The River (10 page)

"I, uh, wanted to thank you," Del said slowly. "For coming on this trip, I mean. I really appreciate it."

Francesca's green eyes glittered with amusement. "You think I came here for you, or your dad?"

Del's reply was measured. "Then why?"

"Why do you think? I wasn't going to let Jake come here without me? You're all he's talked about for the past week…Del this and Del that." Francesca's expression turned sour. "Jake Kerrigan is
mine!
If you're smart, you'll remember that."

Speechless, Del turned away, looking for signs of the latrine―anything to get out of the woman's line of fire. To her far left, she spotted a roll of toilet paper hanging from the branches of a scraggly tree. Two pits in the ground were guarded by mounds of fresh soil. A shovel stood in one.

Walking toward the pits, she unfastened her jeans, without looking in Francesca's direction. "I'll make it quick."

When there was no reply, she peered over one shoulder.

Francesca was gone.

"Well, thanks for nothing."

Cautiously, she embedded her boots into the soft ground and lowered herself over the hole. The last thing she needed was to fall into the pit.

Snap!

Something moved in the bushes to her right.

"Francesca?"

Crack!

"I'll be there in a min―"

An eerie moan cut through the air.

She froze.

A black bear ambled through the bushes.

All of Hawk's survival tips dissipated into the air, and Del was left with her jeans around her ankles, her ass hanging over a latrine pit and not one bright idea of what to do next.

Plodding closer, the bear's long tongue flicked out and snatched some berries from a nearby bush. Then its inquisitive black eyes sought her out.

Del held her breath, her eyes widening in terror. Still crouched low to the ground, she wrapped her arms around her knees to keep from falling backward into the pit.

The bear lumbered toward her.

"Oh, crap."

"Well, technically, that could be what's attracting him."

To her dismay, Jake stood a few feet down the path.

"But I think it's the chocolate bar that he wants."

He pointed to a Hershey bar that was lying on a fallen tree, four feet from the latrine.

Embarrassed, she struggled to pull up her panties and fasten her jeans without drawing the attention of
Winnie
who was slowly plodding toward the Hershey bar. Cautiously moving toward Jake, she kept the bear in her peripheral vision.

He grabbed her arm and they rushed down the path.

"You okay, Del?"

"Yeah, I'm used to getting caught with my pants down while being eyed as a lunch buffet by a bear."

The corner of Jake's mouth lifted. "He was only a baby, a cub. Just be thankful he didn't introduce you to his mother. She's probably close by."

Quickening her pace, Del peeked over her shoulder, expecting the mother bear to come crashing through the bushes.

"What happened?" he asked after they were a safe distance away. "Francesca said you were right behind her."

She weighed her options. It would have felt immensely satisfying to blow off some steam and tell Jake exactly what she thought about his assistant. But why rock the boat? She couldn't afford to let Francesca interfere with finding her father.

"A girl's gotta go, when a girl's gotta go."

Francesca fumed, watching Jake hover over Del.

The woman was becoming a rancid thorn in her side. One weak little movement and Jake went rushing over, all concerned. It made her want to throw up.

"Better watch out, girlfriend," she muttered. "Don't mess with me. He's mine!"

Her relationship with Jake Kerrigan had been on and off for the past year. Of course as far as she was concerned, he just needed time to see how good they were together. With his brains and her beauty, they'd be the envy of everyone. She and Jake were the perfect couple.

Why things had fizzled between the two of them, Francesca couldn't say. But when he had told her he needed a break, she had swallowed hard and smiled. There was no way she was going to let him know how much that had hurt. She had her pride, if nothing else. Anyway, she'd win Jake back. Certainly Miss High-and-Mighty Hawthorne could see that.

"He's mine!"

"Who is?"

Startled, she whipped around.

"You shouldn't sneak up on people like that, Peter."

Peter cocked his head. "Why? What have you got to hide?"

A hiss of breath escaped from between her teeth.

The kid was annoying and nosey.

"I'm not hiding a thing. What about you?"

Peter stared at her intently, not saying a word. Then he strode away, muttering under his breath.

Francesca glowered at his back.

Peter Cavanaugh spelled trouble.
With a capital 'T'.

Del couldn't stop the rapid beating of her heart as TJ and Francesca shoved off and began paddling away from shore, heading for Hawk and Gary. Peter and Miki followed close behind.

"We're up next," Jake said.

Del frowned. "This life jacket is a bit tight."

"You'll get used to it. Just focus on paddling."

He pushed off, sending them adrift, and the slow-moving current wrapped around the canoe, gently lapping at its sides. It took some time to get into an easy rhythm but once they did, Del began to relax. She was comforted by the thought that Gary and Hawk were only a few feet behind. If she fell out, they'd probably catch her.

Probably.

"It's easy paddling for the next few hours," Hawk said. "Take your time and work with the river."

She heard a bird screeching overhead.

A bald eagle circled above them, its immense wingspan lifting and gliding on the breeze. It dipped low, then soared off toward some unknown destination.

"Beautiful," Jake said.

She turned and caught his gaze.

Neither of them moved.

Hawk's eyes drifted lower, to her mouth, and an intense heat enveloped her, the kind of heat that was brought on by guilty thoughts.

Dazed, she faced forward, slicing the paddle deep into the water.

The Nahanni awaits, Hawk had said earlier.

But waits for what?

Eight

T
he South Nahanni River yawned. It carved a path through alpine tundra, mountains and canyons―undulating and weaving like a serpent. The river was an ominous breathing force. A paradigm of life and death.

The boreal forests that hugged its shore were thick with wildlife. Snow-white Dall's sheep grazed on the rocks, their amber horns curled regally above their heads. Three caribou quenched their thirst at the river's edge while a lone beaver swam past them with a branch clamped between its large teeth. Farther downriver, a black bear pounded the shallows in search of lunch.

The rippling water licked the canoes as they slid silently downstream. The intruders that skimmed across its surface could sense the Nahanni River's pulsating power. It was evident in the luring water, the sheer rock faces and the lush wilderness that transcended time.

Del experienced an unfamiliar tranquility. There were no classes to rush off to, no boring long-winded faculty meetings. And no wayward students making excuses about why they hadn't done their assignments. Instead, peacefulness engulfed her.

The South Nahanni River was an explorer's dream. The nurturing woman side of her recognized the simple beauty of the land and river, while the anthropologist in her was thrilled by everything she saw, including the fluvial v-shaped valley that dated back to a pre-glacier era and the bands of light-colored sedimentary and dark-colored igneous rock.

A high-pitched whistle cut through the stillness.

"I'll lead for a while!" Hawk said. "TJ, you take the rear. We'll break for lunch in a couple of hours."

Del shifted slightly and dipped the paddle in the water, holding it in one place. The canoe turned until they were following Hawk and Gary.

"Tell me about your father," Jake said.

"What do you want to know?"

"What was he like? As a father, I mean."

She smiled. "He was wonderful. Supportive, caring…fun. When I was little, Dad took me everywhere. To hockey games, dance lessons. And he always planned something special on my birthday. He had this great adventure planned for when I turned thirty. We were going to go to Québec City, stay in the Ice Hotel."

"I've heard of that place. It's supposed to be amazing. When's your birthday?"

She stared out over the water. "February twelfth. It should have happened two years ago. But he was…gone. And I couldn't go without him."

"You should, Del. Maybe next year."

"Maybe."

She thought about her father and all the years they had been separated. She'd give anything to get those lost years back.

A ragged breath escaped and her eyes pooled with emotion.

"He was my best friend―
is
my best friend. We'll find him, right?"

Jake's mouth narrowed in determination. "We will."

"Thanks, Jake. For everything."

"You can thank me by getting us to shore," he teased. "My arms are killing me, so you'd better pull your weight up there."

By early afternoon, the sun beat relentlessly upon them and Del's back was drenched with sweat. The layers of clothing she wore didn't help. When Hawk motioned them toward the shore, she was relieved. As soon as the canoe hit the shallows, she jumped out and splashed water on her face and hair.

Lifting her head slightly, she spied Jake.

He removed his life jacket, lifted his shirt and stripped it from his back. Tanned muscles flexed, rippling as he leaned down to haul the canoe onto the rocky beach.

Del swallowed hard.

Jake stretched, and she caught sight of a small tattoo on his left shoulder.

He followed her gaze. "It's a DNA strand."

"Oh."

Self-consciously, she slicked her wet hair back from her face, and when a trickle of water ran down her upper lip, she licked it automatically.

She saw Jake's jaw flinch.

Francesca's jarring voice broke the awkward silence. "Jake! We need firewood!"

Del was the first to turn away.

After a quick bite to eat, they resumed the trek downriver, and Del kept a watchful eye on the quickening current. Especially the unpredictable boils and mini-whirlpools. Every now and then, a large wave would lift the canoe, shifting it sideways, and she would have to paddle hard to help bring the canoe around.

Her mouth curved into a smile, thinking about the small band of people who had become like family.

Well, most of them.

She swiveled in her seat, searching for TJ's canoe.

TJ and Francesca were a few yards behind, with TJ doing most of the work while Francesca dipped her paddle in the water occasionally to keep up appearances.

Del fought a sudden wave of dizziness.

This isn't the time or place to get sick.

"Can I ask why we didn't just get dropped off at Virginia Falls?" Jake asked, oblivious to her discomfort. "I mean, why did we start at the beginning if your dad and his friends made it to the falls?"

"They could've disappeared anywhere along the river," she answered, looking at him. "That's why I insisted on traveling the exact route he took."

"And to give Miki time to decipher the map and the code," he guessed.

She nodded. "There are landmarks in the journal. I know they made it this far…"

She scowled as the sun slowly disappeared behind ominous clouds that hung overhead like soiled socks. A cool, biting wind whipped across the water, making her spine tingle. She could almost hear her heart beating. Or was it the pulse of the Nahanni, like ancient native drums, that throbbed just beneath the surface?

The rain held off until late afternoon. Then the threatening skies unceremoniously dumped torrents of water on the tired travelers. Within seconds, they were drenched to the skin, racing for the shore, fighting the rain, wind and river.

All of a sudden, Del saw something that made her heart stop.

Peter and Miki's canoe had flipped.

She cried out in horror as the Nahanni bucked and eddied, creating whitewater rapids where it was once calm. The river churned beneath the canoe, while rain pounded down on the river's surface, making it difficult to see anything or anyone in the water.

Jake finally spotted them. "There!"

Del clamped a hand over her mouth, stifling a cry.

Peter and Miki waved frantically, their heads bobbing in the water, the bright orange life jackets keeping them afloat. Peter managed to make it to the overturned canoe, but Miki floundered helplessly, caught in the turbulent crosscurrents. Her head went underwater.

"Miki!" Del screamed.

She stabbed the paddle into the water, paddling until her muscles burned. There was no way she was going to lose anyone else to the Nahanni River.

"Jake, grab hold of my canoe!" Hawk yelled, ripping off his life jacket.

Jake and Gary leaned across, pinching the two canoes together, then Hawk quickly dove into the raging water, disappearing beneath the cloudy depths.

Del gripped the paddle so hard that her knuckles turned white.

"Oh my God!"

"They'll be all right," Jake assured her. "Hawk knows this river like the back of his hand."

The words were barely out of his mouth when Hawk resurfaced―with Miki beside him. The girl gagged, spitting out river water. Peter, who had managed to right their canoe, quickly reached their side, pulling them safely aboard.

"Head for shore!" Hawk hollered. "Over there!"

Del was trembling visibly by the time they reached solid ground.

Relieved, she was tempted to pull a TJ and bow and kiss the earth. Instead, she headed straight for Miki. Without a word, she grabbed the Japanese girl and hugged her tightly.

Miki let out a strangled sound.

"Am I choking you?" Del asked innocently.