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“No. This is impossible.”

“Want to try one more time?”

She shook her head. “It’s pointless now. My arms are goo.”

Archer reached a hand out to her. She stepped onto the back ladder and let him pull her into the boat, then wrapped a towel around her arms. “Proud of you,” he murmured.

She brushed hair out of her face and noticed he was also wearing a life jacket. “You’re going?”

“Duh?”

She sat down and watched Archer hop in, completely unfazed by the cold. He slipped on the ski with practiced ease, then slicked his hair back from his forehead as he grappled the handle. Without any hesitation, he yelled, “Go!”

The engine bellowed, and in less than three seconds, he popped out of the water. He flicked hair out of his face as Rhonda steered the boat and Archer began to fly.

Tea sat there in stunned silence as she watched him skim the surface of the lake, the sun glistening along the water as he rode the boat’s wake, making sharp turns as water sprinkled along his path.

Rhonda made a swinging motion with her hand, signaling a sharp turn. When she steered the boat in almost a full one-eighty, Archer glided along with it, allowing the swing of the boat to steer him past the wake and along the side where the water was calm. He grinned as he leaned back, skimming a hand along the lake’s surface, then brushed his hair back with his hand.

Then he looked at her, and he had the audacity to wink.

Tea’s mouth fell open. Archer was always the best water skier of the group, yet somehow, he was even better now. She could tell he’d practiced over the years. It was equally thrilling and devastating to watch. It reminded her of all that she missed, and all that she lost. It also reminded her how much she loved this place and being out on the water. It stirred something deep inside her heart. She didn’t hate the feeling of it. She let it marinate as she watched him ride the waves.

She rubbed her thigh, already bruising from her last fall, and promised herself that she would pop out of the water with her ski this summer. Even if it took her weeks of trying and failing again and again, she would do it. For Archer. For her father. For herself.

Archer eventually let go and sank in the water. He climbed on the boat and unhooked his life jacket, giving Tea a full view of his tattooed chest and arms. When he turned to grab a towel, Tea’s mouth fell open once more.

The tattoo on his back was a replica of the view from his family’s cabin window. The grass of Wild Pines with clovers dotted along the lawn. A sailboat rode across the glistening lake with a glowing sun. Two loons swam in the water and in the distance, two kids jumped from the dock, hands grasped tightly.

Archer rubbed his wet hair with his towel as he turned to her. He looked at her expression, and his grin from earlier melted into a knowing soft smile. He took a seat next to her as Rhonda steered their boat in the direction of Wild Pines.

Tea wrapped her towel tight around her shoulders and brought her knees to her chest. “Was that your first tattoo?”

He shook his head. “It was one of the first though.”

She tilted her head and pressed a cheek to her knee. “When did you get it?”

He sighed, his eyes not leaving her face. “October 2012.”

Tea squeezed her eyes shut, emotion stealing her breath away. She understood his meaning. It was the month Dad died.

Chapter 12

Archer

Archer shucked off his soaked-through T-shirt and swung open the door to his cabin. “Let me wash up first, then I’ll make us some lunch—”

“Arrgggghhh!”

He stopped moving, and turned to Tea on the couch. Her legs were curled up close to her chest and she was scratching her feet so aggressively, he felt alarmed. “Uh, everything okay over there?”

“My. Feet. Are. Killing. Me.”

Archer took a tentative step toward her and eyed the tops of her bare feet. They were covered with small, splotchy red spots and streaked marks from her nails.

“Uh oh,” he whispered.

Her gaze snapped to him. “What?”