How to Knit a Love Song by Rachael Herron

it wasn’t because of the water.
    Abigail was moving quickly, probably trying to get in the water before he saw what she was wearing, but he saw, all right. Pink panties decorated with a ribbon bow and a matching pink, lacy bra. She might have thought it would look like a bikini, and she was right in that it covered the same amount of skin that a bikini would have, but it looked like underwear. No, scratch that. It looked like lingerie.
    Cade tried not to stare, but she was stunning. Why had he been avoiding her, again? Why was he not trying to see more of her, like this? Maybe if he could think straight, he’d remember.
    Abigail looked at him quizzically, and he tried to adjust his face. He must be leering at her like Stephens had at the diner.
    She ran toward the water and did a cannonball like he had, but in the wrong direction. It was deep enough there to be safe, but that was the cold end. The super-cold end. That was the end no one ever went into because the hot mineral water didn’t make it that far.
    Abigail came up screaming. “Wow! Oh, holy hell, this is cold! How do you stand it!” She panted and dog-paddled toward him. “Why didn’t you tell me?” Then she said, in a different tone of voice, “Oh!”
    She’d reached a warm part, he could tell. He watched her face relax, and a part of him that should have been relaxed very suddenly wasn’t.
    “Oh, this is wonderful.” She kicked and flipped herself upside down and came back up. Water streamed down her face, over her eyes and lips. Her sexy, full, very wet lips…
    Sadly, he’d probably have to stay right here until she got out and drove back to the ranch. Or maybe he’d have to stay here forever. If he got out of the water now, she’d be able to see what she’d done to him.
    She swam closer to him. “Oh, it gets warmer the more you go this way.”
    He nodded, unable to trust his voice.
    “This is amazing!”
    She was amazing.
    He had to stop thinking like this.
    She swam past him and got out, climbing onto the large, flat rocks next to the pond. “Do people ever jump from up there?” She pointed up to the rock overhang above them. Cade could barely drag his eyes away from her underwear, now almost see-through, to look up. She seemed less self-conscious now, and he was glad. Really glad.
    “Oh, yeah. Some do.”
    “Have you ever jumped from there?”
    “Sure.”
    “I want to.”
    “Then go for it.”
    “But I’m scared of heights.”
    He laughed. “That’s not a height, so you should be fine. It can’t be more than ten, eleven feet.”
    “No, that’s okay. That’s too high for me.” She looked nervous.
    “If you want to, you should do it.”
    “I’m not good with scary things. I hate roller coasters. And I’d never bungee jump, even if you paid me.”
    “You moved up here, alone. And now you have to live with me, and I’m no prize. I’d say you’re all right with scary things.”
    Abigail smiled. “You are scary, that’s true. But maybe that just means I’m at my limit for scary things. I’ve hit my quota for the month.”
    “Well, if you’re not brave enough, then you’re just not brave enough.”
    It worked. Abigail flushed and stood up, dripping water onto the rock. She surveyed the narrow path around the side of the pond that led up to the ledge. She walked up it, her hair still streaming water down her back. Over her buttocks. Down her legs.
    Cade didn’t know being aroused could hurt this much. He moved into the colder end of the pool. Maybe that would help.
    “Cade?” Abigail had reached the ledge. “I think this is a bad idea.” Her voice shook.
    Good, maybe she’d take her time up there, and he’d recover a little. “You can do it!”
    But instead of dithering and making him talk her into it, like the other girls he knew would have, Abigail just nodded. Then she closed her eyes and jumped. Her shriek cut off abruptly as the water closed over her head.
    She came up laughing. She didn’t say anything;