Part 6 (2/2)
”So you've learned how to do wet exits.”
Logan's boat slid quietly up beside hers, to her relief interrupting the s.p.a.ce between Sarah and Jim. The instructor offered them a friendly salute and headed off to another member of the group.
Logan grabbed the lip of Sarah's kayak, b.u.t.ting them up against each other, side by side. She looked at him, shaking the wet out of her hair.
”A what?”
”Falling out of the boat upside-down on purpose. It's called a wet exit.”
”Yeah, that's one thing you could call it.”
He just laughed. ”I know it seems stupid, but if you know enough ways in and out of your boat, and eventually how to roll it, you can take these craft in just about any kind of water, where no other boats could ever go.”
”Fascinating.”
”I thought you'd think so.” He grinned. ”We have the boats for the day, though the lesson's over. How about we go back and get some food and drinks, then we can go off on a paddle somewhere. Maybe Smith Island. I hear it's not a long trip.”
”An island? Down here?”
”Just a small one off the tip of the sh.o.r.e, past the national wildlife refuge. We can travel back out from the beach, hug the sh.o.r.e and then it's about a fifteen-minute paddle across to the island. It's undeveloped for the most part, so we'll probably be alone.”
The lazy suggestion in his words didn't fail to make her pulse race just a little faster, and in spite of her intentions to keep her distance, she agreed, and they went back toward sh.o.r.e.
THEY WERE PADDLING across an open stretch of water, their boats quietly cutting through the one-foot chop, and Sarah felt truly relaxed. Her muscles were loose and warm from the paddling, her mind at peace. Logan moved parallel to her a few yards away, but they said nothing. The early afternoon sun was hot, but she barely felt it in the breeze, and she smiled as brown pelicans swooped overhead, diving down headfirst into the water for their lunch. across an open stretch of water, their boats quietly cutting through the one-foot chop, and Sarah felt truly relaxed. Her muscles were loose and warm from the paddling, her mind at peace. Logan moved parallel to her a few yards away, but they said nothing. The early afternoon sun was hot, but she barely felt it in the breeze, and she smiled as brown pelicans swooped overhead, diving down headfirst into the water for their lunch.
They'd hugged the sh.o.r.e for the majority of the trip, paddling underneath a section of the incredible Chesapeake Bay Bridge and forward to the spot where they veered southeast toward a sh.o.r.e visible on the other side. Late at night Sarah had often watched the twinkling lights of the bridge from her apartment, and she'd driven over it several times, but paddling beneath it was yet another new perspective.
Considered one of the seven engineering wonders of the world, it spanned twenty miles above ground and included two tunnels underneath the Bay. The bridge connected the southern sh.o.r.es of mainland Virginia with the Eastern Sh.o.r.e.
Bobbing in the water in her small boat, she'd appreciated its enormity more than ever. She was enjoying so many marvels of man and nature on this short kayaking trip.
Sparing a glance over to Logan, who also appeared lost in his own musings, she thought maybe vacationing wasn't so bad after all. She saw him steer his kayak a little closer as they approached the island's sh.o.r.e.
”Okay, these waves are just going to pop us right up on sh.o.r.e, so just go with it, okay?”
She smiled. She felt young, like she hadn't felt in years. Riding the waves into sh.o.r.e was like riding an amus.e.m.e.nt park ride, and she laughed out loud with the joy of it. When she hopped out of her boat into the wet sand, she caught Logan's eye as he stood by his own boat. The ribbon of heat his gaze caused knocked her off balance, literally, and she felt herself fall backward into cool, deeper water.
Sputtering, she emerged, finding Logan directly before her, smiling.
”Losing your balance?”
”The sand is soft-this beach seems steeper than the other.”
”It is.” He sank down, accepting her lame excuse with a wicked, knowing grin. They played in the water, taking in their surroundings, until Sarah realized Logan had disappeared from her view. Water sloshed around her, and before she could call out, he popped up in front of her, splas.h.i.+ng. She reared back, surprised, but his hands slid around her, yanking her up close to him.
”I wondered where you'd gone to.”
”Checking for sharks.”
”Right. I think you're the only shark in this water.”
His grin seemed to confirm the fact as he planted a kiss on her mouth, then released her.
”I'm starving.”
Sarah blinked, lifting her fingers to her mouth, and followed him out of the water. He continued to keep her off balance. It didn't feel too bad, really.
”Tell me, are there bugs everywhere around here?” She jumped, swatting at a fat, biting fly that made a strafing run at her head, and Logan laughed, digging down into his hatch and pulling out their small cooler as well as the familiar green can of bug spray.
”Fact of life. You have stuff was.h.i.+ng up on sh.o.r.e, you have little stinging carnivores around, too. To them you're just another meal.”
Sarah snorted, covering herself with the spray again. ”So much for idyllic beach scenes.”
Logan whipped out a large blanket and laid it over the sand, setting down the cooler. He put his hands on his hips. Dressed only in the neoprene shorts, he was darkening quickly, his chest and limbs turning a light tan.
”I don't know, Sarah. I think this is pretty idyllic, myself. Perfect, really.”
Her name on his lips caught her breath; she liked it. And, bugs and all, he was right. She looked out over the water, listened to the quiet around them. It was beautiful here. She threw him the spray can.
”True. I can't believe all the sh.e.l.ls-there are so many of them, and they're big, not like the little sc.r.a.ps I find on the mainland beaches.”
”No one bothers them here. The birds and the bugs take what they want, and the rest is left alone.”
She squatted to check out a particularly large oyster sh.e.l.l. Oysters were one of the creatures that had once filled the Bay, she knew from a little local research. There had been so many oysters they'd formed large reefs that were a danger to boats. They'd also provided food for native peoples over the ages as well as filtering all the water of the Chesapeake each day. No small task.
The small, fleshy creatures with sh.e.l.ls so lumpy and ugly on the outside but so pretty on the inside were struggling now, endangered, just like everything else that lived in these waters. Sarah ran her fingers along the smooth, pearly inside of the sh.e.l.l, and a well of hope and sadness rose within her. This was a big sh.e.l.l. Maybe there were more? Or was it the last?
She set it back down on the sand, straightening to discover Logan's eyes fixed on her. Feeling oddly exposed, she walked briskly over to the blanket and plopped down, crossing her legs and reaching for the cooler.
”What did Harold and Karen pack up for us?”
He didn't say anything, but cleared his throat, sitting down beside her, maybe a bit closer than she was comfortable with.
”Not sure. Let's see.”
They pulled out thick sandwiches wrapped in white paper and plastic to protect the food from the ice in the cooler, and found small plastic containers of salads, fruit and cheeses. Several kinds of nonalcoholic drinks lay flat on the bottom of the cooler and were icy cold in Sarah's hand as she pulled them out, sending a s.h.i.+ver down her arm in spite of the sun and heat.
”This is great. I haven't been on a picnic like this since I was a kid.”
”Yeah, I can't say it's something I've done recently, either.”
”No family events or romantic dates in the park?”
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