White Water

by Linda I. Shands

  After an hour of helping Ryan untangle his line, baiting his hook, and rescuing the oar he managed to knock overboard, Kara sank back into the boat with a groan. “I thought this was supposed to be relaxing!”

  Colin took pity on her. “I don’t know about you guys, but I could use some lunch. Why don’t you reel in, Partner, and break out some of those cheese crackers we brought along?”

  “I guess,” Ryan grumbled. “There’s no fish in this stupid river anyway.”

  Kara rolled her eyes, but didn’t have the strength to lecture him. She yawned and settled back into the curve of the raft. The sky was clear, with a just few puffs of white cloud. A warm breeze teased a strand of hair across her cheek, and the raft rocked gently on the calm water.

  “Wakara?”

  Kara felt a hand on her shoulder and opened her eyes. The raft was no longer moving, and when she took Colin’s offered hand and pulled herself up, she saw they were grounded in shallow water along a sandy shore.

  Colin grinned. “Come on, Sleeping Beauty, you may be small, but we can’t beach this thing with you still in it.”

  “Whoa, sorry. I must have dozed off.”

  “I guess!” Tia reached past her for one of the sleeping bags. “You were cutting Zs for over two hours!”

  Kara felt her face burn. Colin let go of her arm, gathered up a couple of backpacks, and moved off to where Ryan was gathering rocks. Kara grabbed the back of Tia’s shirt. When her friend turned around, Kara whispered, “I didn’t really snore, did I?”

  Tia laughed. “No. It’s just an expression. Sorry. But you were really out of it.”

  Impulsively, Kara gave her a hug. “I guess I didn’t sleep very well last night.” Really, she hadn’t slept much at all. Tia on the other hand had snored loudly enough to rouse a hibernating bear.

  Colin came back, and the three of them pulled the raft onto the sand. “This is a great place to spend the night,” he said when they had the raft secure. “That big log over there makes a perfect windbreak for the fire. I can even bed down in front of it, and the rest of you can lay out your bags in that circle of trees.”

  Tia looked around. “Fine by me, as long as we eat pretty soon. I’m starved!”

  Kara frowned. “There’s still a lot of daylight left. If we stop now, will we make it on time tomorrow?”

  “Hey, Kara,” Ryan hollered. “Come see what I found. Flat rocks, and they’re the perfect size.” He let one fly, and Kara jumped back as it sailed between her and Colin, then landed with a plop in the water.

  “Ryan Sheridan!” But he was already headed the other direction.

  “This place is cool; I’m gonna explore!” he called back over his shoulder.

  “I’ll get him.” Tia sprinted across the clearing. “Come back here, you little squirt. You have to stay with us.”

  “I do not!” Ryan yelled. “And don’t call me Squirt!”

  Kara groaned and plopped down on a log. Colin laughed. “You really want to get back into the boat?” She shook her head. He held out her jacket and lifted a small mess kit out of the raft. “The river runs downhill from here. We should make landing in plenty of time to meet your dad.”

  The wind off the water sent goose bumps up Kara’s arms. She pulled on her heavy jacket, snagged the last sleeping bag, and hurried over to help set up camp. When they were done, Colin gathered up the fishing gear and took Ryan upriver. Kara flashed him a look of gratitude, then turned to Tia. “Now what?”

  Tia grinned. “Now,” she said, “we explore!”

  Away from the water, the temperature was actually mild. Mosquitoes were already hatching in muddy pools where the rainwater had not yet dried up, and black flies buzzed around their ears. They swatted the pests and kept walking, following a slim trail that ran parallel to the river. Kara pointed out deer scat and the tracks of a raccoon.

  “I hope those are the only animals around.”

  Tia sounded nervous, so Kara just said, “Don’t worry about it,” trying to sound calm. She decided not to point out the larger tracks she’d seen crossing the trail. She didn’t stop to examine them, either. Not that she was afraid. If they kept the fire going tonight, most animals would stay away.

  You think that little fire is going to keep a bear away? She stepped over a fallen log. But it should, she argued with herself. That bear at Eagle Lodge had been a rogue, and the one back in Lariat had probably been scared to death when she and Lily came galloping across the meadow toward her cub. Black bears are by nature shy, she told herself, and a group of four humans should be enough to deter one bear.

  She and Tia had just made it back to camp when Colin and Ryan came into the clearing. “Good timing, ladies.” Colin grinned and held up a string of fish. “Dinner is served!”

  “Trout!” Ryan shouted, as if they weren’t standing right there. “I caught the big one; look, he’s a whopper!”

  Colin winked at Kara and steered Ryan toward the river. “Come on, Partner, we’re not done yet. What you catch, you clean.”

  Kara started a fire, while Tia dug through the packs. “Three packages of stroganoff mix. That should be enough.” Tia glanced at the shoreline, where Colin was scouring his fishing knife with sand. “You can have my share of the trout,” she whispered.

  Kara laughed. “Don’t worry, the guys won’t care if you don’t eat any. It’ll be that much more for them.”

  Colin coated the fish in cornmeal, unfolded a small aluminum fry pan, and cooked them one at a time in the butter Anne had sent along. When everyone had eaten, there was nothing left but bones and one spoonful of noodles in the bottom of the pan. Kara scraped the garbage into a plastic bag. “That was great, Ry. Thanks for catching dinner.”

  Ryan beamed. “I’ll get some more tomorrow.”

  Kara started to tell him they wouldn’t have time to fish tomorrow. They had to stay on the water if they were going to make it back on time, but she decided not to stir up an argument. They were having too much fun. She and Tia cleaned up the pans and dishes, while Colin rifled through his bag and produced a flattened bag of white goo. “Marshmallows.” He grinned. “I guess they got kind of squashed.”

  “So?” Ryan piped up. “They still taste good.”

  Colin nodded. “You know, Partner, I think you’re right.” He broke off a sticky, white blob, threaded it onto a green twig, and handed it to Ryan.

  When they’d all eaten their fill of the gooey dessert, Ryan wiped his hands on his jeans and said, “Hey, let’s tell ghost stories! I bet Colin knows some good ones.”

  Kara flashed Colin a warning glare. She breathed a sigh of relief when he said with a drawl, “Sorry, Partner, but I know for a fact that there are no ghosts in these woods.” He paused and rubbed his chin, playing the part of storyteller to the hilt. “Although I do believe they’ve seen a Sasquatch in the area.”

  Tia groaned, and Kara shook her head. “Colin,” she warned, but he refused to look at her. He had Ryan’s attention, though.

  “What’s a Sasquatch?”

  “You know,” Colin’s voice dropped to an ominous whisper, “Big Foot.”

  “Big Foot!” Ryan’s eyes were as big as dinner plates. “You mean that hairy monster that looks like a bear-man and has footprints bigger than a grizzly?”

  Colin nodded soberly, and Kara said, “Come on, Ry, Colin’s only kidding you. They haven’t even proven Big Foot exists. And even if he does,” she glared at Colin, “he’s not wandering around in this valley.”

  “He does too exist!” said Ryan. “I saw it on TV. They have pictures and everything.” Then his shoulders drooped, and he patted Colin’s arm. “It’s okay, Colin, I just remembered. The TV guy said Big Foot is really shy. He’d never hurt anyone.” He yawned and leaned his head against Kara’s arm. “I think I’m sorta sleepy.”

  Tia stood and stretched. “Well, Wakara may have had a nap, but I didn’t, so if you two don’t mind, I’m going to crash.” Ryan was already asleep. Colin helped Tia spread the space b
lankets in the curve of trees on the other side of the fire, then he rolled out the sleeping bags on top of them. He helped Kara bundle Ryan into one bag, then spread out his own bedroll next to the fallen log and sat back down by the fire.

  “Way to go, Colin,” Kara said. “It’s a good thing he wasn’t scared, or you would have been the one up with him all night.”

  He grinned. “He’s a smart kid, he’ll be fine.” He patted the spot next to him. “Come sit awhile.”

  He must have seen her hesitate, because his grin faded and he lowered his voice. “It’s okay, Wakara. I had a long talk with your Dad. He wouldn’t have let us come if he weren’t convinced I would treat you with respect. I was pretty sure you already knew that.”

  Relieved, Kara sat down next to him. “I do know that,” she said quietly, then stared into the fire, hoping Colin couldn’t hear the thudding of her heart. “About Dad.” She made herself look up at Colin. “I’m sorry you had to go through all that. He’s just being . . .” She couldn’t quite form the right words.

  “An Alpha Wolf?” Colin supplied them for her, and they both laughed.

  Kara took a deep breath and leaned back against the log. “I really love being in the woods. It makes me feel so content and peaceful, and, well, free!”

  Colin shifted around until he was facing her. “What do you want, Wakara?” he asked. “Out of life, I mean.”

  She sighed, then began to tell him all about her plans to be a vet and her desire to live in a small town, close to farms and ranches, so she could specialize in large animals like horses and cattle.

  Colin said little, just encouraged her with nods and murmurs of approval. When she realized she had been babbling for over half an hour, she stopped and tossed another log onto the fire. “All right, your turn.” She grinned up at him.

  He smiled back at her and plopped his hat onto her head. “You look better in my hat than I do.”

  Colin’s hair was flattened against his scalp, except for a swirl of hair standing straight up from the cowlick on the crown of his head. Kara giggled. “You look like Alfalfa in the Our Gang shows.” She shook off the hat, coiled her long, black braid on top of her head, then put the hat back on. “But that’s not going to get you out of this, Colin Jones.”

  He flashed her an innocent look. “Out of what?”

  She took off his hat and held it over the fire. “I told you my dreams, now it’s your turn!” She dangled the hat by one finger, but kept her thumb on the brim for balance in case he made a grab for it.

  “Okay, okay, give it back, please? See, I’m not too proud to beg.” She jiggled the hat again. “All right,” he groaned, “you win! I want to be a rancher with a wife and six kids and breed horses—Friesians, to be exact—and I want to grow old and sit on the porch in a rocking chair with my feet propped on the railing and my wife by my side.” He grinned and reached for his hat. “How’s that for old-fashioned values?”

  She let go of the hat, and he snatched it just before it hit the fire. “You don’t believe me?”

  He sounded so wounded that Kara finally relented. “Friesians? Are you serious?” Friesians were gorgeous horses, bred mostly for show. And they were huge—not to mention expensive.

  He nodded. “Friesians. I’ve almost got enough cash saved for the first mare. Another two years and I should have the down payment on that twenty-acre parcel over by the Carlson’s.”

  Where do the wife and kids come in? she wanted to ask. Instead she said, “That’s neat, Colin, it really is.” She scrambled to her feet, hoping he would think the flush on her face was from the blazing campfire. “I’d better get to bed.” She tried to sound casual, but her voice squeaked when she said, “Good night.”

  Away from the fire the air was cold, but inside she felt like she was running a fever. She scooted down into her sleeping bag, slipped off her jacket and shoes, and stuffed them into the bottom of the bag, where they would stay warm and dry until morning. She tried to think about something else, but images of herself and Colin clicked like snapshots through her mind: kneeling beside a newborn foal—riding double on a huge Friesian stallion—rocking together on a wide front porch. The last image almost made her laugh out loud. She pulled the edge of her sleeping bag over her head, leaving just her nose sticking out. It was nice to share your dreams with someone you cared for, and right now, she realized, she cared for Colin Jones a lot.

  KARA AWOKE TO BRIGHT SUN in an ice blue sky. She reached down into the sleeping bag for her jacket and shoes, shook Tia and Ryan awake, then joined Colin by the fire, holding her hands over the dancing flames. Colin already had the coffee perking and a pan of water warming on the rocks. “No use roughing it any more than we have to.” He grinned and motioned to the water. “It should be warm enough. Ladies first.”

  “Thanks!” She took the pan, shouldered her pack, and hustled a sleepy Tia ahead of her into the woods. Ten minutes later, she set the pan filled with clean river water over the fire. When it was warm enough, Colin took Ryan with him, while Kara boiled fresh water from one of the canteens in a smaller aluminum pan, then added instant oatmeal.

  “Amazing how everything tastes better when you’re camping.” Tia spooned up the last of her oatmeal. “I don’t even like this stuff at home.”

  Kara laughed. “Mom always said the fresh air makes you hungry. She loved to camp. We used to go up into the Three Sisters Wilderness for two weeks at a time in the summer, remember, Ryan?” He nodded, and she went on, lost in the memory. “We had this old canvas army tent—big enough for an army, too. And cold!” She shivered. “It was like sleeping in a cave.”

  Colin grinned. “Give me a good sleeping bag and a bed of pine boughs any day!” He squeezed her shoulder and said to Ryan, “Come on, Partner, let’s get your stuff together. If we’re going to get that raft back on the water anytime soon, we have to break camp now.”

  By the time Kara tugged Ryan’s life vest over his jacket, the sun had reached ten o’clock high. “What have you got in there?” she asked as she struggled to fit the vest around Ryan’s bulging pockets.

  “Stuff!” He glared at her and clutched both jacket pockets as if to keep her from looking in. Not that it mattered. They were zipped closed.

  Kara frowned. “Well, can’t you put some of it in your backpack? This is so bulky, I can hardly get it fastened.”

  He shook his head. “No! It’s my survival kit. I might need it.”

  Kara sighed and finally clicked the plastic buckle shut. “Fine with me, but don’t complain if this is too tight. Going without it isn’t an option.”

  “Let’s go,” Colin called, and everyone scrambled to the same seats they’d had the day before. Tia stayed quiet, and Kara could tell her friend was still sleepy. Ryan chattered and pointed out every bird and chipmunk in sight. Once they saw a deer drinking at the water’s edge. It stared at them as they floated past, then lowered its head to drink again.

  “Look, Kara, he’s friendly.” Ryan watched until the deer was out of sight.

  Kara smiled. “He doesn’t see many people back in here, Ry. He hasn’t learned to be afraid.”

  She paddled with Colin until the main current picked up, carrying them smoothly downstream.

  They’d been on the river for about half an hour when Kara felt the raft shift from a smooth glide to a bumpy rocking motion. Then she heard the sound of rushing water. “Shh, listen.” The sound reminded her of Tunnel Falls. She shivered as she always did when she remembered how Ryan nearly plunged over the edge the day they escaped from the fire.

  Everyone in the boat stopped talking, and then Colin grinned. “White water!”

  Kara laughed at the gleam in his eyes. “It’s that stretch by Finn Rock. We saw it from the air,” she reminded him. “Mark said it wasn’t bad if we stay to the left.”

  Colin nodded. “Nothing on this river is above a class three. Still, I should row from the back so I can see where we’re going. Help me turn the raft, Wakara.” Then he grinned again
. “Sorry, hope you don’t mind getting wet.”

  She gave him what she hoped was the stern warning look her mother had always used on Greg.

  “From what I saw, there’s no reason for anyone to get wet, Colin Jones, as long as you behave!”

  “Who, me?” He looked so wounded that for a second she felt badly for doubting him. Then, just before the raft swung around, she caught the spark of mischief in his eyes.

  “Colin! What are you going to do?” She had to practically shout over the sound of rushing water as the boat picked up speed.

  “Trust me, Wakara,” he shouted back. “I know what I’m doing.”

  Kara knew she had to turn around and face the front. She needed to have her oars ready to push them away from the rocks. But first she had to be sure Ryan and Tia knew what to do. “Ryan,” she yelled, “put your backpack down and sit in the bottom of the boat. Tia, anchor your knee under the rim and hang on to him, please!”

  “What’s the big deal? I thought this was a no-brainer.” The look on Tia’s face reminded Kara of a trapped rabbit, but she felt a rush of relief as both her friend and Ryan pushed aside their makeshift seats and scrambled to the bottom of the raft.

  “Look to the right, Wakara,” Colin hollered as she turned around to face the rapids. “Short and sweet. Let’s go for it!” She started to scream, “Colin, no!” But it was already too late.

  The front end of the raft dipped, then rose on the first wave. Kara paddled furiously, then realized that with her short arms the oar didn’t quite reach the water. Before she could even blink, the nose of the raft plunged into a trough, and the current spun them sideways. The thunk of the oar hitting rock sent vibrations up her arm. They spun again, nose first, into a wall of white water. Colin was screaming something, but she couldn’t make out the words over the roar of the waves. She saw the boulder coming at them for the second time and punched at it with the oar. The raft bounced back into the swirling current.