“I think it was because I realized if you could all three climb through my bedroom window, then other kinds of goblins would do the same.”
He shook his head, still grinning. “We were little devils back then, were we not?”
“Tell me, whose idea was it to climb through the window and scare me that night?”
Humor slowly left his face. “Mine.”
She nodded. “Exactly. I believeyouwere the devil and not your brothers.”
He shrugged. “However, they followed my lead on most adventures I went through as a child.”
“I’m sure they did.”
He looked back at the water and silence stretched between them once again. Finally, after several minutes passed, he moved, but only to pull off his boot. She hitched a breath and dared to look into his face. He grinned at her as he yanked off the other.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“I just realized how long it’s been since I waded in the stream. And you know what? I miss it.” He pulled off his socks and stood. “Join me?”
Her heart leapt nearly to her throat, it seemed.Join him?Preposterous. Didn’t he remember the last time he persuaded her to join him in the stream? But that was many years ago. He wouldn’t be foolish enough to try that stunt again, would he? Then again, she wasn’t naïve any longer and wouldn’t allow herself to be pulled in by his deceitfulness.
He walked to the water and stepped in. “Ah, nice and cool. The perfect temperature.”
Her feet itched to slide in the water and feel the coolness against her skin. They were adults now. Surely he wouldn’t return to his childhood methods of callousness.
After a few seconds of watching him swish through the ankle-deep water, she sighed and gave in. It’d been a while since she’d done this, too. Quickly, before she changed her mind, she slipped off her shoes and rolled her stockings down her legs. Just as she discarded the last one, she realized she’d just given him a peek of her calves. Sucking in a breath, she looked his way to see if he’d been watching, praying he hadn’t.
He had. The rake!
His eyes darkened, and his expression transformed from playfulness to something entirely different. He stood frozen, staring at her legs. Instead of being embarrassed, a feeling of power came over her, knowing she had made him this way. Earlier, he’d confessed she tempted him. Now she believed and had new understanding of his words.
Trey lifted his gaze to hers and smiled. Slowly he walked out of the water toward her. When he reached her side, he held out a hand. Without a second thought, she slid trembling fingers into his and let him pull her to her feet.
Judith watched his face, especially his dark blue eyes. Closely, they stood in front of each other content to stare. He kept her hand in his, stroking a thumb over her fingers. When his attention dropped to her mouth, she held her breath. Would he kiss her? Half of her wanted him to, and the other half argued how wrong it was. This was Trey Worthington, she reminded herself, a man not to be trusted.
Stepping away from her toward the water, a smile stretched his lips. He tugged on her arm and she obeyed his silent command and walked into the water with him. Once the cool liquid covered her feet, she gasped, then laughed. He dropped her hand and joined the merriment. The spell was broken, and she breathed easier. Trey turned away from her and cautiously moved down the watery path.
“When I was a boy,” he said, “I would come out here by myself to reflect on my life. Being the youngest, I didn’t appreciate the way I was treated compared to my brother, Trevor.”
She lifted her dress just enough not to get the bottom wet. “Why? You knew Trevor would eventually inherit the title.”
“Yes, but it was as if my parents looked down on me. For years, they tried to compare me to my brother, bringing out my faults and telling me what I should be doing to be more like him.”
“How dreadful. I think that would be a hard life.”
“Extremely.” He shrugged. “Perhaps that’s why I became a mischievous boy.”
“To get attention.”
He glanced over his shoulder at her and nodded. “Exactly.”
“Being the only child, I did not have to worry about such things.”
“True. At times in my life I wondered what it would have been like to be the only child. Then I realized I would have been bored to tears.”
“Why? Nobody to tease?” She giggled.
He swung around and planted his hands on his hips as he stared at her. His grin let her know not to take him seriously.
