Chapter 16
“Where is this super secret place you’re taking me again?” Juniper asked after Rowan finished unhitching her jon boat from the back of the truck.
The sun was just rising above the horizon, and they were shrouded in the foggy newness of dawn.
“There’s this little alcove my dad and I have been going to that’s tucked away just up against where the bay turns back.
We found a pretty big oyster midden our ancestors must have made centuries ago.
It’s full of old shucked oyster shells, a couple hundred yards up into the cordgrass of the salt marsh,” Rowan explained.
“And that alcove is where you and your dad have started establishing new oyster colonies?”
“That’s right. We’ve been working with the restaurants he sells oysters to to return the empty shells back to him.
When oysters reproduce, the spat, or little baby larvae, attach to some kind of structure in the bay.
So we’re testing out the best ways to rebuild the oyster colonies we used to have by creating structures with the shells.
Then as time goes on, and the oysters grow, that’s how you get bigger and bigger colonies. ”
“I’m assuming we want oyster colonies for more than just harvesting oysters?”
“The colony is like a living water-filtration system to purify the bay water. A single adult oyster can filter more than 50 gallons of water a day.”
Juniper’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped softly. “That’s so cool,” Juniper said, her voice drifting off.
Rowan could see the hazy look in her eyes, and she raised an eyebrow in response. “You seem… turned on right now.”
Juniper narrowed those hazy eyes but Rowan still caught the smile forming on her lips.
Juniper trailed her fingers down Rowan’s bare arm and lingered at the tips of her fingers. “Maybe.”
“It’s about two miles down river from here, where we’re putting the boat in. You think you can make it?” Rowan teased.
“Shut up. Besides, I know that thing has a motor. I’ve been in it before you know.”
Among the many other days they’d spent in her boat, Rowan’s memory of the day they’d spent on the water before they kissed was startlingly vibrant.
I’ve missed out on so much time with you seemed like a fucked up thing to say.
Even worse, I’ve dreamt about what it would be like to be in love with you again.
Rowan tucked away those unproductive thoughts that were rooted to a painful past.
“New memories,” Rowan confirmed softly. Then she tenderly brushed her lips against Juniper’s. “Let’s get going before the sun fully rises.”
Rowan pulled on her salt-stained knee-high muck boots.
She finished throwing their small amount of gear into her old jon boat and waded it several feet out into the water.
Since they weren’t launching from a dock, they’d have to wade into the water first and climb in.
Juniper was standing at the edge of the ebbing shoreline and looking down at her short gardening boots.
“We need to get you some taller boots,” Rowan called out.
“I wear a size 9,” she yelled back.
Rowan laughed. “Noted.”
“But show me options first. I still want to pick them out.”
“Of course. I’ll just be the one buying them.”
“Small price,” she teased.
“Why don’t you take those off and carry them, cross over to me, and I can give you a hand up?”
Juniper took off her boots and walked a few steps into the water. The sand of the coastline turned to silt, then clay within a few feet off shore. She started laughing when her bare feet began sinking deep into the river bed.
Laughing with her, Rowan said, ”I got you, hang on.”
Rowan wrapped the boat’s docking rope around her wrist to prevent it from floating away and tried to lift her foot to walk toward Juniper.
They laughed together at the loud suction noise of her boot releasing from the clay.
“Fuck, even I’m stuck.”
Rowan freed her foot and took one large step forward. She leaned far over and extended her other hand out to wrap around Juniper’s waist to get enough leverage to pull her forward. Juniper started to lift her feet but quickly lost her balance.
“Wait, wait, wait! You’re going to pull me down with you.”
“Give me better instructions, Birdsong!”
With her arm still wrapped around Juniper’s waist, Rowan tightened her body and prayed her strength could balance both of them. Falling into the water first thing that morning wasn’t how she’d intended this day to go.
“Okay, okay. Take one big step with one foot, and I’ll pull you over at the same time. Then try to put your feet on top of my boots so you don’t get stuck again.”
Working together this time, Juniper freed one foot and took a big step while Rowan pulled her the rest of the way out of the clay and against her body. Juniper balanced on her toes on top of Rowan’s boots to meld their bodies together.
The rising sun’s rays glittered across the dark water around them, intensifying the intimacy of the moment.
Rowan lifted her hand to Juniper’s face, and with a gentle finger, traced the line under her rounded cheekbone to the corner of her lips.
Her confession that she loved her was on the tip of her tongue, but the movement of her hand caused the docking rope she had wrapped around her wrist to go taut.
Within seconds the boat bumped the back of Juniper’s legs, breaking their concentration apart.
Rowan couldn’t bring herself to change anything about their position though.
She couldn’t take her eyes off the woman in front of her.
“As much as I’d love to stand like this all day, I would also like to get in that boat that won’t stop hitting me in the back of the legs.” Juniper smirked up at her through her lashes.
“Right. Smart-ass.” Rowan shook her head in mock irritation.
“Instructions. Good ones this time.”
“Let’s try this. First, you’re going to turn around in my arms, while I keep the boat steady. Then, I’m going to stare at your ass while you lift one leg over into the boat, then the other. How about that?”
“Shame your hands will be preoccupied by keeping the boat steady.”
“Shame, indeed.”
Juniper licked the corner of her lips before turning around. Rowan gripped the gunwales along the top edge of the boat even harder when Juniper completed her rotation and pressed her ass back into Rowan.
Rowan pulled the boat against Juniper’s front, forcing their bodies back together. She leaned into her ear. “You like teasing me, huh?”
Juniper turned her face slightly. “What would give you that impression?” She forced her ass back again to give herself space as she lifted one leg over into the boat and hoisted herself upwards. “You like what you see?”
Rowan blew out a breath. “You have no idea.”
Juniper climbed to the front of the boat, while Rowan took her spot at the back to operate the motor. She tossed Juniper a flannel from her bag once they got seated.
“Here, take this. I know it’s warm, but the chill can pick up once we get going.”
Juniper pulled her arms through the sleeves of the shirt and buttoned the front. She reached one hand around her neck to grab her hair and pull it out of the back of the shirt.
“You might want to put your hair up too.”
“Damn, Ro, what did you do to the motor? I don’t remember it going that fast.”
“I may have made some slight improvements.” She paused. “I can braid it for you, if you want.”
Juniper angled her face over her shoulder and smiled. Rowan took that as an invitation, so she slid forward on her knees and collected the strands of Juniper’s hair before dividing it into three sections.
“I still know how to do this, you know,” she added. She was feeling a little self conscious. She didn’t need to be. But she was.
“I missed this,” Juniper sighed.
Then it was Rowan’s turn to smile. She took her time weaving the three sections together until she tied off the braid that hung close to Juniper’s waist.
“Not as tight as your mom’s, but I don’t think this boat ride calls for that.”
Juniper laughed. “I don’t think there’s any reason for them to be that tight ever.”
“Ready?” Rowan asked.
Juniper shook her head side to side before tapping a finger to her lips three times. Rowan slid a hand across her cheek and pulled her lips to hers. “Now?”
Juniper nodded her head and turned back forward.
Rowan took her seat and started up the engine.
She went slowly at first until the boat puttered several yards from the shoreline to be safe enough to pick up speed.
Juniper held onto the gunwales of the boat and turned her head back to flash a bright smile at Rowan as the blues, greens, and browns of the water and land whirred together.
Rowan had never seen anything more beautiful, more captivating, than the woman in front of her.
After they made their way down the coast and into the alcove, they checked out the oyster colony structure from the boat before Rowan skillfully guided it towards the sandy beach.
The gentle lapping of the water against the hull transformed into a soft whisper as the boat's bow gently kissed the shoreline.
Rowan slowly trimmed the engine, allowing the propeller to lift clear of the shallows, and she beached the boat so they could get out.
She soon found out it didn’t matter whether they were in the water or on land, the view of Juniper getting in or out of the boat produced the same results in her. She chewed at the inside of her lip as Juniper’s second leg flipped high over the edge of the boat.
“These fucking shorts, Junie,” she whispered.
Juniper’s lips quirked, clearly having heard that comment, and she turned back to offer a hand to Rowan.
“M’lady,” she joked.
“Absolutely not.”
“No?” Juniper giggled.
“Not now. Not ever. I draw the line at the flowers.”