"Okay, where do I start?" I let them help me off the side of the boat, Ryan and Blaise to either side of me. They showed me where to place the skis and my hands, and stayed with me while the boat slowly increased speed again.
"Remember to keep your legs apart and your knees bent," Ryan called out. "Balance your weight on the skis. That's?—"
I didn't hear what else he said, I'd toppled sideways, straight into the water. I let go of the rope and swam for the surface, helped by the buoyancy from my life jacket.
Laughing, I popped up out of the water. "I almost stood up."
Arm over arm, the guys swam to me, and helped me back into the boat, into Morgan's waiting arms. I clung to him, trying to get my balance.
"Do you want to try again?" He brushed wet hair off my face.
"I think I'd rather watch the guys have their turn," I said. It wouldn't be long before we had to get the boat back to the dock.
"No one minds if you want to try," Morgan assured me. "But if you don't want to, no one minds that, either."
I looked up into his eyes. "I have to thank all of you for bringing me out here, but I think I'd like to sit and watch. It's so pretty here."
"You should see it in winter. The lake freezes over so we skate instead of swimming and waterskiing." He smiled wistfully.
"What position do you play?" I asked. "Let me guess, you're a D-man?"
He grinned. "Is it that obvious?"
I shrugged. "You seemed like the type. "I'm guessing Blaise is centre and Ryan is goalie." I watched them both climb back onto the boat.
"The opposition says it's unfair," Blaise said. "Ryan is so big, he takes up the entire goal."
Ryan shrugged at that. "Small guys are fast."
"We sure are." Blaise snagged up a towel and tossed it to me.
I managed to catch it and wrapped it around my shoulders. "Is this your usual summer Sunday? Out on the lake."
I caught a squeal from another woman waterskiing behind a different boat. People dotted the shore all around, having picnicsand enjoying the sun. A group of teenagers took turns jumping off the end of the long dock, into the water.
No one seemed to have a care in the world.
"When we're not working," Ryan said. "We're busiest at the height of summer and all winter. I got today off, because I've worked the last eight." He didn't seem to mind.
I didn't think any of them were men who liked to sit around too much. Not that sitting around was a bad thing, just nottheirthing.
"I'm glad you did," I said sincerely. "This has been fun."
"We're just getting started," Blaise said. He gave me a measured look that said I was going to have to wait and see what they had planned for me next.
11
RYAN
I putthe truck in park and pushed my door open. Before I could put a foot on the ground, Blaise was out and opening the door for Paisley.
The air up here was a little cooler, the roar of the falls taking the place of the squeals of people down at the lake. At this time of afternoon, we had the place to ourselves.
While the other two fussed over Paisley, I pulled a blanket and cooler out of the back of the truck.
"This way," I said. I jerked my head toward a track that wound between the trees, before heading toward it.
The others followed along behind.
