He reached the boat just as one of the people came out from under the boat coughing. At least all three of the victims had been wearing life jackets like Kate and Derek were.

  Kate pedaled up closer to the capsized boat so Derek didn’t have to swim too far to ferry the victims to the manpowered pedal boat. Derek reached the elderly man first and told him, “Grab hold of the strap on my life jacket, and I’ll pull you to our boat.” The man did as he was told, and once Derek reached their pedal boat, he and Kate helped him onto the stern of the boat. The older man sat on the seating for two more people who wouldn’t be pedaling, just along for the ride.

  “Did you want me to help with the other two victims? Wait, here comes one of the women,” Kate said.

  She was the younger of the two women and looked to be the daughter of the older couple, maybe in her thirties while they appeared to be in their sixties.

  “Yeah, I’ll go back for the other woman. See if you can help this one.” Then Derek swam back to the overturned boat and found the older woman clinging to the other side of the boat where they hadn’t been able to see her. “Okay, ma’am, I’m going to help you over to our pedal boat.” He was afraid the five adults would weigh too much if they all tried to climb aboard. He could just envision their boat sinking too.

  He would help the older woman onto the pedal boat and stay in the water until help reached them. Hopefully someone on shore had seen the mishap and called it in. Derek figured Kate might have been too busy taking care of the survivors to call 911 herself. Would they even have cell reception out here?

  “Just hold on to the strap of my life jacket,” he told the older woman, and then once she had hold, he headed toward the pedal boat. Luckily, Kate had managed to pull the younger woman aboard. “Let’s get this woman onto the boat, and then I’ll wait in the water until we get a rescue,” Derek told Kate as he continued to swim toward the boat.

  “All right. I already called 911 for help. I hear the siren of an ambulance on its way.” Kate pointed toward the other side of the lake. “A lake patrol boat is also headed this way.”

  “Okay, good.” While in the water, Derek hadn’t been able to see it coming with the capsized boat blocking his view in that direction. He’d been concentrating on helping the woman to their pedal boat, or he would have heard the sound of a boat engine drawing closer. He wondered if the three people’s combined weight had been too much for the electric boat.

  When he reached the pedal boat, he and Kate helped the older woman onto it, the other two people sitting in the back. “Judy says that’s her mom and dad,” Kate said.

  The lake patrol boat was speeding to their location, and Derek was glad for that. He thought the dad looked pale, and the daughter had a goose egg on the side of her forehead. The mom looked all right, except she appeared exhausted from the ordeal. At least the water was warm, or they could have some cases of hypothermia.

  Kate was giving the dad and daughter bottles of water as the mom collapsed on Derek’s seat.

  When the lake patrol reached them, they tossed Kate a towline, and she tied it to the pedal boat.

  “Is everyone okay?” one of the officers called out.

  “Yes, I am,” the older man weakly said.

  The older woman nodded, and her daughter said, “I got hit in the head by the boat when it flipped, but I’m okay. I just have a horrible headache.”

  “Okay, we’re towing you in to get medical attention on the shore,” the officer said.

  Another was helping Derek into the patrol boat, though he wanted to be on the pedal boat with Kate. He knew that logistically, trying to transfer the older couple and their daughter from the pedal boat to the patrol boat could prove disastrous.

  Once Derek was onboard, the patrol boat began to tug the pedal boat in while another vessel came out to take care of the flipped boat.

  “Thanks for taking care of the victims,” the officer told Derek. “On her 911 call, Kate said you both witnessed the electric boat sinking and then the daughter moving portside and that tipped the boat.”

  “Yeah, she was trying to keep from being in the water since the stern was sinking so fast. We were just trying to reach them as quickly as we could in case anyone was in danger of drowning.”

  “Well, thanks. Without your help, someone might have.”

  When they finally reached the shore, the paramedics helped the three people from the pedal boat and started checking them over.

  “I think my dad might have suffered a mild heart attack,” the daughter said, and they rushed him in the ambulance—where they could do an EKG and provide treatment if he was having one—on the way to the hospital.

  Another ambulance had arrived, and the EMTs were looking over the mother and daughter. The mother appeared fine, but the daughter needed some more care because of the mild concussion she might have suffered.

  One of the lake patrol officers asked Derek and Kate, “Do you want us to tow you to the other side of the lake to the boat rentals?”

  “Thanks for the offer, but no,” Kate said. “We’ll pedal back there on our own.”

  “Yeah,” Derek agreed. Though he knew they would be late in arriving by about an hour.

  “I called to let the boat rental place know we were rescuing people on the water. They said our trip was free and to get in when we could,” Kate told Derek.

  “Good show!” Derek loved how quickly Kate had taken care of the situation in a crisis. “You know, I hadn’t really thought about the businesses that I manage, but I know who I’m going to rely on if I need help with them.”

  She gave him a brilliant smile. “I’m going to be running everyone’s business before long.”

  He laughed. “And then rule the world.”

  Then the officers thanked them again, and so did the mother and the daughter before the ambulance took the daughter to the hospital to be checked over.

  Kate and Derek got on their pedal boat and headed across the lake at a more leisurely pace this time.

  “You know, after I dove into the water, I realized I should have asked if you wanted to use your lifeguard training instead.” Derek sure hoped his actions hadn’t annoyed Kate.

  ***

  Kate had thought the same, but she had assumed that Derek hadn’t remembered that about her and that, being an alpha male wolf, he had been too concerned with saving lives right away instead. “It didn’t matter. You did a great job, and everyone survived. Hopefully, the father and the daughter will be all right after they run tests on them.”

  “I hope so. Thanks for the quick thinking about calling 911 and the boat rental company.”

  “I was worried about the people we rescued. The man appeared so gray and seemed out of it. I asked his name and where he lived, but he didn’t respond. His daughter seemed a bit out of it too. At least we had our cell phones and could call it in. They lost their bags, wallets, cell phones, and keys, all at the bottom of the lake.”

  “I hadn’t even thought of that.”

  “Yeah, that was the first thing the mother said to me. As to the boat rental company, I was afraid we would be charged a huge amount for not bringing the pedal boat in on time. I knew we had a good reason, but I wasn’t sure they realized we were involved in the rescue. I wanted to let them know that we weren’t at fault. I know you could afford the fine, but it just wouldn’t have been right.”

  “I agree. Though I’m afraid whoever was waiting on our pedal boat would have to wait way longer or just give up and do it another time. It’s summer and the place was booked, but when lives are involved, I’m sure they’ll understand.”

  They had pedaled out a lot farther than they had planned to and then the lake patrol had pulled them to a different landing site, so they had a lot farther to go. Kate didn’t mind the exercise. She figured she’d be worn out though by the time they got back in.

  “Hmm, love all your muscles dripping with water,” she said.

  He smiled.

  It was a good thing he’d been wearing board shorts.

  “I guess we’ll have our picnic lunch when we get in,” Derek said.

  “Yeah, I’m starving already.” Kate reached into her bag and brought out a couple of fresh bottles of water. “It’s a good thing I brought a lot of chilled water bottles since I ended up giving some to the family. We were supposed to have these in case we drank the others up.”

  “I was going to grab some, but Maddie said she packed us some in the ice chest.”

  “What did she send with you for us to eat?” Kate hoped it was something she would like.

  “No telling. But for you? Something good, I’m sure. I’ve never seen her go all out for any of my other dinner guests. Not that any girlfriends ever came to the house. I’m sure they wanted to, but that was my way of maintaining my privacy. Two of them didn’t like dogs, so I told them I had a whole houseful of them, and that was a great deterrent.”

  “Even for Brenda?”

  “Especially for Brenda. She said she would come over if I would kennel the dogs. As if I would ever do that for a date.”

  “I guess she didn’t realize that the relationship wouldn’t ever have gotten anywhere if she didn’t like dogs.”

  “Nope. A person who doesn’t care for pets—she didn’t like cats either—wouldn’t have been the one for me. It wasn’t like she was allergic to them or anything. She just felt they were dirty and shouldn’t be kept in a house with humans.”

  Kate smiled. “Imagine if she knew you were a wolf living among humans.”

  Derek chuckled. “Yeah. You know, you would think that a woman who was interested in marrying me for my money would at least put on a show to like something that really meant something important to me just to convince me to marry her. I can’t imagine how terrible that would have been—had I not been a wolf and married her.”

  “She would have made you get rid of the dogs or at least kept them in kennels.”

  “Yeah, it wouldn’t have worked out at all.”

  They finally reached the landing for the pedal boats, and Derek asked the rental manager, “Who was delayed because we didn’t return the pedal boat on time?”

  “We were,” a man said, standing with a woman and a couple of kids—aged about six and eight, Derek thought. Both kids were dripping wet and must have been swimming in the meantime.

  Derek went ahead and paid for the family’s two-hour trip on the lake to make up for the delay.

  “You didn’t have to do that,” the man said. “We know you saved those people out there. The manager had quickly told us. And there wasn’t another pedal boat available.”

  “It’s my treat.”

  “Well, thanks, man.”

  Then Derek and Kate left to return to their car and find a picnic spot.

  “That was nice of you,” Kate said.

  “That’s one nice thing about being able to afford it.”

  “That’s true. And you did several good deeds for the day, so what’s one more? You made their day. Hey, over there, a table is freeing up.” Kate pointed to a picnic table where a family was just packing up their supplies. “I’ll grab it.” The park was so busy, she knew someone else would if she didn’t right away.

  “Okay, I’ll bring the ice chest and picnic basket.” Derek headed for the car.

  Kate raced to the picnic table and set her bag down on it, a she-wolf claiming her territory.

  She saw Derek coming with the ice chest and the picnic basket, and she smiled. She wondered just what goodies Maddie had made for them. After the camping trip, she suspected it would be really good.

  He set the ice chest on one of the benches, and then he opened the picnic basket next to it. Inside the picnic basket was a tablecloth, silverware, and porcelain plates. She had expected plasticware and paper plates, but this was really nice.

  Kate smiled. “Now this is what I call a classy picnic.”

  “I’ve had picnics with the guys, but Maddie never fixed anything like this for us. It was strictly sandwiches, packages of chips, and some paper napkins, no tablecloth, dinnerware, silverware, freshly made lemonade, or salads.” Derek smiled. “Maddie really likes you.”

  Kate chuckled. “Well, she’s a really sweet lady, and I like her too.”

  He and Kate both spread out the white linen tablecloth. After that, Kate began to set out the silverware and plates, and while she was doing that, he opened the ice chest and started to bring out the food.

  “Hmm, that looks good.”

  Maddie had made them Cornish pasties filled with steak, potatoes, and onions, a lemon and kale salad with a buttermilk dressing in sealed jars, and blueberry bars for dessert. Pink lemonade, frozen water bottles, and a freezer pack helped keep everything cold.

  Then Derek and Kate sat down next to each other to eat and watch the people on the lake.

  “This is nice, sitting by the lake, having a world-class lunch, watching everyone having fun on the water.” She noticed the electric pedal boat being pulled into shore. “Except for the family who rode that boat. The daughter said the boat was brand-new, and the rental manager told them they met the maximum recommended weight limit.”

  “Well, obviously it wasn’t seaworthy for one reason or another.”

  “True. Hmm, this food is delicious. So what will we do after this? We’re going to the marina for dinner now, but—”

  “What would you like to do, Kate? You always come up with great plans. I’m so used to doing fancy affairs with women, but you’re not like other women I’ve dated.”

  “Even the two she-wolves you dated before?”

  “Except for them. Still, you keep coming up with things I didn’t do with either of them.”

  “I like to do all kinds of things. But I’m fine with just swimming this afternoon at your pool. I know you’ve already had your swim, but—”

  “Saving people, right.”

  “Sure, and we can walk the dogs.”

  “That’s all?”

  “I think we might grab a quick nap”—though she was thinking the nap might be a bit delayed—“and then we can have an early dinner at the marina.”

  “All right. We can do that. And tomorrow?” he asked.

  “Hmm.” She sipped on her lemonade. “A run as wolves on the beach first thing in the morning way before the beach is open. We can enjoy the sunrise. We could take a swim in the pool before breakfast.”

  “And then?”

  “Your decision. You have to come up with something that isn’t a society-related ball or something.”

  He laughed.

  “Oh, wait! We were going to go to the botanical gardens,” she said. “Sorry. But if you had thought of something else first, we could have done it.”

  “I can’t wait to see all the flowers.”

  She smiled at him. She wasn’t sure he really wanted to, but at least he was willing to do something she loved to do.

  She then noticed a dark-haired man watching them. Maybe he thought it was nice that she and Derek appeared to be on a date and were having a good time, or maybe he was waiting for them to give up their picnic table. Which reminded her they probably needed to give it up at some point so that others could use it. She always thought it was mean when people would hog a table from first thing in the morning through the park closing, just to keep it in the family, as if they’d paid a rental fee for the goods.

  She glanced back at the man, but he was gone, and she was relieved. She did have the notion he was a reporter, but he would have had a camera to document his “find,” and he hadn’t appeared to have one. She relaxed a little. She didn’t like it when people watched her as if she were a specimen in a petri dish. She smiled at Derek.

  “Yeah, that was a reporter,” Derek said.

  “He didn’t take pictures. Or at least that I saw.” She was having so much fun with Derek. She loved how he had helped her save the family in the water. She’d had the notion he might be a little pampered, but seeing him like this and after he lost his board shorts in the ocean last time, he was totally human and, well, of course, all wolf.

  “Maybe he didn’t realize who we were.”

  She sipped some more of the drink Maddie had sent with them. So much better than just plain water for their whole dining experience.

  They watched the swans swimming across the lake and a couple of geese soaring in to land on the shore. It was the perfect day, breezy enough to make it cool so that they were perfectly comfortable, not sweltering in the heat. She wanted to snuggle against Derek. Kiss him. But he was eating his meal and enjoying the sights with her, and she didn’t want to intrude on his thoughts at the moment. It was just too perfect.

  He glanced at her and smiled. “A penny for your thoughts.”

  “This couldn’t be any more perfect today, don’t you think?”

  “No. I don’t know when I’ve enjoyed a day at the lake like this. Not since I was a kid, playing in the lake with Rafe and Aidan. I guess we began to get stuck in our routines and don’t do any of the other things we enjoyed when we were younger. You’ve really made me appreciate all the things there are to do and not get stuck in such a rut.”

  “Good. I have to admit I’m the same way. I work all the time, go home, eat, watch a movie, run as a wolf, go to sleep, next day, repeat. This has been so nice for me. Especially since Lexi has a mate now and they need time to themselves. Before, Lexi and I would do lots of things together. She loved that I could enjoy them with her, and I could feel satisfied that I was still serving as her bodyguard. It was the perfect arrangement. This is just as nice.”

  “I’m glad you’re enjoying it with me. I couldn’t think of anyone I would rather be with like this.”

  They finished their drinks and their food, and then they began to pack up the picnic basket. She still couldn’t believe how fancy their picnic had been.