She leaned back and watched the growing cloud cover roll in. “How do you know your parents aren’t stealing all your money?”
“I don’t. Listen, if my parents end up blowing all the money or siphoning it off to some offshore account, they obviously want it more than I do. It’s only money.”
“How can you not care? You earned it.” She watched him bat at the brush with the paddle while trying to hold the boat in place. The boat rocked from side to side. She gripped the edges.
“I’m sixteen. What do I need with a bunch of money? When you think about it, it’s not normal for a kid to be loaded. Aren’t we supposed to earn our money when we’re adults?” He jabbed at the brush again.
She admired how his t-shirt stretched across his shoulders and arms. “I’ve got to say, Rock Star, you surprise me.” She hated to admit it, but his connection to money seemed very healthy.
“Maybe you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.” He poked at the brush, this time leaning way out and tilting the boat to a precarious angle.
“Adam! You’re gonna flip the boat!”
“Just. About. Got it.” With one more jab, he leaned further, and the canoe tipped too far.
Marti screamed and the boat flipped before she had the forethought to close her mouth. Her body splashed into the cool, murky drink.
Chapter 7
Marti flailed underwater, and the long water lily stems rubbed against her legs like the snakes she feared. She swished her legs to come up for air and discovered the water was only a few feet deep.
She popped up between the canoe and the edge of the bog. Adam held his arm high with the sandal. “I got it!”
“You jerk!” She tried to stand, but her feet sank into thick muck on the bottom of the lake. She cringed and wanted to scream. She tried to tread water to avoid the disgusting lake bed. She swallowed some of the algae-laced lake water. She coughed and spit as she felt slimy green beads of algae in her mouth.
Adam laughed. “My bad.”
“How are we gonna get back in the boat?” She tried not to whine or cry as the plants tangled around her limbs.
“First, we have to flip it over. I’ve done this before with my brothers.” Adam moved to the edge of the canoe and attempted to push on the side. As he pushed with his arms, he tried to stand, and Marti saw his surprise and disgust as his feet pushed into the gunk.
She raised her eyebrows. “So now what, Sherlock?”
“This is gross.”
She could tell he was trying to swish the lake sediments from his feet. He didn’t seem to realize that oily-looking slime covered his head and streaked his face. Awareness hit. She touched her own face and cringed; slime covered her as well. She tried to scrape it away, but knew it wasn’t really working.
“Let’s try to drag the canoe into deeper water, away from the plants,” Adam suggested.
They towed the flipped boat away from the edge where their feet didn’t touch bottom. The water became much better, but a thick layer of green algae still floated on the surface. Marti wiped her mouth and chin, praying she didn’t swallow any more lake scum.
“Now what?” She held onto the edge of the boat.
“We need to get underneath and push it up and over.”
“I’m not putting my head underwater again.”
“Well, I don’t know any other way to flip the boat.”
“Can’t we just try to lift this edge of it really fast?”
“It won’t work. The boat will fill with water.”
“Oh.” She tread water. Her life jacket rose up around her face as she bobbed.
“We gonna do this or what?” Adam didn’t look happy about it either.
“So how does this work?”
“Feel underneath where the crossbars are? You’re going to take a breath and pull yourself under the boat. There will be plenty of air,” he reassured.
The idea of going into a small claustrophobic space and trying to breathe set her heart thumping at a rapid pace. Why couldn’t they have gotten the assignment for something easy, like taking pictures of rocks?
“When we’re both in place, we’re going to kick up with our legs and lift with our arms. As soon as we get the canoe far enough out of the water, we’ll flip it to the side.”
“And this is going to work?” she asked, needing a guarantee.
“I hope so, because it’s a long swim back to camp.” He didn’t appear as confident as she wished.
“You go first.” No way would she go under there by herself.
“Okay. I’ll see you on the other side.” Adam grinned and his face turned all adorable, which made her want to splash green scum water at him. Why couldn’t she stay mad at him? He was like some pesky fly that wouldn’t leave her alone.
Without warning, Adam’s head dipped below the surface and didn’t come up again. After a moment of panic, Marti saw the canoe move and heard a muffled call.
Crap. Her turn. She felt under the edge of the canoe for the cross bar. She faced the canoe, took a breath and pulled herself under, kicked forward and pulled herself up on the other side.
She wiped the slime that coated her face, and spit. “Ptew, ptew.” She took a breath and opened her eyes to pitch blackness.
“Adam?” She hoped her voice didn’t sound wobbly.
“I’m here.” His voice echoed under the metal hull. His hand reached out and touched her arm. “How you doing?”
“Smashing.”
She heard his chuckle and pictured his impish grin. “Now that I’ve got you here alone, what would you like to do?”
“I want to get the hell out of here,” she said.
“Got it. Can you go to the crossbar right behind your seat. You should be able to reach out and grab it.”
Marti reached forward until her hand bumped into the bar. “Got it.”
“Good. I’ll be at the bar on my end. At the count of three we are going to lift up, and as soon as the boat is out of the water, push it to the right. You’re going to have to kick up with your legs as hard as you can.”
“Piece of cake,” she said sarcastically, trying not to think about water snakes or snapping turtles.
“Good. So at the count of three, lift. One. Two. Three!”
Marti pushed on the bar and immediately her head went underwater. She came up sputtering.
“That didn’t go so well.” Adam spit water.
“No shit.” Marti wondered if they could do this, but didn’t want to be the first to call it quits.
“Let’s try it again. Ready?”
Marti positioned herself better and prepared to kick with all she had. “Ready.”
“One. Two. Three!” Adam groaned out the three, and she felt the boat shift on his end.
She pushed and kicked up in the water with all she had. The edge of the canoe lifted, but didn’t even rise above the water. The weight brought it back down and she sputtered up again.
“I hate to say this,” Adam said. “But I think we have to go where it’s shallower so we have something to push against.”
“You mean the muck? Won’t we sink in?” The thought of it caused her to gag. What lived under there? She shuddered.
“Afraid so. I don’t know how else we can get it over and unless you want to swim through the muddy shallow channel.”
“Maybe they’ll send a helicopter to save us.”
“I don’t think there’s a coast guard station anywhere nearby.”
“Oh god, I don’t want to do this.” But she knew she would. Complaining somehow helped.
“Come on. Push it this way. Something’s on my leg, and I’m afraid it’s a leech.”
“No!” Marti whined. “Please don’t say leeches.” She flutter kicked as fast as possible.
“A little farther,” he said, not sounding too happy anymore.
When she had to scrunch up her legs to avoid the gooey bottom, he called it enough.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“Not really,
so let’s do it quick.” She positioned herself once more.
“Here we go. One, two, three!”
Marti pushed with every ounce of muscle she had. Her bare feet pressed into the soft lakebed up to her ankles. She cringed, wondering what lived in the mud, but didn’t want to complain and look like she couldn’t handle a little mud.
The canoe rose out of the water. The instant it broke the surface, she felt Adam heave the boat to their right. She did the same, and, miracle of miracles, it flipped, knocking into her, but that was a small price to pay.
She grabbed the edge of the canoe and pulled her feet out of the gunk, swishing them clean with all her might.
Adam floated next to the boat, out of breath. He rolled over in the water. Algae and who-knew-what-else covered his hair, one side of his face and his life jacket.
“You look disgusting,” Marti said.
“You look like one of those creatures from the deep.” His grin revealed white teeth behind his slimy face.
Marti reached up and discovered her hair was coated. She tried to wipe the slime off, but it clung to her tangled hair.
“Give it up. Nothing less than a car wash is gonna get that out.”
“How do we get in?” She switched her focus to the boat floating high on the surface.
“I can hold it steady on one side and you can pull yourself in from the other.”
“Okay.” Marti swam to the other side.
“I’ve got it. Anytime you’re ready.”
Adam sounded so damn calm. Marti gripped the lip on the side of the canoe. This was going to be a lot harder than she thought. She kicked with her feet and pulled with her arms. The boat rocked, despite Adam anchoring the other side. She rose out of the water, but not enough to even get an arm over the side. She let go and slid back into the water.
“Let me try that again,” she said.
“Okay. You can do this,” he encouraged.
This time she pulled with all her might but made even less progress. She flopped back into the water on her back. Her arms exhausted. “What if you helped boost me in?”
Adam hesitated for a minute. “It’s worth a try. I’ll be right over.”
With Adam behind her, she again reached for the lip of the canoe. He put his hands on her waist. Despite the craziness of the situation, the gentle touch of his hands brought her comfort.
“Okay, now!” she said and pulled with her arms and kicked with her legs. As Adam lifted her from the waist, she threw an arm over the edge of the canoe. She felt Adam’s hands on her butt trying to push her into the boat. Giddy at the intimate way he groped her, Marti didn’t know if she should slap him or encourage him.
She pulled with her arms, desperate to get in the boat. She was close but couldn’t pull herself in. The boat tipped so far it started taking on water.
“Let go!” Adam called, releasing her. She did and fell back into the water. The canoe bounced upright.
They floated next to each other, both out of breath and exhausted.
“How about you hold the boat, and I’ll try to pull myself in,” he suggested.
Marti nodded and reached for the edge of the canoe. Adam swam to the opposite side.
“Okay, hold tight,” he said.
She gripped firmly. Suddenly, the canoe jerked up out of the water, pulling Marti with it, but she held tight as her face rubbed against the gritty aluminum side. As fast as her side of the canoe came out of the water it splashed back down. He made it.
Thank god.
But now she was alone in the water and didn’t like it one bit. Adam’s handsome face popped over the side and she couldn’t decide if she wanted to whoop for joy or scream at him to get her out of the disgusting lake.
He held out his hand.
She gripped it like a lifeline.
“Ready?” He locked eyes with her.
She nodded.
He squared his jaw and tensed as he lifted her with one hand. He braced himself with the other and leaned back in the boat so gravity would work to their advantage. Exhausted, Marti knew she was dead weight.
As she rose from the water, the boat rocked and threatened to dump her back in the drink, but Adam threw his weight backward and fell into his side of the boat, practically dragging her with him. She landed with her face on his chest, their life preservers a bulky cushion. Her legs hung over the side of the boat.
“I gotcha.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her forward, his knees on each side of her body. Marti scrambled in with her legs knocking the side until she fell on top of him, a wet, soppy mess. They slid sideways and lay in an algae-covered heap.
Marti didn’t have the energy to get up off the canoe’s filthy bottom. Plus, Adam still had his arms locked around her, which she kind of enjoyed, not that she’d ever admit it.
“Gee, that was easy,” he said, his mouth near her ear.
She laughed. “I can’t believe we actually did it. I thought we’d be trudging through sludge to get out of here.”
“Nah, I’d never let that happen to you. I’ve got your back.”
What a sweet thing to say. Not that it changed anything. A rocker was a rocker. “I guess we better get back. Do you think the cameras are okay?”
“I hope so. The bag looks like it’s still sealed tight. I guess we won’t know until we open it. I’d rather not do it here. Just in case.”
“There will be no more flipped canoes!”
“No argument from me. I’ll be glad to leave this spot behind.” Adam scooched toward the back of the boat, then climbed over the bar and inched his way to his seat.
Marti followed his lead and crawled her way to the front. Thankfully, her paddle had been wedged under the bars and survived the flips. With her energy depleted, she couldn’t have been more grateful.
“Now to find the other paddle.” They looked in the water near the boat. It couldn’t have floated far. The wind picked up, causing the boat to drift. Her fingers felt frozen.
“There it is.” Marti pointed to the paddle floating in the lily pads a few feet away. She steered the boat close enough that Adam was able to reach over and grab it.
“Hey, look what I found!” Adam reached down and pulled up his sandal.
“Unbelievable.” Marti shook her head, reminded of the stupidity that started this fiasco.
“And there’s the other one!” He pointed to a spot not far from the front of the boat.
“That is so not fair,” Marti said.
“Why not?”
“Because I lost both of mine when you flipped the boat!” Her voice rang out an octave higher than normal.
“I flipped the boat? You’re the one who threw my sandal overboard. I’d say it’s your fault you lost your sandals. Bad karma, baby!”
“Oh, shut up! Let’s get out of here before you make some other lame ass move.” Marti shivered in her wet clothes. She didn’t mean to be a bitch, but Adam was so damn happy, and she was cold and tired.
“So much for playing nice.” Adam stuck his paddle in the water and pulled ahead with the force of bulldozer. The boat lurched forward.
Marti paddled on the other side, and it didn’t take long for them to reach the narrow straight leading them out of the murky water and back to the main lake. The sky clouded over and the wind picked up even more. Marti shivered and each drip from her paddle was Chinese water torture on her goosebump-covered-skin. Her stomach grumbled; it must be close to lunchtime.
She concentrated on paddling, silently blaming Adam for their crummy situation. Just because he got them back in the boat didn’t wash away his careless actions that caused this whole mess. The more she thought about it, the more steamed she became. It was easier to be mad at him and feel sorry for her cold, wet, miserable self than to remember how much she liked being wrapped in his arms.
After exiting the bog, they paddled past the point and spotted the distant beach. The strong wind made their task even harder. She put her head down and dragged the paddle throu
gh the water over and over again until her arms ached.
Adam tried to talk a couple of times, but she shut him down. As they approached the dock, a bunch of kids came out to greet them. They wore dry sweatshirts instead of life jackets. Marti reached up and felt the clumps of algae drying in her hair.
Haley and Brooke waved. Marti brooded.
“What happened? Where were you?” Kayla called.
“Adam flipped the boat,” she yelled back.
“What?” They couldn’t hear her through the wind.
“Oh, now that’s real nice. Blame it all on me,” Adam muttered.
A few more pulls and they were within shouting distance. Marti stood up and yelled louder. “This idiot, Adam, flipped the boat!”
Suddenly, the boat rocked violently from side to side. Marti screamed, and fell over the side, taking in a mouthful of water. She popped up with hair in her face. She flipped the soppy mess out of her eyes and turned on Adam. He sat in the back of the boat laughing and holding his gut. Her friends on the pier covered their mouths in shock and amusement. The guys cheered.
“You are the biggest jerk I’ve ever met. Oh. My. God. You are a dead man!” She fumed as she swam to the beach.
“Bring it on, baby! Bring it on!” he hollered after her.
She reached the shallow water of the swimming area and dragged her shivering, waterlogged body out of lake. She looked up and Kyle snapped her picture. She glared. Another asshole guy at camp.
“Kyle! Put the camera down before I break your arm,” Kayla snapped at him. He lowered the camera.
At least her girlfriends would stick up for her.
“You called him Adam!” Haley said, all excited. “I was right, wasn’t I? He’s Adam Jamieson!”
“What?” Kayla flipped around to see Adam land the canoe on the beach. “You think AJ is Adam Jamieson? As in the guitarist from Jamieson?” She looked from Haley to Marti to Adam and back. “Marti, is he really Adam Jamieson?”
“Yup,” she snapped. Her numb fingers unhooked the life jacket, and she shrugged it off.
“Oh my god! When did you figure it out?” The others gathered around when they heard of Adam’s superstar identity. “Did he tell you himself? Did you know all along?”
Snapshot (The Jamieson Collection) Page 9