She made a huffing noise, and then started to pull her swimsuit cover-up up the length of her body. Cash wanted to look away but found he couldn’t. She moved faster and faster the higher the cover-up got, and he barely caught a glimpse of her bright pink swimsuit covered in Care Bears before she stepped down into the hot tub and almost disappeared beneath the surface of the water.
Her teeth chattered, with only her head showing, as she said, “Mm, this does feel amazing.”
He grinned at her and moved toward the controls on the hot tub, which caused her to slide over to the other side of the hot tub. “I’m just going to turn on the jets and the lights.”
He positioned himself in the corner pocket with jets and reached over to do that while Lark took his favorite spot in the opposite corner from him. The jets started, causing that rumble and vibration which soothed Cash so much. He pressed the light button just once, and it would rotate through the pink, purple, teal, green, yellow, orange, and red lights every few seconds.
“The jets last twenty minutes,” he said. “I usually stay out for two cycles, but you can go in whenever you want.”
“Okay,” Lark said.
Cash moved around the filter, which sat between the two far corners, and into the other corner seat, now adjacent to Lark. The waterfall and another seat remained between them, and he left it that way.
Lark leaned her head back, the tip of her knee rising out of the water like an iceberg for only a moment while she found her balance and equilibrium in the water. Cash pressed all the wayback against the jets and positioned his feet against the ones in the floor in front of him.
“If you go to bed at midnight,” he asked. “What time do you get up?”
“Between eight and eight-thirty usually,” she said. “If I don’t have an early class. Sometimes I have to be over to the Agricultural Department by eight for my job. But on vacation….” She smiled, her eyes closed and her face tipped up toward the stars. “Hopefully closer to eight-thirty.”
Cash nodded, though she wasn’t looking at him, and he couldn’t stop staring at the goddess being illuminated by colored light and the Wyoming moon only feet from him.
“What time is church?” Lark asked.
“Ten,” he said. “I have to set an alarm on Sundays.” He chuckled. “I’m planning to have the dough done before I go to the sermon, and I can fry everything up and decorate it when we get back. I figured we’d have lunch and then dessert.”
“That’s fine,” Lark said.
Cash swallowed, because he’d left his phone on the corner of the dining room table, the way he always did when he came outside to get in the hot tub. But right now, he really wished he had it, so he could text his cousins and cancel tomorrow’s lunch plans with them.
“I invited some of my cousins over,” he said.
Lark’s eyes opened, and she looked at him. “You did? Who?”
“I didn’t know you were going to be here,” he said quickly. “I can probably cancel on them.”
“I don’t see why you’d need to do that.” Lark sat up a little bit, clearly getting her feet under her instead of laying out flat.
“It’s Boston and Cora,” he said. “They’re engaged. And Joey and Adam—they’re married. Bryce and Codi, who are also married too and have a little boy. And Kassie and Reggie and their little girl.” He rolled his neck, suddenly very tired to betalking about the Young family. “And technically, Kassie and Reggie aren’t blood relatives, but they all live up here in Dog Valley, and we get together pretty often on Sundays.”
Lark smiled at him. “That’s nice, Cash.” She sobered as she reached one dripping hand out of the water to wipe her hair out of her face. “I miss that kind of family time.”
“So maybe it’ll be okay if they come over?” he asked. “I’m just making sweet and sour meatballs and mashed potatoes, and then the doughnuts.”
“And it’s what, eight people?”
“Eight adults, and two little kids,” Cash said. “Plus me and you. I’m planning on making enough food, so when Wade and Jet get in later, they’ll have something to eat.”
“Oh, right,” she said. “What time is their flight?”
“I think they land in Jackson at eight forty-five,” Cash said. “Which means they won’t get here until at least ten-thirty.”
Lark swallowed and nodded again. “If your cousins are over, maybe you won’t be able to go to Grammy’s with me.”
“I still can,” he said. “You won’t go until four or five, right?”
“Yeah,” she said.
“Lunch is at twelve-thirty,” Cash said. “It’ll be fine. No one wants to be over here that long anyway.” He gave her a smile, and they settled back into the blissful, bubbling silence.
