Page 124 of We Redeemed the Rain

“You don’t think so?”

He shook his head. “I don’t wanna rush.” His gaze darted past me and he hissed a cuss word. “Don’t move.”

Obediently, I froze, his tone sending fear through my veins.

He lifted a finger to his lips and mouthedsnake.

It took everything in me not to scream right then and there. My hands instinctively traveled under the surface of the water, grasping at him. Tag’s hands clasped around mine, pulling me closer, so slowly he hardly even disturbed the surface of the water.

I didn’t turn around. I whispered, my voice nearly drowned by the symphony of crickets, “Is it poisonous?”

He shamelessly pulled me right up to him. His voice was a low hum. “Not venomous but they do bite.”

I nodded.

“Just be still. It’ll go.”

I nodded again.

A silent thirty seconds passed, during which we both closed the distance between each other. At first, I thought it was me just being desperate and clingy. But then I felt him. His hands tugged me closer, and his face dropped to my hair—his cheek against my head.

Then another silent thirty seconds. And maybe another.

Time started blurring, warping, as I stood close enough to feel his chest rising and falling against my own. The mud, the warmth, the snake—it all faded. Tears stung my eyes as his hands dropped to my waist. It felt so good to be close to him.

Unable to stop my needy arms, I slid them around his torso and settled my head on his shoulder. Was it possible to pass this off as needing protection from the snake?

I doubted it, but I didn’t care.

My voice scraped against the emotions in my throat. “Is it gone?”

He nodded. “It’s gone.”

Ten more seconds passed before Tag’s arms loosened and he said, “You’re right. We should probably get movin’.”

The water filling the widening space between us felt like a gulf, vast and endless.

We heaved ourselves out via the creaking deck, our dripping bodies leaving huge dark spots on the sun-bleached wood. Tag gathered up our clothes and handed me my shirt and skirt as he pulled his jeans over his wet boxers. I thought I’d let myself air dry a little before putting my shirt on. I waited as Tag struggled into his pants with a clumsy laugh.

When Tag said we’d make memories, he wasn’t kidding. I would never in a thousand years forget this. Tears pricked my eyes yet again as I thought about the timeline looming before me. Jesse and Cade were due back tomorrow morning, and I’d be heading back to Colorado soon.

I didn't want to think about it. The idea made my stomach hurt.

Scribbs was the boy of my childhood, and Tag was the man I wanted for my future. Leaving him would be so painful. I had to soak up every moment with him. Drink every minute like it was the last drop of water on earth.

After he buckled his pants, I grabbed his arm, pulling him toward me. Words hurt my chest. “Wait.”

His gray eyes searched mine, his expression sobering.

I directed him to stand in front of me. Brushing a trickle of water off his pec, I whispered. “This memory…” The words faded, feeling grossly inadequate.

“Worth it?” A gentle smile touched his cheeks as he swiped a strand of hair on my forehead.

I nodded then looked up into those beautiful, complicated irises. I wanted to know him, understand him, see the things he’d seen, and think his thoughts. I moved my index finger over his stubbled jaw. Then the tips of my fingers followed the line of his brow down to his cheek bones. I slipped my other hand around the side of his jaw and held him there, letting my thumbs be rebellious and gingerly trace the slope of his bottom lip.

His breath came out in a rush, and he pressed his forehead againstmine, catching my hands and holding them still. “What’re you doin’, Bea?”

“Memorizing you.”

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