Elle said, “Sometimes people are awful. That shouldn’t be news to you.”
Gabe grumbled and joined Levi by the canoes. “It feels like almost every other day I hear something that makes me think you and your Grandma deciding to live off the grid was a brilliant move.”
“It wasn’t a bad life. Winters were rough sometimes, but Grandma was a survivor. I learned a lot of appreciation for the natural world. Grandma knew how to take care of us, and she taught me a lot of her skills.”
“Do you ever miss it?” asked Gabe.
Levi turned with a broad grin. “I’ve got Brandon now. No, I don’t miss it. He spoils me.”
Gabe watched Elle glance at her watch. “Our guests didn’t bail out on you—did they, Gabe?”
“There’s still five minutes left for them to be here right on time.”
Gabe turned his attention to the canoes at Levi’s side. They’d brought plenty of water and enough food just in case they ended up having to camp overnight. Gabe didn’t want to think about that possibility with all the animals and other mysterious elements in the woods. Camping never was his thing. Still, it was always a possibility. Things could go wrong.
“And do they know how to swim?” asked Elle.
“Hal told me they do. I reminded him that they’d still have to wear PFDs, but if he’s feeling daring, they can swim in Lone Cedar when we get there.”
Levi shivered. “Damn, it’s still going to be cold out there. Are you going for a swim, Gabe?”
“Hell no. I still need my slippers by the bed in the morning to keep my delicate toes from freezing. The diving stone should be warm in the sun, but I plan to admire the water from the distance of the canoe and the lakeshore.”
Elle chuckled softly. They all turned to look down the gravel road when they heard the unmistakable crunch beneath a truck’s tires.
Gabe beamed. “I told you they’d be here. Hal wouldn’t chicken out.”
As Hal and Trent climbed out of a gleaming pickup truck that appeared to have only recently left a showroom, Hal was all smiles, too.
“Trent is a little nervous about this. I told him that the three of you would make sure this is a perfect trip. He said that he doesn’t like drowning.”
“Well, we can never guarantee perfection on something like this,” said Elle. She quickly closed her mouth when she saw the color fade from Trent’s face.
Levi broke into the conversation. “What she’s trying to say is that we can never be completely in control of all of the variables. Occasionally, Mother Nature surprises us with the weather, but we will take care of you. There’s nothing at all to cause worry. It’s a fun trip.”
Gabe heard Levi’s words of reassurance for Trent, but he couldn’t focus on them. He was too busy watching Hal. Gabe didn’t prepare for how attractive he’d find Hal in casual clothes instead of a suit.
Hal dressed for the trip in worn jeans and a New York University sweatshirt. The outfit clung snugly in all the right places, revealing a surprisingly muscular chest and slim waist. Gabe’s thoughts returned to the crash and the moment he placed a hand on Hal and felt his heart pounding in his ribcage.
Verifying the information that Gabe shared, Levi asked whether Hal and Trent knew how to swim.
Another wave of trepidation swept through Trent. “I do, but we’ll still get a lifejacket. Won’t we?”
Levi said, “I won’t let you in the canoe without your flotation devices. Safety comes first.”
Trent let out a long, slow breath. Hal busied himself with locking up the truck and dragging two backpacks over to the canoes. He limped, but he didn’t have the cane anymore.
Elle pointed out the walking without support before Gabe could speak. He was tongue-tied. He wanted to walk up, grab Hal, and disappear into the woods. When the thought clarified itself in his head, Gabe pushed it back into a dark corner of his brain. Don’t fall for a straight man. You know better than that.
Elle said, “It’s great to see you walking without the crutches, Hal. Has anyone properly introduced Levi?”
“He introduced himself to me while you were over there talking about other stuff,” said Trent. “Can I ride in Levi’s canoe?”
Gabe glanced around the small group. He’d not discussed the arrangements of who would ride with whom with Elle and Levi. As he considered the matter, Gabe thought it might work out to be alone in one of the canoes with Hal. It would mean a full morning and afternoon of up-close eye candy.
Elle asked for a suggestion, and Gabe immediately answered. “I think it might be good for you and Levi to ride with Trent. He’s a little nervous, so your experience should help to calm his nerves.”
Hal turned his head. “That means you and me?”
“Can you handle that arrangement?”
Gabe’s breath caught in his throat while he watched Hal rub his hands on his jeans. “I’m confident that I can handle you.”
Gabe stepped up close to Hal. He tried not to stare. Instead, he wanted to make small talk about the trip. “Levi used to live out at Lone Cedar Lake, our destination. He was an off-the-grid man along with his grandmother. She was a genuine wilderness trailblazer.”
“Off the grid…” mused Hal. “Does that mean no electricity at all?”
Levi said, “We had a generator, and some tools ran on batteries, but we didn’t connect to power lines.”
“What about winter? Weren’t you buried under ten feet of snow?”
“It didn’t get that deep very often. Sometimes we did have to crawl out of windows in the winter because the door wouldn’t budge. It was hard, but I was never close to freezing. We had plenty of wood, blankets, and a well-built cabin.”
“Then you’re the one to keep me safe,” said Trent.
“Have the two of you ever been in a canoe before?”
Hal and Trent looked at each other. The manager spoke for the two of them. “Never.”
Elle stepped up to Gabe while Levi engaged Hal and Trent. “Can I talk to you for a quick moment? In private?”
“Yeah, sure.” Gabe signaled to the rest of the party. “Be right back, guys.”
Elle led Gabe to the opposite side of her truck. They were far enough away that the others could neither hear nor see the conversation.
A curtain of confusion fell over Gabe’s face. “What’s up? You look all serious for some reason. I didn’t see you answer your phone or get a text.”
Elle poked Gabe’s chest. “It’s you. Do you think I don’t notice?”
“Ouch. You’ve got more strength than you think you do. That pointy finger hurts. Notice what?”
“You’ve got a crush on Hal. It’s blatant. Isn’t he straight? What’s wrong with you?”
Gabe scratched the razor stubble on his cheek. “I’m not so sure, and I guess I should tone it down a bit. I only want to make him comfortable. He might be nervous otherwise.”
“What makes you think he might be gay?”
“Well, I don’t believe in the gaydar thing, but I do notice the way he looks at me. His gaze lingers a little too long, and he smiles a little too much. I’m feeling things out.”
“Is that why you asked him on the trip? I thought this was about the woods and Hal’s education. Please tell me you didn’t bring him here to seduce him.”
Gabe bit his lip. “Will you believe me if I say there might be a little subtext? It’s almost subconscious. Yes, the main reason is the woods. I think anyone planning to serve us in Congress should know what life’s like around here. On the other hand, I enjoy Hal’s company.”
Elle poked his chest again. “My best advice is to stay clear of him as far as any romantic gestures go. Show him the woods. Help him understand what we love about it, but that’s it. Right, Gabe?”
He brushed off the concerns with a wave of his hand. He knew that Elle was probably right, but lightning could strike. Miracles could happen, too. He’d seen them when accident victims woke up after their lives should have been over.
; “We’re good, and thanks for the concern. Please help keep an eye on the campaign manager. He looks terrified.”
When the pair returned to the rest of the party, Levi had them all ready to go. Trent sat in one canoe, and Hal waited in the other.
Levi called, “Elle, come over and have a seat. I’ll shove off, and Gabe can do the same for his canoe.”
Hal gave Gabe one of those long, lingering gazes as he approached. He knew it wasn’t his imagination when Hal’s eyes stopped for a moment as they focused below the waist. Shake it off, Gabe. Shake it off. Now’s not the time or the place.
Hal didn’t look as terrified as Trent, but Gabe sensed some trepidation as he readied himself to push the canoe into the water.
“You said these don’t tip over easily. Right? And what about rapids?”
“Rapids?” shouted Trent from the other canoe. He instinctively gripped the sides of the boat with white knuckles.
Both Elle and Gabe chuckled.
Gabe suggested, “Levi, tell us about the whitewater rapids we’ll face.”
“There are no rapids at all on this trip, and I wouldn’t take you through any on the little rivers anyway. These canoes aren’t the right vessel for that. Serene floating’s what we’re after.”
“I can go for that,” said Hal.
Gabe shoved off and climbed in ahead of Hal. He glanced over his shoulder. “Are you all set for this? I hope Elle, Levi, and I can show at least a few of the reasons why we love living up here. If you have any questions, ask. Otherwise, man your paddles, follow my lead, and enjoy. We’ll have plenty of time for gentle floating, too.”
“As long as I’m in your boat, I think the fun is guaranteed.”
10
Hal
Every childhood fear about water and every insecurity about failure washed over Hal as Trent pulled the car into a parking spot where Gabe waited with the canoes and his friends. Hal was slow to learn how to swim as a child. Even the thought of his head going under the water sent shivers through his body. The kindly, elderly swim instructor encouraged young Hal to wear goggles, but they still didn’t wholly snuff out fears of drowning.
“You know, my uncle drowned when I was seven.”
Gabe paused in the process of pushing the canoe out into the water. “How would I know that? What happened?”
“He went kayaking on Long Island Sound, and they never found him. The kayak washed up, but my uncle never appeared.”
“Holy shit, Hal! You didn’t tell me that before. That’s something you might have mentioned. Are you sure this will be okay?”
“You told me you wouldn’t let us turn over.”
“You both told us that you could swim. Are you sure you can at least tread water?”
“Yeah, but I hated the lessons. They scared the hell out of me.”
Hal grabbed the sides of the canoe with an intense grip as Gabe climbed aboard. The sudden shift in weight caused the vessel to rock from side to side, and a small amount of lake water splashed onto Hal’s sneakers.
Gabe sat down ahead of Hal, facing forward. His expression wasn’t visible, but the genial sound of his voice indicated a smile. Hal remembered how reassuring he’d been on the night of the crash.
“That’s the worst turbulence you’ll feel all day. When I climb in, I can’t possibly do it with no rocking at all. Can you hold on like those Titanic ladies with their diamond-ring-wearing fingers?”
“I don’t think this is the time to think about a shipwreck. Supposedly, I had an ancestor that went down with that, too.”
Gabe started to paddle. “Damn, your family doesn’t have much luck on the water. You’re going to make me nervous. I don’t know how a true disaster could happen with canoes in these lakes, but your family might invent a way.”
Shouting back from about five yards ahead, Elle interrupted their conversation. “What’s the delay, men? Get Hal on those paddles!”
“I don’t know what to do,” said Hal as he pulled the paddle up from the bottom of the canoe and laid it across his lap.
Gabe spoke quietly. “Take it with your hands like this and follow my pattern of strokes. The only hard part is you have to do it on the opposite side from me. Got it?”
A few seconds later, Gabe glanced over his shoulder. Hal pushed the paddle into the water and swept it back while he tried to match Gabe’s motion.
“That’s it. You’re doing great. Keep that up. As the day goes on, I’ll teach you more about the strokes. Look up ahead. Elle’s got Trent taking over for her.”
Hal chuckled out loud. “He was more scared about this than me, but his fears were different.”
“How so? What’s he worried about? Earthquakes? A wendigo?”
“Bears and snakes.”
“Okay, there are bears, and if it were night or we were camping out, I’d be more concerned. The best reaction with bears is if you see one, act like you didn’t and leave it alone.”
“Snakes?”
Gabe laughed, and the sweet tone eased Hal’s fears. He was starting to enjoy the sound the water made each time his paddle slipped beneath the surface of the lake.
“We don’t have any poisonous snakes this far north. There’s a water snake, and sometimes it puts the fear of God into people from further south. They think it’s a cottonmouth, but it’s harmless. It won’t hurt you.”
“Then, we’ve got nothing to fear but…”
“Fear itself. Yes, President Roosevelt.”
Hal laughed out loud, and then he heard an unusual sound. He tensed at first because it sounded sort of human, but he couldn’t detect the source. It wasn’t words. It was almost like a deep-throated humming.
In a voice between a hiss and a whisper, Hal asked, “What’s that?”
“Oh, that’s Levi. He’s singing. He doesn’t use words, and I never figured out a melody either, but he says his Grandma taught him how. She claimed it came from a Native American group out West. I think it’s cool.”
“It’s kind of pretty after a while. And the trees. Gorgeous.”
“It’s starting to work on you. Relax, Hal. Let it all in. That’s when the magic happens.”
They paddled on in near silence, other than Levi’s song, for the next 30 minutes. After Hal and Gabe started talking again, the time passed quickly. At what felt like lightning speed, they pulled up onto the shore of the first lake already an hour and a half into their trip.
Elle reached out a hand to shake with Hal. “Congrats! You made it this far. Your campaign manager here’s a solid paddler. I’m proud of him.”
Trent responded to the praise by clasping his hands together. He raised his arms over his head and waved them from side-to-side in the gesture of a champion.
Hal scoffed. “The day’s just beginning. We’ll see how you’ve done by the time we get back to the truck.”
The next leg of the trip was a short portage through the woods, and then the small group paddled across another lake, followed by one more portage.
Levi proudly stated, “Just another short paddle, about ten minutes, and we’ll stop for lunch where I used to live.”
Hal turned in a full circle as he looked around. “You lived out here? That can’t be. You’d be nuts to live this far away from everything.”
Gabe spoke up. “I told you he lived off the grid. They were hardy folks. There’s a shorter route to civilization out the other end of the lake. It leads to Iron Crossing, an even smaller place than Arrowhead Falls, but that’s still a jaunt.”
“The scenery is stunning out here, and I can understand wanting to live among it, but still…”
“My grandparents moved out here first, and I moved in with Grandma when Grandpa died.”
As they set the canoes into the water once more, Hal asked, “Do you mind if I don’t paddle for this piece? I think my arms are about to fall off as it is.”
“So I got the slacker,” said Gabe. “No, I’m joking. It’s okay. Levi was right that it’s a short distance. Lay back a
nd enjoy the sunshine and the sound of the loons.”
“That’s what those are? I thought they might be a weird sort of owl.”
“You’re getting the crash course. You can’t represent us if you don’t know what loons sound like.” Gabe suddenly pointed across the lake. “There goes a small group now.”
Hal leaned back and did his best to balance in the crowded canoe. He raised one hand to shield the sun from his eyes and held tight to the seat with the other. The air temperature was cool, in the low 50s, but in the sun, it was warm. Hal closed his eyes for what felt like a split-second, and then he heard Levi’s voice.
“We’re here!”
Hal opened his eyes to scan the shoreline. The trees grew tall less than fifteen feet away, and thin, reedy grass crowded right up to the shore of the lake.
“Where?”
“The dock’s over there.” Levi pointed to the right, and finally, Hal saw it. The grass grew up close enough that it nearly obscured a small dock.
“But where do we go from there?”
“You’ll see.”
After Hal climbed out and helped Gabe pull the canoe ashore, Levi set off into the woods. Some of the grass grew nearly as high as his armpits. Gabe followed him, and a skeptical Hal fell in behind.
Less than ten feet from the shore, a path almost magically appeared. It led to a clearing in the woods less than a hundred yards beyond.
“Follow me,” said Levi. “I keep a spot cleared for picnics where the house used to be.”
Elle and Gabe both carried large backpacks slung over their shoulders. When they reached a small meadow space with grass barely six inches high, Gabe tumbled to the ground and dropped his pack to the side.
While Hal was busy staring up into the high canopy of pine trees surrounding the meadow, Gabe reached out for his ankle.
“Hey, that’s the weak one.”
“Then give it a rest and sit here with me.”
As Hal carefully lowered himself to the ground, a thought about Gabe flashed through his mind. Perhaps the cheerful EMT was the buddy type of friend Hal always wished he could have. He got plenty of attention from other guys in college for his family money, but no one ever tried to get closer to find out about the young man beneath the glossy, glamorous surface.
Crash: Northwoods, Book 2 Page 7