Page 3 of Trail to Trouble
“Great. Well, let’s get to it then,” Hunter replied as he shoved Hannah’s vessel into the water.
He climbed into his and Bianca’s canoe and paddled away from the shore.
They’d row only a little over a mile and a half today, set up camp, and hike to a small waterfall. Just a brief adventure since they started out later than they would over the next couple of days.
They paddled leisurely, soaking up the warm, bright, early afternoon sun. He loved this part of the job: being able to be outside all day long, paddling along a slow-moving river, and getting paid for it. Okay, truth be told, he’d prefer to be a white-water rapids guide, rather than a lazy river guide, but either way, he was enjoying the great outdoors. Getting paid was just a bonus.
Bianca threw a glance at him over her smooth-looking, sun-kissed shoulder. Judging from her delicate features and the way she carried herself, he presumed her tan came from a tanning bed, not the natural sun. There was no denying the woman was beautiful, but it didn’t matter to him. She wasn’t his type.
She looked at him again and smiled, flashing her straight, white teeth. Her bright blue eyes sparkled with sass and challenge. He returned her smile as he rethought his assessment of her. Maybe she wasn’t his type, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt anything to have fun with her for a while, or would it? It was against the rules, though. His uncle preached that over and over to the staff.
“Alyssa, you have to actually paddle. I can’t keep us aligned by myself,” Hannah yelled.
Hunter pulled his gaze from the blonde beauty in the front of his canoe and fixed it on Hannah and Alyssa’s canoe, which was headed straight for a tree limb hanging low over the river. Both ladies ducked in the nick of time to avoid getting clotheslined. Hannah growled something at her friend that he couldn’t make out, but whatever it was, it caused Alyssa to paddle feverishly. It was probably a good thing they started out in the shallow and mellow section of the river today. It gave the ladies a little practice before they entered the deeper, somewhat faster flowing waters.
Once the two paddled farther away from the shore, Hannah shot him a glance and shook her head. He couldn’t help but grin at her obvious frustration with her friend.
Hunter paddled up alongside Hannah and pointed to the campsite they’d use the first night.
“That’s where we’re headed.”
This was his favorite campsite. It jutted out on a little point and reminded him of the Hamm’s beer sign that hung in his grandfather’s basement bar. As a kid, he’d watch that lighted, rippled water motion sign for hours on end, mesmerized by the flowing waters.
Hannah nodded and followed him to the shore. He hopped out of his canoe and pulled it up onto the rocky beach, then grabbed hold of Hannah’s canoe and pulled it on shore so the women could climb out without getting their feet wet.
Side by side, they all stood on the shore for a moment, looking over the river. Off in the distance, he could hear a pileated woodpecker pecking away; more like hammering at a tree. From the direction it sounded, it was probably pounding on that near-dead white pine. He’d seen woodpeckers on it recently when he and his clients hiked by, on their way to the falls and gorge they’d be seeing today. There were so many holes in that once mighty tree, he couldn’t imagine there were many insects left within its bark wall to feast on.
“These tents won’t pitch themselves,” he exclaimed as he bent over and pulled two tent packs from his canoe.
He carried them into the woods a few feet before plopping each one down on a tent pad.
“That one is yours,” he informed the ladies, as he pointed at the slightly larger bag.
Hannah nodded.
“The setup instructions are in the bag. And that one is mine. I’ll race you,” he teased.
Bianca and Alyssa smiled, Hannah, not so much. In fact, her look bordered on annoyed. Why? He was just teasing. Did she not like challenges or competition?
Within minutes, he’d pitched his tent. Having done this so many times, he could do it in his sleep.
Now and then, his uncle talked about building little cabins at each of the campsites, but he always decided against it because he wanted to give his customers a more ‘outdoorsy’ experience. Some visitors even chose to sleep under the stars. Hunter eyed his current clients. They certainly weren’t the type to sleep under the open sky. In fact, it surprised him that two of the three were here at all.
Hunter stepped up to the ladies. Overall, they were doing a decent job setting up their four-person dome tent, but if it were him, he’d be finished already, and likely the camp would be set up, too. But this, the clients being hands-on, was all part of the experience they paid for, so he let them be.
Hannah read the tent assembly instructions and directed her friends on how to set up the tent. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Hunter’s amused gaze. The look in his dark brown eyes matched his teasing tone from earlier when he challenged them to a race as to who could set their tent up more quickly. Why was everything a competition for men? Especially the too-good-looking ones. The ones who thought the world revolved around them.Jerk.
He crossed his muscular arms over his chest and leaned back on his heels as he watched. The corners of his mouth had lifted slightly, making him even more annoying to her.
She gave a few more instructions to her friends. Why couldn’t they seem to understand her? Why were they struggling so much to set up this stupid tent? And most of all, why did her friends insist on taking this trip? They were the least outdoorsy people she knew, yet they insisted on this kind of trip. She’d grown up in an outdoors-enthusiastic family and loved the outdoors and all it had to offer, but her college roommates certainly didn’t. She should never have let them talk her into taking this trip.
Bianca peeked around the partially erected tent she steadied with her hands gripped around a pole. She batted her eyes at Hunter, likely hoping to get him to finish setting it up for them. Hannah barked out her next instruction. She would be darned if she’d ask for help.
“Would you like some help?” Hunter asked.
His gaze stayed on Bianca, and his grin widened.
“Sure,” Bianca replied.
