Chapter 7
CHAPTER 7
T hey went canoeing. Aiden had no input on the actual date, obviously. If he had, they wouldn’t be going. But if he’d been able to give even a modicum of insight into the selection, he would have chosen something safe. Though, considering June had glued her hands together during the middle of an art class, there was likely nothing safe enough.
“Can everyone swim?” Aiden asked as they stood in line for their canoes.
“Of course everyone can swim,” Erica answered. She slid her arm around Aiden’s middle. “You finally have a day off. Try not to be in doctor mode, okay? Relax.” She gave him a squeeze. He nodded in acknowledgement, studiously avoiding eye contact with June. She was the reason he was in doctor mode, the reason he couldn’t relax. If she’d fallen into a pipe while standing still, what would happen when she was in a boat?
At least Blake wasn’t being as odious as normal. Seeing him be charming and obsequious made Aiden realize what had heretofore been missing in their relationship—an eligible, pretty girl. He’d had no reason to act like a normal human being around his cousin and her boyfriend. But add June into the mix and he was suddenly Mr. Wonderful. He must find her especially attractive because he was pulling out all the stops. And he hadn’t mentioned the Elmer Fudd tattoo once. A quick scan of his calf showed it to be Elmer free. Aiden wasn’t sure if he had changed his mind or maybe calf tattoos cost more than he knew.
June was exactly as he’d imagined she’d be on a date—fun and funny and only the slightest bit flirty. He wouldn’t have been able to stand it if she’d turned out to be a man killer, a player, a femme fatale. Not that she needed to be any of those things. Blake was clearly smitten, if the goofy way he kept grinning at her was any indication.
“Front or back, June?” Blake asked, surprising Aiden. He would have taken him for the type who insisted on being in the back of the boat, for certain.
“You choose,” June said.
He made a show of inspecting her nicely toned biceps. “I don’t know. I think you’d do just fine in the back. These guns are impressive. On the other hand, if I put you back there, I wouldn’t be able to look at you.”
“I could sit in the back and give you a picture of me,” June suggested and Blake laughed blankly. It was clear he knew he was supposed to laugh but he hadn’t gotten the joke. “The front is fine,” June added, patting his similarly impressive guns.
Aiden felt puny by comparison. He had never been one of those guys who worked out obsessively. He did the bare minimum to stay healthy, mostly because he lacked time and energy for anything else. He’d spent the last decade training to be a doctor, and now that he was one he was working as hard as ever.
“You want to sit in the back or front?” he asked Erica.
“Front,” she said, looking uncomfortable, and he smiled. Erica was about as athletic as he was.
“Our kids really have no hope of a sports scholarship,” he noted.
She slid her other arm around his waist and gave him a tight hug. “But they’ll be super smart. Maybe they can hire Blake’s kids to defend them.”
He thought it more likely they’d be defending themselves from Blake’s kids. He seemed like the type who would have picked on anyone weaker, but maybe not. Maybe Aiden was being prejudiced because he’d never been that guy with the bulging biceps.
They received their canoes, life jackets, and a two-minute prep from the canoe instructor, and then they were off.
“Canoeing in March. This is why everyone should live in Florida,” Blake noted.
“Doesn’t everyone?” Erica asked, a hint of bitterness in her tone. They were all Florida natives, and the population had grown steadily since they were kids. What had once felt sparse now felt crowded.
“There are still the hidden parts,” June noted amicably. Most people visited the coast or Orlando and left their inland portion alone. That was definitely how they preferred it. They were being carried gently along by a current, allowing her to trail her fingers in the water.
“Better be careful. A gator’s going to get you,” Blake said, leaning forward to pinch her waist at the word “get.” It was intended to startle her, but she merely gave him a sweet smile and resumed staring at the water. There was something almost otherworldly about her, a slight dreamy quality. Aiden glanced at Blake to see what he thought and saw him frowning slightly at June’s back. It was clear, at least to Aiden, that he was used to simple girls, girls who responded well to his overt brawn. June’s singular self-possession was both mystifying and intriguing to him. He seemed both frustrated and challenged by her.
“I thought the gators would all be asleep,” Erica said uneasily. “Aren’t they?” she turned to Aiden for assurance.
Blake supplied the answer, but it wasn’t reassuring. “They’re slower in the winter, for sure. But they can still take down prey whenever they feel like it.”
“We’ll be fine,” Aiden added. “This is a smooth course. There’s no need to end up in the water.”
“Where’s the fun in staying dry?” Blake asked.
“Blake, don’t. There are tons of gators in this river,” Erica warned. “You’ll scare June.”
“June doesn’t look like she scares easy,” Blake noted. June’s only reply was a placid little smile. Blake blinked at the back of her head and scratched his temple. Erica shot Aiden a look like, Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. At least that was what he thought the look meant. When she opened her lips it was to mouth, They’re cute. He shook his head and she rolled her eyes at him.
Halfway through, they eased to a sandbar and got out to stretch. “When I was a kid, we used to jump off that bridge,” Blake said, pointing to the abandoned bridge in the distance.
“Me too,” June said.
“But…alligators,” Erica said, and Aiden thought the same thing. Neither of them could ever be considered risk takers or adventurers.
“You just have to make sure you’re a faster swimmer,” Blake said, tweaking June’s ponytail in a flirtatious show of camaraderie. “How about it, June? You up for it today?”
It was likely Aiden’s eyes were bugging as he reached for his bottle of water and took a sip. Fleetingly, June’s eyes landed on his. Her smile turned wry as she undoubtedly caught his mental memo. No jumping, no jumping, no jumping. He hadn’t brought his medical kit. A head injury here in the middle of nowhere would be deadly. He could almost see the headlines. Local Doctor Stands Helpless as Friend Bleeds Out. Okay, that was probably wordy for a headline, but the gist was the same.
“I don’t think I’m up for jumping today,” June said, so sweetly Blake would be hard pressed to take it as a rejection.
“The water’s cold,” Erica added helpfully. It might be Florida, but it was still winter.
“Fine,” Blake said, “but we can still go up and take a look, right? It’s a good view.”
“Absolutely,” June agreed.
“We’ll stay down here and keep gravity company,” Aiden said, not needing to check with Erica to know it was what she wanted. Neither of them were great with heights.
They got back into the canoes and paddled to the bridge. June and Blake hopped gracefully out and waded the last couple of feet to shore where they climbed the trellis.
“They match,” Erica said, noting the combined prowess of the two more athletic members of the group. It was like watching bonobos play on the ropes course at the zoo.
“Yes, but is that a good thing? I thought opposites attract,” Aiden said.
“If so, we’re in trouble,” Erica replied, causing the boat to rock gently as she eased closer and slid her arms around him. “Hey.”
“Hey,” he said, smiling as he slid his hands beneath her hair lifting it off her neck. “I feel like I’ve barely seen you lately.”
“I know, it’s been crazy. Between work and planning and house stuff.” She pulled in a deep breath, held it, and let it out slowly.
“So, what should we do with this flicker of alone time we’ve been gifted?” he asked, his eyes falling to her mouth. Her mouth was small and compact, her lips thin. It wasn’t Hollywood’s ideal of beauty, but he loved it. Somehow it was representative of her, reserved until it decided not to be. She had kissed him first, a long, long time ago, the first night they met. It had been a glimpse of the side of her she usually kept firmly buried. Somewhere beneath all the layers of careful planning was a tiny little free spirit. He wondered if he would see more of it as the years passed, if she would release it when she felt more secure and comfortable with him, with her, with their relationship. He hoped so because he liked it on the rare occasions he’d seen her let loose.
“We need to decide about that main level bathroom,” she said.
He froze. “Really? That’s what you’re thinking in this moment? About a bathroom?”
She shook free of his embrace and sat back. “This is go time. Soon we won’t be able to make revisions. I know it’s an upcharge to make it a full bath, but I think in the end it’s going to be worth it. I think we’ll get our money’s worth out of it.”
“Erica,” he said, shaking his head slightly.
“What?” she asked, defensive now.
She was spoiling for a fight. He could hear it in her tone. But he didn’t want to fight, so he made his tone purposely gentle as he said, “I miss you. I barely see you, and when I do we spend all our time talking about the house.”
“I know,” she said, rubbing her temples. “I know , Aiden. This isn’t how I want it, either, but there’s a ton of planning and decision making to do, even with June helping us along. But I promise you it’s going to get better, as soon as this crazy phase is over. And then we’ll have the rest of our lives to enjoy the fruits of our labor. In our big, beautiful house.” She reached out and snagged his fingers, giving them a squeeze.
“Sometimes I wonder…” he paused.
“What?” she asked, tense all over again.
He stared at her, not wanting to risk her wrath by saying what he was about to say, that sometimes he wondered if she was throwing herself into the house so she wouldn’t have to think about other things. But since he was one of the other things she might be trying to avoid, he wasn’t certain he actually wanted an answer.
The moment was broken by a sound from above, an exclamation of some sort. Aiden’s eyes darted upward in time to see June pitch over the side of the bridge, arms windmilling wildly as she plummeted into the water below. Blake stood at the top, arm outstretched toward her, eyes wide in horror.
She smacked the water hard, flat on her back, a reverse belly flop so loud it reverberated. Aiden didn’t think, nor did he stop to take off his shoes, before he dove in after her.
The spot in the river was deep. It would have to be to handle all the teenagers who had jumped over the years. Aiden spotted June as she sank, folding inward like a collapsing petal. Was she unconscious or merely in shock from the impact? Either way, she wasn’t yet moving, nor struggling for the surface. He could only hope she wasn’t actively taking water into her lungs. He grabbed her around the waist to begin hauling her upward and that was when she came to life and started to struggle. He was about to put her in a subduing chokehold when she caught sight of his face and came to, her feet beginning to scissor in time with his to propel them to the surface.
The whole thing probably lasted about fifty seconds, but to Aiden it felt like an eternity before they finally surfaced, June sputtering and spitting water. He flipped onto his back and hooked an arm around her neck, dragging her with him to the bank nearby. He caught sight of Erica in his peripheral, paddle upraised as if prepping for an attack. Keeping an eye out for alligators, he thought, tossing her a little smile she likely didn’t see. She would have used it, too, a thought that made him smile wider.
Blake was there by the time they reached the shore. He helped June stand, ignored Aiden entirely, and pulled her into a tight hug. “What even happened? That was scary. How did you fall?”
June shook her head, still sputtering. “Move aside,” Aiden said, shooing Blake away to make a medically-informed inspection of June. He wished for his stethoscope as he pressed his ear to her lungs. He thumped her hard on the back, causing her to cough up even more water. He kept pounding until the coughs sounded dry, and then he inspected her pupils.
“She’s fine, man,” Blake said, annoyed.
She was fine for now, but Aiden was concerned about secondary drowning. He ignored Blake and focused on June. “June, I need you to keep an eye on your health today and tell me if you feel fatigued, if the coughing doesn’t stop, if you vomit or have any trouble breathing.”
She nodded, staring hard at his chest. Her cheeks were flushed a ruddy shade of pink that did nothing to lessen her beauty. He let go of her bicep to tip her face to his. “Are you really okay?” he whispered.
She nodded, her lashes wet with what he guessed was more than river water. It’s okay, he mouthed. Out loud he added, “Ten points for the dismount.”
She was smiling now. “I thought it lacked a little grace.”
“What you were missing in grace you made up for in drama,” he said.
Laughing now, she gave his chest a two handed little shove. “That’ll be all, Dr. Lawrence. Thank you for the save.”
“Are you freezing?” Blake asked, more than ready to step in and put his arms around June. Aiden turned and went back to Erica who put her arms around him, hugging him tightly.
“You’re like an actual hero,” she said.
“All in a day’s work,” he said tiredly. It turned out that hauling a half-drowning woman from deep water was exhausting. Good thing he hadn’t been cool enough to be a lifeguard in high school.
Erica kissed him, a full-on rush of hero worship and exhilaration. It was probably wrong to reap any benefits from June’s near-drowning, but it had been so long since Erica kissed him with that sort of reverence and passion—if she ever had—that he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. He pulled her close and kissed her back until eventually June and Blake returned to their canoe and they were once again on their way.