Snuffed Out - Tim Myers [16]
“A canoe? I don’t think so. Unless you’d care to join me. You can even steer.”
She laughed. “As tempting an offer as that is, I’ve got to stay with the shop. If you don’t want to canoe by yourself, why don’t you try a kayak? I’ve got some that are lots of fun.”
I raised an eyebrow as I said, “Fun is in the eye of the beholder.”
“Come on, Harrison, give it a try.”
“Why not?” I found myself taking a quick lesson on dry land, and before I knew what was happening, I was in an open kayak on the water.
“Use the paddle like a windmill,” Erin called out to me, and I was amazed to find myself slicing through the water with a great deal more ease than with the remembered canoe. “Hey, this is fun.”
“I told you so,” she laughed as I sped away.
I was tempted to go all the way up to River’s Edge, but I was afraid my muscles would be too sore if I pushed it that hard on my first time out, so I drove myself upstream, then drifted lazily back to Erin’s shop. What a sense of freedom being out on the water gave me. I could look down and see fish darting below me one second, then see a wedge of sandbar the next. Where I’d fought with a canoe paddle as a kid, drowning my companion as I switched sides, I took to the kayak instantly. What great fun to glide across the water.
Erin was waiting for me when I slid silently up to her dock. The effect was spoiled somewhat when I failed to stop in time and scraped the side of the kayak on the pier.
“Sorry about that,” I said sheepishly as I climbed out.
“These things are designed to take a beating,” she said. “Have fun?”
“That was excellent,” I said. “I will absolutely be back!”
Erin nodded as she settled up my account. “I’ll be here. Unless it’s a day I head to the mountains.”
I walked out of the rental shop, surprised by the stiffness in my shoulders and the tightness on my face. Next time I’d have to use sunscreen before I went out on the water. The only thing I knew for sure was that there would definitely be a next time. Erin intrigued me, and I had to admit that it would be more than the kayak rental that would bring me back to her shop. She was a woman I wanted to get to know better.
It was still too early to head back to River’s Edge, so I decided to stop in at A Slice of Heaven, a pizza place Heather had introduced me to, and grab a bite to eat.
I started for a spot near the jukebox, then saw Heather sitting in the corner by herself. I approached and asked softy, “Care for some company?”
She looked up, startled by the sound of my voice. “Oh. Hi, Harrison.”
“Listen, I didn’t mean to interrupt, but I’ll be over there if you want somebody to talk to.”
I started for the place I’d intended to sit all along when she called out, “That’s okay, you can stay.”
It wasn’t the warmest invitation I’d ever gotten in my life, but I sat with her anyway.
I glanced at the menu and said, “What did you order? I’m not sure what I feel like today.”
“I don’t have much of an appetite,” she admitted as she twisted her glass on the table.
“Well, I feel like pizza, and I can’t eat one by myself. You don’t have to have any, you can take a piece and sneer at it if you want.” She wasn’t interested in my banter or my smile, but I wasn’t going to give up that easily. I saw the owner, April May, wearing an apron that said, “Pizza, the world’s most perfect food.” Her flaming red hair was pulled back into a braid, and though business was starting to pick up, she trotted right over to our table.
“Hey, Harrison,” she offered as she watched Heather carefully. It was clear she was worried about her friend.
“April, may we have a pizza?”
“Gee, I haven’t heard that one before,” she said with a slight groan. “What can I get for you?”
“We’ll take a garb—a Heaven Scent pizza, please. Better make it a medium, Heather said she isn’t hungry.”
April said, “You know what? I feel like making a