Page 9 of One Sweet Day I Found You

Four

The vast, sparkling blue waters of Lake Michigan peeped through a line of leafy trees a hundred yards ahead.Wow.

Thursday morning had arrived, and Courtney pulled her Camry into a parking spot at Cave Point County Park. She climbed out of the car and took in the view. A sweet smell of cedar and hemlock wafted in on the fresh breeze.

She was told she’d meet a guide and a videographer at the park for her first assignment. They’d be exploring the well-known limestone cliffs off of Door County’s rocky eastern shore by kayak.

Apparently, the cliffs on this side of the peninsula had eroded over time to create a maze of underwater cave formations. The views were supposed to be particularly beautiful from the water.

She glanced at her phone. 8:50.

Ten minutes early.Take that, Beecham.She really wasn’t a late person—typically. The sooner he knew it, the better.

Courtney had yet to meet the videographer she’d be partnered with. She didn’t even know whether to expect a man or a woman. Beecham had given her very limited information, but she hadn’t wanted to bother him for more. He didn’t need any other reasons to be upset with her, so she’d just taken what he’d given her and assumed it would all work itself out.

She took a trail bar out of her bag in the car and devoured it. The jet lag was still messing with her appetite. She’d been to the market yesterday and stocked her refrigerator. Breakfast was only an hour ago and she was hungry already.

The story she was supposed to write after today’s trip should discuss the kayaking opportunities available in the region. What not to miss on a trip like this, what to bring, what to expect, what sort of adventurer these kinds of excursions were best suited for.

Then she’d sprinkle in some information about the state park and the other regions that the tour company served, maybe include some interesting geological history about the cliffs, and of course, provide the necessary links for more information and reservations.

She jotted a few questions for her guide into her notebook. At least she’d been given the name of the tour-guide company. But that was about it.

She took out her visor and pulled her brown ponytail through the opening in the back, then slathered sunblock on her face and shoulders.

She zipped her yellow parka over her camisole top. The sun would warm things up later, but under the trees, it was still brisk this early.

She figured she’d recognize her guide when he or she pulled up in a truck carrying some kayaks. Maybe the truck would have the name of the company on the side? Possibly not.

If she were the gambling type, she’d bet her guide was a leathery old guy with a fishing hat and a pair of Birkenstocks. She’d met her fair share of tour guides in the outback and some other popular outdoor destinations in Australia, and most had fit that description.

Only a few hikers had come through since she’d arrived, and the parking lot was almost empty. The tourists hadn’t descended upon Door County for the summer yet, and the locals were mostly off at work. So there weren’t many people around on a Thursday morning, this being the first of June. She brushed some dirt off her sneakers.

The videographer would have camera equipment, right? Certainly, she’d notice cameras and kayaks when they showed up. Oh, well. She could wait.

* * *

Back at the marina,Nick finished loading the boats onto the shop’s pickup truck. Nick glanced back at the Inlet Outfitters building, with its log-cabin inspired motif. “Still no sign of her? And she didn’t call you or anything?”

Kira checked her smart watch. “No, and it’s already nine fifteen.” She wrinkled her nose. “I didn’t expect the new girl to show up late for her first gig. Unbelievable.”

Nick shrugged, yanking on a bungee cord that held one of the kayaks in place. “These are good to go.” He eyed the boats now fastened to the commercial white pickup truck then scanned the road leading down to the shop’s small lot. “Maybe she got lost?”

“Late is late. And Beecham is not going to like this.” Kira ran her fingers through her shoulder length, dark hair and squirted sunblock onto the olive-toned skin of her arms. “Anyway, she was supposed to be moving here a couple of days ago. How do you get lost in a town the size of a postage stamp? I mean, come on—there’s only one marina.”

Kira adjusted the lens on the digital video camera and peered into it, making sure it was set correctly.

Nick threw his keys up in the air and caught them. “Well, I say we wait fifteen more minutes and see what happens. If she doesn’t show, we go without her. I’m not waiting around all day.”

Kira shrugged. “Works for me. I need the footage, regardless. They want to see a first run of this video by end-of-day Saturday.”

Fifteen minutes later, Nick stood up from the bumper where he’d been sitting, checking the day’s headlines on his phone.

“Let’s go. She’ll have to reschedule. You can just film me and the scenery, or whatever.”

“Agreed.” Kira hopped into the passenger side of the truck.

In another half an hour, Nick and Kira were winding down the narrow road of the moss-covered, shaded forest before it opened up to Cave Point County Park’s tidy parking lot.

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