* * *
Iris reached for the dock as Finn maneuvered the canoe along beside it. She climbed out, only tipping the boat a little from side to side. A woman, probably in her late thirties, wearing a broad sun hat, a tank top, and a floral skirt shouted from the dock. Iris scanned the lake to see who the woman was yelling for.
“Andrew, you get back here right this instant.” She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted again, louder this time.
There was a boy in a canoe, probably fifty feet or so from shore.
“Is that your son?” Iris couldn’t help asking. The woman seemed so upset.
“Yes. He’s only eight and he has not one notion of how to paddle a canoe. Which is exactly why I told him he couldn’t take one out. For the life of me, that boy just will not listen.” She tilted the brim of her hat backward and looked at Iris, with either anger or concern or a maternal mixture of both. “I’m Wanda, by the way.”
“Iris.” She shook the woman’s hand. Southerners were so friendly. That would take some getting used to.
“I’ll go get him.” Finn was still seated in the canoe. She started to back-paddle.
“Oh, good Lord, thank you.” Wanda spoke to Finn and then turned to Iris. “Your boyfriend is so sweet to go get my son.”
Iris was going to correct Wanda’s mistake, but then decided against it. Wanda was clearly too upset about losing Andrew in a wayward canoe to be bothered with momentary gender confusion.
They watched from the dock as Andrew fumbled and dropped his paddle into the lake. He reached for it with an extreme stretch and pitched the boat at a sharp angle. Iris fought the urge not to join Wanda in yelling for him to keep still. Finn was closing in on his location, but not quick enough to keep him from falling headfirst into the lake. With a splash and a yelp, the bright red canoe went bottoms up. He surfaced, but it was hard to gauge his status from the dock.
Finn watched Andrew topple as if in slow motion. She could tell by the angle of the boat that his center of gravity was way off. She picked up her pace. She was only seconds away.
“Hey, don’t panic. I’m coming to get you.” Finn spoke to Andrew as he bobbed in the water. He wasn’t a very good swimmer, and he hadn’t bothered to put on a life jacket. Typical careless kid. He surfaced and sputtered and then surfaced again, coughing. His paddle was slowly floating away along with the upturned canoe.
Finn reached for him.
“Take my hand. Don’t be scared, you’re gonna be okay, kid.” But he wasn’t buying it.
He thrashed about as she tried to grasp one of his arms. She overextended. Immediately, she registered the miscalculation. She lost focus for an instant. When he did finally capture her hand in his she was way off balance. His weight and movement toppled her and she plunged into the freezing water. She gasped, her mouth filled with water, as the cold lake took her breath.
Now both canoes were bottom side up and useless. She’d never get herself and Andrew back into her boat.
“Screw this.” She put her arm around Andrew’s chest and started swimming for shore with one arm, kicking furiously to aid their forward motion.
His mother was shouting something, but Finn’s ears kept dipping below the surface with every stroke so she couldn’t make out what she was saying. The swim seemed to take forever. Her legs and arms were shaking by the time she was able to stand in chest deep water near the dock. She half carried the boy until he was able to get his own footing. His mother met them on the grassy shore. She scooped him into a mama bear hug while simultaneously scolding him for being so careless.
“You scared me half to death!” She set him down and held his face in her hands.
“I’m sorry, Mama.” He might have actually meant it too. He was visibly spooked by his experience.
Finn dropped to her knees in the grass, soaked through, and breathing hard. The woman thanked Finn profusely as Iris looked on with an amused expression.
“You’re the hero of the day.” Iris smiled down at her after the woman was out of earshot.
The woman tugged her son toward the parking lot. She had a death grip on his hand for sure. He glanced back once as he was pulled along.
“I’m not sure heroes are usually this winded.” Finn stood up. She pulled at the wet T-shirt trying to get it away from her chilled skin. The waterlogged cargo shorts she was wearing weighed at least a hundred pounds. Note to self: do more cardio. She’d been working out a lot using her brother’s free weights. He’d had to leave them behind when he left for life in a dorm. But obviously, she needed to add running to her daily routine.
“I guess you got your wet T-shirt contest after all.” Iris was trying not to laugh.
“Oh, yeah, you’re hilarious.” Finn shook her head. “This wasn’t quite what I had in mind.”
Chapter Eleven
Finn slogged to the car where they gathered towels and the cooler. She needed a spot in the sun to dry out and warm up. They found a nice grassy area near the picnic tables, almost in the tree line. The towels were half in the sun and half in the shade, so that Iris had the option for shade since she wasn’t the one who’d taken an unexpected dunk in the lake.
She hadn’t planned on going swimming, but luckily Finn had worn a gray jog bra under her T-shirt. In one swift move, she swept the clingy, soggy shirt up and over her head. She felt instantly warmer after getting rid it. Iris’s eyebrows arched up with surprise.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to take you off guard by going shirtless.”
“You didn’t take me…I mean, I’m fine, I mean, you’re fine.”
Finn was amused. Iris looked away and fussed with smoothing out the edge of the towel she was seated on.
Iris took a deep breath and tried to settle. The sight of Finn taking her shirt off had surprised Iris, taken her breath was more accurate. But she wasn’t about to admit it. Finn had the fit, leanly muscled body of an athlete, and she didn’t seem self-conscious about showing it off. Her skin was smooth and tanned from time outdoors. Her washboard abs flexed as she rotated to spread her wet shirt in the sun to dry. When she turned back, there was a moment where they awkwardly stared at each other.
Iris reached toward Finn and then hesitated, her hands in midair.
“Do you mind?” she asked.
Finn shook her head. Finn looked so serious all of a sudden that Iris had to smile.
She swept her fingers through Finn’s damp hair, pushing it back away from her face. She did it a second time to smooth it further.
“You let your hair fall forward, but you’ve got the most incredible eyes. You should show them off. They’re beautiful.” Iris said the last part softly, almost as if to herself.
Now, with her hair slicked back, Finn looked like some androgynous reincarnation of a modern day James Dean. Gorgeous.
“Thank you.” The corner of Finn’s mouth rose in a mischievous half smile. She reached for the cooler. “Should we eat?”
“Sure.” Although food wasn’t on her mind at the moment.
Iris opened one of the sodas and took several sips while she watched Finn unpack the sandwiches.
“I’m starved.” Finn unwrapped her sandwich, poised to take a bite. “Swimming always makes me hungry.”
“Hero stuff is hard work.”
“Ha, very funny.” Finn smiled around a mouthful.
“What about the canoes?” Iris looked toward the lake as they ate.
“We can paddle out and get them after.” Finn glanced toward the swimming area. “Or we can bribe some bored teenager to do it for ten bucks.”
“I vote for bribing teenagers.”
“Me too.”
Finn propped on one elbow, partially reclining as she ate.
This was fun. More fun than Iris had hoped for on her birthday, in a strange place where she knew no one. There was a light breeze. Just enough to cause the broad leaves over their heads to create undulating irregular shadows on the ground. A scent of something sweet traveled with the breeze. Pe
rhaps a flower that Iris didn’t recognize. She committed the scene to memory. Taking in small details so that she could return to them later. The dampness of the lush grass against her shoeless feet. The sound of children laughing. The warmth of the sun on her skin. And Finn, relaxed, lying back with eyes closed, as if they were the dearest of friends.
Iris felt a twinge of sadness that all of this would be so fleeting.
Tomorrow, she’d be leaving for Los Angeles and Finn would be staying here. And LA was a long way from Watts Mountain, in more ways than geography.
“Is something wrong?”
She hadn’t realized Finn was watching her.
“No, just thinking, that’s all.” Iris took a bite of her sandwich. It was really good.
“You looked as if maybe you were thinking of a bad day, or the bad day.”
“I’m not going to give Eric Gilet the satisfaction of thinking of him.”
“Who is Eric?”
“The director for that show I auditioned for.”
“Oh, that guy.”
“Yeah. Sort of makes for a wasted trip.”
“Except for today?” Finn sounded hopeful.
“Yes, except for today.” Iris smiled.
They sat quietly for a moment, finishing the sandwiches. Finn crumpled the wrapping from hers and tossed it into the cooler as if it were a basketball aimed at a hoop.
“Three points.” Finn imitated a sportscaster. “The crowd goes wild.”
Iris found the whole display amusing.
“So, what’s next for you? Given your job just ended.”
“That’s a nice way of saying I got fired.” Finn grinned. She didn’t seem that upset about it. “Maybe I should do what I’ve been wanting to do.”
“What’s that?”
“Take a stunt driving course. There are plenty of movies being shot in Atlanta. I think if I had some professional credentials I could get some work that pays better than driving a limo.”
“Well, as someone who knows from firsthand experience, there are sometimes gaps between jobs.”
“Really? Acting always seems like such a glamorous occupation.”
“Not everything you see on Instagram is reality.” Iris adjusted her position so that she could lie on her side, propped on her elbow, facing Finn.
“How does it work? Do you have some fancy agent?” Finn seemed genuinely interested.
“I have an agent and a manager. Two people to keep happy.” Iris plucked a blade of grass and twirled it between her fingers.
“Tell me more.”
“Okay, if you really want to know.”
“I do.” Finn mirrored Iris’s position, propped on her elbow, with her head braced on her hand as if she were expecting to hear an exciting tale of adventure or something.
“The process isn’t as interesting as you might imagine. The first level of audition breakdowns are sent out by casting agents to talent agents. Each project has a breakdown of who they are looking for.”
“I’m not sure what that means.”
“Think of it like a menu, where a casting agent asks for what they want—looking for thirty-year-old white female, quirky best friend. Or leading male, cop, six feet tall.”
“Oh, I get it. Literally, like an actual menu.” Finn frowned. “Weird.”
“You get used to it.”
“Does it ever work on your self-esteem? I mean, not that I would expect you to have any trouble with that, I mean, not with the way you look anyway…” Finn fumbled to dig herself out.
“I think I know what you’re trying to say.” Iris smiled and Finn relaxed. “Hollywood is tough. It can be very superficial. That part is hard to get used to. I try not to take that on, but sometimes you can’t help it.”
Iris thought of some of the comments she’d seen online after her breakup with Kent. Anonymously, people could be so cruel. Maybe they were always cruel and social media just offered them an amplified voice. The optimistic side of her nature told her that wasn’t true. She redirected her thoughts back to their conversation.
“What’s kept you from enrolling in a stunt driving school?”
“Home, probably.” Finn rolled onto her back, folding her arms behind her head.
“Oh, do your parents need you to be here for some reason?”
“No, it’s nothing like that.” Finn was reflective, as if she were carefully choosing her words. “Few places are more stunting than home wouldn’t you say? A place where you’re safe, unchallenged, cared for, well fed…”
“I suppose that depends on how you define home.” They were treading on dangerous ground now. Iris had feelings about home and not all of them were good. And she wasn’t sure she was ready to share. This was serious get-to-know-you stuff. “I’m not so sure I ever considered home as a place as much as it is a feeling.” That was a safe way to frame it.
“I think that can be true too.” Finn regarded her with a serious expression. “Home can be something to long for, or something to return to, or something to be shared.”
Finn’s words, her soft drawl, were like a tender embrace. Her words made Iris’s heart flutter. How was it possible that she could feel understood by someone she’d only just met the previous night? Finn acted as if she didn’t take anything seriously, as if everything in her life was about having a good time, but her words gave her away. Beneath the bravado Iris suspected there resided a sensitive soul.
“It might take a little longer for this.” Finn checked the status of her still damp shirt. “Hey, in a little while, after this dries and I find someone to rescue those canoes, would you like to go for a drive in the mountains?”
“Sure.” Iris looked around at the lush wooded hills surrounding the lake. “But aren’t we in the mountains?”
“These are the foothills. About an hour from here are some amazing overlooks.” Finn settled back on her elbows. “Unless you have other things you wanted to do. I mean it is your birthday after all.”
“No plans. I’m all yours.”
Finn grinned broadly, and Iris couldn’t help laughing at her unintended flirtatious word choice.
Chapter Twelve
Finn’s shorts were still damp in places, so after another hour or so at the lake, they stopped by her cabin for dry clothes. Iris waited in the car while she tugged on faded, button-fly jeans. Low-rise Chucks were best for driving so she ditched her flip-flops for a pair of red Converse sneakers. She glanced out the window as she pulled a fresh T-shirt over her head.
She paused to enjoy the view. Iris seated in her roadster was like something out of a classic movie. A beautiful combination that made Finn wish she had her phone to snap a photo through the open window. The scene was framed by the light fabric drapes shifting in the soft breeze. Iris tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear and replaced Finn’s cap. She let Iris keep it for the drive. Short hair worked much better in a convertible, but Finn was always attracted to women with long hair. Iris had gorgeous long hair that fell in silky waves halfway down her back. Finn imagined Iris leaning down from above, her hair trailing across Finn’s bare chest. Her libido began to hum.
She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head.
Snap out of it.
She grabbed a sweatshirt and a jacket and pulled the door closed. Depending on the drive it might get chilly as they climbed and the sun dipped. She wanted to have something warm to put on just in case. Iris must have been lost in thought because she seemed surprised by the sound of Finn closing the trunk.
“Sorry, I was throwing in a couple of jackets in case we need them.”
“I was daydreaming and didn’t know you were so close.” Iris smiled as Finn settled into the driver’s seat.
She wanted to get on the road before her mother caught sight of her and saddled her with chores. She’d already forgotten the groceries her mother had requested the day before, now Finn was out gallivanting when there was no doubt plenty to be done around the place. She’d have to make up for it tomorrow.
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The day was perfect for a drive, not too hot or humid. Traffic was sparse as they headed northeast. One of Finn’s favorite overlooks was Neel’s Gap. It was about a forty-five-minute drive from Watt’s Mountain, along a winding two-lane highway. Motorcyclists loved this particular route for all its hairpin curves. It was a fun road in a sports car too. The snaking road required constant footwork between the clutch, the accelerator, and the gearbox.
As she drove it was hard not to let her hand drift from the gear shift to Iris’s shapely thigh, so tempting. Iris sat with her knees together, angled in Finn’s direction. The view was distracting. She reminded herself to keep her eyes on the road.
There were a few other cars out front when they pulled alongside Mountain Crossings at Walasi-yi in Neel’s Gap. The stone structure was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1936. It originally functioned as an inn and restaurant for the few brave souls who ventured this far into the blue-ridged wilderness from Atlanta. Now the building was a hiker’s paradise, with the Appalachian Trail cutting right through the building.
“What’s with all the shoes?” Iris was standing beside the car, looking up.
A large tree near the parking lot was strewn with shoes and boots as if they were Christmas ornaments. The way people sometimes threw tennis shoes strung together over telephone wires, except these were all in a single tree.
“Hikers.” Finn pointed toward a breezeway along the outside wall of the large stone building. “See that white blaze? The white rectangle of paint?”
“Yes.”
“That’s the Appalachian Trail which runs from Georgia all the way to Maine. This is the only building that actually sits right on the trail.”
“I’ve heard of that trail. There was a movie, or a book, or both, right?”
“Yeah, I think it was called A Walk in the Woods or something. I haven’t read it. But I’ve hiked sections of the trail here and in North Carolina, even a short bit in Virginia.”
“Sounds like an adventure.”
“It was.” Finn started up the steps toward the overlook and Iris followed. “If you like sleeping on the ground and carrying all your own gear.”
Chasing Sunset Page 8