Whitewater Rendezvous

“Last night…” she began, searching her mind for the right words, suddenly wishing she’d thought about what she was going to say.

Normally she had no problem seducing women, but she felt tongue-tied half the time with Chaz, and she really didn’t want to screw this up.

She didn’t bother analyzing why this felt different to her than any relationship she could remember. Too much time passed, and Chaz looked away—she could see that Chaz was struggling to regain the professional demeanor that was her trademark.

“Chaz, I can’t tell you how much what you did last night meant to me.” The words poured out of her in a rush. “Risking your life with the bear, and then…then…” Making me feel safe, she wanted to say, but she couldn’t admit feeling vulnerable, even to Chaz.

“Helping with your nightmare,” Chaz fi nished for her. “Like I said, no problem. Are you ready to try a roll?”

The heat was totally gone now. The woman who had held her in her arms had changed back into the professional guide. Megan wanted to say something that would put that look back in Chaz’s eyes, but perhaps now was not the time. She was freezing, and so was Chaz.

There would be time enough later, at their next campsite.

“I guess I’m ready,” she said, forcing her mind back to the details of the diffi cult maneuver. She wanted Chaz to be proud of her.

She got it on the fi rst try. It looked a bit ungainly, to be sure, but she did it all by herself. And three more times, before they went in.

“That was really great, Megan,” Chaz complimented her as they walked back to join the others. “You should be really pleased with how well you’ve taken to this.”

She was pretty proud of herself, at that.

O

After a hot lunch, they packed up their tents and headed downriver to their next campsite. It was only a three-hour paddle, and the current carried them along at an ever-quickening pace as the river narrowed and deepened. They had to be more alert to obstructions—rocks and boulders of various sizes were scattered everywhere, and here and there, a branch or log had stuck on something.

They were still in a forest of spruce and alder and cottonwoods, alive with birdsong and the scattered sounds of other small animals, but

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KIM BALDWIN

the mountains on either side were closing in, the river leading them into a narrow valley.

The stopping point that Chaz selected looked very much like the place they had camped the night before. There was a nice fl at spot for the tents, surrounded by a spruce forest where there would again be ample wood for a fi re. And a fi re would be most welcome; though the drizzle had stopped, it was decidedly colder than it had been thus far in the trip, with temperatures falling into the forties.

“We have vegetable lasagna on the menu tonight,” Chaz announced to the group as they unloaded the raft. “Would anyone like me to supplement that with some fi sh again, provided they’re biting, of course?”

Several hands shot up, and Linda enthused, “That was fabulous last night.”

“Yeah, prepared so simply—and so fresh. It was probably the best fi sh I’ve had in a long while,” Yancey said.

Megan smiled. “I think you better catch enough for all of us, again.”

“I’ll do my best,” Chaz said, reaching for her fi shing gear. “Oh, by the way,” she said to Megan, “Don’t bother to put up the tent. Sally’s going to take a look at it after dinner and try to do a better repair job.”

“Okay. Well, if I don’t have that to do, is there anything I can do to help you?”

Chaz shook her head. “No, thanks. I’ve got this. You can gather up some wood for a fi re, if you like.”

“Sure.”

As Megan walked away, Chaz followed her with her eyes. She thought back to the presumptions she’d made about Megan from her registration form. She’s certainly no Muffy. She hadn’t complained about the food or the primitive conditions. She offered to help out and pitched in eagerly. And Chaz had the impression she really did appreciate the pristine surroundings and adventure she was on.

You were wrong about her, she admitted. What else are you wrongabout?

O

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Дата добавления: 2015-11-14