“Why don’t you check that hand out? See what it has to offer, then decide if you want to accept help? You can always say no.”
Finnrubbedahandthrough his hair, his cowlick splaying the front of his hair wildly. “True.” He leaned toward her, nudging her side. “Or I could throw rocks at the problem.”
Her eyes rolled, but she melted at his sweet acknowledgement of the moment shared. Rising to her feet, she held out a hand. The corners of his lips lifted in an easy smile.
Heat flooded through her at the contact, filling a piece she had felt was missing, but couldn’t have been sure until that moment. Raw, fierce lust. A longing to pull that hand closer and see what it felt like on her body, skin against skin.
His eyes flashed with an intensity, an amusement as his smile grew into a grin.
At the shore, she begrudgingly released him and picked up a grapefruit-sized rock, smooth and cool in her palm. She set it in his hand. “Give it a try,” she urged.
His lips turned up in a sweet smile before he tossed the rock in the air once, catching it with a give to compensate for its weight. Like an archer in the stars, he drew his throwing arm back and counter balanced the pose with his other hand before thrusting the rock forward.
The stone cut through the air with an audible whoosh, soaring across the river before it cracked against the same tree she’d been aiming for, then ricocheted off and splashed into the water.
“You could have been a quarterback,” She nodded with appreciation.
He rested his hands on his hips and grinned again. “Could have, but anyone can throw. Not so many can run like hell, snatch a flying sack of pigskin traveling at fifty-plus miles an hour while their feet are a few feet off the ground, then land on their tippy toes, juke their way through the pack, and run the length of the field without getting caught.”
“Those quarterbacks sure are a bunch of slackers. Not like those modest wide receivers.”
Broad shoulders steady, hands resting on his hips as if he was comfortably watching the game from the sidelines, he flashed her a wink that melted straight down to her panties. “Sorry. Pops and Evan were both quarterbacks, so I learned early on you have to keep those egomaniacs in check. Zoe and Mom preferred to play as linebackers. I’m pretty sure that was Zoe’s favorite, so she had an excuse to knock us on our asses.”
“Aw, cute. The Halseth family scrimmage in the backyard must have been so much fun.”
“Yeah, we had good times.” His grin persisted, but grew distant.
Haley picked up a rock the size of her fist and tossed it in the air like Finn had, but with much less facile. Accidentally dropping it would lessen the badass look of it. She drew her arm back.
Finn cleared his throat, hesitated, and said, “You have a hell of a throw, but mind if I show you something?”
“I could be offended, but, well, I would love to throw like a pro.” She raised her eyebrows.
He put his hands on her hips and steadied her perpendicular to the river. Stepping up close behind her, he moved his hands to hers. “Back like this.” He gestured, guiding her arm into position.
She was tempted to move her hips out of position, knowing he’d steady her again. But, well, she really did want to improve her throwing, in case she ever got the opportunity to throw something at Nate’s face.
“The power comes from your hips and shoulder. Your wrist is the level, not the hammer.”
The air lightened as too much oxygen fueled her lungs as he touched her and used a reference she would appreciate. Her form threatened to falter as she filled her senses with the moment, but she swallowed the distraction and stabilized her core as he coached her along.
“Alright, now let’s see it.” He stepped back, his voice laced with the same lightness that lifted her.
Repeating the process as he’d shown her, she pitched the rock again. Didn’t quite hit the tree, but close. Better, the rock blasted past and crashed in applause as it knocked a few branches before dropping to the ground in the shrubs beyond.
“Nice.” He grinned as he returned his eyes from the landing site and settled on her.
She shrugged, but couldn’t have masked the naked joy if she’d tried. “Whether you want to or not, you are a hell of a coach.”
“Your throw was already pretty damn good, I was just looking for an excuse to touch you.” He grinned, shifting his weight to the other foot.
“And I wasn’t objecting.” She picked up another rock and pitched it across the river. “You know, I used to be athletic. It’s been so long, I forgot the thrill of pushing the limit. Aside from wanting to chuck one of these at my ex’s face, I came out here for fresh air, then found I needed that release.”
“I know what you mean. One of these days, my knee is going to let me sprint again. I’m getting there, but I can’t tell you how much I miss running full throttle.”
Not so literal, but yeah, she could. “I miss doing a lot of things full throttle.”
“I don’t mean to be nosy, but you mentioned an ex. Sounds like that was for the best?”
