring.”

“Thanks. I almost forgot about it!”

“I’ll be back with your lunch in a few minutes,” Sierra said, and when Trace tuned his back, she gave Dakota a thumbs-up, widened her eyes, and wiggled her eyebrows. When Trace turned back around, she schooled her face back into a serious expression.

Dakota covered her mouth to hide her smile and thought how much fun it was to have a girlfriend again. Her circle of friends from her singing days disappeared when her career took a tumble, and she missed female companionship. In a very short time, this little marina was beginning to feel like home more than L.A. ever did.

“Dakota, I’m going to pop in my office and check my e-mail while Sierra’s packing our lunch. You need anything else?”

“No, I’m fine. I’ll just dry off here in the sunshine,” she said with a smile.

Trace didn’t smile back, but she did get a brief nod. She had the feeling he wanted to spend some time with her, but then again was kicking himself in the butt—
ass
—for asking her to go on the cruise around the lake. She wasn’t about to let him get out of it, though, and vowed that before the day was over, she would wrangle another smile from her cranky but oh-so-very-sexy cowboy.

And maybe a kiss or two as well.

“Do what to myself?” he asked in a short tone.

Sierra pointed to his face. “Fret, worry. Turn that frown upside down.”

“You did not just say that.”

“Apparently, I’ve been hangin’ around the princess too much. Listen, just enjoy an afternoon on the lake. The weather is amazing.” Sierra put a hand on his arm. “The two of you need this.”
Need each other
hung silently in the air.

“Right, I need this like I need another hole in my head,” Trace grumbled, but took the bulging bag and thanked her. But as he walked down the dock to his boat, he racked his brain for a reason to back out. Not only did he have a hard time keeping his hands off Dakota, but also he was beginning to care way too much for his comfort. Taking her out on the water and into secluded coves like he promised spelled trouble. So when he approached her, Trace was prepared to tell her he had too much work to do after all.

But then she looked up from petting Gil and smiled.

And Trace was a goner.

“You ready?”

“Sure!” When she nodded, he offered her a hand up and was amazed that he was affected by even that brief contact. “Okay, let’s go!” Her bright enthusiasm and eager smile lit a pilot light deep inside Trace that had gone out long ago, and he felt a sudden energy and lightness in his step.

Gil barked his protest at being left behind, since Trace often took the dog along, but he thought he would have his hands full with Dakota.

“Aw, Gil wants to come with us,” Dakota said, and Trace was somehow pleased at her softhearted nature toward the dog. “Does he like the water?”

Trace nodded as he stepped onto the boat. “Yeah, I take him with me once in a while, but we’ll be tying up or anchoring, and he tends to run off to explore. Maybe next time,” he answered.

“Okay,” she answered with a smile, and Trace could have kicked himself for mentioning a next time when he shouldn’t even be doing a
this
time. “Here,” she offered, and reached for the bag. “I’ll stash lunch in the fridge while you get us up and running.”

“It’s heavy,” he warned as he handed her the big bag.

“Got it.”

When she disappeared into the galley below, he thought how in some ways this felt natural and cou plelike. At times when he was with her, he totally forgot and let down his guard. He didn’t think about his scarred face or his bum leg, and actually relaxed. The water had a way of settling him down too. Once Dakota was back up in the cockpit, he maneuvered them out of the marina and into the middle of the lake.

“You ready?”

“You betcha!”

“Okay, then.” Trace opened up the engines, and when the boat leveled out, they skimmed across the water. He stood up to steer while carefully watching for other traffic and occasional logs floating on the water. The wind whipped through his hair and the sunshine felt warm on his shoulders and back. After a few moments, Dakota stood up as well and smiled over at him. When he automatically smiled back, she laughed with such pure delight that he couldn’t help but chuckle and shake his head.

“Woo-hoo! Dakota Dunn’s day off!” She laughed when the wind caught her hair. She twisted it around her fist and turned her face up to the sun, and Trace realized that Sierra had been right—they both needed this. He wasn’t sure about the details that brought Dakota to Willow Creek Marina, but he sensed there was stress and heartache that she was trying to escape. While he had cautioned himself not to become personally involved, if she chose to confide in him, he would listen. Trace knew full well how destructive it was to keep things bottled up inside, and he did not want that for her.

After a while he slowed down and turned into one of his favorite coves, where the bank was jagged and steep. Pine trees seemed to defy nature and hugged the cliff, growing out of very little soil, scrawny but determined. Wildflowers added a splash of color in contrast to the vivid green trees and gray shale overlaid by limestone. The water became shallow in spots, so he navigated with caution before killing the engine.

“This is beautiful back in here,” Dakota commented. “I seem to remember coming to this cove with my daddy.” She inhaled deeply and said, “Will you listen to that?”

“What?”

“Nothing. Silence except for the rustle of the gentle breeze tickling the leaves.”

“Tickling the leaves?”

Dakota laughed. “Yeah, I think I’ll jot that down. I really need to start writing some songs.”

“Do you write your own music?”

“Not all, but some. Actually, I’ve missed it. I had forgotten how much I loved the creative side of this business, and I’m itching to get started. I’ve already got some songs brewing in my brain and I can’t wait to get them on paper.”

“Do you want to head back?”

“To the marina?”

“To California,” he said, and was surprised when his heart pounded in anticipation of her answer.

Dakota shook her head. “Heavens, no. This is inspi rational and is clearing the smog out of my head.”

Trace angled his head at her. “So you don’t miss the bright lights, big city?”

“Some things.” She sat down in her seat. “But I never felt at home there.”

“And you do here?”

She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and was silent for a moment. “That’s what I’m trying to find, I suppose. A sense of home. Belonging.”

Trace sat down and swiveled his chair toward hers. “What about performing?”

Dakota felt a shiver of anxiety at the thought and nibbled on the inside of her cheek. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been up onstage. You know, though, I think I mostly miss making people happy. Standing up clapping, cheering, singing along.” She nodded and looked over at him thoughtfully. “Yeah, now that I think about it, and to tell you the truth, I don’t miss the glory of performing, but I loved making people smile. What about you?”

Trace thought her question about bull riding would bother him, since he avoided talking about it at all costs. But, surprisingly, it didn’t. “Oh, I miss the glory,” he flatly admitted.

“Really?” she asked softly.

Trace nodded. “I’d be lying if I told you otherwise. I ate it up when I covered a bull and then waved my hat to the cheering crowd.”

“You mean you didn’t wear a helmet?”

“Are you kidding?” Trace barked out a laugh. “I was too young, stubborn, and cocky. I’d seen some pretty bad wrecks, but never thought it could happen to me. Of course, I was wrong.” He shook his head and laughed without humor.

“You don’t have to talk about it, Trace.”

“I usually don’t.” He hesitated, looked at her for a measuring moment and then said, “The bull that day was a chute fighter, and I knew I was in trouble from the get-go. He was a damned slinger, and I should have bailed out as soon as I could.”

“But you don’t have any quit in you.”

“I didn’t used to,” he admitted, more to himself than to her.

“Go on,” she encouraged.

“I decided to bear down instead. You know where that landed me.”

“In the dirt.”

“Yeah.” He absently looked up at the blue sky and was surprised it was so easy to talk to her about it.

“What else do you miss?”

“The chance to ride that damned bull again and best him.” He looked over at her. “I miss the challenge. The training. The competition. The money. I miss the rush that comes with the danger. There’s nothing else quite like it.” He reached up and raked his fingers through his wind-tangled hair. “I guess that’s why I felt so displaced. Lost. Bull riding was my life, and nothing else could come close to replacing it.”

“And when that gets taken away, who are you and what are you worth?”

He looked at her for a long moment. “You get it, don’t you?”

Dakota nodded. “Oh yeah.” They sat in silence while the boat gently rocked. Then Dakota said, “What do you say we forget about all that serious stuff and just have some fun?”

“Fun?” His dark eyebrows rose above his sunglasses. “Think we can remember how?”

“Surely it’s like riding a bike,” Dakota answered with a grin.

“Let’s hope,” Trace answered. “You wanna crank up some music and swim? We can jump in back here in the cove. Wait, you don’t have a suit,” Trace amended, thinking he might not be able to get past seeing her swim in her transparent clothing.

“Yeah, as a matter of fact, I do. Sierra tossed the one she was wearing in your hot tub in a plastic bag with our lunch. She took it home to wash and thought it might come in handy.”

Trace tapped his head. “She was thinkin’.”

“And she tossed in some beer too.”

“That girl deserves a raise.”

“Give her one.”

“I was teasing,” he said.

“I wasn’t. Do we have the money? I realize that the slow economy has hit the marina hard. And I also know that you took over right when things took a nosedive. I’m not an accountant, but I’ve looked at the bottom line and I’m impressed that you were able to keep the marina afloat, if you will pardon the pun.”

Trace hesitated when Dakota looked at him closely, making him wonder if she hadn’t guessed that he had secretly funneled in some of his own money early on. She had an uncanny knack for seeing right through him, and so he kept his expression casual. “Yeah, it hasn’t been easy, but we do okay,” he answered carefully. “Remember, you’ve got someone smart at the helm.”

“Evidently,” Dakota agreed slowly, and then looked at him with serious eyes. “Running the marina under those circumstances would have been hard on my father ’s health. You saved him from that stress and probably added years to his life. Thank you for that.”

Trace looked up into the trees while getting his emotions under control, and then turned back to Dakota. “Your father put his trust in me when I felt worthless. I was on a path to self-destruction when I ended up in Tall Rock, and he stopped me in my tracks. There was no way in hell I was gonna let him down.”

“Well, anyone who can hang on to a raging bull for eight seconds is nothing but determined.”

He angled his head at her. “I never thought of it that way, but I guess you’re right. But listen, gas prices have eased up a bit, and Grady and I keep the fishing camp full. I have some ideas to get corporate groups in here, and Grady wants to start a junior fishing club.” He wanted to make her aware that even though times were tough, they had plans in place.

“Then do it.”

“If you say so, boss lady.”

“I say so, Captain.” She gave him a sharp salute.

He laughed—really laughed—and it felt damned good. “Okay, no more shop talk. We’re playing hooky unless my phone rings, and then I’ll have to take care of business.”

“I know the perfect place to swim,” he added, and started up the boat and eased forward at little more than idle speed. “Just around the bend up here. The cove is shaped like a horseshoe, and if we’ve had enough rain there will be a waterfall coming up.”

“I know where you’re talking about,” Dakota commented as she looked around. “Wow, I had forgotten how much I loved this lake.”

“You’ve been away for quite some time.”

“Nine years.”

“You were just a kid,” he said with a sideways glance in her direction. “Ever regret it?”

Dakota stood up and looked out over the water. “Sure, sometimes. You know how it happened?”

“No, not exactly. Only that you were a teen beauty queen or something.”

“The only reason I entered the pageant was because part of the prize was studio time and a possible record deal. I was all about the music. When I was signed, I was on top of the world, and even though my mother and father tried to stop me, I couldn’t give up the chance of a lifetime.” Dakota smiled and said, “For a while there, I was America’s little sweetheart.”

“So what happened?”

Her smile faded. “Pretty simple. I grew up.” She shrugged. “Happens to most pop stars.”

Trace wanted to know more, but she became quiet and he didn’t want to ruin the day.

“Ohmigod, it’s beautiful!” Dakota said when they rounded the bend and a small but lovely waterfall came into view. “I remember swimming behind it when I was a kid.”

“Sometimes there’s fishing boats back here, so we’re lucky,” Trace informed her as he killed the engine. “We’ll drop anchor and jump in if you want to.”

Dakota’s face brightened. “Yes! And it’s getting hot out. This time the water will feel good.”

“Last time not so good, huh?”

“Not exactly. Sorry I was such a pain again,” she admitted as she stood up.

“Sierra says it’s part of your charm.”

“Being a pain?”

“Yeah,” he answered, and rubbed a hand down his face. “Maybe that didn’t come out right. I guess I’m rusty.”

“Rusty? Are you flirting with me, cowboy?”

“I’m the
captain
, remember?”

Dakota arched one eyebrow. “You’re avoiding the question, Captain Obvious.”

“You’re right, I am. But I’m the captain so I’m allowed to. Go change, Princess. We don’t get to play hooky too often.”

“But—”

“But nothing,” he said, and put a fingertip to her lips.