A Flicker of Doubt - Tim Myers [45]
“Harrison, it’s not a trip to the auditor. We’ll have fun, you’ll see.”
“I’m not making any promises,” I said. “Let’s go.”
She started to say something else, then obviously thought better of it. “That sounds great.”
Her truck was in the front lot and I noticed she’d parked the vehicle as close to the steps that led to the water as she could.
As Erin took the bungee-cord fasteners off the canoe, I said, “You really came prepared. What if I’d said no?”
“Then I’d have just had to try again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next.”
I laughed despite the fist of dread growing in my gut. “Then I’m glad I said yes. Do you need a hand with that?”
She said, “Sure, that would be great. Grab this end and we’ll put it in the water.”
After we got the canoe down, she retrieved one of the blue streamlined vests from the front and said, “Put this on.”
“Do you actually wear a life preserver yourself? I didn’t think you would, after all the time you spent on the water.”
“I always wear one, and you should, too. Accidents happen every day.” As she strapped hers on, she said, “I never go out without one, and neither should you.”
“Okay, I get it” After we had our life jackets on, she handed me a paddle and asked, “Do you mind riding the front? I’m used to being in back.”
“No problem, I’m not bad with the kayak, but a canoe is a completely different kind of boat, isn’t it?”
She held her paddle up in the air and said, “It’s going to be odd with just one blade, but you’ll get used to it. Keep your paddle on the right side of the boat. If we need to correct, I’ll do it from where I’m sitting. Are you ready?”
I sighed, then said, “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Come on, this is going to be fun.”
“If you say so,” I said as I stepped into the boat.
It didn’t take long for us to get into a rhythm with our paddling. I’d expected the canoe to be awkward compared to my kayak, but we cut through the water nearly as easily as I did alone. No doubt having an expert like Erin in back helped. I kept scanning the water as we went upstream, searching for anything that might be a body floating around us. There was nothing, though; the water’s surface was a flat plane as we cut through it. We hadn’t had a drop of rain since Becka’s death, and the pristine surface of the water was beautiful. As we paddled on, I started trusting the water again and looked, toward the banks around us. The side with River’s Edge was soon overgrown and wild, with only the river walk beside the edge to show that we weren’t a thousand miles from civilization. As much as I loved Cyrus’s walking path, it did spoil the illusion that we were somewhere deep in the wilderness. We paddled in silence, the only noises coming from the movement of our paddles and the birds chirping from their perches near the edge of 4he Gunpowder.
I was lost in my thoughts when Erin asked, “How are you doing?”
“Better than I expected,” I said
“Are you ready to head back? I promised I wouldn’t keep you out long.”
I considered going back, and to my surprise, I found that I wasn’t ready, at least not yet. “Let’s keep going. There’s a cove up ahead you’ve got to see.” I swear I could feel her smiling behind me.
By the time we got back to River’s Edge, I was feeling easy and free on the water again. We pulled the canoe out and carried it to her truck.
As Erin secured it, I said, “Thanks, I needed to do that.”
“I was glad for the company. We make a good team on the water, Harrison.”
“With you in back, I can’t imagine you being a part | of a bad one.”
She shook her head as she secured the last bungee. “Don’t kid yourself. I take groups white-water rafting and; canoeing, and you’d be amazed how many people want to coast through the rapids when it’s the exact time they should be paddling the hardest I don’t know how they get| the impression they’re on a ride at Disney World. You tog ally should come white water rafting with me sometime.”
“Baby steps for now, okay? I’m still going to have to get used to being on the Gunpowder again.”
“Maybe we should