Page 21 of Losing Hope

She looked up at him, trying unsuccessfully to suppress the smile that was trying to break free as she growled out, “You haven’t even seen feisty yet, Mister!”

“Oh, this is quite feisty enough, thank you very much!” He bent and kissed her. She quickly let her smile fall back in place and could feel the surge of relief as it washed through him. “So, yousail?”

“Yeah, I sail,” she replied sardonically. “Come on. I’ll show her to you.” She started walking toward the dock again and motioned for him to follow.

He slippedhis camera off his shoulder, removing the lens cap, and turned it on as he walked. Hope was standing on the dock, the sun streaming around her as she looked out over the lake. He snapped a few shots without even thinking, capturing her serene beauty. She turned to him, and he caught each change in her expression as he continued clicking.

“Oh my God! Gage, stop!” She threw her hand up to block her face, cheeks flaming red at the attention. “I’m so not one of your models!”

He lowered the camera away from his face to stare at her in dismay. “First of all, you’re more stunning than any model I’ve ever shot. And you better get used to getting your picture taken if you’re hanging out with me. I tend to have a camera in my hand most of thetime.”

“Yuck! I hate getting my photo taken. I always look awful!” She shook her head in disgust.

“I find that hard to believe, but here.” He walked up to stand beside her on the dock. “Look at these.” He held the camera up and clicked a button to bring the last picture he took of her up on the viewer. “See? Stunning.”

He watched as she absorbed the picture and turned to look at him wide-eyed. “How did you do that? I look… well, I actually look pretty damn cute in that picture!”

“Because I’m amazing.” He laughed as she rolled her eyes at his response. “No, really. You can ask anyone. I am. I’m amazing. It wasn’t easy to capture your ugly mug and make it look thisgood.”

Her eyes grew wide, and she reached out and slapped him playfully on the arm. “Oh, you are just awful, aren’tyou?”

“Oh, I think you know by now just how awful I am.” He winked playfully at her and walked to go stand next to the sailboat. “So, this is your baby, huh?”

She moved to stand next to him and nodded her head. “Yep. She’s got some great lines. It’s getting too late to take her out now, though, but maybe tomorrow.”

“I would love to do that.” He looked over at her, screwing his face up in mock-embarrassment. “Now, it’s your turn not to laugh, but I’ve actually never been sailing before.”

“Wait, what?” She stared at him in astonishment. “But you’re a Marine!”

“Yeah, I mean, I’ve been on boats, all kinds of them, but never a sailboat. Don’t forget, I grew up in land-locked Pennsylvania!”

“Oh, then we are most definitely going out while you’re here. You are going to love it. Once you feel the power of the wind, you’ll be hooked.”

“It’s a deal. I’d love to go out.” He looked over at the small sandy beach beyond the dock and nodded at the canoe resting on the grass where it met the sand. “Wanna take that out for a little while instead?”

She smiled and nodded her head. “Absolutely!” She turned and looked back toward the house. “I think the oars are under the deck. I’ll go up and grab them if you want to get the canoe in the water.”

“You got it.” He paused and looked down at his camera. “Are you going to flip me, or is it safe to bring this withus?”

“I’m not going to flip us! No way, no how am I going in that water!” She shook her head firmly. “You can definitely bring the camera.”

“Awesome.” He smiled and started toward the canoe as she made her way up to the deck. He set the camera down on a tree stump before moving to flip the canoe and drag it to the water’s edge. She was back in another minute carrying the oars and two life preservers.

“Do we need those?” He pointed at the orange vests. “I canswim.”

“Yeah, me too, but you need one for each person in the boat.” She walked up and set one on the seat of the canoe and smiled at him. “You have a nice cushion to sit onnow.”

He shook his head, chuckling low before grabbing the camera and slinging it around his neck. “Hop in. I’ll push usout.”

She did as he requested, placing an oar at the back of the canoe for him as she stepped in and made her way up to the front bench and sat down. She gripped onto each side of the canoe to brace herself as he began pushing the canoe into the water and then steppedin.

“And we’re off!” he called cheerfully as he sat down, the canoe rocking slightly, as he used his oar to push them completely off the shore.

---