starting to seem awfully dull.â
âFrankly, I never thought of you as the guide type, Anita,â Karinne said as the men continued to navigate.
âI think sheâd do all right,â Cory said.
âI need a job. Why not join Cory?â Anita asked.
Karinne stopped bailing. The thought of being with Max around the clock was a heaven impossible to imagine, not with the children Max always said he wanted. Or maybe Cory had a point. Maybe she hadnât allowed herself to imagine it.
âBefore we hit the rapids in a few minutes, watch the shale and sandstone. It dates back to the Pennsylvanian Period. Here the layers are full of reptile fossils. You should be able to see them.â
The women nodded, studying the various rocks. The layered rock and cross-bedded formations glistened in the steaming humidity fogging off the walls.
âI can picture this as a primordial mist,â Karinne said. âAnd dinosaurs are wading around the next bend. Max, can we hike around the fossil beds?â
âFor preservation purposes, itâs not allowed. Sorry,â Max said as Karinne sighed in disappointment. âBut the next time we stop, itâll be for the day. Weâll do the House Rock Rapid, then the Roaring 20s before pitching the tents,â Max said.
âWhat are the Roaring 20s?â Anita asked.
âMile 20.5 through Mile 27 is all rapids,â Max explained, taking in the other watercraft about them. âHence, the Roaring 20s. Weâll camp around Mile 32. Weâll stop early enough to beat the crowd and get a good campsite.â
âWe have trail bars if you get hungry before then,â Cory offered. âPlus a big dinner and campfire stories afterward.â
âI love ghost stories⦠How about you, Karinne?â Anita teased.
Karinne thought of C. C. Spauldingsâs âThe Tollââthe nameless skeleton in an old photographâand wondered how the family of the deceased man had lived the rest of their lives without closure, without details. All of a sudden, one pink sweatshirt and a note had put her back in that category.
âIâm not in the mood for ghost stories,â Karinne said honestly. She hadnât told Anita about the note from the woman claiming to be her mother.
âKarinne?â Max asked. âYou okay?â
She wasnât. That photo had reminded Karinne of her mother and set off strange dreams. Something about that imageâthe lost soul, the pathetic skeleton faceup by the side of the waterâhad upset her, despite her professional interest. It represented the loss of a family member, perhaps someoneâs parent. Someone like Margot.
Suddenly, she didnât look forward to the evening campfire with her usual enthusiasm. She felt uncharacteristically uneasy, definitely unsettled. Her smile back to Max felt weak in response. She settled herself safely into the raft, checked her life jacket and grabbed at her safety loops.
âIâll be fine once we get through those rapids.â
The water current pushed the raft ahead. Max restarted the engine for additional power and began the journey. The men steered through the turbulence, but Karinne couldnât get into the spirit of the ride.
Anitaâs exhilaration showed. She even cheered, âFaster!â as the large silver pontoon raft behind was catching up to them.
With its larger engine and heavier weight, the pontoon raft traveled faster through the rapids than the smaller raft,and soon gained on them. Max and Cory also noticed the approach of the pontoon with its dozen passengers.
âTheyâre getting awfully close to us!â Cory yelled out, making corrections with his paddle.
âI see them!â Max yelled back.
âWhat do we do?â Anita asked.
âThe bigger boat has the right of way,â Max said. âDonât worryâweâre fine.â
Their smaller raft certainly seemed more
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