Morgan grinned in response. “Let’s take a look at it in the daylight, yeah?”

They moved toward the boat together, and Emilia caught a whiff of horse. She pictured Morgan calmly running her hands along a broad brown back, whispering soothing words into a cocked ear. It soothed her. Once, she’d had an interest in large animal medicine, but she’d been persuaded out of it. She knew too many vets who’d ended up switching to small animal after one injury too many, and the hours and pay were dismal. Not, of course, that shelter medicine had turned out to be any better. She shut down the thought and returned her focus to the Russo rowboat overturned on the grass outside the boathouse. The crack looked smaller in the full sunlight. Morgan tossed her crutches to the ground and knelt beside it. Her fingers traced the hairline fracture in the fiberglass.

“Technically, we should sand this down.”

“If only I’d thought to bring the sander I’m renting at great expense,” said Emilia.

“I think I have some sandpaper in the boathouse. For splinters on my oars,” Morgan added when she saw Emilia’s raised eyebrows.

“Are you prepared for everything?”

“If you can find it in a standard toolbox, yes.”

“So we sand, then what?”

“Then we lay new fiberglass cloth and resin until it’s patched, apply an activator, and let it cure.”

“Well, since I’m basically an expert sander, where can I find that grit?” Emilia asked.

“I’ll grab it. You get your patch kit.”

Emilia held out a hand to help Morgan up. Her warm, firm grip reminded her of something. “How’s your hand from the other night?”

“You must think I’m a mess. Burning myself, cow-kicked . . .”

“I assumed you were still trying to make me feel better about falling overboard.”

“I should have led with that,” said Morgan.

“Here.” She slung Morgan’s arm over her shoulder. “It’s just a few feet. Forget the crutches.”

“You sure?”

No, Emilia thought. This is exactly what I promised I wouldn’t do.

“Friends help friends,” she said instead. “Besides, it’s your turn to be the damsel in distress.”

Morgan’s blush rewarded her as color peaked beneath Morgan’s freckles. She settled her weight over Emilia. Emilia wrapped her arm around Morgan’s waist, where the abs she’d seen the day before tensed beneath her fingers. The short stretch to the boathouse seemed to simultaneously take years and end too quickly. Morgan also seemed a little more out of breath than the exertion required, but the dim flicker of the overhead lights failed to illuminate the expression in her eyes when they stopped by the locker Morgan indicated.

She stepped away. Her body tingled where it had been in contact with Morgan’s, and Morgan fumbled with the lock without looking up.