Page 8 of Snowed in with the Rancher

Tate punched the pillow for what had to be the tenth time before rolling to his back to stare up at the ceiling. He hadn't seen Olivia in five years, and seeing her now was like a punch to the gut as he wondered yet again where things had gone wrong. Closing his eyes, he tried to will himself to sleep, but all he could think about was that perfect day they'd shared on the cruise ship.

Snorkeling. Tate was floating in the ocean, mask on his face, flippers on his feet, fish all around him. Never once in his life had he experienced the urge to snorkel. However, when his sexy new companion, Olivia, had suggested they take the offered snorkeling lessons together on the third day of the cruise, what was a red-blooded American male supposed to do? He wanted to spend every minute with her that he could. He'd never felt this kind of connection with anyone before, and he couldn't get enough of it. Not to mention, Olivia would be wearing a bikini. It was a no-brainer.

They'd been given a snorkeling lesson, then left to their own devices within a cove of crystal-clear blue water. An abundance of brightly colored fish took refuge in the calm waters of the cove, along with sea turtles and the other fifteen passengers who'd signed up for the event. Tate had to admit it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

He felt Olivia tap him on the arm to draw his attention as a couple of sea turtles swam beneath them. She smiled around her mouthpiece and pointed. Since she'd asked him before they'd set out to take charge of her underwater camera, he took the hint and snapped a couple of pictures.

He laid his hand on Olivia's leg then pointed ahead where an outcropping of rocks defined the edge of the cove on one side. They swam in that direction, and when they got there, Tate surfaced, pushing the mask and mouthpiece on top of his head and seeing Olivia do the same. He reached for her quickly, pulling her around a big, jagged rock and into a tiny crevice where they couldn't be observed by the other swimmers in the cove.

“Come here,” he whispered, pulling her closer, her breasts fitting perfectly against his chest. She'd worn a red bikini, and as beautiful as everything around them was, none of it could hold a candle to her.

She grinned at him. “You didn't think this was going to be fun, did you?”

He let his gaze roam her pretty face, pink from the sun and shiny with droplets of water.

“I admit, I was skeptical, but you proved me wrong.”

“I like proving you wrong,” she teased.

Then he kissed her, something he'd been doing at every opportunity since their dinner that first night on board. Two days later, and already, kissing her had become essential. Her tongue flicked out to taste his lips, and he slanted his head to deepen the kiss. He kept them afloat by anchoring one hand on the rocks, but with his other hand, he skimmed the curves of her waist and breasts. Adding to the caresses, he slid his leg between hers, and she chuckled against his lips.

“I didn't know this was part of the snorkeling lessons,” she chided, kissing him softly, first on the corner of the mouth, then along his jawline.

“Only the best student gets a private lesson,” he murmured as his lips found her neck and his teeth explored her earlobe.

“Glad to hear it. I'd hate to think how exhausting it would be for you to spend this much attention on all the students.”

He smiled against her neck. He couldn't imagine doing this with anyone but her. Couldn't imagine even wanting to. “Not to mention, I don't think the guy with the tattoos and mohawk would take too kindly to me kissing him.”

She laughed but stopped short as they heard a child's voice not too far away in the water.

“No! I'm not gonna put my head under. No, no, no!”

Tate raised an eyebrow as Olivia's eyes widened.

“Joshua! Stop fighting me. You're going to drown us both.”

Olivia mouthed something to Tate, but he was already pushing off the rocks, leading her by the hand back toward the main part of the cove.

As they rounded the point of rocks they'd been hiding behind, they were met with the sight of a little boy, maybe six or seven, struggling with his mother in the water. The boy was trying to head toward shore, and his mother didn't want to let go of him. Tate frowned at the sight. Normally, he wasn't one to interfere in anyone else's business. He was far more inclined to keep to himself and allow others to do the same. But if someone was in danger, all bets were off. It was why he'd gotten so involved in search and rescue work. No matter how awkward he felt making conversation with people he barely knew, he couldn't just walk by when someone clearly needed a helping hand.

Tate glanced at Olivia, who seemed to know what he had in mind. “Go,” she said, and he released her hand and swam toward the pair. The water in the cove was relatively shallow, but the mother was in over her head, and the little boy was putting up a real fight, making the situation dangerous for them both.

“Hey, there,” Tate said as he got closer, directing his gaze to the mother. “You need any help?”

She gave him a tight smile as she continued to struggle with the squirming child.

“He, uh, doesn't want to try the snorkel, but he also seems to think he can swim all the way back to shore by himself.”

Tate turned his focus to the child. One thing search and rescue had taught him was that the best way to calm a kid down was to get them focused on something else. Maybe it would work in this case, too? “So are you a good swimmer, cowboy?” Tate asked casually.

The boy stopped wiggling and looked at him suspiciously. “Yes. I can swim from one end of the pool to the other.”

“That's pretty good,” Tate encouraged. “So do you swim with your face out of the water in the pool?”

The boy looked at Tate like he'd lost his mind. “Of course. No one wants water up their nose.”

Tate nodded. “You know, I don't have a pool at home, so I swim in a pond.”

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