Page 29 of A Surefire Love
“Could you? Mine’s in my backpack.”
“Which is where?” Nolan drew the question out.
Blaze held her breath. She’d feel terrible if Anson lost or wrecked his phone because of her.
“Clipped to the back handle of the canoe. It’s in a sealed plastic bag.”
Nolan sucked in a breath. “We ought to get that sooner than later.”
“If Carter isn’t here in ten minutes, we’ll swim. We’ll have to watch the branches, though. One of them got me pretty good.”
Blaze glanced back to say she’d hit one too. The words drowned in her mouth when she spotted a trickle of blood running from the side of Anson’s knee and disappearing into the stream. She hadn’t hit anything that hard, but she hadn’t been kicking hard enough to move two bodies either. “I’m really sorry.”
Anson shook his head. “Forget it.”
Could she? He was upset with her. Or perhaps he was just in pain.
Sydney met her at the edge of the beach with an open towel. The kindness jabbed her harder than the underwater tree had. Not only had she dumped someone else’s boyfriend in the river, she had the nerve to feel attracted to him.
Unacceptable. She would not crush on someone else’s boyfriend.
Anson reread Carter’s text.Relax. We didn’t stop at the picnic spot. See you at the end.
Well, the group was at the end, and Carter wasn’t. Neither were any of his friends. As the first set of students,leaders, and their canoes loaded up for the outfitter’s lodge, Anson texted again.Where are you?
Right behind you.
Behind? He took the path from the lot to the creek. Tall grass encroached on the walkway and dragged against his gouged knee. A low bridge spanned the water to his right. To his left, the stream glistened around a bend.
A hand smoothed across his back, and Sydney stopped beside him. “What did he say?”
“They got behind us somewhere.” Anson clenched his jaw. “The only way I can imagine that is if they went on shore, kayaks and all, somewhere other than the picnic spot.”
“You’ll get to the bottom of it.” Sydney rubbed his back, and guilt filled him. He never should’ve gotten in a canoe with Blaze. As she’d gained her bearings on shore, the trust in her eyes sent satisfaction swinging through him like a wrecking ball headed for his relationship with Sydney.
He refused to be controlled by emotions, no matter how powerful. Sydney deserved better from him, and she’d get it. His interactions with Blaze would be strictly business. If she needed individual help, he’d delegate. Attending her shows once a week wouldn’t do either.
“There.” Sydney pointed. The nose of a kayak came around the bend.
Carter grinned. “Hello!”
His friends, as they came into view, shifted in their kayaks and avoided eye contact. Sydney squeezed Anson’s arm then headed back to the group, giving him space to deal with the students.
Carter ran his kayak into the ground at Anson’s feet. The boy stepped into the stream and wobbled.
Anson grabbed the kayak handle and pulled the boat onto the dirt trail. “How did you get behind us?”
Carter leaned on his paddle as he straightened his T-shirt. “Isn’t exploring the point of trips like these?” He found his footing and collected his backpack from the kayak. It clanked as he slung it over his shoulder. He stepped around the kayak and into the tall grass, using the paddle like a walking stick as he started for the van. When he passed Anson, the smell of sweat and alcohol wafted off him. Carter’s stumble and the noise in the backpack assumed new meaning.
Anson’s grip on the kayak tightened into a fist. “What’s in your bag, Carter?”
“Nothing.” He hiked it higher on his shoulder.
Anson abandoned the kayak and followed Carter to the parking lot. “I can smell it on your breath. Show me what’s in the bag.”
Dylan ran across the lot toward them. Anson raised a hand to stop him, but the boy ignored the signal.
“You can’t make me,” Carter said.
