Page 52 of Any Second Now
“I don’t know. Don’t leave?”
She huffs a laugh and shakes her head.
“You’re funny. But I guess I don’t have to worry about it for awhile longer. Lucy’s back in, what, three weeks? I can’t leave before she gets home.”
“How much longer is your sabbatical?”
“Five weeks.”
She’ll be here max five more weeks. Less, because she’s gotta get herself back to Connecticut. It both seems like a long time and not nearly long enough.
Enough for what, though?
We watch the farm store guy unload the rest of the wood and grates and I let those numbers sink in.
“I’ll have it taken care of. As soon as you decide to leave, I’ll get it taken down and away.”
Raleigh turns and I can feel her staring, so I look at her. Her eyes flit down to my lips. Remembering our kiss last night? Kisses? Now that I’m in front of her, I know I don’t regret kissing her.
I do regret the way I left her last night.
“That you, Atticus. This is very thoughtful.”
The feel of her in my arms, on my lap, our mouths together… it was so right.
But I can’t trust myself around her.
“And the kayaks are for our afternoon activity.”
“Huh?” Whatever trance she was in snaps. “Afternoon activity?”
“You’ve got a lake literally at your front door.” I nod my chin toward the gently lapping waves on the edge of the campsite, sun reflecting against the water and forming diamonds on the surface. “Let’s use it.”
“I do not know how to kayak.” Her eyes widen.
“What’s there to know? Just sit and paddle.”
“It’s not that easy.” Raleigh shakes her head aggressively.
“It’s not?” I chuckle. “I feel like it might be.”
“I… am sort of terrified of being on the water.” She cringes.
“Why?” I furrow my brow, but Raleigh freezes, like an extraterrified deer in headlights. At that moment, the farm store guy calls us over to talk about the coop.
Thirty minutes later, Megghen is settled in the coop and we’re on the water in the kayaks. I’m realizing that for Raleigh, there might be slightly more to kayaking thansit and paddle.
“Atticus!”
I look over at Raleigh, who is floating next to me in water that’s so still it’s like we’re gliding through ice. But she has terror in her eyes, obvious even from underneath the bill of her Blizzard baseball cap, which she dropped on her head as we were climbing into the kayaks.
“You are doing just fine.”
“We are SO far away from the shore.” She stares longingly at the Pink Palace.
“Raleigh? We’ve been out here for five minutes. Even Megghen could swim back to shore from here if she were with us. Plus, you have a life jacket on.”
“You don’t understand.” Raleigh moans and lays her paddle across her lap. I get ready to grab it if it slips off. “I get seasick.”
