Chapter 12

Lake: A body of water surrounded by land.


"Zach?" I screech. "What the hell are you doing here?" I scowl at him in frustration.

Zach simply smirks, seeming pleased with himself that he succeeded in my frustration.

"Cammie, we just met. A whip is a little kinky, don't you think?" He waggles his eyebrows suggestively and then winks, chuckling.

Looking at me feet, blushing, I reply, "Shut the hell up. I thought you were gonna steal something… or something." I then stomp away in exasperation, not having as much effect as I would have liked due to the fact that I was barefoot. Zach noticed this as well.

"Now tell me. Why exactly are you barefoot cleaning horse stalls?" He asks, chuckling at my expense. Again. We were now back in the muddy stalls.

Still not facing him I reply, "My boots got stuck dipshit. And…. and-," I stop mid-sentence and a mischievous grin slowly creeps onto my face.

Bending down as if to scratch my foot, I gather up as much mud as I can, and pack it into a tight ball, still grinning.

While I am bending down, I can hear Zach behind me saying, "Damn, the view is nice from back-," he suddenly gets cut off as a ball of mud flies and hits him smack dab (pun intended) in the middle of the face.

Standing their dumbfounded he splutters, "What. The. Hell?"

Holding back a grin, I stand there as innocently as I possibly can and reply, "What do you mean 'what the hell' Zach? Is something wrong?" I ask sweetly, finally letting out my grin and turning my back on him in search of my boots. Bad idea.

SPLAT! A ball of mud just hit me in the back of the head. Eyes widening, I turn around slowly, fuming.

"Oh hell no." I state, deathly calm.

Zach just stands there whistling, hands in pockets and replies, "What do you mean 'oh hell no' Cammie? Is something wrong?" He mocks, smirking.

Gathering up another ball of mud I screech, "I'm gonna get you!"

Giggling and chuckling, our mud fight continues until Zach wraps both of his arms around me and brings us both to the muddy ground.

We keep on laughing until a voice interrupts us,

"Well you two are getting quite cozy, aren't you now?" Uh-oh.

Aunt Abby leans back against the wall, one eyebrow raised, holding a single pair boots.

"Cammie, Zach you two should really get cleaned up. You stink. Literally." Abby scrunches up her nose while laughing.

I turn on her, surprised, "You mean, you aren't mad?"

"Should I be?"

I looked down and then back up. "Well, Zach is here making a mess of your barn- with the help of me- and he doesn't really belong here…" I trail off not knowing what else to say.

Abby laughs again, "Of course he belongs here! He works for me! Last night Bex called me telling me that Zach would be taking you home, so I left the phone off the hook and then used my work phone to call Zach and tell him to act clueless about knowing me. I'd say it worked pretty damn great, squirt!"

The two of them laugh together this time and then give each other high fives while I stand there dumbly.

Then Abby turns serious.

"But seriously, you two should clean up. And you are not coming into my house!"

I grin. "I know the perfect place."


Zach and I are currently riding two of my favorite horses, KC and Pebbles, down to Aunt Abby's lake while Chip runs along with us, having the time of his life.

"So, I didn't know you were such a good rider!" I semi-shout over the noise of the horse's hooves.

"I didn't know you knew how to ride!" He jokes, winking at me.

I narrow my eyes playfully, "I'll show you how I can ride!" I kick Pebbles a bit more and she starts off into a full blown canter.

"WOOO!" I shout as the wind takes my hair and tosses it around. Zach is finally catching up to me also grinning at the delight of riding the horses.

Kicking Pebbles a bit more, she goes into a full gallop, whinnying and throwing her head back.

As we reach the lake, Zach stops KC by my side and hops off. I just sit on Pebbles, petting her while her breathing calms.

Coming around to my left side, knowing that that is the only side to get off, he offers a hand.

"May I assist you in getting down, my lady?" He asks suavely, bowing.

I laugh, throwing my head back and jump off of Pebbles, tackling him.

"Oof! Jeez Cammie, you weigh as much as a freaking whale!" He says, breathless.

I elbow him in the ribs and he mutters, "Just kidding, jeeez."

Chip bounds up to us and I grab a stick and throw it into the water.

Zach, still on the ground, leans back on his elbows and watches me.

"This lake is beautiful. Does it have a name?" He asks.

I smile, remembering. "Yes it does. Gallagher Lake, named after my great- great- great Grandmother Gillian Gallagher."

"That's a lot of greats." He jokes.

"Mmmhm."

Suddenly needing the urge to cool off and wash off, I unbuckle the little clasps on my bib overalls.

"Umm Cammie." Zach chokes out.

I roll my eyes. "Oh calm your tits. I'm wearing shorts and a tank top and I'm going swimming. Join if you want. If you don't want, I could care less."

Then I dive into the clear blue water, smiling as my skin refreshes.

Still underwater, I hear a splash as Zach jumps in and I rise to the surface and glance at him, smiling as I notice he's only wearing his jeans.

"So, you like it?" As I ask, I splash some water at him playfully.

He splashes back and replies, "It's beautiful. Just like you."