Swept Away (6 page)

“Sure, why not?” Lily tried to sound like she was up for anything. Here in the safety of the boat, she felt perfectly safe. Out there? She wasn’t so sure.

“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.” Carson meant to be reassuring, but instead she took it as a challenge. She was through being treated like a delicate flower.

Cody steered the raft to the side of river. He wedged his paddle under the tube behind Lily. He stood and grabbed the straps of her life jacket, picked her up and tossed her overboard.

“Keep your feet downstream!” he shouted. “Relax and have fun.”

After spitting water from her mouth and shaking her head, Lily leaned back to enjoy the ride. It was such a rush to be carried over the waves with just her body. “This is awesome!” she cried out with her arms outstretched. Much better than her last trip downstream. This time, she was in control. She was wearing a life jacket. And this time, she knew the Swift brothers would be there to keep her safe.

The raft came alongside her as the current slowed. Carson leaned over and grabbed the shoulder straps of her life jacket.

“Just kick as I pull you up,” he instructed. “Kick hard.”

She kicked with all her might as he lifted her into the boat. She must have kicked a little too hard because they fell together to the bottom of the boat. She lay on top of him, breathless, both from her swim and from the feel of his hard body beneath her.

Their eyes locked and Lily felt a connection that made her heart stop. For a moment, it was just the two of them, floating in a world all their own.

Carson groaned.

“Damn it, Cody, you could have avoided that rock.” His voice was as sharp as the pain she remembered from hitting a rock or two yesterday. “Don’t tell me you didn’t see it.”

Lily picked herself up and returned to the front of the raft.

“Oh, if you think you could do better…” Cody stood up. “Come get the big paddle.”

“Fine.” Carson switched places with Cody for the rest of the trip. There were several more rapids, some calm stretches, and an overwhelming sense of peace as they made their way down the rest of the river.

“That was amazing!” Lily exclaimed once they brought the boat to shore. The trip ended at their campground, so there were plenty of guides around to help with the equipment. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“Anytime.” Cody helped her out of the raft. She was trembling all over. From the excitement, from working her muscles, from the cold water temperature.

“It’s our pleasure.” Carson helped remove her life jacket. His hands brushed her skin and it burned. Like a sunburn, only deeper. And no amount of SPF could protect her from his touch.

He tossed the jacket on the ground and went to gather the rest of the gear from the raft. Lily followed to grab the water bottles and spare paddle.

“I’m hooked,” she said with a big smile on her face. “You may never get rid of me.”

“Glad to hear it,” Carson said. She could hear the pleasure in his voice. “I knew you’d conquer your fear.”

“Of the river? Sure.” Lily was still a little afraid of the feelings that had been growing since she met him. He was like the river. Rugged, wild, yet never completely out of control. He could be exciting and reassuring at the same time. And she suspected he had depth, hidden parts that she wanted to explore.

Cody promised a shallow adventure. What you see, is what you get. He’d be pure fun—nothing more. She’d felt his gaze on her as they’d floated down the river. When he caught her eye, he made sure to smile, showing off a world-class set of dimples. He said all the right things, the kind of lines she’d only wished had been thrown at her when she was younger. And as flattering as his attention was, she didn’t quite react to him the same way. He may look just like Carson, but he didn’t make her feel that bone-deep longing that his brother did.

The question was, what was she going to do about it?

Lily followed the guys to the equipment shed. The barnlike building housed the rolled-up boats, spare paddles, life jackets, and various equipment she was sure had names and purposes, but none she could think of. She hung her damp life jacket on one of the drying racks and tried to make herself useful, but even with the neatly labeled shelves, she had no idea what most of that stuff was.

Cody dropped hints about going someplace called the Argo—a restaurant or bar of some sort. He’d talked it up like it was the place to be after a day on the river. But spending more time with the two of them probably wasn’t such a good idea. As much as they made her feel welcome, she wasn’t really a part of their world. She was really more of an indoor girl. She belonged in an office.

Today had been a nice escape. But it wasn’t reality. She could tell herself she’d hang out all summer, soaking in the sun, forcing herself to relax. But she wasn’t in her twenties anymore. She’d need to find something to keep herself busy. To give herself a purpose in life.

She fantasized about opening her own business. Working from home. Bookkeeping services were always in demand. She could provide small businesses with help on financial tasks, payroll and such. And many businesses believed that outsourcing was more cost effective than having someone on staff. Hadn’t she learned that from experience?

If she got organized enough, she could establish a client base before she had the baby. And by working from home, she wouldn’t have to leave her baby in the care of someone else for ten hours a day. Maybe she’d hire a part-time nanny while she met with clients. She could get a lot done while the baby napped, or played quietly nearby while she input data into a computer.

Who knew that floating down the river could be so empowering? She wished there was some way she could repay them for the afternoon’s adventure. She felt like a new woman, like she could do just about anything. Getting on the river so soon had been a good thing. A really good thing.

And there was something about this place that drew her. That made her not want to leave. So maybe she hadn’t been camping since the sixth grade. Maybe she hadn’t stepped foot into a natural body of water since college. At least until yesterday. And maybe she’d never look as at home in the great outdoors as the female guide who was just getting off the river and heading over to talk to Carson and Cody.

Tall, tan, and very fit, the woman had biceps most guys would envy. She reminded Lily of a cougar, but not in the older women dating young men sense of the word. She moved with the strength and grace of a mountain lion. Slender and agile, and possibly territorial, as she glanced at Lily with a serious look on her face, like she was taking inventory. She must have passed inspection because the woman broke into a wide grin and introduced herself.

“Hey, I’m Fisher.” She offered a firm handshake.

“Pleased to meet you.” Lily smiled, despite feeling somewhat intimidated by her. “I’m Lily.”

“The chick these guys rescued. Cool.” Fisher gave a slight nod before following the twins back to the boat barn. “So, I know I’m the last person anyone would expect to have any gossip, but did you hear about Heather?”

“No. What about her?” Cody tossed the throw ropes into a bin. He shook out Lily’s now-dry life jacket and hung it up in a bundle with five or six others.

“Heather’s our bookkeeper,” Carson explained to Lily. He double checked the contents of the first aid kit before putting it on the shelf.

“Not anymore,” Fisher informed them. She tossed her long braid over her shoulder. “She totally ran off with some dude she met online.”

“I thought she was married.” Cody seemed only remotely interested in the news.

“What about her kids?” Carson sounded more concerned about the situation.

“Left the husband, left the kids.” Fisher shook her head, tsking softly to herself. “Those poor girls.”

“When you say she left,” Carson said. “Do you mean she left town?”

“Oh yeah. Back east somewhere.” Fisher grabbed the paddle Lily had used and leaned against it. “Aubrey ran into her husband at the market. He was stocking up on mac n cheese and frozen pizzas.”

“He’s a nice guy, too.” Carson shook his head. “Too bad he hasn’t had much construction work lately.”

“I know, it totally sucks.” Fisher shrugged. She replaced the paddle in the bin with all the others. “Well, I thought you guys should know. So you don’t worry when she doesn’t show up for work tomorrow.”

“Hey, wait.” Carson’s voice was tight. Tense. “You don’t mind picking up a few extra trips for me?”

“Sure.” Fisher flashed another smile. “No problem. I guess you’ll have stay behind to do the payroll and stuff.”

“I could help.” Lily had been listening with only mild interest about the love life of someone she’d never met, but when she heard the word “payroll” her heart rate ticked up a notch. “I don’t have my résumé with me, but I could e-mail it to you when I get home. I worked for Crawford & Associates for almost eight years. I’m sure they’d be more than happy to provide a reference for me. My being let go was purely a financial decision.”

“That’s right, you’re an accountant.” Cody had been avoiding the conversation so far, but he was more than interested now. “So you can do payroll and all that financial stuff?”

“Sure, payroll, accounts payable, bank recs.” Lily’s voice sped up with her enthusiasm. “I can even handle phones, reservations, whatever you need.”

“Whatever I need?” Cody moved in. He dropped his gaze, assessing her in a way that should have made her feel exposed. But she was still riding high from the rafting trip. Let him look.

“I can start work right away. I was planning on taking some time off, sort of a vacation, but I’d hate to see you guys fall behind.” Lily was excited at the prospect of working for them. She knew she didn’t want to go back to a corporate job. Once she became a single parent, the logistics of long hours and a lengthy commute would be difficult to manage. She could open her own bookkeeping business, but she was new to the area and worried about being seen as an outsider. Working for an established, local business was just the opportunity she’d hoped for to give her experience with the needs of a small, family-run company.

“Maybe we should discuss it over dinner?” Cody suggested. He leaned in, giving her a smile that hinted at very little actual conversation.

“There’s nothing to discuss,” Carson cut him off. “Lily starts tomorrow.”

“I’ll e-mail my résumé as soon as I get home.”

“Just bring it with you.” Carson sounded a little weary. Not exactly enthusiastic about the idea. She wondered if he’d made the offer more to shut Cody up than anything else. “We’ll hammer out the details in the morning. I’m sure everything will work out just fine.”

“Great, I’ll see you in the morning.” Lily wondered if she’d overstepped her bounds. Maybe he didn’t want to hire someone to replace the last girl. Maybe he needed to downsize and this would have been a good opportunity to do so. But Lily had just jumped right in, offering her services. It was so unlike her. She was normally the type to research and contemplate. She was a planner. Before she even applied for the job at Crawford, she’d looked into their company profile in the online business journal, could project their next four quarter profits, and had the company’s mission statement memorized.

She said she would help, so she would. If anything, she could at least get the next payroll out on time and make sure the bills weren’t late. Then if they decided it wouldn’t work out, there would be no hard feelings on her part. She would just be testing the waters, so to speak. It’s not like they were going to set up a partnership.

* * * *

Carson finished putting away the rest of the gear, jotting notes on the equipment where needed. It took him awhile to fully absorb the news that his bookkeeper had skipped town. Having Lily jump in could be a good thing. Tomorrow, he would check her references and contact her former employer. But he trusted her. The way she had trusted him when they were in the river together.

Hopefully, she’d catch on quickly and they’d be able to make a smooth transition. Then he could go through with his plans to take off for Utah. He’d promised his buddy, Eric Sims, he’d fill in for him on the Yampa River. The secluded canyon would be the perfect place for him to carve out a new identity. He wanted a chance to be someone else. He needed a chance to just
be
. To go along for the ride instead of always having to be in the driver’s seat.

The river was only runnable for six weeks in the summer. Just enough time to give him a taste of something different. But not so long that he couldn’t return if he had to. It would be a trial separation. If it turned out that Cody couldn’t handle things on his own, then Carson would return. If he decided to stay out there, he could look into expanding the business. The American wasn’t the only river in the Western United States. It just happened to be the one in which he’d first dipped his paddle.

He just hoped he could handle having Lily in such close proximity every day. He was already troubled by how strongly he reacted to her. Part of it was the physical contact. Too much, too soon. He’d have to be careful not to cross that line, because the instant he did, it would be like fireworks. And in this part of the state, they were a fire hazard. Not to mention illegal.

But mostly, he was shaken by the way she made him feel. Like there was something he’d been missing his whole life, and she was it.

Carson did one last sweep to make sure they hadn’t left anything behind when they got off the water. He breathed in the faint smell of the river, damp, fresh, and full of life. It soothed him, almost like a drug, as he felt the tension drift away with the current. He would miss that most of all. He didn’t know the names of all the plants that grew here, but he knew their smell. Familiar. Comforting. Smelled like home.

He’d still be living on the river. He’d never trade the lulling sounds of moving water for city streets. But it would be a different river. The sounds would be different, the water gliding over sandstone instead of granite. The wind whispering through rock cliffs instead of pine and oak. The smells would be different, too. Different plants, different trees. Even the air would be different. Drier, quieter, and at around five thousand feet, thinner.