Summer Solace by Maggie Ryan Read Free Book Online

incidents.
    Gabe took off his vest and leaned over to Tommy. “You did really well. How about cooling off with a swim?”
    Tommy grinned and thanked him. The river was soon full of splashing and good–natured fun as the group dove into the calmer water. Joanna and Gabe bailed out the water from the rafts in preparation for loading them on the trailer.
    “I had a blast, thanks, Jo,” Gabe said as he scooped another jug of water off the bottom of the raft. She smiled and then, without conscious thought, dumped her own jug of water over his head. He gasped in surprise and then grinned seeing her look of horror. He dropped his own jug, stood straight and before she knew it, had her over his shoulder and was heading for the river.
    “No!  Put me down!” she yelled, her hands beating against his back. He felt like a solid wall of concrete and carried her as if she weighed nothing. Amber turned to see what was happening.
    “Dunk her, Gabe!”  Amber called, laughing.
    Joanna continued to squirm to no avail as Gabe simply held her tighter. “No, please….my clothes…No…oh no!” she squealed as she was unceremoniously dropped into the river. She came up sputtering. She couldn’t believe he had just dunked her – clothes and all – into the water. He stood over her and quirked his eyebrow as if asking if she’d like to pour another jug of water on his head. She remembered the shock of him lifting her and easily carrying her to the water.
    She shrugged and then burst into laughter, “Thanks!  I really wanted a reason to cool off.” 
    He was surprised by the lovely sound of her laughter. The two were soon splashing at each other while everyone cheered them on.
    Dan walked down to the river’s edge to see his boss on Gabe’s shoulders playing chicken with several other couples. They were all laughing and splashing and he smiled. Joanna took her job far too seriously and it was a very rare thing to see her doing what others did naturally, just plain old having a good time on a hot summer day.
 
     
     

Chapter 4
     
    Joanna stepped out of the shower and put on a fresh uniform. She dried her hair and brushed it until it shone. Once it was neatly braided, she put her hat on and went out to her Jeep. She couldn’t seem to stop thinking about how she was feeling. The day had been perfect, the sun and water had felt good and the company, well, it was pretty darned good as well. She blushed remembering how it had felt to be on Gabe’s shoulders, his arms hanging securely around her calves as she played chicken. She also remembered how it felt when he easily lifted her off his shoulders and turned her towards him to set her on her feet. She had been so close to him that her breasts had been pressed against his chest. She felt her nipples tighten just remembering the sensation.
    She gave a small moan as she drove to the office. She had never expected to feel this way again, as if every nerve in her body were alive and well. She was both expectant and terrified. She had promised herself that she would never again trust any man the way she had before. It had cost her so much and taken so long to be able to stand alone. She parked the Jeep and took a few minutes getting herself under control. She walked into the store and found Dan and Kim busy restocking the shelves. She was soon helping them though it wasn’t a necessary part of her job.
    “Your guy said he’d be by in a bit,” Dan said, which immediately got Kim’s attention.
    “Guy?  What guy?” Kim asked.
    “Gabe, that’s who. Those two were quite the pair today,” Dan offered.
    Kim looked over to see Joanna’s face and saw her friend looked slightly ill.
    “Gabe as in Gabriel Jamison?” Kim asked, her eyes never leaving Joanna’s face. She saw her friend flush and turn away as if to hide her reaction.
    Dan answered, “Yeah, that’s him. He’s the one that moved up to the high camp yesterday. He has his entire family coming in tomorrow for some kind