Take Care, Sara

especially when it was only through Boscobel, but that didn’t stop the apprehension from turning her into a trembling mess of nerves. This was different; she wasn’t alone this time.
    “Remember the day on the river when we went tubing a few summers back?”
    Sara shifted the gear from reverse to forward, eyes darting over cars and trucks in the immediate vicinity. “Yes. What about it?” She stalled at the Stop sign, not wanting to go at the same time another vehicle intended to. A horn honked and she jumped, glancing in the rearview mirror at the large white truck behind her.
    “I think it’s your turn to go,” Lincoln said dryly.
    The truck crept forward. Lincoln laughed, which caused her face to burn, but Sara ignored him, concentrating on driving.
    “Remember how Cole was determined to knock us off the tube?”
    The sun was burning down on them. The inner tube bobbed up and down in the small waves made by other boats, splashing warm brown river water on her. Sara smelled seaweed and sand, the faint scent of fish in the air. She was on her stomach, one arm under Lincoln’s hard chest, the other pulled toward her; her and Lincoln’s arms crisscrossed over each other’s, both hands locked on the handles. Her lifejacket dug into her ribs, slightly raised over her shoulders from the way she was laying.
    Water glistened down Lincoln’s face as he turned his head to grin at her, his gray eyes sparkling silver in the sunlight. “Ready?”
    Sara glanced up at the white and green pontoon boat; saw Cole watching her, a certain gleam in his crystal blue eyes. His light brown hair was streaked with gold from the sun; his body tanned and toned from working outdoors on an almost daily basis. A slow smile curved his lips, turning Sara into a fiery ball of need. Her eyes stayed locked with his, promises communicated back and forth. He winked at her.
    “You know he’s going to try to dump us, don’t you?”
    “I told him not to.” Sara glanced at Lincoln; saw his eyes were on her.
    “He still will. You know that, right?”
    She locked her jaw, nodding. “I do.” Cole laughed, raising his bottle of water in a salute and turning to the seat behind the dashboard of the boat.
    “Wrap your leg around mine.”
    Sara shot Lincoln a look. The boat started, a low purr filling the air.
    Lincoln rolled his eyes. “I know you’d like any excuse to touch me and I really shouldn’t encourage your behavior, but unless you want to take a bath in the not so clean Mississippi, you’ll wrap your leg around mine.”
    The boat started to move, gaining speed as it went.
    “Sara.” Without thinking, she edged closer to Lincoln, his muscled leg twining around hers. “Hang on,” he shouted as the boat slammed forward, the tube gliding along the river after it.
    “You can pull over now.”
    She blinked. Trees and rolling hills loomed ahead. They were almost in the country. Sara shook her head. “No. I’m okay.”
    “Sure?”
    “Yes. Just tell me where to go.”
    Lincoln didn’t speak for a time, and then said, “Okay.”
    “Why’d you bring that up?”
    “What?”
    “The river. Tubing.”
    “It was the first thing I could think of to take your mind off driving. Did it help?”
    She nodded, taking a slow breath. “Yes.”
    “Good. Turn left up here. The first house on the right. It’s blue. See it?”
    “I see it.”
    “And we’re here.”
    Sara turned the key and the engine went silent. Her taut nerves were slightly relaxed, her breathing close to normal. She let her hands drop to her lap, staring at the red barn to the left of the house. A chicken darted past as she watched.
    “Way to go, Sara Lynne.” He gently slugged her shoulder with his fist.
    She turned to him. “Why that memory, Lincoln?”
    Lincoln shrugged, but he wouldn’t meet her eyes. “I told you—“
    “He dumped us. He dumped us and then I hit the water and was sucked down; my lifejacket got stuck on a limb underwater. I couldn’t get it loose and I was fighting to undo the lifejacket. I even thought maybe I would die.” She was breathing fast, the words stumbling from her lips.
    “Sara—“
    “You found me. Somehow. You got the lifejacket off me and you pulled me from the water. The boat was coming back around. Your arms were locked around me tight. You had to be tired, but you never let me go. He was frantic, hauling me up first, hugging me, kissing me, telling me he was sorry. You got into the boat, you spun him around, and