Free Bamboo and Lace by Lori Wick Page A

time. Ashton showed up just a moment later, and they were on their way to the pool.

    The swimming pool at the Kapaia Resort was spectacular. Set among palm trees and lush flower beds, the rectangular pool had wide steps that went into the three-foot end, which soon graduated to five, and then had a brisk drop-off to the nine-foot deep end, where one could dive from the board. The five-foot mark in the pool even sported a slide. And since the whole pool area was empty and clean, for a moment all Lily could do was stare.
    â€œOkay, Lily, get in. I’ll be right with you.”
    Lily had been dreading just that but saw no hope for it. She moved slowly to a chaise lounge where she could place her towel, but then she glanced to see that Ashton’s back was to her. Thinking that she had been given the perfect opportunity, Lily swiftly discarded her towel and almost ran for the cover of the water. She nearly gasped at the temperature change but didn’t stop, even when it hit the level of her stomach. She wanted as much water over her as she could find. What she hadn’t counted on was how swiftly the levels changed. Lily almost had the water where she wanted it when it felt like her foot was slipping off a cliff.
    Not able to stifle the small cry of surprise and with nothing to reach for, Lily’s head was underwater before she knew it. There was only water below and above her. Where had the bottom of the pool gone? Panic as she had never known consumed her. Her hair was in her face, and try as she might to find the surface, it eluded her. She thought she was going to die when suddenly strong arms lifted her.
    Her head broke free of the water, and she gave a huge gasp. Coughing and panting in terror and pain, she felt herself being lifted and carried. Not until she felt the seat beneath her and a towel pressed into her hands did she open her eyes. Ashton was very close. Lily glanced up to see his eyes huge with shock.
    â€œI’m sorry,” she gasped, eyes back down, her whole frame shaking. “I’m so sorry.”
    â€œIt’s all right, Lily. Just sit here a minute. It’s all right.”
    In truth, Ashton was trying to convince himself as much as his pupil. When she had cried out and he had turned to see her going under, he had not immediately reacted. Not until he had realized that she was not coming up did he dive in to get her.
    â€œI’m sorry,” Lily said again, her whole frame still trembling.
    â€œYou have nothing to be sorry about, Lily. It’s my fault.”
    Lily couldn’t have disagreed more, but at that moment her father’s face swam before her eyes.
    You will not shame me, Lily.
    With a Herculean effort, Lily willed herself to stop shaking. She glanced at the water but made herself stop thinking about what had just happened.
    â€œLily,” Ashton said from beside her, “you can’t swim at all, can you?”
    â€œNo.”
    Ashton put a hand to his face. “I can’t tell you how sorry I am. I thought this was going to be some sort of refresher course. If I had known you couldn’t swim at all, I would not have let you in the pool alone. I can’t tell you how sorry I am.”
    â€œOh no, Ashton. It was all my fault.”
    Lily would have gone on but stopped when he laid a hand on her arm. She felt his hand shake, and before she could think otherwise, she lifted her eyes to his. The face she saw shocked her with its sobriety.
    â€œI’m so sorry, Lily. When I think of how easily you could have drowned, I—” Ashton looked away from her, and as Lily dropped her eyes again, she saw how wet he was. He still had his T-shirt on.
    Lily used the towel then and dried off as best she could. She wished she had pulled her hair back with a tie, but she did her best to smooth it away from her face.
    â€œI’m ready to swim now,” she told him quietly, so wanting to make things right. What a horrible thing to have