Page 55 of Summer Ride

They made their way towards the shore, and he helped her pull her paddleboard up onto the sand.

Then he sat still as Kara rubbed the lotion into his shoulders, chest, and back.

“This, right here, is one of my favorite things in the world.” She smiled at him. “Lathering you up.”

He chuckled. “Wait until it’s your turn.”

She wiggled her eyebrows. “Too bad a sandy beach is one of my least favorite places to have sex.”

He remembered the many times they had tried in the past and chuckled. He and Kara had done it in so many places, besides a bed, that he couldn’t even remember every crazy place. “What is your favorite place that we’ve had sex?” he asked.

She tilted her head as if thinking.

“I’d have to say that the time we had that quickie at the camp in the boathouse ranks in the top two. The other was our first time on the massage table. You? What’s your favorite?”

He turned and pulled her into his arms. “Anywhere, just as long as it’s with you.”

She laughed. “That’s corny.”

“It’s true.”

“Fine, then I’ll take it.” She turned around. “Now, do me,” she said over her shoulder.

They paddled for another hour until they reached the state park at the end of the peninsula. Then they sat at a picnic table and ate the lunch they had packed.

After enjoying the park and playing in the water for a while, they finally headed back down the shoreline towards the house.

When they returned, he put the paddleboards away and they jumped in the pool to cool off and wash the sand away.

They ate by the poolside and swam until a cool breeze moved in. Then they changed and sat next to the firepit on the second-story deck to watch the sunset.

“I don’t want to leave in a few days,” she said with a sigh. “Every time we come here, I try and figure out how this could be our lives.”

He chuckled. “Too bad we both like eating food that costs money and living someplace that needs power and water. That’s what our jobs pay for.”

“And we both love our jobs,” she added, smiling at him. “Working helped me through some very dark times in my life.” He remained silent in hopes that she would tell him more. Thankfully, she continued talking. “When I was first released from juvie, I got my first job. I threw everything I was into it. My physical therapist, the one that helped me study and pass my exams—”

“Barb?” he asked, trying to remember the woman’s name from when Kara had mentioned it before.

She glanced over at him and nodded. “She was the first person who showed me kindness. The first one who believed me. Really believed my side of what had happened to me. When I got out of juvie, she helped me find a job and a place to live. I hopped on a bus out of North Carolina and moved to Tennessee, where she was from. I got my first job there and a car.”

“When did you move here?” he asked.

“About two years later. I came down here for a weekend and decided to stay after my car broke down. That’s when I met Zoey. Even after moving here, the hours I spent working allowed me to feel more. To heal in places I didn’t know I was still broken.”

“I’m so thankful you did move here.”

She smiled. “Me too. I moved her to be close to the water, and I never imagined I’d have so many friends. My work and everyone who works at the camp saved me.” She took his hand in hers. “You saved me.”

He brushed his lips across hers.

“This vacation saved me.” She laughed and motioned to the scenery as the sun disappeared, shrouding their view in darkness. “I needed this.”

“We both did. I’ve spent a lot of my hours lately working.” He glanced at her. “Trying to fill the void in my life when you dropped me.”

Chapter Seventeen

Kara instantly felt guilty. Tilting her head, she ran her eyes over Carter’s face. The light from the sunset and bonfire bounced across his features, making him look sexier than ever before and just a little dangerous.