Whitewater Rendezvous

her in a mild state of arousal, energized and expectant. She certainly wouldn’t be too tired when the moment arrived.

O

Setting up the campsite had become a familiar routine, and they were all anxious to see the caribou, so they split into groups and had the tents up and dinner prepared in about an hour and a half. They wolfed down big plates of pasta primavera, washed down with merlot, and assembled with their cameras and binoculars about the time the setting sun began to paint the world around them with tinges of gold, and pink, and amber.

Chaz led the way over spongy, boggy tundra and around grassy tussocks, some a foot high. It was diffi cult walking, and in no time Megan’s calves began to protest.

“My legs are killing me,” Yancey complained in a low voice from behind her.

“Join the crowd,” Justine agreed. “This is tough going. We’re going to sure sleep good tonight.”

“It’ll be worth it if the caribou are there,” Pat said. “But I’m going to be really bummed if we’re doing this for nothing.”

They went up and down several small rises, scaring up a lot of small birds, whose nests were concealed amid the tussocks—and an arctic fox, who was digging after some small prey when they interrupted him. Cameras clicked as he froze, watching them, then ambled away to try for dinner somewhere else.

After an hour of solid walking, they faced an enormous hill, etched by ancient game trails.

Chaz paused at the base to address them. “Okay, we’re here. On the other side of this is one of the main routes the caribou use. Cross your fi ngers.”

They scaled the hill, tired legs protesting the steep elevation. But at the top, all weariness evaporated in the most awesome spectacle any of them had ever witnessed. Every woman stood motionless, mesmerized.

In the long, fl at valley below them tens of thousands of caribou moved like a wide, living brown river. Megan was speechless. The picture on the brochure didn’t begin to do the scene justice. She had no

• 143 •

KIM BALDWIN

idea something like this still existed in the modern world. It reminded her of what the Great Plains must have been like, before the buffalo herds were decimated by hunters.

“There are more than a hundred and fi fty thousand animals in the herd,” Sally said. “I’d say that’s a good bit of them down there, maybe two-thirds.”

The wind changed slightly and carried the sounds of the herd up to them. Grunts, and bellows, and snorts, and a persistent clicking noise.

“What’s that weird sound?” Yancey asked.

“Their leg tendons do that when they walk,” Megan answered automatically.

“That’s very good. You really did your homework.”

Chaz’s voice, so near, startled her. She had been so intent on the caribou she hadn’t realized Chaz was standing just behind her left shoulder.

“What do you think? Was it worth the trip?” Chaz looked into her eyes.

Her expression was so serious that Megan somehow knew her answer meant a great deal. “Absolutely,” she answered honestly. “I’ll remember every detail of this day for the rest of my life.”

She had turned slightly to face Chaz, and they stood looking at each other, while the others began to spread out over the hillside, some taking pictures, others fi nding a comfortable place to sit and watch the herd through binoculars. Chaz’s lips were so close that Megan couldn’t take her eyes off them. They were wonderful lips, full and rosy red with the cold.

“I won’t forget you, either,” she whispered without really thinking.

Chaz lifted a hand and gently touched Megan’s chin, tilting her face up until their eyes met. The touch shot through her like a charge of electricity. Chaz’s eyes were dark and endless and drew her in, and for a moment—just a moment—Megan was certain Chaz was going to kiss her right then and there.

Instead, Chaz took a deep breath and let it out, as though she was struggling for control. “And I won’t forget you,” she said, dropping her hand. She turned to look back at the herd.

Megan’s body shook with disappointment, but when her eyes followed Chaz’s to the valley below, she decided she couldn’t really

• 144 •

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14