by Karen Kelley
I pushed the food around on my plate. “I was supposed to have gone with them, but I’d come down with a cold. I was fourteen. My aunt Carol took care of me that week. It was only going to be a short cruise, then they would pick me up on the way back, and we’d go on another adventure. Except they never came home.” Pain ripped through me. I knew my smile wobbled. “We had great fun, and I have lots of amazing memories.” My gaze met Rachel’s.
“And you’re continuing the adventure,” Rachel said. She knew from her own experience that I needed to change the subject. “What’s happening this afternoon?”
Nash guessed that I needed to talk about something else and launched into telling us what we could expect. The moment of sadness slowly dissipated. I knew what he and Rachel were doing. Taking the attention off me and what had happened to my parents. When he looked my way, I smiled my thanks to him and Rachel.
The topic of conversation turned to other things, but my mind was still on my parents. They’d gotten a tip about an artifact that had been found on a remote, uninhabited island off the Texas coast. They were going to meet with a professor and his group, except they never made it. Something had gone terribly wrong with the boat. It caught fire, then exploded. Their bodies were never recovered. I tried to reconcile myself to the fact they died doing what they loved. It didn’t really help.
The group began to pack up for the next part of the journey, which pulled my thoughts back to the present. I gathered my backpack and washed my dishes, then carried it to the supply raft.
“It’s going to get a lot rougher from here on out,” Don warned me.
“What, do you think I can’t handle it?” I squared my shoulders and looked him straight in the eye.
“I’m not sure. I know you said you’ve been boating before, but a raft is a lot smaller. It can get pretty rough on the rapids.”
“Thanks for the warning.”
When he nodded, I counted to ten. Men, sheesh. I went to the raft I’d be riding in and joined the others. Nash was the last one to board.
“Are you ready for this?” Nash asked.
I gripped my paddle and wondered if it would bother anyone if I slapped him upside the head.
Did I actually think I could knock some sense into him? Probably not, but before this adventure was over, everyone was going to realize I was stronger than I looked. Certainly capable of taking care of myself.
We moved into the rapids fairly quickly. I didn’t think about anything except survival. It was exhilarating, intoxicating. We rode the rapids, frothy white water that rose up to splash us in the face. We rushed past boulders that threatened to capsize us if we got too close, but Nash was an expert rafter, and we all pulled our own weight.
My hips and shoulders began to ache from the strain, but I didn’t slack-off. If anything, I pushed harder. When I thought I could go no further, we made our way to shore. We were all drenched, except where our wet suits protected us. My hair had already started to come loose from the tieback, but I didn’t really care about any of that. I was on a high like I’d never been on before. I wanted to go again and again. Yes, I was hooked.
When I stood so that I could help drag the raft out of the water, I wobbled. Nash grabbed me to keep me from falling. An electric current of heat passed between us. I swallowed past the sudden lump in my throat.
“Uh...thanks. I guess my legs think we’re still riding the rapids.” When I moved, he released me. My legs felt shaky, but at least I had my balance now. I tried not to look at him as I jumped out of the boat. He followed suit, and we all began to push the raft toward shore.
“Sometimes it takes a bit to get your land legs back,” he said.
I knew that I should have come up a little slower, but I’d still been on an adrenaline high. I’d remember that the next time.
“But you did good,” he said.
I smiled. It felt wonderful proving him wrong. Maybe he would realize I was made of stronger stuff than he thought. I might start to like him after all.
“Just don’t get cocky because the next part of our trek will get really difficult.”
And maybe he was still an ass. “I’ll expect a full apology when we get back to civilization.”
“If you prove me wrong, I’ll buy you a steak dinner.”
“You’re on, but you’ll be eating crow.”
He laughed as he walked toward the camp. I was definitely going to prove him wrong. That steak dinner was going to taste very good.
Then it hit me.
Me and Nash, eating dinner together. Probably wine, candlelight, a romantic atmosphere. That did not bode well. I wondered if McDonald’s had a steak burger. Much safer setting.
“Nash seems to be out of his bad mood,” Rachel said. She studied me for a minute. “You know, he’s a pretty decent man.” I quickly caught her blatant hint that Nash and I should get together.
I laughed, until I realize she was serious. I shook my head. “No way. No way in hell. I just went through a messy divorce. I thought Eric was a decent man, too, but he was far from it. He tried to manipulate me, and for a while I fell for it. I’m through with men, at least for now.
“Okay, if you say so. There just seems to be something between you two.”
I laughed at her words. “Animosity, mutual disrespect? Every time he opens his mouth, he pisses me off. Whatever you’re thinking, forget about it. There is absolutely nothing going on between us, and furthermore, there never will be.”
“Fair enough,” Rachel said.
I was glad we had that settled. I didn’t want anyone thinking I might be romantically involved with Nash. Sure, he was easy on the eyes. When he tried hard enough, he could even be nice. But a romance between us? No, that would never happen.
Lust, now that was a different story. I would freely admit to myself that I had a bad case of lust for the guy. It was a normal reaction. He was hot as hell. Besides the fact I hadn’t had good sex in forever. I would not give in to my baser instincts. I had a feeling Nash would be nothing but trouble.
Chapter 8
Nash
The tents were set up. I scanned the area until I spotted Makenna. She was with Don and Jess, down by the river fishing. I couldn’t help but stare. She’d changed into shorts, but left on her pink bathing suit. I figured she’d worn it under the wetsuit. Normally, I didn’t notice a woman’s shoulders, but when it came to Makenna, it seemed I noticed everything. She had nice shoulders.
She was fishing right alongside the two men. Don must’ve loaned her a pole. He usually had an extra. It didn’t look as if this was her first time fishing. Yeah, she was surprising the hell out of me. She looked as if she’d be more comfortable serving tea in a parlor, definitely not shooting the rapids or fishing.
A few minutes passed before she set back on the pole. I watched while she brought out a nice rainbow trout. She laughed at something that Jess said as she grabbed the fish and removed the hook. No, this wasn’t her first time fishing. She hadn’t acted a bit squeamish sliding her hand down the fish to get a good grasp on it and then removing the hook.
“Do you think you might have misjudged her?” Rachel asked as she came up to stand beside me. “She did pretty good out there today for never having gone down the rapids before.”
I was usually a pretty good judge of character. I knew I shouldn’t come to a snap decision about Makenna based solely on the fact that she didn’t look like the outdoors type, but I couldn’t help it. She reminded me of some of the girls I’d come across in college. They’d huddled in groups, then sized up each man when they walked by as if they were at a meat market.
I always thought they were brainless twits. Not that Makenna sized me up when I walked by. She was shattering the stereotypes implanted in my brain by other women. Still, this was only the first day. We had a few more to go. She could still prove me right.
“Well, at least she didn’t fall out of the boat today. We’ll see what she does tomorrow.” I didn’t want to get into a conve
rsation with Rachel about whether I was wrong about Makenna or not.
Ethan had a fire ready to start as soon as they brought the fish up. For dinner, I liked to make sure that everyone had a meal with fresh meat. This would probably be the last one since we would be hiking tomorrow and moving away from the river. Our supplies would be limited to freeze-dried, which weren’t bad, just not as good as fresh caught.
Makenna, Jess, and Don began walking back to camp. Jess said something and again, Makenna looked up at him and laughed. A moment of anger washed through me. Jess was a new guide and maybe he’d forgotten my rule to keep the paying customer at arms-length. He seemed a little too friendly around Makenna. I didn’t like the way he was looking at her either. As if he could devour her in one bite.
“Jess, maybe you and Ethan could clean the fish so we can get it cooked. I’m pretty sure everyone is hungry by now.”
Don looked at me with a question in his eyes. I shook my head, not wanting to get into it right now. Besides, I really didn’t know where my anger was coming from.
“Sure thing, boss. We caught some pretty nice fish,” Jess said.
He hadn’t caught my thin veil of anger. I sighed. Why should he? He hadn’t done anything wrong, except talk to Makenna. Dammit, the woman was going to be the death of me. When I met her gaze, she was frowning and looking confused.
“I’ll grab a couple of knives and help you clean them,” I told him. I had to get my shit together and stop thinking about her so much.
We cleaned the fish and Don did the cooking. Hands down, he was the best camp cook I knew. By the time everything was ready, I felt less like a ticking bomb about to explode. Everyone grabbed their plate, then found a seat around the campfire.
“What was it out there today?” Jared asked. “Class five?”
I liked Jared. He was around my age and worked for a major corporation, but every chance he got, he was outside. The guy loved the outdoors. I hated to burst his bubble.
I shook my head. “Class four. If we’d continued on, we would’ve hit a class five, but it’s dangerously close to the Devil’s Corridor, and that’s a six all the way.”
“Devil’s Corridor?” Makenna asked.
“The point of no return,” Don said.
“It’s a class six. Only a fool would attempt it.” I didn’t like the look of interest on her face. Better to shut her down right now. “Men have died attempting a class six. At the very least, you’d probably suffer a few broken bones.”
“How many bones did you break?” Don asked me.
“You went down the Devil’s Corridor?” Jess asked with awe.
Everyone turned their attention to me. I glared at Don, but he’d been around me too long, and he knew my bark was worse than my bite. He only shrugged.
“You might as well tell them about it,” Don said.
There was a chorus echoing his words. I could see there was no way I would get out of not telling them the story.
“I was young and stupid,” I began. “Not even twenty-one yet, and full of piss and vinegar. Once I’d heard about the class six rapids that no one had been able to conquer, I knew I was going to try. I wanted to be the first one, and no one was going to stop me.
I did everything right. Double checked all my supplies, then checked them again. I even mapped out the route the river would take. Just in case, I told someone where I was going. He tried to talk me out of it, but my mind was made up.”
“I should’ve slapped you upside the head. Might’ve knocked some sense into you,” Don said.
I grinned. “I don’t think anything would’ve stopped me.”
“What happened?” Makenna asked, leaning forward.
I could tell her how I’d fought the rapids. How the devil tried to claim my soul that day. Even though I didn’t make it all the way through, I could have her thinking I was some kind of stud. But that would be a flat out lie.
Might as well burst all their bubbles. “As soon as I hit the class six rapids, I knew it was going to be harder than I’d thought. The first waterfall wasn’t that bad, but I’m pretty sure I heard the devil laughing when I scraped the side of the boulder at the bottom.”
Don nodded. “Worst case of road rash I’ve ever seen.” He was thoughtful for a moment. “I guess you’d call it rock rash.” He chuckled at his own joke.
“Thanks for the input,” I told him.
“Anytime.”
“What happened next?” Scotty asked.
“Other than the scrape on my arm, I was feeling pretty salty by then. I’d made it past the first obstacle. How bad could it get?”
When Don chuckled, I glared at him, but it still didn’t do any good, so I continued.
“The first waterfall was only a small taste of what was to come. If I’d had any sense back then, I would have attempted to find a place to get out of the rapids, but I kept going. There were so many twists and turns that I almost got whiplash. Boulders were coming out from seemingly nowhere. It took all of my strength and perseverance to dodge them. Then I came up on the second waterfall. There was no turning back. I could only go forward. I knew I was fucked.”
“I didn’t figure he’d make it through that one,” Don said. “I’d hiked in, and had camp set up at the bottom of the waterfall. I figured I’d have to pull him out.”
“I’m glad you had more sense than I did,” I told him. “I still remember that day as if it was yesterday. Like the sound of the bone breaking in my arm when it slammed into a particularly nasty boulder.”
“Could’ve heard him yell and cuss for miles.”
“My raft took the worst of it. The devil took it that day. When I heard laughter, I figured I had a head injury and was probably dying.”
“Only laughed when I saw you weren’t dead, just mad as hell.” Don was grinning from ear to ear.
I was glad he at least was enjoying the story.
“Would you do it again?” Jared asked.
“Nope, I was a believer after that. I started listening to people with more experience. I learned a lot over the next few years. I might still take chances, but going on class six rapids will not be one of them. Only someone with suicidal tendencies would go there.”
Over the next few minutes, everyone grew silent. Maybe they wondered if they could go where no man had ever gone. I hoped not.
“What’s the plan for tomorrow?” Rachel asked, breaking the silence. “I’ve never gone hiking in this area.”
“Ethan and Jess will deflate the rafts and head back,” I began. “We have a company vehicle not too far away. In fact, if anyone decides they don’t want to go farther than this, I would suggest you make it known right now. This will be your last chance.” I was kind of glad that no one spoke up. I liked the group, and I had to admit that Makenna was definitely proving herself. So maybe I didn’t want her to leave. She continually surprised me.
We finished eating, and I left the group on their own to join the other guides to bag up the rafts. They weren’t light, but Jess and Ethan would be able to handle them for the quarter-mile trek back to a vehicle. We had different points where we left vehicles along the way, just in case. They each grabbed a raft, slinging the strap across their shoulders, and carried them without any problem back to the camp.
The lights in Makenna’s tent were on. The sun had already gone down. I was staring at the door, willing it to open. When I saw the flap push back, I wondered if my thoughts had reached her. She glanced my way, then hesitated briefly before walking past me toward the river.
I probably should go about my duties. I probably should, but I wasn’t going to. I started walking toward the river.
Chapter 9
Makenna
I wasn’t about to step back in my tent. Nash would probably think I was running from him. I raised my chin, hugged my towel, and casually strolled past. The way he looked at me made me wish I was wearing more than my bathing suit and a pair of shorts.
At least I wouldn’t catch him skinny-dippi
ng this time.
I would ignore the disappointment I suddenly felt. I definitely needed to dunk my head in cold water.
Just thinking about him coming out of the water sent warm tingles over my body. He’d been something else to look at. All sinewy muscles and tanned wet skin. I’d been mesmerized by the drops of water glistening on him as they slid down his naked body. He’d had the most gorgeous six-pack abs. I could imagine him pulling me against his hard body. Making me go up in flames.
A shudder of need swept over me. I dropped my towel on a nearby rock, and continued on until I reached the water’s edge. I knelt down and scooped up a handful, then splashed my face. The last thing I needed to think about was making love with Nash. The damned water didn’t help at all. In fact, I think it went up a few degrees.
I stepped back and slipped off my shorts, laying them across the rock where I’d dropped my towel. I left on my water shoes and waded out. The current was swift, so I only went waist deep, and besides that, it was freezing. I knew if I didn’t wash my hair, I would regret it, and this might be my last chance.
I always carried a couple of single use, bio-friendly, shampoos with me on hiking trips just in case I got the chance to wash my hair. I went under the water and came back up spitting. Damn, it was cold. I hadn’t really thought this through, but there was no turning back now. I was determined to finish what I started.
I opened the tiny bottle and poured the shampoo on top of my head, replaced the lid, then stuck the empty bottle into the top of my swim suit to be disposed of later. I lathered my hair, then quickly rinsed, shoving my hair out of my face as I came back up. When I turned, I ran into a brick wall.