He took her to the back of the boat and got out a life jacket and the skis.
“What about you?” she asked. “Won’t you get to ski?”
“I’m fine. I’ve done it thousands of times. I really want you to do it today.”
“I could drive the boat, and you can ski.”
He cocked a brow. “Ever driven a boat?”
“No.”
“Then get your skis on and get out in the water. I’m driving, you’re skiing.”
“Shouldn’t there be three people on the boat?”
“What for?”
“One to drive, one to ski, and the other to watch the skier.”
He gave her a look. “Emma. I’ll have my eye on you the whole time.”
“Then how will you be able to see where you’re going?”
He laughed. “Trust me. I know what I’m doing here. Eyes in the back of my head, babe.”
Dammit. She supposed she was out of excuses. Luke gave her a litany of instructions, told her how to squat down when he first got going until she felt herself balanced, to remember to hold on to the line, and to let go if she fell.
“I have all that.”
“Then get in and have some fun.”
She was dubious about the fun part, but she slid into the water and swam over to the skis, put them on, and grabbed the rope handle when Luke tossed it to her.
“Point the tips of your skis toward the back of the boat,” he said. “And when you fall, raise your hand up so other boaters can see you. I’ll keep an eye out for you and come around.”
“Sure.”
“Have fun.” He grinned.
“Yeah. If I even get up.”
“You’re strong, Emma. And you’re coordinated. You’ll get up. Just remember what I told you.”
“Okay.” She was utterly terrified, and hoped she wouldn’t embarrass him.
He started up the engine and went slow. The rope had slack, so she sat there for a few seconds, her heart pounding the entire time as she tried to remember everything Luke had told her. As soon as the rope started to pull, she tensed, ready to get up.
This was much faster than she anticipated. The rope pulled taut, and she promptly face-planted in the water.
That went well.
Luke came around right away, putting the boat back into position again.
“I didn’t get up,” she said as he threw the rope to her.
“You tilted forward, toward the rope. Don’t worry about it. It’s a natural instinct to do that. Just remember, lean back, away from the rope. And squat down a bit.”
“I’ll try to remember that next time.”
Except she did the same thing the next time, smacking the water with her face and body.
“This is starting to hurt,” she said to Luke, who grinned at her as he tossed her the rope.
“Your body or your ego?” he asked.
“Uh, both.”
“Don’t give up. Not everyone gets up on their first try.”
“I suppose you did.”
He didn’t say anything to that, which obviously meant he had. And if he could get up, so could she. She was coordinated. She’d taken dance and gymnastics as a kid. She could do this.
With renewed determination, she pointed her skis, grabbed the rope handle, and when it started to pull, she leaned way back and made sure to keep her knees bent.
She didn’t face-plant that time, and she actually got up to a squatting position as Luke propelled the boat forward.
She was up! Exhilarated, she let out a squeal of joy, though it was short-lived because this skiing thing took a lot of concentration and a lot of muscle as the line tugged her forward. She was glad for all the Pilates and yoga classes Jane and Chelsea had forced her into taking over the past few months, because her core muscles were definitely getting a workout as she rode along the waves.
She made it about five minutes before losing it on a high wave. Luke came around.
“You did it.”
“I did. Can I go again?”
“Of course.”
Determined to stay up longer this time, she got up easier than the last time and stayed up. She spent about an hour skiing, though she’d fall and then have to restart. But each time, she learned something new about how to ride through a wake or adjust her body.
When she climbed back into the boat, her limbs felt like spaghetti, her arms and legs shaking from the effort.
Luke handed her a towel. “You did really good.”
“Thanks. It was so much fun, but oh my God, what an effort. Definitely not as easy as it looks.”
“Yeah, it takes some practice, but you handled it great.”
“Now why don’t you show me how to drive the boat so you can ski for a bit? Surely it’s not rocket science.”
Luke waffled a little, and she kept arguing because she knew he really wanted to get out there in the water. He finally caved.
“Okay. We’re in the deep part of the lake, so if you head along the straights,” he said pointing the way, “you shouldn’t hit anything.”
“You have such confidence in me. Just tell me where not to go, and I’ll make sure to stay away from those places.”
He dug out the lake map and showed her the shallows. She nodded and told him to get his life jacket on.
“I can ski for a long time. I’ll just wave my hand when I’m done. If you feel like you don’t want to drive the boat anymore, just slow it down and I’ll drop. Then you can come alongside and pick me up.”
She nodded, and he went in the water and got his ski on. Obviously he was an expert at this thing since he was going to do slalom, using only one ski for both feet.
When he gave her the signal, she pushed the throttle and slowly got up to speed, keeping her eye on him. When he was up, she kept her focus mainly on the water and the other boaters, occasionally looking back to be sure Luke was still up and behind.
He was right about staying up for a long time. He was a natural at water-skiing, and she enjoyed taking the occasional peek at him flying through the water, one hand on the rope, the other waving at her or other boaters as they rode past. When he finally let go of the rope and dropped ever so expertly into the water, she turned the boat around and came alongside him. He tossed his ski onto the boat and climbed back on board, shaking his wet hair at her.
She laughed. “Enjoy yourself?”
“Hell, yes. Thanks for driving.”
“It was my pleasure. I liked handling the controls.”
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her, his wet body doing nothing to cool down the raging heat his kiss had evoked within her.
“You like being in control, huh?”
She palmed his bare chest. “That wasn’t at all what I meant.”
“So you like giving up control?”
She pushed back. “And that wasn’t what I implied, either.”
He laughed and grabbed the towel, then started up the boat again and drove them to a shady spot where he dropped the anchor.
“How about some lunch?”
“That sounds perfect. Water-skiing makes me hungry.”
They’d made sandwiches and she’d cut up fruit that morning, so they ate and drank in the shade while the boat bobbed in the water. The waves had started to pick up as clouds began to thicken.
“Rain might be moving in,” Luke said as they both watched the sky.
“Should we head back?”
“Probably. We don’t want to be caught out on the water in case there’s lightning or a downpour.”
They finished lunch, packed up all the gear, and Luke made his way back to the boat dock. Once again, Emma hopped out of the boat and backed the truck and trailer down the ramp, while Luke pulled the boat onto the trailer. Once secured, Luke climbed into the truck and drove them back to the cabin.
While Luke unpacked the truck and the boat, Emma went over to the run to release the dogs. By then the skies had darkened considerably and the wind was picking up, dirt and leaves blowing around on the ground. She was glad they’d made the decision to head back to the house.