“I’m okay, Maverick. It’s okay.” Olivia’s gaze flickers back up to me, and there’s something in her eyes that makes it clear her mind is spinning just as much as mine. I wish I could fix that, solve all of her problems, and try to put her mind at ease. I guess that’s what today is for.
She climbs out of the water, cooing to Maverick. “Should we get you a stick to chase?” She plucks one from the shore, letting Maverick sniff it and approve.
When the stick launches over my head, and I hear her splash back into the water, I finally look back her way. “So, what do you think?”
“This spot is great! How’d you find it?”
“According to Callie, she grew up coming out here. They’d come here to drink as teenagers, swim in the summertime, and do just about every stupid thing you could think of. I think the kids found a new spot nowadays. I’m not quite sure.”
“Hmm, well I like this spot. Thanks for bringing me here. And for taking me to Copper Hill. It was cool to see where you work and visit my friend Maggie again. I think maybe in another life, I could live on a ranch and just be out in the fields working with my hands around animals every day.”
“It doesn’t have to be in another life. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”
“Even if I stayed here, I’m not going to work on a ranch.”
“Why not?”
“It’s just not who Olivia Parker is.”
“Then who is she?”
She purses her lips. “That’s a good question. I think I’m still figuring that out.”
“That’s okay. I think I’m still figuring out who Rhett Lawson is too, and I have a two-year head start on you.”
She gives me an appreciative smile. “We can figure it out together.”
Maverick comes swimming back toward me panting with the stick still in his mouth. Olivia takes it gently from Maverick and throws it again for him. He rushes off after it with excitement.
“Maverick is quite the fish, huh?”
“Yeah, I guess so. It doesn’t surprise me. You’ve said he’s perfectly at home on the ranch. I think he likes having a purpose. It’s in his blood.” She glances at him lovingly as he determinedly makes his way back to where Olivia is treading water. When he reaches her, she takes the stick and chucks it before saying, “And I guess he loves the water, so there’s no stopping him now.”
“We’ll have to come back again.”
“I think he’d like that.”
“What about you?”
“Yeah, I’d like it too.”
* * *
Sitting on her rumpled towel, leaning against me, Olivia happily munches on the apple chips I packed. Maverick dozes to her side with his whole back pressed up against her outstretched leg, and she looks at peace. I don’t want to speak, don’t want to move, don’t even want to breathe too loudly out of fear that I will ruin this perfect moment that I’m trying to engrain in my memory right now.
But Olivia finally breaks the silence. “I love it out here. I could get used to this. We’ve got snacks and look at this view. It’s just breathtaking.”
I follow her gaze to the scene set in front of us. The swimming hole shimmers in the sun. The live oaks that surround us in a canopy open up about ten feet behind us to create a small plain of long grass and wildflowers that blow in the gentle breeze. Birds chase each other overhead, singing a cheerful tune. It’s stunning, but the only sight I care about right now is the kind-hearted woman by my side, with freckles dusting her cheeks and her oversized t-shirt hanging off her shoulder in typical Olivia fashion as she gently sinks her fingers into the thick tufts of fur on Maverick’s back.
“Yeah, it’s pretty great,” I say, keeping my eyes steady on her.
Her cheeks flush when she catches my gaze on her, and she quickly busies herself with rolling up the bag of apple chips. When I snatch my hat from the ground and place it on backward, the blush on her cheeks grows brighter.
Olivia’s lips curve into a slight smirk before she leans back against her palms and sighs contentedly. “I know you didn’t grow up in Roots, but were your summers still spent like this when you were younger?”
“Yeah, my summers were pretty similar to this. Granted I didn’t usually hang out with beautiful women.” She looks down at the ground, clearly uncomfortable with taking the compliment. “I spent most of my summers with a couple of buddies that lived on my street. We got into all kinds of trouble.”
“I would’ve liked to see teenage Rhett and all the shenanigans he got into.”
