Sweet Serenade (Riverbend Romance 3) (4 page)

“At least they’re not usually a problem out on the water.”

“True.” One benefit of paddling as opposed to backpacking. “There’s a picnic area up a few kilometers. I figured we could have lunch there. After that it’s not far to the put-in spot for the rapids.”

Carly smiled at him, her eyes gleaming, probably with curiosity about what kind of picnic a guy like him would pack. “Sounds good.”

She had the most stunning smile he’d ever seen. Wide and generous. He’d never spent any time looking at a woman’s lips before, but hers deserved some consideration. He shifted in his seat, suddenly uncomfortable. Thinking about lips meant thinking about kissing. And that was crazy. They’d barely met. All his friends figured him to be the slowest mover on the planet. If they could only see inside his brain right now, they’d amend their opinion in a hurry. It was too early to fall in love, for sure, but he was definitely sliding headlong into like.

~*~

Carly watched Reed spread a red-checked tablecloth on the picnic table and set a wicker basket on the end of it. Just when she’d thought she couldn’t be more impressed by this quiet man he went all out on something like this. Their first date. Frankly, she’d expected bags of take-out from a drive-through.

He shot her a glance as he lifted two plates from the basket.

“Can I help?” she asked.

His devastating dimple creased his left cheek. “I’ve got it. Have a seat.”

Carly straddled the picnic bench. “This looks really good. Impressive.”

Had his face just turned a wee bit pink under his tan? “I didn’t make it myself. And besides, it’s not really as fancy as it looks. Loco-To-Go offers picnics like this for a deposit.” He arranged a sandwich on each plate.

“That’s awesome.”
 

Reed gave her an apologetic grin. “Mind if I say grace?”

“Please do.”

He ducked his head. “Lord, thank You for this beautiful day and for this great food. I ask for safety on the river today, and thank You for the chance to enjoy Your great outdoors with Carly. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

Short, sweet, and to the point. She could like that in a man.

Plus good taste in food. The whole-grain bread was amazing and once filled with sprouts and thinly sliced ham and cheese, even better. Sugar-snap peas had never tasted so good. Maybe she’d never had any this fresh before.

But when Reed assembled two strawberry shortcakes from biscuits, a jar of sliced berries, and another of whipped cream, Carly knew she could love this man forever. He slid the plate across the picnic table toward her and handed her a fork. Just the brush of his fingers against hers sent her insides spinning.

His gaze met hers. Eyes such a deep brown, but with a glimmer of something else. A little smile curved his mouth, punctuated by that dimple.

Carly turned her fingers to clasp his, the utensil sliding to the tablecloth. “Reed, thank you. This picnic has been amazing. No one has ever done anything like this for me before.” Not even close.

Reed’s thumb rubbed the back of her hand. “It’s my pleasure. I-I haven’t done this for anyone before, either.”

“Then I’m even more honored.”

The silence stretched between them for several more seconds. Then Reed let go, picked her fork off the table, and handed it back to her. “I think you’ll like their version of shortcake. Give it a taste.”

Her fingers felt chilled where his touch no longer rested. But, yeah. She couldn’t sit and stare at him much longer. She pierced through the layers of the dessert and popped a bite into her mouth. Reed was right. This was beyond amazing.

~*~

Reed parked the truck among the trees at the put-in spot. He hurried around the vehicle to open Carly’s door for her, and she rewarded him with a smile from her gorgeous mouth. He needed to stop noticing that.

She slid out of the truck and strolled over to the riverbank. Looking downstream, she shaded her eyes.

Good girl. She didn’t blindly trust his expertise in the canoe but expected to do her part. “Want to walk the trail first and get a feel for it?”

Carly nodded. “Good idea.” Then she slid her hand into his.

Reed’s heart nearly stopped before his fingers tightened around hers. Oh, man. It was going to be a very good thing they’d be sitting a meter or two apart in the canoe, plus they’d be keeping busy if they intended to stay dry. Otherwise he’d be insanely distracted.

He led her down the portage trail, pointing out the rocks they’d need to avoid and places where the water churned beneath the surface. Enough red osier dogwood and taller trees crowded the bank that Carly sometimes seemed unable to see where he was pointing. He found himself with his arm around her and his head close to hers as she followed his finger.

This was kind of a lot like bliss. Her floral scent mingled with the aromas of willows and water. Her red-gold hair was just as soft against his cheek as he’d dreamed about.

He was in trouble, and he didn’t want to get out. Forget that whole going slow thing. He liked her, and he was pretty sure she liked him back.

Running the river had been a dumb idea. All he wanted to do was talk to her and hold her close like this. Not exactly like this, but with her gazing back into his eyes, not craning her neck to see the next section of rapids.

Time. They had lots of it. Reed took a deep breath. He was going to spend as much of it with her as he possibly could.

Carly stepped out of his encircling arm and reached for his hand again. For a second their eyes met and the universe stopped turning. Then she smiled. “Looks like a challenging set of haystacks around the bend.”

Haystacks. Right. Time to get his head back in the game if he didn’t want to spend the afternoon banging into rocks, damaging either his canoe or his skin. “We run this section on the east side.” He pointed out the rock formation. “We’ll need to back ferry over after that V to nail the chute.”

She nodded. “Looks doable. The next section just looks fast. What’s after that?”

They walked the kilometer-long portage path and talked through the strategies they’d need for running the rapids.

“Ready to give it a try?”

Carly swung his hand. “Absolutely.” She beamed up at him. “I’m so glad God made rivers, aren’t you?”

Reed chuckled. This was his kind of woman. “Yep. And I’m also thankful for the guy who invented the canoe. Rivers and canoes are made for each other.”

Their eyes caught for a long moment. He hadn’t meant to send the message he apparently had. But what was in his heart had surfaced, if only a little. He managed to grin. “Don’t you think?”

“Oh, yes.” Her voice was barely louder than a breath. “No fighting it.”

Chapter 5

Carly pressed her paddle across the bow of the canoe as she stepped in and knelt against the braces. The river looked different from this position than up on the bank, but she was used to that. Dad taught her to read rivers a dozen years ago. This one looked like a good run. She glanced over her shoulder as the canoe shifted.

Reed settled against the stern seat, kneeling rather than sitting to keep the center of gravity low. He flexed his shoulders as he picked up the paddle, and his eyes gleamed. “Ready?”

“Oh, yeah! So ready.”

The current caught the canoe in seconds. Carly pried deep on the left as Reed brought the craft in line with the flow. They’d let the river do most of the work, just interfering enough to keep from crashing on the jagged rocks.

Sounded like a plan.

They veered left of the main channel to get past a partially submerged tree then back before the first set of haystacks.

The river filled Carly’s senses. The scent of icy water drowned the fragrance of the nearby trees. Water splattered her as it boiled over rocks mere inches away, cooling her skin and pounding in her ears with God’s drumbeat.

A pry of the paddle here, a pull there. The bow rose as they entered the chute then lunged downward, taking on a little water before leveling out. Reed knew what he was doing in the stern.

The next set of boulders loomed, and she strained to pull the paddle to her right, seeking the deepest channel. They shot through the rolling water and into the eddy below.

What a rush! She lifted the paddle high with both hands and hollered into the sky. “Yes!”

Above the churning water she heard Reed’s answering shout. The canoe slid toward the bank, and Carly drew the bow closer. As soon as it touched the riverbank, she leaped out and held the craft for Reed’s exit then looped the towline around a sapling.

She leaped at Reed as he straightened. “That was awesome!”

Wait. She’d jumped straight in his arms, and he’d caught her. Her arms clung to his neck and her legs wrapped around his waist. Oh, man. She hardly knew him.

He twirled her around once, looking deep into her eyes, his eyes mirroring her thrill. Then he set her down and disengaged her arms. “That was a great run.” His jaw twitched.

Carly wasn’t quite ready to let him go. She gripped both hands. “Thanks so much. I haven’t had this much fun since, well, since last summer.” But never with a partner like Reed. His expertise made him one of the best she’d ever paddled with. Other than Dad. But this racing heart wasn’t only for an exhilarating paddle. It had a lot to do with the man who held her hands with the same ferocity she gripped his. The man with the glimmering brown eyes, the devastating smile, and the dimple that was just now starting to reappear.

“Want to do it again?” he asked.
 

It was all she could do to not fling herself at him again. “Oh, yeah.”

“How are you in the stern?”

Seriously? Carly jiggled with anticipation. “I think I can handle it, but we’ll need some weight to keep the stern low.” Not that he was all that heavy, but he still outweighed her by probably eight or nine kilos.

“There’s ballast in the truck.”

“You’re on!”

Reed grinned, leaned over the canoe, and hoisted it into the air. He settled the yoke on his shoulders. “Lead the way.”

Carly knew better than to ask if he needed a hand with the carry. It was a dozen times easier to carry one alone as he did than for two people to lift and carry. She’d done it herself many a time, but she’d bet her Kevlar craft was lighter than his cedar-strip. Even though his was infinitely more beautiful. She’d rather walk behind him so she could admire the canoe’s lines. Really. It wasn’t like much of Reed beyond his sport-sandal-clad feet would be visible from the back. But he’d asked her to lead, so she would.

Was it so he could keep an eye on her? The thought warmed her more than the summer sun streaking between the trees.

Ten minutes later he twisted the canoe back to the ground near his truck and flexed both shoulders.

“Sore?”

“A little.” He shrugged. “It’s early in the season. The muscle memory hasn’t come back yet.”

She knew all about that. “Here, let me help.” She hopped up on a rock behind him and put both hands on his shoulders. In seconds her thumb dug into the knot by his right shoulder blade.

“Ouch.” He winced. “You found the spot.”

“Uh, yeah. I’ve met it before.” She massaged a few minutes longer then patted his shoulders and jumped down. “That better?”

“Yes, thanks.” He sat down on a log. “Where’d you learn to paddle?”

Memories washed over her. “My dad. He wrote adventure books in the off-season, and we canoe-tripped all summer for several years.”

“Just you and him?” Reed’s gaze studied her.

Carly nodded as she settled beside him. “It was after Mom died. We paddled the North Saskatchewan nearly from the headwaters to Hudson Bay. We paddled the Nahani the summer I was thirteen.”

Reed’s eyebrows rose. “That’s some serious tripping.”

Campfires. Mosquitoes. Cast-iron frying pans and canvas tents. Three changes of clothing to match the weather. “It was a great way to grow up.” If only Dad hadn’t succumbed to the cancer. They’d had so many more rivers they wanted to run. So many more memories to make. Dad had so many more novels he wanted to write.

Reed must’ve read her mind. “What kind of books did he write?”

“Stories about the outdoors and survival for boys.”

“Sounds like the kind of thing I would’ve enjoyed as a kid. Maybe I even read some of them in between all the playing outside I did in every type of weather.”

“He had nine books out.” Carly poked at a pinecone with her toe. “I still get a small royalty check from his publisher twice a year.”

“That’s cool. You going to write books, too? Or maybe you already do.”

“Me? No. I can’t sit still long enough. And besides, I don’t really know how normal kids think. My upbringing was far from average.”

“Kids these days are glued to their computer games. If they get outside, it’s for organized sports. So few are even curious about God’s handiwork.” He swatted a mosquito. “They think nature is only about bugs and dirt. They don’t get how much more there is out here. How close to God it brings a person.”

Carly inhaled the forest air. “I know. I feel closer to God here than in a church building. Creation shows me His love as surely as anything else.”

“You shall go out with joy and be led forth in peace.”

She glanced at him with a grin. “The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you.”

His eyes focused on hers. “And all the trees of the fields shall clap their hands when you go out with joy.”

“Isaiah fifty-five. I love singing that chorus.” She began humming the tune.

Reed dug into his pocket and came out with a harmonica.

Really? He carried it with him everywhere? As he played the familiar worship song, she reveled in the moment. This would be a memory right up there with the best from her canoeing trips with Dad.

~*~

“Ready?” Reed stood at the canoe’s bow watching Carly. This business of letting someone else control his beloved craft was new... and more than a bit terrifying. Everything about Carly was terrifying... and exhilarating.

She stood in a few inches of water with the canoe between her knees. “Go for it.”

He pressed his paddle across the bow for balance as he climbed in and settled himself, knees against the braces. As soon as he held the paddle in hand, he felt the shift as Carly pushed off and climbed in. Seconds later they were in the middle of the current, shooting downstream.