by Maggie Ryan
"Thank you," Elizabeth said, looking over to see Logan grinning and knowing he was thinking about her clarity comment. Garrett stood and walked to where he had dropped something by Ben's chair earlier. Picking it up, he turned to speak to Ariel, who had moved over to talk to Barbara.
"Hey, Squirt," Garrett said, and waited for her to look up. "Since you have the honor of being the shortest one here, you get to be the next guinea pig."
"Oh goody," Ariel said, clapping her hands. "What do we get to do—try out one of those gorgeous tubs, or better yet, perhaps test the soundproofing of those rooms?"
Garrett actually paused in his walk towards her, both suggestions suddenly sounding like a really good plan. His glance towards Logan made the man laugh.
"Not yet," Logan said, dashing her hopes as he grinned. "The bathrooms aren't yet completed, and the soundproofing isn't in yet. Remember, we agreed to draw straws for that honor."
"Yes, and don't think I didn't hear you tell Liz to rig that drawing, you cheat," Ariel said, in her typically honest fashion.
Logan shrugged as he thought about the day they would put the hotel under a rigorous soundproofing test. Hell, just the thought of being inside the room with the love of his life, doing all sorts of deliciously naughty things instead of having to be a 'listener', had him making a mental note to remind Liz that he really wanted her to rig that drawing. "Remember, you are my baby sister," he began, but every woman there started to boo—including Helen.
"Don't even attempt that lame excuse just so you can hog all the fun, Logan," Ariel said, her hands going to her hips. "Besides, we've already had that discussion at the expense of my rear end as I recall. Our agreement was that you'd remember that I may be younger than you but, big brother, I am an adult as well." With his rueful nod, she smiled and continued. "So, if not testing Haven's rooms or swimming in that great tub, what am I doing?"
"Remember, you were chosen for your height," Logan said, as he attempted to mollify her. "Would you please swim out to the raft, and see if that ladder is going to work and allow our vertically impaired guests to enjoy the lake?"
Snorting at the vertical comment, Ariel ignored him, turning to walk to the lake's edge, followed by Garrett. She dove in, her lithe form slicing through the water as easily as a mermaid.
Garrett was unable to swim, as he was holding the heavy rope ladder, but he enjoyed simply watching her as he walked towards the large floating raft anchored a little way from the shore.
Ariel splashed about, diving under the raft and attempting to unbalance Garrett by swimming between his legs as he worked to attach the ladder to the raft, and then diving beneath the surface to help him attach large metal rings to bolts that had been driven into concrete moorings years earlier.
Once Ariel had proved that short people would indeed now be able to have access to the raft by climbing up the sturdy ladder, the others began to join them. Ariel was on the raft, lying on her stomach, kissing Garrett who still stood in the water. The raft dipped slightly as Helen was helped onto the surface, and Ben handed her an umbrella. Nancy and Elizabeth were next, taking the folding camp chair that Jason handed to them.
"You are the Queen of the lake, Mom," Barbara said, from where she stood next to Craig in the water. Once Helen was seated, the umbrella fixed into a special slot and opened to provide shade, Logan put a small ice-chest on the raft next to her.
When Ariel moved as if to dive into the water, Helen reached out and stayed her with a hand on her arm. "Honey, before you go into the water, would you mind putting some sunscreen on my back?"
"Sure, Mom," Ariel said, patiently waiting while her mother opened the ice-chest and rooted around.
"Oh, my, I can't seem to find it. I'm afraid I must have left it on the shore." She sighed and looked up at her youngest. "I suppose this little umbrella will do, but…"
"Not a problem, Mom," Ariel said, bending down to give her mother's cheek a kiss. "I'll go get it."
"Oh, thank you, sweetie." They watched as Ariel executed a beautiful dive and headed towards the shore.
The moment she was gone, Barbara was lifted onto the raft, where she opened the chest and removed something before turning and diving into the water. She swam out to where Craig had moved to talk to the other men, passing the item to him. He grinned and gave her a kiss before she turned back towards the raft.
Ariel returned, climbed the ladder, and was rubbing sunscreen on Helen's back when a commotion caused her to look up.
"Oh, shit," Garrett yelled, his face showing distinct pain as he groaned and began to hop around, floundering in the water. "What the hell was that?"
"What?" Logan said, striding towards where his best friend was still churning up the water as he attempted to keep his balance on one leg. They both heard a splash, and saw Ariel swimming towards them, the sunscreen dropped onto the raft.
"What's wrong, honey?" Ariel said when she reached them, sweeping the hair from her face. "Are you okay? God, you look awful."
"I don't know," Garrett said, grimacing again. "Either something just took a huge bite out of me, or I stepped on something. God, my foot is killing me."
"Poor baby," Ariel crooned, reaching out to gently pat his arm. "Stay still, don't move so you won't hurt your other foot. I'll look." She didn't wait for a response, diving under the surface and swimming down the few feet to reach the lake bed. Though the water was clear, Garrett's churning about had stirred up the sand, the swirling silt making it difficult to see his foot, his continued hopping not making it any easier. Ariel attempted to still him by reaching out to grab his ankle. Instead, he jerked his leg from her grip, falling backwards into the water, stirring up additional silt and making the visibility even worse.
Coming to the surface, Ariel gave him a glare. "Stop being such a big baby. I said not to move. It's hard enough to see down there without all your fidgeting."
"I'm sorry, sweetie," Garrett said. "You just scared me. I thought it had come back to take another bite. I'll just stand right here, next to Logan." When it didn't appear that she was going to dive again, he continued. "I hate to ask, but could you look again? I mean, what if I stepped on a rusty nail or can or something? What if it gets infected? Oh, God, what if it's like that flesh eating bacteria? Oh man…"
"Oh my God," Ariel said, shaking her head. "Who would have thought that my alpha male could cause such a fuss? I mean, honestly, you'd think a Dominant wouldn't be such a pus—wuss."
Logan couldn't hold back a bark of laughter, though he did cut it short at the look Garrett shot him. Shrugging his shoulders, he spoke to Ariel. "Do you want me to try to find it? Maybe you just can't hold your breath long enough to really look."
"Humph, like you're a better swimmer than I am," Ariel said, taking another deep breath and disappearing once more. Over a minute passed before her head finally popped up.
"God, what a big baby," she said, once more pushing her wet hair off her face. "I mean, we all know Logan is a big scaredy-cat when it comes to spiders, but, I'm telling you, I'm a bit embarrassed that my big hunk of a boyfriend is scared that this will make all his skin fall off." She held up a bright pink, plastic clamshell, which had been decorated with enough sparkling, fake jewels to completely cover the surface. "Jesus, what a baby," Ariel said, drawing back her arm.
"No! Don't throw—" Garrett yelled, as she threw the toy as far as she could, clapping her hands together when the clamshell sailed a great distance before splashing into the water.
"There," she said in triumph, as she looked between the two men. "No more horrid sea creature to be scared of." She laughed, until she realized that not a soul was laughing with her. Craning her neck to look up at Garrett, she grew concerned at the look of absolute horror on his face.
"Garrett, honey, what's wrong? I swear it was just a toy. I didn't mean to tease you. Come on, let's go back. Just to make sure you're okay, I'll clean off your foot, and with a dose of anti…"
"Shit, Ariel. Is there ever going to be a d
ay when you listen to me before going off half-cocked?" Garrett asked, his shoulders drooping as he looked at Logan.
Ariel looked between the two men, her concern growing by the second.
"What the hell do I do now?" he asked, his head turning towards where the others were either seated on, or standing around, the raft.
"Did anyone see where it landed?" Logan asked, as he attempted to keep his laughter at bay.
"I'm afraid not," Ben answered for the group, as they all shook their heads. "We were focusing on Garrett when she threw it."
Shaking his head and hearing Garrett's groan, Logan lost his battle and started laughing.
"Well, man, I hope you have a plan B," he said, as he began to walk back to the raft.
"What's going on?" Ariel asked, seeing that Garrett still looked quite shell-shocked. "Garrett? Honey, please, you are starting to really scare me."
"Oh, baby," he said, shaking his head. "I can't believe you threw it away. I really needed to…"
"It was a toy," she insisted, "a gaudy, stupid clamshell that some kid lost. Geeze, I didn't know you wanted to examine it. I didn't see any blood on it, but I didn't want you to get hurt again." She paused as she realized that he was standing on both feet, no longer attempting to balance, or keep his weight off an injured foot. "Garrett, why do you want it back?"
Shaking his head, he made a growling sound deep in his throat as he easily picked her up, slung her over his shoulder, and carried her back to the raft, one hand repeatedly patting against her wet bottom.
"Don't growl at me," Ariel said. "I said I was sorry. If it will make you feel better, I'll buy you an entire bag of fake sea shells." He didn't answer, his head still shaking from side to side.
Ariel looked at the others, seeing her camera in her sister's hands, the sound of clicking letting her know that Barbara was snapping shot after shot of the two of them. When Garrett placed her onto the raft, she dismissed the toy, and immediately attempted to reach for the camera.
"What are you doing with that out in the water? You could ruin…" she began, only to have Barbara move a few steps away, and feeling Garrett take both of her hands, returning her focus to him. Her confusion only grew as he released one of her hands to stroke a finger down her cheek, and began to speak.
"Ariel, I remember the first time I saw you. I watched you grow up, and remember all the fights we had because you kept trying to be one of the guys. I spent vacations and holidays with you and your family. I have watched you grow from a snotty kid to the beautiful woman you are today. I love you with every fiber of my being. You are my heart, and you are my soul. Though you do impulsive things and are capable of driving me insane, I can't imagine spending a single moment of my life without you by my side. Ariel Darlene Dietrich, would you please do me the honor of becoming my wife?"
Any concern about her camera disappeared as she flung herself off the raft, her momentum causing Garrett to lose his balance as they both disappeared beneath the water. When they surfaced, she was clinging to his neck, her legs wrapped around his waist, their lips fused together.
"Think that's a yes?" Logan asked with a huge grin, and everyone laughed.
"Yes, oh, God, yes," Ariel said, tears streaming down her face as she accepted Garrett's proposal. "I love you and it will be my honor to have you as my husband."
They kissed again, the camera taking shot after shot, the entire group beaming with happiness despite a plan that had gone slightly awry.
When she was released from his kiss and returned to the raft to accept hugs and kisses, congratulations on their engagement given to both of them, Ariel turned to her father. "Is this why I couldn't move in with Garrett?" she asked, remembering her anger when Garrett had told her they would have to wait—which had occurred after he told her he needed to speak to her parents.
"Garrett wanted it this way," Ben corrected, with a smile. "He's been planning this for a while, and thought it might be a bit more meaningful to wait—at least until you were officially engaged with a ring…"
Ariel had begun to smile at the thought of her hunk going to such trouble to make his proposal special, but as her father's words trailed off, she suddenly turned back to look at her fiancé, her face showing the same shell-shocked look as his had earlier.
"Um, Garrett, not to sound crass, but did-did you get a ring for this proposal?"
"Yes, I did," he said, the corners of his mouth twitching.
"God, please, don't tell me you-you put it in…"
"Inside a cute pink clamshell, lovingly decorated by your mother and sister," Garrett completed the sentence for her.
Barbara was thrilled with the photo of her baby sister's face at the realization that the ring she should be wearing as a sign of her official engagement was lying somewhere at the bottom of the lake.
"I just pray it didn't open," Garrett said, now breaking into his own laughter as Ariel scrambled across the raft to where Barbara was.
"God, give me the camera!" Ariel practically screamed, causing Barbara to step back, the camera held against her chest. "Please," Ariel said, "Please, Barbara, tell me you got a picture of where it landed!"
Chapter 6
Ariel sat at Helen's feet, hunched over the small viewing screen, as her finger continually pushed the arrow to scroll through the photos that Barbara had taken of the proposal. "God, how many shots did you take?" she grumbled, as yet another picture scrolled past.
"I have no idea," Barbara answered with a shrug. "Sorry, but I didn't want to miss anything important."
"Well, the only one I want isn't here," Ariel said, the photos flying onto and off the screen at a furious rate. "Shi—shoot, this is useless." With a sigh that sounded as if it barely concealed a sob, she put down the camera to look out over the lake, not noticing when her mother took the camera from her lax fingers.
"Oh, this is a great one," Helen said of a shot of Logan and Garrett standing together, looking like exactly what they were—great physical specimens enjoying the sun and water of a summer afternoon, the excitement of the upcoming proposal, mixed with the slightest trepidation of a possible refusal, showing in their expressions.
Noticing that the men were beginning to spread out, slowly walking away from the raft, occasionally ducking beneath the surface to investigate whatever they felt with their feet on the bottom, Ariel stood and dove back into the water, to join the search in a more active way.
"Barbara, you did a great job, and I'm sure that Ariel will be grateful when she takes the time to go through the photos." Helen reached out to pat her daughter's arm.
"It's okay, Mom. She's just really upset, and I certainly can't blame her." Watching her sister dive again and again as she searched for the clamshell, Barbara shook her head. "Maybe we should have considered all the possible outcomes of Garrett's plan. I mean, it sounded like a romantic idea, but, geeze, we should have remembered Ariel was part of the equation after all." Remembering the barely concealed guilt on her sister's face as she dealt with what she had done, Barbara reached towards her mother. With a renewed sense of urgency, she took the camera again. "Let's start at the beginning and look closer."
The three younger women on the raft huddled around Helen's chair, Nancy moving the umbrella to block out any glare from the sun as they started at the beginning, slowly looking through the photos.
After several minutes, Nancy said, "Wait, go back a couple of shots." Barbara did so, and saw Ariel standing before Garrett, the clamshell in her hand. Going slowly, they clicked through the next few shots, seeing the disbelief reflected on Garrett's face and the impish look on Ariel's as she teased him. Though there were a couple of shots showing Ariel's arm drawn back, and one that actually captured the moment the clamshell left her hand, the shots were focused on the people in the frames—not on where the clamshell had landed.
"Ariel's right," Nancy sighed, "it's impossible to know where it landed from these."
"No, it's not," Elizabeth contradicted her. "Look, we can sort o
f tell where Ariel was standing, right?" At their dubious nods, she continued. "Okay then, why don't we use the photos, find a rock or something that is the size and weight of the shell, and have her throw it again? Then—"
"We can at least get an idea of where to start looking!" Barbara exclaimed, and stood. "We've got an idea," she called loudly, when the searchers surfaced. As they turned and saw her frantically waving them over, she turned back to the girls. "That's a brilliant idea. We'll find several rocks and one of you can position Ariel, as one gives directions from the photos." Nodding, the three girls explained their plan to the men.
"Worth a shot," Logan agreed. "We're not having any luck just walking around."
It took a few minutes to get everyone gathered at the raft, the plan explained, and then the group split up to return to the shore, hunting for rocks that were possible candidates to play the part of the shell. Once a dozen had been gathered, Garrett and Craig, having handled the shell the most, made the final decision of which most closely matched the physical properties of the decorated toy. Elizabeth and Nancy positioned Logan, Garrett and Ariel, using the photos as a reference.
"Now," Elizabeth instructed, handing the first rock to Ariel. "When Nancy calls out to let you know your arm is going in the same direction, throw this like you did the shell."
Nodding eagerly, Ariel waited, allowing Elizabeth to adjust her position a few degrees, checking with Nancy until given the go ahead. Ariel threw the rock, and they all followed the arc of its path until it splashed into the water.
Barbara, Craig and Jason swam towards the spot that the others kept their eyes on. The three spread out, and though Craig came up with the rock, there was no sign of the shell. The test was repeated several times, all with the same results. Garrett, having watched Ariel's face fill with hope and then despair, time and time again, finally called a halt to the effort.
"Look, honey, I can get you another ring," he said, taking a step towards her.
