‘‘Uh-huh.’’ He had a tough time appreciating the sunset when there was Annie to look at. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes sparkled with excitement. He’d thought she could never look more beautiful than she had riding on the float as Miss Dairy Queen the summer of her junior year, but he’d been wrong. Tonight he saw more than a pretty girl. Annie had turned into an incredibly voluptuous woman.
‘‘Thank you for suggesting this,’’ she said. ‘‘What a fantastic idea.’’
‘‘Wait and thank me after you’ve paddled across the lake,’’ he said. ‘‘You’ll be using muscles you didn’t know existed, and you might be a little sore.’’
‘‘I don’t care. I had sore arm muscles plenty of times when I was a softball pitcher.’’ She lifted her paddle and dipped it into the water. ‘‘Am I doing it right?’’
‘‘Not bad. Remember to twist at the waist and make that figure-eight pattern I showed you.’’
‘‘Right.’’ She started off. ‘‘If you follow behind me, you’ll be able to check my technique.’’
‘‘Okay.’’ He’d planned to follow, anyway, so that she could set the pace. ‘‘Looking good, Annie. You’ll probably take to this the way you did to pitching.’’
‘‘You know, I miss softball. I thought about joining an adult league in Chicago, but there was never time.’’
Once again he was reminded of the difference between big-city and small-town living. In Big Knob they always seemed to have time for the extras. For one thing, nobody ever got stuck in traffic.
This evening on the lake was a perfect example of the pace of life around here. Except for the occasional twitter of a bird settling down for the night, there was no sound except the liquid slide of their paddles through the water. No honking horns, no jackhammers, no blaring music, no sirens.
‘‘Look, there go Mr. and Mrs. Mallard.’’ Annie stopped paddling long enough to point out the ducks crossing their path. They left a V-shaped wake that fanned out over the otherwise smooth surface as they swam toward the shore.
‘‘In another few weeks we’ll have ducklings around here.’’
‘‘I remember. They’re just too cute, like a miniature flotilla.’’
‘‘Yeah.’’ Jeremy loved the ducks, the lake, the trees. He craved this kind of peaceful setting, especially after a day spent in the café, which might well be the noisiest place in town if you didn’t count the school gym during a basketball game.
Annie’s voice drifted back to him. ‘‘Are the Knob Lobbers still competing?’’
‘‘Yep. If you were going to be here next week you could see our first home game.’’ But she wouldn’t be here next week. Because that depressed him, he decided not to think about it. ‘‘Have you figured out a story for tomorrow?’’
‘‘Maybe. I saw Clara Loudermilk heading into the Bob and Weave today, which reminded me about her husband Clem and the bra patent that made him so rich.’’
‘‘You’d never know he was rich to look at him. Still dresses in denim overalls. Clara’s the one who’s spending the money. Sean built her a high-end sun-porch this past winter.’’
‘‘But Clem’s the one I want to interview. I know he’s shy, but if I can get him to talk about his invention, that would make a great story. I’ll bet lots of women in Chicago wear that brand and have no idea the inventor lives in a little town in southern Indiana.’’
‘‘I’m sure you’re right.’’ But Jeremy wished she hadn’t brought up the subject of women’s underwear. The bulky life jacket she wore and the kayak skirt disguised her figure so that he’d been able to temporarily subdue his animal instincts. But thinking about bras brought those instincts roaring back.
He wondered if she wore a black bra under that red T-shirt. In his fantasies, she dressed in black lace underwear, the perfect complement to her blond hair. But he wouldn’t really care if she happened to be wearing plain white cotton tonight, so long as he had a chance to find out.
Yes, he might be rushing the relationship to be considering that kind of move already, but he didn’t have much time to work with. By Sunday she’d be gone. He’d already announced his intentions and she hadn’t run screaming, so only a fool would hesitate. He was no fool, and for some reason he’d overcome his usual hesitation, too.
Although he enjoyed kayaking, tonight he was much more excited about the land part of this adventure. Fortunately that would start soon. They’d made good time, and the beach on the opposite side of the lake was only a couple of minutes away.
Twilight had created intriguing shadows on the sandy beach ahead. The shadows would give them privacy. He planned to build a small fire once they got there, more for atmosphere than anything else. The food was already cooked, and he didn’t want a bonfire that would light up the place. Darkness and seclusion would work better for what he had in mind.
‘‘Almost there,’’ he said. ‘‘You’re probably getting tired.’’
‘‘Not particularly. I can’t get over how quiet it is out here. You could hear a pin drop.’’
‘‘I know. I’ve never seen the water this still.’’
As if on cue, little ripples slapped the sides of his kayak. Then the ripples turned into small waves that rocked both boats. Strange. There was no wind.
Annie looked back at him. ‘‘What do you suppose is causing—’’ Then her eyes got huge and she screamed.
Jeremy twisted around to look and found nothing there. Something had been there, though, something that caused substantial waves to rock both kayaks.
‘‘Jeremy!’’
He turned back and saw that she’d drifted parallel to a particularly large wave approaching her boat. ‘‘Turn into it!’’ he yelled.
But whatever she did with the paddle only made things worse. The kayak flipped, taking her with it.
Dear God. Jeremy stroked quickly and came up beside the upside-down hull. Loosening the skirt and ripping off his life jacket, he dived into the water. She was trapped under there, and he was the imbecile who hadn’t taught her how to get out.
Chapter 6
Her lungs burning, Annie struggled to pry the skirt loose from the kayak. Her fingers were trembling too much and she couldn’t budge it. That thing I saw . . . it was in the water . . . with me. She’d never been so sure she’d die.
When she felt movement next to her, her heartbeat hammered in her ears. The creature would eat her. It would pull her out of the kayak like a clam from its shell and gobble her up.
She hoped it wouldn’t hurt much. Too bad she couldn’t write the obituary. It would be one hell of a story. Probably make the national evening news.
But she wasn’t ready to die, damn it! She struck out, flailing with both arms. Maybe she could gouge out the creature’s eyes so it couldn’t see her. She hit something solid and bubbles tickled her face.
Then she was dragged out of the kayak, skirt and all. Any minute she expected to feel the chomp of huge teeth. Yet she was suddenly released, and her life jacket caused her to pop to the surface.
Gasping and coughing, she tried to scream again, but she didn’t have the lung power. She prayed that Jeremy was close enough to hit the thing with his paddle. Maybe he could stun it, or . . . oh, who was she kidding?
She was doomed. The paddle would be like a matchstick to something that size. She was grabbed from behind. No! She wouldn’t give up. She would resist until she had no strength left.
‘‘Hey! Stop fighting me!’’
The voice was hoarse, and a moment passed before she registered it as one she knew. Jeremy! She tried to tell him they were in terrible danger, but instead she sounded like a woman gargling her morning mouthwash.
In the dim light, a dark, menacing shape drifted closer. In a panic, she kicked out, knocking it away.
‘‘That’s the boat! We need it!’’
Poor Jeremy. He didn’t know that a measly kayak would be no protection against a monster of the deep. But maybe it was better than nothing. She allowed
him to tow her over to the boat by the shoulder of her life jacket. She kept her chin in the air so she wouldn’t swallow any more water.
‘‘I’ll boost you in,’’ he said.
That’s when she figured out that this was the kayak he’d been using, not the one she’d overturned. He shoved her into the cockpit with more strength than she would have given a computer geek credit for. She was wedged in sideways, which was partly because of the protective skirt she still wore.
Jeremy hung on to the side until the kayak stopped rocking. ‘‘Can you get all the way in?’’ He sounded tired.
She wondered if she’d done any damage when she’d tried so hard to get away from him. ‘‘Maybe. Give me a second.’’ She coughed up more water. ‘‘Jeremy, there’s a monster in the lake.’’
‘‘I doubt it.’’
‘‘Don’t you dare say that!’’ She coughed some more. ‘‘I saw it!’’
‘‘Yeah, you saw something, but it wasn’t—’’
‘‘I saw a monster.’’ She shuddered, both from the cold and from the memory of that prehistoric-looking long neck, small head and beady eyes. If the rest of the creature matched the length of the neck, it was at least the size of an eighteen-wheeler.
‘‘Okay, whatever. Work yourself into the kayak. Then, if you can hold my glasses, I’ll try to locate one of the paddles.’’
‘‘No! You can’t go swimming around out there. It will eat you.’’
‘‘Annie, I’m freezing and I’m sure you’re freezing.’’
‘‘I’m pretty cold.’’
‘‘To get to shore we need at least one of the paddles. Here.’’ He handed her his glasses, still attached to the leash. ‘‘I’ll be right back.’’
She peered after him, but soon all she could do was listen to him splash around searching for the paddle. Heart pounding, she held her breath. What if the next sound she heard was an agonized scream? She didn’t know what she could do to help, with no weapon.
She heard no scream, but something made a flapping sound overhead. An owl? She glanced up at a dark shape hovering at least twenty feet above her. It looked too big to be a bird.
Her stomach clenched in fear. Was she going crazy, or was Big Knob becoming the scene of some horror flick?
‘‘Got it!’’ Jeremy called out.
She looked in the direction of his voice and could vaguely see a paddle waving in the air. When she glanced up again, whatever she’d seen was gone. A kite. Some idiot was flying a kite out here. That would explain what she’d seen, if only there happened to be a breeze blowing.
‘‘And here’s the other one,’’ Jeremy said. ‘‘Excellent!’’
She heard him kicking his way back toward her and decided she’d better get situated before he got there. Moving cautiously, she eased her waterlogged self down into the opening. Her shorts and sweatshirt weighed a ton and the soggy material squished against the seat as she settled in.
The paddles bumped the side of the kayak. ‘‘All set?’’ Jeremy asked.
No, I just saw something weird in the sky, too. He already thought she was imagining monsters everywhere, so she decided not to mention it right now. ‘‘Just so you know, I’m not fastening the skirt.’’
‘‘That’s fine. Here, hold both paddles. I think I know where the other kayak is.’’
She took both paddles and shoved one down into the opening next to her legs. ‘‘Forget the other kayak. Hang on and I’ll paddle us in before the monster attacks. ’’ Or we get plucked up by some flying monkey.
‘‘There is no monster and I’m not forgetting it. That’s the kayak with the food and the wine.’’
‘‘How can you think about food at a time like this?’’
‘‘You’ll thank me later.’’ He swam away from the boat.
‘‘That’s assuming you come back,’’ she muttered, keeping her voice low in case either of the creatures might be listening. Her teeth started chattering as she stared out into the darkness and scanned the sky.
Then over the tops of the trees rose the almost-full moon. In the faint silvery glow she could make out the upside-down kayak and Jeremy swimming toward it. She prayed nothing would break the surface of the lake or swoop down from above, either.
At least now she had a paddle and could go to his rescue. Exactly how she’d rescue him, she had no idea. With small bears, you were supposed to stand as tall as you could and look menacing. But this wasn’t a bear and it wasn’t small. She hadn’t read the manual on how to intimidate a lake monster or a flying monkey.
Yet if these creatures were predatory, why hadn’t they struck again? Could all this be the result of some elaborate hoax? Someone would have to go to a lot of trouble to make such a lifelike creature come out of the water, even if they’d created only the head and neck.
Something that large would require more than one person to manipulate. Maybe two or three people, all wearing scuba gear, could accomplish it. But she couldn’t sell herself on the idea. The thing in the air could have been a radio-controlled model plane of some sort. But she wasn’t buying that explanation, either.
She’d developed into a decent journalist because she had a sixth sense about fake news versus the real deal. She didn’t think what she’d seen was fake. And if the two sightings were real, she might be sitting on the story of the century.
Now, there was a concept. Instead of shivering in the kayak worrying that she and Jeremy would become monster food, she should be figuring out how to confirm the sightings and make herself famous. Hardly anyone at the Tribune took her seriously because they thought of her as a talking head from WGN. If she found the equivalent of Nessie plus some prehistoric flying creature right here in Big Knob, her reputation as a reporter would be guaranteed.
On the debit side, if she broke the story before she was sure of what she’d seen and it turned out to be a few teenagers playing a practical joke, her reputation would be in the toilet. Although she didn’t really want to see either creature again, she’d need to if she planned to stake her career on them.
Wild things usually had a routine to their behavior. She should come back here with a camera, probably about the same time in the evening. If she could be sneaky about it, then that would somewhat rule out the practical jokesters. Several people knew she and Jeremy had planned to come out here tonight, so pranksters could have gotten the word. There were few secrets in a small town.
Yet the idea that someone had gone to that kind of trouble boggled her mind. Why? To what purpose? Okay, teenagers didn’t need a purpose other than to create havoc, but still. This would have involved intensive engineering.
Jeremy reached the kayak. He had to be physically drained by all he’d done so far, and the kayak was weighted down with food, wine and blankets. Yet he managed to flip it upright and scramble in. She was impressed.
Glancing over in her direction, he made a megaphone of his hands. ‘‘Can you paddle over?’’
She could. It was the least she could do after the way she’d treated him like a punching bag when he’d tried to rescue her. Holding the leash of his glasses between her teeth, she began to paddle. The breeze she stirred up made her colder, but the exertion warmed her, so it was a trade-off.
‘‘That’s close enough.’’ He reached out a hand. ‘‘Give me the other paddle.’’
She stretched it across the distance between them.
‘‘Thanks. Keep holding on and I’ll pull you closer so I can get my glasses.’’ He maneuvered the kayaks until they bumped up against each other with a hollow thunk.
She handed over the glasses, and he put them on. ‘‘I can’t believe these didn’t end up at the bottom of the lake. Dumb luck, I guess. You okay?’’
‘‘Sure.’’ Making it through all the drama was sort of exhilarating.
‘‘I was thinking as I recovered this kayak that I owe you the chance to bail on this evening. We can paddle back if you want. I’ll even hook a towline on your kayak so you don’t need t
o do any work. This hasn’t gone quite the way I’d hoped.’’
‘‘No, but it certainly hasn’t been boring.’’
He laughed. ‘‘No, it hasn’t, but I never intended to almost drown you. You have a right to be nervous about how the rest of the night will go.’’
Truth be told, her nerves were giving way to excitement about the possibility of a scoop. And she was curious about how Jeremy planned to save this date. It would take quite a bit of ingenuity, but she had a feeling Jeremy was an ingenious guy.
She gazed at him across the dark water. ‘‘I can’t see how it could get any worse.’’
‘‘That’s what I’m counting on. The picnic is viable because the food’s zipped into plastic bags. The blankets are also protected, and I always keep my matches in a watertight container. I could build us a fire. We have wine. We can still do this thing.’’
‘‘It appeals to me in a Survivor kind of way.’’ Besides, she wanted to talk to him about the monster and the creature in the sky. She could come here tomorrow night by herself, but she wouldn’t mind having backup. Jeremy was the sort of steady, dependable guy a girl could count on in a situation like this. He’d proved that tonight.
‘‘So you’re up for it?’’ He sounded hopeful.
‘‘Sure, why not?’’
‘‘Great. Head for the beach. That kayak doesn’t handle as well as mine, but you have some experience now.’’
‘‘Oh, yeah. I’m a freaking expert.’’
‘‘Annie, you’ve done a super job. It’s not your fault that you dumped. I’ll be covering you from behind.’’
In spite of her newfound courage, a shiver ran through her. ‘‘I thought you didn’t believe we were in any danger.’’
‘‘I don’t, not really. But if kids are playing a prank, stuff can go wrong. They might not mean to cause harm, but they could miscalculate. That’s what I’m watching out for.’’
He’d be a good person to have on her side, she thought as she propelled the kayak toward the shoreline. Besides that, he was turning into one hot number, with his heroics and his manly skills. She wondered how he planned to get them both dry, and if it involved taking off any clothes.
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