“I’m done,” she choked out, pushing against him to stand in the water and heading for the stairs.
Jameson took her hand. “Wait. I want you to see something. We started here, and you made it to the middle. I barely held you, and you did it.”
“I did?” she asked, not believing him.
“Yes. It’s why I grabbed your foot. You shot off, I almost didn’t catch you,” he exclaimed.
“I really swam?” she asked, astonished.
“Yeah, Honeybee. I’m damn proud of you. One minute, you’re scared for your future. In the next, you’re running toward it,” he said, giving her a high-five.
Caroline jumped up and down in the water. Excitement ran through her at her accomplishment. Jameson never lied to her, even when it hurt.
“Can we do it again?” she asked, grinning.
“Hell, yeah. Seems like I got a baby SEAL on my hands. We call newbies squids.”
“Yuck. Men have the weirdest nicknames. Do you have a call sign like Julio, Rebecca, and Garrett?” she asked as she launched herself in the water, kicking her feet.
Jameson walked beside her, offering her a safety net.
“No. They’re earned. I never got one,” he informed her honestly. She heard the longing in his voice.
“When do you want to leave for the ranch?” she asked, changing the subject. “I’m already packed.”
“You’re on a roll. Let’s try something different. We’ll start on the shallow end and swim to the other side. Deeper water only means there’s more of it under you. I won’t let you go under,” he promised, tugging her toward the wall. “When you get there, hold onto the ledge and kick your feet. Then we’ll turn around and head back. I’m sure you’ll want to shower and change before we go.”
She pushed off the wall and kicked with all her might, moving her arms as he taught her. It appeared Jameson merely floated as he stayed by her side. Before she knew it, her hand touched the wall.
“I did it,” she exclaimed.
The patio door opened, and her father and Nancy joined them outside.
“I heard a ruckus coming from outside. I thought I needed to check on the two of you and see if Jameson needed help,” Thomas teased.
“She’s a handful, but I’m keeping her in line,” Jameson joked, earning him a glare from Caroline before she pushed off and started kicking.
“Race ya,” she yelled when she made it almost halfway across.
“You cheated,” he called, before darting into the water, catching up to her.
Caroline refused to let him win and tried splashing water in his face as he drew closer.
“Why you, little vixen,” he said, laughing as he grabbed her foot and held on to it, careful not to yank it.
“Hey, you can’t hold on to me to keep me from winning,” she yelled.
“I can when you cheat,” he argued, grabbing her by the waist.
She squealed and laughed as he narrowed his eyes, pushing himself closer to the edge. Caroline leaped toward the wall, pushing his shoulders and extending her arm to touch the wall.
“I won,” she announced as Nancy and Thomas clapped and cheered.
“You clearly cheated,” he deadpanned. “Do you ever play fair?”
“Only when it counts,” she said, beaming. She climbed out of the pool, grabbed a towel, and wrapped it around her while she walked toward Thomas.
“Did you see I beat a Navy SEAL?” she asked her dad. “Maybe I should join the Navy…our country needs strong women.”
