Far Country (9 page)

           
Deb looked at Jill and shrugged.  “It’s just water and good clean dirt,
right?”

           
Jill waffled, wrinkling her nose.  “I don’t know, maybe we ought to wait a
day or two for it to settle down…” But even as she spoke the bus rumbled to
life and sped up the dirt road out of sight.  Chuck and Pete walked up and
surveyed the river.

           
“I don’t think I was expecting it to be like this,” Chuck said, frowning in consternation.

           
“I tried to tell you,” Steve said in a martyred tone, “but of course, nobody
listens to the desk jockey.”

           
Chuck rolled his eyes in disgust.  “Yeah, and nobody is listening to you
now, pal.”  He hefted his tube and stepped off the ramp into the water.

           
“Son of a…”

           
“What?” Jill asked, with a worried expression.

           
Chuck took a deep breath and smiled reassuringly.  “Nothing.  Just
stepped into a hole, caught me off guard.”  He steadied his tube and
flopped backwards into the donut. The current grabbed him immediately and he
spun away. “C’mon, kids!” He admonished.  Nobody’s
gonna
pick up a bunch of hitchhikers with inner tubes.  The quickest way back is
two hours down this river!”

           
Jill went next, and gave a small yelp of shock as she stepped into the rushing
water.  She turned stiffly, and through gritted teeth looked at Deb. 
“Watch that first step,” she warned.  Clumsily, she flung herself belly
down on the straining tube and shot after Chuck.

           
Deborah stepped off the ramp more cautiously than Jill and Chuck.  Her
reaction was immediate.  “You’re nuts!” She screamed after the bobbing
figures already far ahead.  She turned back to Pete and Steve, who were
making no moves to join her in the river. “This is freezing!” She yelled in an
accusatory tone.

           
“Yeah,” Steve replied sadly.  “I figured it would be.”  He turned to
Pete. “What do you say, man – bonsai?”

           
Pete nodded, never taking his eyes off of Deborah, who still stood indecisively
in the thigh deep water.  “Bonsai it is,” he agreed solemnly.

           
Raising the tubes over their heads, Pete and Steve launched themselves at a
dead run off the ramp, deliberately flanking Deborah as they landed belly down
on their tubes. Deb howled as the spray from their belly flops soaked
her.  She shook herself like a cat caught in a downpour, and promptly lost
her hold on her tube.  It quickly floated out of reach and she stumbled
forward, screaming and lunging awkwardly into the center of the muddy
flow.  She tripped on the rocky bottom and went under for a moment, only
to shoot up gasping at the shock of it.  Luckily, her tube had been washed
out of the strong current and spun just out of reach, under the tree branches
on the far bank.  Deborah hurled herself at it and landed in an ungraceful
sprawl on the rubber donut.

           
“Sorry about that!”  Pete called, not sounding repentant in the least.
Steve just grinned and waved.  “Don’t worry!  The sun will dry you
out in no time – if it doesn’t rain again,” he added glancing pointedly at the
huge thunderheads lurking on the horizon.

           
Deborah glared but didn’t bother to answer as she struggled awkwardly to flip
herself over on the tube. A moment later it shot out from under her, and she
disappeared under the water yet again.

           
“It’s easiest to sit in the tube in the shallows!” Steve called
helpfully.  Pete splashed Steve in a warning.  “Don’t tell her that!
If she manages to catch up before she dries out some, she’s
gonna
drown us both.”

           
Steve grimaced. “Right. Sorry.”  He was still perched belly down, balanced
on his forearms and thighs, intent on keeping as much of himself out of the
water as possible.  Even so, he found that he was glad to be out of that
small office and away from the dullness of his work. The enforced inactivity
had worn on his soul. Cold water and all, being outside in the sun was a
relief!

           
Before long, Steve grew tired of trying to keep himself suspended above the
water. Carefully, he twisted his body until he was able to drop into the donut
hole on his back, wincing momentarily as the cold river washed over his mid
section. Settling in more comfortably, he looked around for his comrades. 
He saw that Deborah had finally managed to get her own tube under control and
was quickly catching up with the rest of the party.

           
Steve studied Deborah for a moment, liking what he saw in her a little more
each day. She had a gentle touch and a way about her that seemed to soothe his
wounded heart.  Both she and Pete had proven themselves to be true
friends, and he had soon put the uncomfortable experience in the hospital
behind him.

           
But Deborah…the way she looked at him sometimes made him wonder if she too
thought about those love scenes they had shared in ‘Oklahoma!’ so many years
before. If it weren’t for his commitment to Sarah, Deborah would be a girl he
would like to get to know better. Steve sighed and pushed away the thoughts
that were beginning to occupy too much of his mind.
He loved Sarah!
Time
had not changed that, even though it was becoming more and more obvious even to
him that his dreams of her eventual recovery were never going to come true. He
firmly put thoughts of Deborah aside, then he closed his eyes and concentrated
instead on the sun and water and clean fresh air, that still tasted of rain.
Slowly the tension of the last weeks drained from his body, and Steve relaxed
in his tube, simply enjoying the ride.  

           
With the river flowing fast after so much rain, they soon passed under the
trestle bridge and floated past the first set of ‘islands’. In dryer weather
this marked a stretch where tubers were often forced to walk downstream several
hundred yards to the next stretch of deep water.  Today, Steve could
barely see the bottom as they sped around the little islands. 

           
From there, the river broadened and slowed down for awhile, and the rangers floated
past a series of homes built along the river bank, and under huge trees, which
arched out over the water. They passed through an exciting series of small
rapids, where they struggled to steer their tubes around and over large rocks,
bumping spinning and scraping until the water smoothed out again. Occasionally
they rounded a sweeping curve to stare up at huge rocky outcroppings, which
jutted halfway across the waterway.

           
Then the river broadened out, and the rush of water slowed. Steve sprawled on
his back in his tube now, drowsy and relaxed.  The sun warmed him from
above and the river water cooled him from below.  The air smelled fresh
from the recent storms. Laughter and snatches of songs from his friends added
to the peaceful feeling of the day. 

           
Friends.  Yes, these were his friends, Steve admitted to himself, a little
surprised by the thought.  These were people that he not only liked, but
people he thought he could trust.  For so many years he had held himself
apart, never really letting down his guard around his co-workers, never wanting
to repeat the hell he’d experienced losing Sarah and David. But somehow, in
just the last few weeks, all that had changed. It worried him a little, but it
felt good, too.  Anyhow, he supposed, it was too late to do anything about
it now. Steve’s eyes closed and he felt himself drifting near to sleep.

           
A shower of icy water jerked him rudely out of his reverie.  Instantly,
Steve scooped up a handful of water and flung it in the direction of his
attacker.  He had been waiting for this, certain that Deborah would
eventually attempt to repay him for soaking her at the ramp. But instead of
Deborah, Steve found himself staring into Jill’s laughing blue eyes.  Jill
was a tall blonde with a Georgia drawl. Steve had barely spoken to her in the
two years they had worked together.  He smiled back uncertainly, troubled
by the unmistakable invitation in those deep blue eyes.  Jill and Chuck
had dated off and on for the last year, was she seriously flirting with him? Or
just trying to make Chuck jealous? He glanced toward Chuck, who appeared to be
unaware of Jill entirely.

           
Jill flung another spray of water in his direction, daring him to do
something.  Steve decided to play along for the moment. He frowned
threateningly. “Don’t start something you can’t see through to the end,” he
growled.

           
Jill arched an eyebrow. “Who says I’m not willing?” She countered, her drawl
thicker than ever.  Despite the chilly water, Steve felt himself grow
unnaturally warm at the implication. 

           
Steve glanced at Chuck again, but Chuck seemed unperturbed by the scene
unfolding before him. If Jill was trying to make Chuck jealous, she appeared to
be failing miserably.

           
The tubes floated around the gradual bend in the river and Steve’s eye was
drawn to the thirty foot high cliff that rose steeply on the right, marked by a
small cave near the top. He looked across to the other side. A rope swing
dangled on the left bank.  They were in one of the slowest and deepest
parts of the river.
Perfect.

           
“So, do you think you can take me?” Jill taunted, recalling his attention to
her.

           
Steve smiled. “No problem.”

           
In an instant he flipped off of his tube, dove under Jill and dumped her into
the water.  He continued at a fast crawl to the foot of the cliff, and
turned to gloat at Jill’s face after her unexpected dip, but his laugh died in
his throat.  Jill had recovered much more quickly than he’d imagined, and
was in hot pursuit.  The look in her eyes was murderous.

           
“Just let her catch you and take the punishment,” Chuck advised, still sounding
more amused than jealous. Steve wasn’t sure who was more irritated by his lack
of response - himself or Jill! The man really was infuriatingly non-committal!
But as for simply letting Jill catch him…?

           
“Not a chance!” Steve retorted.  He clambered out of the water and
attacked the cliff face from the left side.  He’d tried this route before,
thinking to explore the little cave.  It was a tricky climb, and he knew
that Jill did not like heights. He was certain that she’d give up quickly.

           
His guess was correct.  Jill reached the shore and paused, following his
route incredulously with her eyes. “You’ve got to be kidding, that’s almost
straight up!”

           
Deborah who had not seen how the whole episode had started, waded out of the
river and stood beside Jill. “I can’t believe that he got you soaked, too!” She
grumbled sympathetically. “We need to teach him a lesson!”  She shaded her
eyes, following Steve’s progress, pointing.  “Look, he’s heading for that
cave – come on!

           
“Coward!” Deborah called after Steve as she waded out of the water. “Don’t
think that you can soak us both and get away with it, Steve Williams! We’re
right behind you!”

           
Jill watched Deborah’s progress without making any move to join her. Finally
Deborah paused, sensing that Jill was
not
right behind her. She looked
back at Jill inquiringly.

           
Jill shook her head. “No thanks, I choose to live.”  She cupped her hands
and called after Steve.  “Okay, hotshot! You win this round, but you have
to come down eventually.  I’ll be waiting!”

           
At her words, Deborah, already a third of the way up, paused and looked back in
surprise and exasperation. “Isn’t anyone else coming up?”

           
Pete shook his head and Chuck, who had pulled over onto the opposite bank waved
her on lazily.  “You go on.  Somebody needs to wait down here to pick
up the body parts.”

           
“You’re all cowards,” Deborah muttered. She scanned the cliff. It was a good
deal more difficult than she’d first thought it would be, but she hated
quitting!  She tried to pick out Steve’s route, and then struggled along after
him. Her hand and foot holds were tenuous at best, and her fingers were stiff
from the cold water.  She stopped, considering the wisdom of turning back.

           
Suddenly she heard Steve’s voice only a few feet above her.  “Don’t stop
now,” he said quietly.  “You’re nearly there.”

           
Deborah dug her fingers into a tiny crack and pushed up with her toes. 
Her left hand found another questionable grip.  She wedged her right foot
into a crevice and pushed up again, breathing hard.

           
“Good.  Give me your hand.”  Deborah reached up with her right hand
and felt an immense relief as Steve’s strong fingers closed over her
wrist.  “Bring your right foot up to that nub,” he coached. 
Carefully she felt around with her foot until she found the perch.

           
“Okay, you’ve got it!” Steve encouraged her, pulling her up gently.  With
a heave, Deborah lifted herself to the ledge and scrambled back several feet
before collapsing just outside of the cave mouth.  Steve sat beside her,
grinning admiringly.  “I can’t believe you actually followed me,” he said.

           
Deb shook her head.  “Neither - can I,” she gasped. “That – was – insane.”