Maizie’s eyes narrowed as he emerged from the water, shaking his hair and flashing each girl a smile. She scanned the other people floating in the pond. Jayce and Christian were near the diving board, and Lindsay was right next to them, along with five other girls. The two boys were clearly enjoying their prospects. She rolled her eyes. Was every guy in the world a total player?
“Hey,” Rob said, coming up next to her. He’d been one of Mack’s best friends, and now by default, he was hers.
“Hey, Rob.” She smiled up at her giant of a friend. He was well over six foot, but his height hadn’t transferred to athleticism, and around the time Mack had passed, Rob had stopped pursuing sports as well.
“I think the last time I was here was before Mack—” Rob stopped abruptly.
Maizie’s throat constricted. “It’s okay.” She turned to him. “I was just thinking the same thing.” During the summer, she and Mack had practically lived in the water. She’d only ventured into the pond a few times since his passing. But it was more than she’d visited the basketball court. That one was still too painful.
“Remember when he used to swim up to the girls and then act like something had bitten his leg?” Rob said with a chuckle. “Then he’d pull them under the water with him.”
Maizie threw her head back with a laugh. “They hated that.”
“Yet somehow all the girls still liked him anyway.” Rob shook his head, and they stared out at the pond. Maizie watched the heads bobbing up and down in the water, sure that if she waited long enough, one of them would be Mack’s messy brown hair.
“Do you miss him?” Rob’s voice was soft and gentle.
“All the time,” Maizie said. A tear slipped down her cheek, and she turned away from the pond, hoping no one saw.
“I’m sorry,” Rob said.
Maizie gave him a little smile. “It’s okay. Mack would have loved this.”
“Yeah, he would have,” Rob said wistfully.
Rob had been at their house nonstop growing up and had been like a brother to Maizie. His friendship over the years had helped hold her together.
“Thank you,” she said.
“For what?”
“For being there for me. And for him,” Maizie said, referring to those final days of her brother’s life.
The days that had left her traumatized and hopeless as she’d sat by her brother and watched the machines breathe for him. Those had been the worst days of her life. But Rob had shared some of that burden with her. He had been there more than any of Mack’s other friends, offering his silent support for her family.
Rob’s eyes looked so dark, remembering the pain he had witnessed. “Always.” He wrapped her in a hug. His long lanky arms reminded her of her brother’s embrace. Gosh, she missed him.
Maizie pulled back, wiping at the new tears. She let out a nervous laugh, but Rob just stared at her with compassion. He opened his mouth to say something but a movement to Maizie’s right caught them off guard.
Turner’s arms collapsed around her hard, scooping her off the ground and running back into the pond.
“Ahhh!” Maizie screamed. “Put me down!” But her attempt to free herself was futile. Her body slammed into the cool water. Waves of water fell on top of her, covering her in darkness. How small could she shrink in here? She pushed through the water and came up panting to find Turner grinning.
“What. . .was. . . that?” she sputtered over the water in her lungs.
“I had to get you in somehow.” He said holding onto her beneath the water, his hands dangerously close to a place she didn’t appreciate.
“I can do that on my own, thank you.” She pushed away from him, swimming back to shore.
“Hey, babe. I’m sorry.” He swam behind her, grabbing her leg.
“Get off of me.” She turned on him.
Two months together and that’s how he treated her? Inviting people to a place that had been sacred to her and throwing her into the water against her will. Had she been so blind for the last two months that it took being dumped in water to help her see again? He was a total jerk. He always had been.
“Whatever.” He released her, and she swam to the edge.
“Here.” Rob stood above her, extending a hand and a towel to her.
