Chapter Eight
The next few days passed almost too quickly for Wanda. Despite worrying about her business, she was completely, one hundred percent, enjoying her ‘vacation’. She loved being out on the water again and fully intended to get back into kayaking. Maybe she could teach kids.
Reluctantly, she helped Eric take down the tent and pack it back into its heavy canvas tote. “Is it weird that I’m going to miss camping?”
He laughed. “Funny. I was just thinking the same thing.” He straightened from zipping up the bag. “But we’re still camping. Only now, we have to set up the tent every night. I’m glad they’re hauling it in trucks between stops.”
“I’m super stoked about another four days on the water.” She did a little happy dance. “It’s going to be a challenge at first. It’s still spring, and the water might be high. That means navigating rapids–under pressure. You up to it, Varner?”
“Hey, I just have to paddle; you’ll have to steer.”
“You’ll have to be ready for when I need you to change sides. Sometimes, it can take both paddlers to navigate.”
He saluted. “Ready to take orders, Captain.”
She chuckled. “Let’s haul this stuff to the bus.” She shouldered both of their duffel bags and grabbed her bedroll. Eric picked up the other bedroll and the large tent bag. “Kind of makes me wish you hadn’t sent that car back.”
“I’m crazy enough to rent a car to chase a bus, but not crazy enough to keep paying for a car I’m not using. Sorry.”
They strolled toward the parking lot where the bus was loading.
She noticed that he was quite upbeat the last two days.
And she hadn’t caught him on his phone. Not even once.
She’d been angry that he’d been late to trivia night because of a work call.
She was aware enough to realize it was partly because he didn’t care enough about their team to be on time, but also because she was jealous that she didn’t have an instant connection if her business needed her.
Her employees could fully run the greenhouse and sales shop, but that didn’t eliminate her concerns.
“Did you notice that this is supposed to be a team-building event, but we’re always paired together? None of the pairs has changed,” Eric said.
“We’re paired together on the water, but grouped up differently in the evenings and for the hikes,” she corrected. “But it is weird. You’d think that part of team building would be for everyone to get to know everyone else, that there would be more mixing.”
After a moment, she added, “Of course, with the work of canoeing, not changing partners might be a safety decision. Most of the teams seem to be working well together on the water. That’ll help when we are on the river, where decisions and actions have to come faster.”
He seemed to consider her words as they walked along. She paused mid-path to let a couple of playful squirrels scamper past. “Did you hear the deer last night?” he asked.
“I was too exhausted. I think I died when I went to bed. Four hours on the water, and four hours of sports and games took it out of me.”
“Me too.”
“So, what kept you up?” She resumed walking, enjoying the sun on her face and the light, cooling breeze.
“The usual. Business. Muscle cramps. I work out three times a week, but this is on a whole different level.”
She laughed at him.
“Aren’t you sore?”
“Not at all. I have a competition rowing machine. I row nearly every day. This is right up my alley.” She chuckled when he grumbled about unfair advantages.
“Whew. Made it.” She dumped her burdens beside the bus.
She spent a moment talking to the driver as he loaded the bags, and then climbed inside, going right to the back where she knew Eric would prefer to sit.
Five minutes later, he slid in beside her with a grin. He leaned close and whispered, “Give me your hand, but don’t let anyone see.”
She looked at him curiously but did as asked.
He slipped something into her hand. She glanced down. A caramel bar! “Where did you get this?”
He grinned like the Cheshire Cat. “I made friends with the cook yesterday. I saw her eating one. I know how much you love sweets…”
“Aw, thank you. I appreciate it.”
Her heart swelled from the small gesture. She’d had men buy her fancy dinners, or take her out to the theater or opera, or bring her a dozen long-stemmed roses. None of those acts, designed to impress, affected her as deeply as a simple candy bar.
She smiled up at him and repeated, “Thank you, Eric.” Her smile spread inward, sliding into her heart, when little-boy happiness spread over his face.
Eric Varner had a lot of facets. Hard-nosed businessman, cut-throat game player, serious boater, and happy little boy. What other sides had she yet to see?
“Are you ready for this?” Eric asked Wanda.
“I was born ready. The question is, are you ready?”
They were standing on a gravel bank beside the Athabasca River, below a bridge that crossed the backwoods oil company road their bus had brought them down.
Canoe after canoe had launched and was merrily making its way down the river towards an unseen red banner that would mark tonight’s camping spot.
According to Brent, nightly stops were determined by road access, as the backup staff drove in and prepped dinner and campfires for the night. Each team would set up its own tent.
“I’m ready.” He paused as an odd idea occurred to him. “I’m actually excited. How did that happen?”
Wanda’s laugh rang out and bounced off the thick poplar forest surrounding the river. The campers who hadn’t yet launched turned to smile at them. He smiled at her joyful response.
“You guys are up next,” Brent declared. He stood in the water, next to their loaded canoe, holding it steady as they climbed in.
After a moment of safety lectures and a reminder that the camping spot was on the left-hand side of the river and well-flagged, he gave them a shove, and they were off, floating down the river.
“Woohoo!” Eric shouted, resisting the urge to pump his arms in the air.
He’d made that mistake before. Never again!
Behind him, Wanda laughed. She really was a joyful person, and he found that being around her lightened his mood, even when he was worried about work.
Sometimes she succeeded in getting him to forget about the office for short periods.
The scenery was beautiful. Birds and butterflies swooped over the water, which was making a joyous sound. “Hey,” he exclaimed after a few minutes of sitting and gawking, “I’m not having to paddle. This is easy.”
“Sure, it is, but see that corner up ahead?”
“Yeah, what about it?”
“It’s about to get rough. There are big rocks in the water. Be prepared to help steer. I’ve been guiding us around the smaller rocks. The ones ahead are a two-person job.”
“Yes, boss,” he quipped with light sarcasm. His heartbeat accelerated along with their momentum.
“Isn’t that my line?” He heard the smile in her voice as they floated forward, suddenly gaining speed as the water grew faster and rougher near the enormous stones.
“Left!” she shouted.
He paddled harder. “Other left,” she demanded.
“Oops.” He lifted his padded, splashing icy water all over himself, and slammed it down on the left side of the boat with an enormous splash.
“Not so hard,” she shouted. “I don’t need a shower.” Her exhilarated laughter rang out as he paddled as quickly as he could.
Slowly, inch by painful inch, they shifted trajectories until they were no longer headed right for the rock. He eased up and began paddling more slowly.
“Don’t slow down,” she shouted, “not until we’re past it.”
As if hearing her, the canoe shifted back toward the rock.
“Paddle. Paddle!” she screamed.
He obeyed.
Two minutes later, she panted, “You can slow down now.” They’d passed the first set of rapids unscathed.
The water stretched out smooth and nearly flat before them.
The river had narrowed, and logic told him that meant it was deeper.
Judging by the occasional small eddy, there were still probably rocks beneath the surface.
“Rock on the left,” he called without bothering to turn and look at Wanda.
“Got it.” She steered them past it without incident.
The sun burned its way out from behind the clouds and dried off the water he’d managed to splash on himself. As the river widened again, their speed slowed.
“There’s a flat bank over there, on the right,” Wanda said. “Let’s pull in and take a break. It’s a good place for lunch.” The promised bag lunch was safely stowed in a mini cooler. They expected to be on the river for about five hours today.
Eric focused on paddling as directed, and in minutes, he hopped out into the shallow water and pulled the canoe onto the sandy bank.
“Ham and cheddar cheese, or…” Wanda paused as she peeked inside the second sandwich. “It looks like pastrami on brown bread? Maybe?”
“I love them both,” Eric responded. “You take your pick. I’m hungry enough to eat a bear.”
“Geez, did you have to mention bears?”
“I think we’re okay here.” He looked around, but his voice didn’t sound convincing.
“Couldn’t you have waited to bring up bears until after I went into the bushes for privacy?” She was teasing. While she did have needs, she assumed they’d hear a bear coming. She hoped.
“I’m gonna sit here.” He spread his windbreaker on the sand and patted it. “There’s room for you.”
She picked up their lunch bag and joined him. “I’m having ham and cheese. You get the mystery meat.” She handed him the second sandwich. They ate in silence, enjoying the sun and sounds of nature. Several varieties of birds chirped overhead, and a squirrel scolded them from high in a spruce tree.
“Cookie or brownie?” Eric asked as he dug into their bag.
“Cookie for me.”
“It looks like oatmeal raisin.” He curled up his nose.
“My favorite,” she exclaimed, snagging the cookie out of his hand.
“Gross. Oatmeal raisin cookies are why I have trust issues. Dang raisins masquerading as chocolate chips.”
“Chocolate chip are only good hot out of the oven. Oatmeal raisin are delish even after they’ve been in the tin for a week and have started to dry out. Not that they ever last that long around me. I’m a foodie. Luckily, I was blessed with a good metabolism.”
They finished eating and stood.
“Ladies’ room is over here,” she pointed right, “and men’s is over there.” She walked into the bush, just far enough to be out of sight. As she finished up, a rustling came from her right.
“What was that?” she squeaked and bolted back toward the river, heedless of the thorny rosebushes she rushed through.
She stood knee-deep in the water, panting and staring at the underbrush.
“What’s wrong?” Eric asked, emerging from his side of the game trail.
“Animal.” She didn’t take her eyes off the bushes. “Probably a bear.”
A snowshoe hare hopped out, its fur still partially white.
“Or a rabbit,” Eric teased. “Probably a real killer, too.”
“Ha ha.” She stomped onto the beach. “You had me thinking about bears.” She gave him a squinty-eyed look. “You did that on purpose.”
He held his hands up in a gesture of innocent surrender. “Not guilty. Shall we roll on?”
“Look,” Eric called out, jabbing his free hand toward the bank. “A moose.” A majestic moose, with huge antlers, stood on the east bank, front legs in the water, nose down, drinking.
“Oh my gosh, he’s beautiful.” As if by decree, they both stopped paddling and stared at the huge bull.
Further on, they saw three does with two spotted fawns. A flock of mallard floated past, and high up on a rocky bank, another moose bellowed out his call.
“This has been one heck of a day,” Wanda called out. “I never imagined we’d see all these animals.”
“Me either. Look over there! On the left.”
“Holy cow.” Her voice trembled.
“He’s way over there. We’re here in the water. That big old bear isn’t going to bother us one bit.” He glanced forward, checking their path, and back at the bear. “See that hump? He’s a grizzly.”
“Stunning,” she answered. “But I did not need to see that. How can I sleep in a tent when there are bears around? I am not getting out of this boat until there is a car or a building in sight.”
Eric laughed. “He’ll be miles behind us when we stop.”
“I don’t care.” Something in her voice told him that she wasn’t joking. She was genuinely frightened.
“I’ll keep you safe.” How, he had no idea, but since they were unlikely to meet a bear, he felt safe in offering.
“You’d better,” she muttered before calling, “Paddle on the left.”