by Sable Hunter
“Yea, there’s multiple decks to choose from and an eating area for catered food. Do you want to go to the top? We’ll be able to see the fireworks while we eat.”
Seren rubbed her tummy. “Good. I’m a little hungry.”
“You’re always a little hungry.” Canyon gave her a teasing squeeze, smiling at her wide-eyed alarm. “Don’t worry about it. I love a girl with a healthy appetite.” He whispered in her ear, “Especially for sex.”
“You think I’m fat!” Seren hissed, then groaned. What was she getting upset for? She was pregnant. With his child. “Hecky-dern!” And she couldn’t tell him. The man she loved thought she had a ‘healthy appetite’.
“No, not fat.” He rubbed her arms. “Curvy. And I love curves on you.” With a teasing squeeze, he nodded across the room. “Look, they have liquid refreshments.” Canyon pointed to a wet bar. “Can I get you something?”
“Just water will be fine. I don’t need any more calories,” she grumbled under her breath.
As Canyon fetched their drinks, Seren moved to the big glass windows to look out over the water. As she stood there, she let her mind drift from one thought to another. Passengers were still coming on board. She did a quick headcount of the ones she could see and tallied about thirty. Taking a deep breath, she found the air was fragrant with the smell of BBQ. Seren’s stomach grumbled and she covered it quickly with the palm of her hand. Last night, after the wonderful time with Canyon, she’d dreamed about the baby. A dark-haired little boy named Jon. He’d been the mirror image of his daddy.
“Hey, Seren. How are you?”
She turned to see Jessie McCoy looking stunning in all red. “I’m good. Oh, you look so festive!” She’d renewed her acquaintance with Jacob’s wife in the last couple of weeks.
Jessie preened. “Thank you. The holidays are big at our house. Jacob believes in celebrating every holiday to the fullest. Why don’t you and Canyon sit with us? We’re at the Captain’s table.” When Seren narrowed her eyes and frowned, Jessie laughed. “Okay, that sounds fancier than it really is. Anyway, we have a great view and we’ll be served first.”
“Sounds good to me.” Seeing Canyon making his way to them, she wiggled her finger at him to follow. “We’re sitting with Jacob and Jessie.”
He nodded. “Good deal.”
As they made their way up the narrow stairs to the upper deck, Seren felt the boat begin to move. “Here we go,” she announced, feeling a bit of a thrill. “I’m glad there’s a full moon. The water will look spectacular.”
Once they were seated, Jacob leaned back against the rail and looked up at the night sky. “Wow, look at those stars. Do you ever wonder what’s up there?”
Canyon leaned his head back and gazed also. “Well, with at least a hundred billion stars in a galaxy and approximately ten trillion galaxies in the universe, that adds up to about a septillion of stars, as in a 1 with twenty-four zeros behind it.”
“Wow, Bill Nye the Science Guy, I didn’t know you were so brainy.” Jacob motioned a waiter over for a refill.
“What? I’m more than a brawny sex symbol.” With everyone staring at him, Canyon shrugged. “I’m not sure where those tidbits of info came from. I guess I heard it somewhere.”
Seren knew where he’d heard those exact facts. She recalled one of their earlier conversations when she’d offered to play Scheherazade so he’d let her stay. “Canyon has hidden depths,” she offered while studying his expression closely.
“Like this lake.” Jacob looked off into the distance. “Just look at the moonlight on the water. Who’d think there were two ghost towns beneath these waters? Hancock and Cranes Mill. I’m talking churches. A post office. Cemeteries.”
Jessie shivered. “Don’t start with the spooky stuff. I want to be able to sleep tonight. I can’t seem to forget what Bowie Travis told us the other day.”
“What did he tell you?” Canyon asked, leaning forward. “I’ve always enjoyed stuff like this.”
“Aww, I think he was just trying to scare Jessie. You know his ranch is located on an old army camp and he keeps a couple of camels, they’re sort of a tradition at Camp Verde. The army brought a herd of them to the facility back in the 1850’s. Anyway, he told her that on Halloween night, he saw a whole line of ghost camels, walking in formation, passing through the copse of trees near the old fort – not to be outdone by the troop of ghost soldiers he saw running across the old bridge built over the river where it runs across his property.”
“Crap, that’s neat,” Canyon mused, tapping his lips with his forefinger.
“Yea.” Jacob grinned. “And to add to her case of the willies, Noah’s mother, Sofia, went to Lost Maples State Park to see the fall colors and swears up and down some ghost children giggled and tried to push her off the cliff up on Llama Rock.”
“Hush.” Jessie patted Jacob’s arm. “That’s enough.”
“Are you kidding, I love the way you cuddle up to me when you’re scared,” Jacob told her when a smirk.
Jessie pouted. “It’s not funny, Sofia’s tale really unnerved me.”
“Oh, Sofia spent so much time in Mexico, she’s a little extra superstitious.” Jacob turned to Canyon and pointed to the owner of the boat who was making his way to the table.
“Yes, she is superstitious,” Jessie agreed, smiling at Seren. “She’s also a heck of a cook. I’ll have to give you her recipe for Posole Rojo.” When the men stood up to greet the Captain, Jessie leaned closer to Seren. “However, Noah’s mother has nothing on my mysterious sister-in-law, Cady. I swear, she’s got powers of some kind. Her whole family is magical, New Orleans hoodoo witches or something.” A little frown marred Jessie’s pretty face. “There’s something extra with Cady though. She’s good. I mean, spooky good. Holy, almost.” She grinned. “I’m not suggesting she’s a prude, Joseph is much too happy for that to be true. I mean, she’s above everything, like she sees the big picture of life.” Letting out a sigh, Jessie shook her head. “I don’t know what I’m trying to say.”
“I think I know what you mean.” Seren recalled how Cady seemed to recognize her from before, even mentioning the party they’d planned. She also couldn’t forget the strange mental message that had come to her mind when she made eye contact with a weirdly glowing Cady at the karaoke competition. “I’m really looking forward to getting to know her better.”
Their conversation was curtailed when Greg Houseman introduced himself to everyone at the table. “I’m really glad you all could come. You don’t know what it means to me to get a chance to thank everyone for the help you gave.”
“We serve our community to the best of our ability,” Jacob replied. “I’ve worked with the VFD and other organizations for years and seen a lot of tragedy.” He sighed and blew out a long breath. “It never gets easier.”
“I know. Believe me,” Greg said, taking his seat. “I wouldn’t have had that happen for the world. When I thought it was just a freak thing because of the storm, it was bad enough. To know someone intentionally caused the accident is mind-blowing. I thought about just throwing up my hands in defeat, but my wife talked me out of it.” He laughed and took his phone from his pocket. “She’d be here tonight, but we have a little one.” Finding a photo, he shared it with them. “This is our Valerie.”
“Oh, she’s darling,” Jessie spoke up. “I agree with you. We can’t live in constant fear. Once…I was kidnapped and…” Her voice trailed off.
Jacob picked up her story. “Yea, I turned the world upside down trying to find her. A psycho had her chained in a damn shed, holding a gun to her head.”
Jessie nodded. “I could’ve let that change me, kept myself locked in the house. Sometimes, when I go out, I think about it. But I can’t hide from life, we have to have faith everything’s going to be okay.”
While Greg explained to Jacob and Canyon the changes and improvements he’d made to the boat, a waiter brought them each a big plate of BBQ with all the trimmings. As she ate, Seren took
the time to consider what they’d been talking about. Faith wasn’t something she’d ever considered to be within her reach. So…why was she feeling this tugging need to believe there was an answer for her?
“Hey, I’m going to the little boy’s room and get something else to drink? Can I bring you something?”
Canyon’s voice snatched Seren back to the present. “Uh, I’m good. Thanks.”
“Be right back.” He gave her a smile and walked quickly away as Jacob and Greg discussed the new life jackets he’d purchased.
“I think the fireworks are about to start,” Jessie told her, noticing the boat was mooring in the middle of the lake. “Can you see? Move your chair closer to mine.”
As she scooted her deck chair around, Jacob and Greg stood up and walked to the far side of the boat, deep in conversation. “I can barely see the shore, this is a big lake, isn’t it?”
“Yea, about nine miles at its widest point, with over three hundred miles of shoreline. About a hundred twenty-five foot deep, I believe.” Jessie rattled off the statistics, then grinned. “I’m not that smart, I asked Jacob the same question on the way over.” She was quite for a few seconds. “I’m dyslexic, so I tend to memorize everything I hear. Reading doesn’t come easy for me.”
“Oh, I didn’t know,” Seren said quickly. “I would’ve never known. Not that…”
Jessie laughed. “No worries. I’ve found ways to compensate. So…is it serious between you and Canyon?”
As the booming explosion of fireworks began to light up the sky, Seren tried to think of something to say in answer.
…Meanwhile, Canyon stood at the urinal, finished his business, then went to the wash basin to clean his hands. His mind was full of plans and promises. Over the last few days, he’d arrived at an undeniable conclusion.
He couldn’t live without Seren in his life.
Canyon felt this overwhelming need to sit her down and find out every last detail of her life. Everything she thought. What she liked. What she disliked. He knew some things about her, but he wanted to know more. Her hopes. Her dreams. Her fears. All of it.
The second order of business was to convince her that he was a better choice of someone to love than…George. “George,” he whispered the name with disdain. “I despise the man and I’ve never met him.”
Pushing open the exit door, he firmed up his goals in his head. “I can do this. I can make her love me.” Canyon wasn’t certain when he’d changed his mind about wanting someone in his life – but it had happened. The more he was around Seren, the more certain he was that he couldn’t live without her.
Looking at the floor, Canyon didn’t notice the other man in the hall until they collided. “Oh, hell. Excuse me.”
A mumbled apology was the guy’s only response.
Forgetting the momentary distraction, he continued down the dark corridor. He’d drop by the bar, then get back to Seren. In the distance, he could hear the boom of fireworks. He’d gone about a half dozen steps when there was a louder boom. Closer. Suddenly - beneath his feet, the boat shuddered. “What the hell?”
Canyon stopped in his tracks. What had he felt? Turning around, he looked deeper down the hall, past the restrooms. What was down there? As he debated what to do, he felt the boat lurch. “Oh, Christ.” Taking his phone from his pocket, he hit the button to call Jacob.
“What’s up?”
“Did you feel that?”
“Not really. I thought maybe a log bumped us. Where are you?”
“Heading down to the engine room, just to make sure everything’s okay. Watch out for Seren for me. Okay?”
“She’s right behind me sitting with Jessie. I’ll watch her. Do you need some help?”
“I don’t know. I’ve got a bad feeling about this, McCoy. Keep your eyes open.” About that time, there was another loud boom and Canyon started to run. “Jacob, start getting people off the boat. Something’s damn wrong.”
Stuffing his phone back into his pocket, he pushed into the engine room. Immediately, he saw water pouring into the boat from a hole in the lower wall. Standing by it – was Diego. “Fuck, man, what’s wrong with you?”
Diego didn’t say anything. He just took out a lighter and lit a long fuse that was connected to the engine’s fuel tank.
“No!”
Canyon charged Diego, fighting to get by him to stop the path of the fire.
“Not so fast, blacksmith.”
Diego charged Canyon, pushing him so hard to the right, his head struck an iron pipe. Pain detonated behind Canyon’s eyes. His vision blurred. He tried to see, to block the blows the other man was raining on his face and chest. He couldn’t think clearly.
“Why would you do this?” Canyon screamed at him This man had set off two explosions. The boat was sinking. Now, he was trying to blow it sky high. Panic rushed through his body, he needed to get to Seren. He needed to make sure she was safe. Instead, he was struggling to find a foothold, to push through the deluge of water and stop the fire that threatened to destroy them all.
“Why? I’ll tell you why. I lost my whole family to one of these damn boats. My mother, my brothers, and my sisters. All drowned!”
Canyon could hear the pain in the other man’s voice. “This isn’t going to bring them back.” He pushed against his assailant “Come on. Help me. Let’s stop this thing and get out of here. We can save everyone. This doesn’t have to end in tragedy. We don’t have to die.”
“I want to die!” Diego screamed. “I want to die and I want to take as many with me as I can!”
…Up top, Jacob wasted no time. Trusting his friend’s judgment, he informed Greg Houseman of the situation. The captain had no answers, he seemed to be in a state of shock. Total disbelief.
Jacob tried phoning Canyon for an update. When there was no answer, he cursed. “Dammit!” People were milling around in confusion, everyone asking everyone else what was going on. The fireworks were forgotten.
Grabbing Houseman by the shoulder, he made the man look him in the face. “Get to the engine room and see what happened. I’ll make sure everybody gets to safety.”
“All right. All right.”
Keeping his head, Jacob took his wife’s arm. “Jessie, you and Seren come with me. Let’s get you into a lifeboat.” He steered the women to the place Greg had shown him earlier, putting a life jacket into each of their hands. One of the volunteer firemen was assisting each person into the boat, then helping to lower the boats into the water.
“You come too, Jacob,” Jessie said, her eyes wide with terror.
“I’ve got to help people. Don’t worry. I’ll be right behind you.”
When Jacob left them, Jessie took her arm. Seren didn’t move, she balked. Looking around she wondered at the chaos. The passengers were crying and shouting and the last time she’d seen the captain, he’d just looked dazed. “I can’t go. I can’t leave.” She wouldn’t – couldn’t leave Canyon behind. “Go on without me. I’ve got to find Canyon. We’ll be on the next boat.”
Pulling away from Jessie, she took off in a run. Her heart was hammering and there was an uncomfortable tingle edging down her spine, the same niggling feeling she’d felt the night of the Halloween party when Pennywise the clown had followed Canyon to the back of the bar.
Following her instincts, she fought her way against the flow of people to get to the lower deck. Once she was down the stairs, water lapped at her feet. “Oh, no! Canyon! Canyon!” Rounding one corner, she glanced out toward the water just in time to see a lifeboat lowering. To her shock, Greg Houseman was on board. “Wow, brave,” she muttered. Shaking her head, she focused on her mission. She needed to find Canyon. What had happened she didn’t know, but everything within her told Seren that he was in trouble.
When she came to the last set of stairs, she could see even more water. “God, please,” she muttered in a prayerful tone, “let me find him.” She could swim, or she used to be able to swim as well as she could fly. Hopefully, that skill was st
ill with her. Regardless, she intended to do whatever it took to find him and make sure he was okay.
…In the engine room, Canyon was striving to keep his head above water as Diego did his best to drown him. “Sorry to disappoint you, asshole. I don’t intend to die.” He had a reason to live. For Seren. The sparks flickered, but the rising water wouldn’t reach the fuse in time to avoid setting off another explosion. Calling forth all his strength, he lunged upward and grabbed the fuse, extinguishing the fire in his palm. Diego grabbed him from behind, but Canyon bucked backward throwing Diego hard against the wall. As he did, there was a sickening crack as the madman’s skull came into contact with the engine block.
When Diego slipped from his grasp, Canyon started from the engine room. If he hurried, he could find Seren and insure everyone made it to safety before the duck boat sank to the bottom of the lake. As he sloshed toward the exit, he heard an ominous creaking noise. Looking up, he saw a crack forming in the ceiling. That was when Canyon realized the hole in the engine room wasn’t the only one Diego had put into the boat. Moving as quickly as he could, he endeavored to get out of the way before the debris fell on top of him.
Too late.
The ceiling gave way, water poured down, and a large slab of wood crashed down directly on top of Canyon.
This time, he went under the water and didn’t come up.
…Feeling desperate, Seren pushed herself to the limit. “Canyon!” She had to locate him. Understanding the brave heart of the man she loved, Seren knew she’d find him at ground zero, the center of the problem. She just wished she knew where that might be. When she reached the main deck, Seren was horrified to see a gaping hole where the gangplank used to be. The hole was now below the water line. Seren could tell the boat was sinking quickly.
Pure panic forced her to move. “Canyon! Canyon!” When she neared the center of the duck boat, Seren could see a rising tide of muddy water. A spike of pure terror knifed through her when she realized Canyon was down those stairs and he was in trouble. He needed her. She knew this as well as she knew she loved him – and she was surer of that than anything in the world.