by Jennie Marts
Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself to face her, reminding himself that it wasn’t her fault. She was doing just what she said she would.
It didn’t matter how much self-talk he uttered, he wasn’t prepared for the punch to the gut he felt as he caught sight of her walking around the building.
She had on a pair of blue quick-dry shorts, a white tank top, and the same Converse sneakers as the night before. The straps of a red bikini were peeking out of her tank top, running over her collarbone and tied behind her neck. His pulse quickened at the memory of the skimpy swimwear he’d seen her pick up in Miller’s Mercantile, and he tried to swallow against his dry mouth.
The sun glinted off the light strands of her blond hair. She’d pulled it up into a loose knot on her head, and stray curls fell alongside her slender neck.
Damn, she was beautiful.
He lifted a hand and plastered on a smile. So what if it was fake. He could fake a smile—he’d done it with his ex-wife for years. He just had to get through today, get through this week, then he’d never see her again.
Yeah, he could pretend for a little while longer.
She walked up to him, stopping to give Sadie a dog biscuit she pulled from her pocket, then paused, searching his eyes as if looking for remaining signs of last night’s annoyance.
He widened his smile, and she grinned back, looking relieved.
Nodding at his chest, she gave him a wry grin. “Nice shirt.”
“Thanks.” He’d put on a faded green T-shirt that had an image of a tied fly in the center and the words Bite Me above it. The back of the shirt carried the logo of the store. He’d had them made after the She-Devil left him, and with the mood he’d been in that morning, it somehow felt fitting to wear one today.
She passed him a plastic grocery sack. “I thought I would bring some more cookies, just in case. I didn’t want you to still be angry and tip me out of the boat today.”
He opened the sack and pulled out a package of Oreos then gave her an amused look. “Did you make these yourself?”
“I didn’t want to bother Miss Abigail, so you’ll have to settle for store-bought.” She nudged his arm good-naturedly, and the barest glance of her skin caused a ripple of heat to start at the base of his spine.
“You must not want to stay in the boat all that bad,” he said, a real grin now tugging at the corner of his lips as she gasped in surprise.
“I’m just teasing. I haven’t lost anyone yet.” He held up the cookies, not wanting to tell her that Oreos were his second favorite kind of cookie. “These will keep you in the boat—most of the day anyway.”
She laughed, and the knot of tension in his chest eased a little. It was enough to have her here and to have the easy camaraderie he’d felt with her restored.
“You ready to go?”
“Yes, of course. I’ve already sun-screened and bug-sprayed.” She pulled a backpack off her shoulder. “And I packed a few things, like some snacks and a paperback in case I get a chance to read.”
“Always good to be prepared.” He led her to the truck, where he had the raft and all of their equipment ready to go. He opened her door, and Sadie jumped into the cab. “We’ll drive down the road a few miles and put in at Johnson’s Landing. The water’s a little lower there, and you can get a feel for the raft before we hit any of the rougher currents.”
“Rougher currents?”
“Don’t worry. I’ve floated this river a hundred times. I know it like the back of my hand. We’ll be on the water a little over an hour, then we’ll come to a good spot where we can get out and stretch our legs and grab some lunch, then do a little fishing.”
“Sounds good.” She settled back in her seat, and Sadie laid her head across her lap.
Traitor.
Two hours later, he leaned back against a tree, patting his full stomach. They’d just finished lunch, and he passed the last piece of his sandwich crust to Sadie.
The float down had been smooth so far, other than the fact he had a hard time concentrating on paddling when Avery had taken off her life jacket and pulled her tank top off to get some sun. He’d been right about the bikini top being skimpy, and he found his gaze constantly drawn to her smooth, pale skin and the way the red fabric barely covered her perfectly round breasts.
He snuck a glance at her now. She sat on the edge of the grassy bank, leaning back on her elbows, her eyes closed and her face to the sun.
She opened one eye and tilted her head to look at him. “Why don’t you go fish, and I’ll just lay here and take a little nap?” Sadie laid down next to her, apparently in agreement.
Actually, a nap sounded great, especially if he were stretched out on the grass with her body nestled against his. But he’d noticed a few dark clouds moving in and gestured to the sky. “I’m keeping an eye on those clouds. Storms can crop up pretty quick in the mountains, but we’ve probably got an hour to try to catch you a fish before we need to continue down the river.”
“You’re such a slave driver,” she complained, but stood up and stretched her arms above her head. Her hips were curvy, but her stomach was flat, and he was transfixed by the sight of her clothed in only a pair of shorts and a small bikini top.
He tossed her a pair of waders. “You want to pull these on? I’ve already checked them for snakes.”
She grinned and pulled the waders up her legs. The pair he gave her were made to only go up to her thighs instead of the bib style ones she’d tried on in the general store.
Clomping over to him, she held out her hand for the rod he was getting ready for her. “Ready for action, sir.”
Hmm. That might have been an unfortunate choice of words. Especially because the word “action” conjured up all sorts of ideas in his head. He cleared his throat, trying to avert his gaze from her bare belly button, and focused on tying the fly to the end of the hook.
His fingers felt clumsy and too large for his hands, and he fumbled with the rod, almost dropping it on the ground.
She grabbed it as it slipped from his hands. “I’ve got it. And I think I remember everything you taught me—ten and two, fluid motion, it’s all in the wrist, and find a nice, easy rhythm.”
Hell, why did everything she say sound sexy to him? Now all he could imagine was laying her down on the side of the bank, peeling that little bikini top off her in one fluid motion, and finding a nice easy rhythm as she lay beneath him.
He shook his head, not able to remember the last time he’d had an idea like that about a woman.
Clearing his thoughts, he tried to focus on getting her rod set up. Passing it to her, he pointed to a calm spot at the edge of the river bank. “The water’s fairly shallow here, and we can walk down aways along the bank and find some pretty calm pools.”
“Sounds good.” She took the rod and clomped toward the bank, raising her feet in an exaggerated duck walk.
Hell, she still looked good, even walking like a dork. Tearing his eyes away from her heart-shaped butt, he tried to concentrate on preparing his own hook.
A shrill shriek went up as she stepped into the water. “Holy shit! This water is freezing.”
“Don’t drop your rod,” he called, waiting for his heart rate to slow down. “You’ll get used to it.”
He pulled his own waders on and followed her into the water, watching her ease into a cast. Her form was good, and she got a nice flow going, then she dropped her line too soon during her back cast, and he cringed as he watched it fall into the cluster of cottonwoods behind her.
Damn. She’d almost had it.
“I got it,” he told her as he set his own rod on the bank. Wading in behind her, he loosened the hook from the mess of leaves and branches and untangled the line. “You almost had that one. You were doing good.”
“Don’t you mean well?”
His head popped up, a scowl forming on his face, until he saw the goofy grin on her face and the laughter in her eyes.
She held up her hands. “Too soon? Not f
unny?”
He dropped the loosened line. “Let’s just forget about my love life and focus on fishing.”
“Deal.”
“Try again.”
Nodding, she raised the fly rod, set her feet, and began the slow pace of a new cast.
“That’s it. Let your line out a little more. Slowly. You’re looking good,” he coached, holding his hands out and cringing at the fact that he just told her she was looking good.
Her arm came back in the final back cast, and she snapped her wrist, but it was too soon and the line dropped again.
“Aahh!” He pulled back his hand. This time, instead of tangling in the bushes behind her, her hook snagged the palm of his outstretched hand.
“Oh no, I’m so sorry. I swear I’m not doing that on purpose.”
“I know.” He grimaced as he worked the hook free and shook out his hand.
That was the whole problem. She wasn’t doing it on purpose, but she was hooking him just the same.
In the head, the hand, the heart—yeah, he was definitely hooked.
…
She spent the next half hour trying to catch a fish. Sully abandoned his rod and just coached her. She’d actually snagged a couple, but lost them both as she tried to reel them in.
The sky had darkened even more.
Sully tightened the straps on Avery’s life jacket then snapped on his own. He’d repacked the raft and made sure she was secured before pushing them back out onto the river, watching the clouds with apprehension.
“It’s about half an hour to the cabin,” he told her as he handed her an oar. “We should make it before the storm hits, but I may need you to help me paddle.”
She must have detected the serious tone to his voice, because she nodded and took the oar. She gripped the handle of the paddle as she straddled the front side of the raft.
Their supplies were secured in the middle of the raft, and Sadie pressed against his leg, her ears up and alert, probably detecting the slight sound of alarm in his voice.
“Don’t you have a life jacket for her?” Avery asked, gesturing to the dog.
“Nah, I tried to get her to wear one once, but she hated it and couldn’t swim with it on. Don’t worry about her, she’s a good swimmer.” He gave her a quick, reassuring nod before settling into his seat and grabbing the oars.
The raft was fitted with a special frame that had the oars affixed to it, allowing him to sit in a raised chair and maneuver the boat on his own. He was an experienced river guide and usually felt confident in the boat. But a sudden Colorado storm could strip anyone’s confidence, especially since he was now responsible for someone else.
Within ten minutes, the rain started. Large fat drops at first, hitting the sides of the raft with hard splats.
“Why don’t you get down in the raft? I’m afraid the water’s gonna get a little choppy. Can you get your leg under that strap?”
He kept his gaze trained on the rapidly changing river but glanced down at her as she followed his instructions, kneeling inside the raft and hooking her leg under one of the secured straps.
A roll of ominous thunder rumbled across the sky.
Shit.
He sensed they were in trouble, even before the sky opened up and let loose the torrential rain.
The storm hit fast, as it often happened in the mountains. They were soaked within seconds, as if they’d had a bucket of freezing water dumped on them, and the river rolled and bucked beneath the raft.
“Forget paddling,” he yelled. “Just hold on.”
The last thing he needed was for her to fall out of the boat.
There wasn’t much to hold on to in the raft, but she reached for Sadie, pulling the dog close as she wrapped her arm around the side of the frame. “I’m good.”
He appreciated her calmness. He needed it. He could handle the storm, he’d been in worse, and they were so close to the cabin. Another ten minutes, and they’d be there. He just needed to get them to the cabin.
He could make it. It was just rain. As long as there wasn’t any lightning, they’d be fine. Wet, but fine.
A sharp crack of sound bit the air, and bright light flashed across the sky.
Shit.
Counting the seconds between the flash of light and the crack of sound, he could generally determine about the distance he was from the actual lightning. And there had been no time between.
Another burst of light, the hard snap of thunder occurring at the same time, and Sully knew he needed to get them the hell out of the water.
Several years ago, he’d been camping near here, and a storm like this had suddenly cropped up. He’d taken shelter in his popup tent, but the metal poles had acted as lightning rods and the tent had been struck. Climbing out of the tent, his scalp tingling and his hair standing on end, he’d been amazed to see two trenches in the dirt where the metal poles had carried the electric current and dispersed it into the ground.
He’d tried to take the tent down, but the bolt of electricity had fused the metals poles together leaving them in the permanent shape of the tent.
That storm had scared the crap out of him, but this one was starting out even worse.
Keep your head on, Reed. You can do this.
Gritting his teeth, he dug the oar into the water, his muscles straining as he pulled on the paddle, then held it upright in the water, trying to use the power of the current to maneuver the big raft through the swirling rapids.
They rounded a bend in the river, and Sully squinted through the driving rain. The inlet for the cabin was in sight, up ahead on the left-hand side, opposite of where they were.
Now he just had to cross to the other side of the river and make sure he didn’t overshoot the inlet.
It wasn’t usually that complicated, but the water here was normally a little smoother, and lightning wasn’t usually flashing within a mile of the boat.
Drawing the oar back, he tried to steer them toward the opposite bank.
Sadie barked at the sound of another crack of lightning. She was still huddled in the center of the raft, Avery’s arms securely around her drenched body, both of them shivering in the freezing rain.
“You’re doing awesome,” Avery yelled, her teeth chattering. “I trust you.”
Determination filled him as he paddled harder.
He had to get them out of this river and to the safety of the shore.
Drawing closer to the bank, he pulled back on the oar, his muscles straining against the strength of the current.
He could do this. They were going to make it.
Another crack of lighting split the air.
This time there was no mistaking how close it was, the sound ringing in his ears as the streak of light hit a tree on the bank, splitting it in two.
Another crack sounded, but this time it was the tree, breaking off from itself and falling into the river—right in front of their boat.
He pulled back, but it was too late.
The raft hit the fallen tree, the front of the boat heaving up and out of the water, and he heard Avery scream as the boat spilled all three of them into the freezing water of the raging river.
Chapter Eight
Avery gasped for breath, the life jacket popping her to the surface.
Panic rose in her chest, and her lungs seized as another icy wave splashed across her head, filling her mouth with water.
She’d been holding on to the dog, but now her arms were empty, and she screamed for her, frantically searching the water for her gold head. “Sadie!”
Splashing against the current, she fought to stay calm and tried to remember the safety tips that Sully had told her when they’d first climbed into the raft.
He’d said to grab the side of the raft—but it was nowhere near her. She couldn’t see much through the heavy curtains of rain, but she caught a glimpse of a big blue shape behind her that she assumed was their boat.
Sully had said if she got separated from the raft to try to get her fee
t turned down-current. She tried to turn her body, but the water pitched her forward then tried to drag her under, swirling around her.
Keeping her head out of the water was a struggle, and she cried out as her leg scraped sharply against a rock.
Nose and toes.
That’s what Sully had said. Get your nose and toes out of the water.
“Sully!” she screamed, knowing her voice was probably drowned out by the heavy rain and the sound of the river, but not caring.
Fighting hysteria, she yelled his name again, searching the water for any signs of him or the dog, while she tried to turn her body and get her feet turned downriver.
Slapping her arms against the water, she tried to swim, but the current was too strong, and she sent up a prayer for all three of them. Thank God Sully had made her wear the bulky life jacket.
The rain hammered her head and she went under again, the icy water filling her nose and burning her throat.
Coughing and sputtering, she broke the surface then felt her shoulders yanked back as strong hands grabbed her life jacket.
“Hold on. I got you.”
She heard Sully’s deep voice and wept with relief.
“Quit fighting,” he yelled.
She stopped struggling, able to relax her body and trust in Sully’s strength and knowledge of the river.
As long as he didn’t let go of her life jacket.
He pulled her toward him and wrapped an arm around her neck, dragging her toward the shore.
She hadn’t been able to swim a foot on her own, but somehow, miraculously, he got them both to the side and heaved them up onto the river bank.
He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her on top of him, then collapsed under her. She could feel him shivering, his arms jerking with each shudder as he held her tightly.
“Are you okay?”
She couldn’t answer, couldn’t say the words.
“Avery.” He pushed up to a sitting position and turned her toward him. “Are you okay?”
The rain hit her face, the drops pelting her skin as she drew in a breath and tried to speak, her voice breaking on a sob. “Sadie. I l-lost Sadie. I tried to hold on to her, but I couldn’t.”
