Page 36 of Butterflies and Hazel Eyes
“Won’t that be a lot of work for you?” I asked while he checked the hatch.
“No, you weigh nothing. It’s not going to be a problem,” he assured me.
I strapped on the vest, excitement building in my belly to take a ride on the big lake while sitting so close to the water. “Mathias thought of everything. There’s even a cooler.”
“It’s got water, protein bars, fire starter, and a first-aid kit. If we were to get stranded, at least we could survive the night,” he explained.
I groaned but it immediately switched to laughter. “Could we not get stranded again? Please?”
Gulliver laughed with me and folded his crutches down into a one-foot-long piece, wrapping a tie around them and fastening it. “I promise we aren’t going far enough out to have to worry about it, but we’ll take it along to be on the safe side.” He tugged the soft-sided cooler out and set it on the sand so he could tuck his crutches into the center hatch and lock it. “Now, you’ll sit in the front with the cooler between your legs. I’ll take the back.”
He continued to instruct me on what to do and how to help him launch the kayak from the sand until we were both inside the boat, the spray skirts around our middles, and his paddle making quick work of the water to propel us along the shoreline.
“Where are we going?” I asked, taking in the beauty before me. “It’s getting late in the afternoon.”
“You’ll see in a few minutes,” he promised. “It’s late in the afternoon on purpose.”
Rather than answer, I leaned back and watched the eagles swoop over the water, their sharp talons snatching fish from the waves before they flew off toward a nest or the shore to feast.
“It’s beyond beautiful out here,” I sighed, the water glistening around us. “I don’t even have a word for it.”
“Just wait,” he said, his voice low and steady behind me. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”
Before I could figure out what he was talking about, we rounded a curve on the shoreline. I gasped from the sheer beauty of what sat before me. My mouth hung open, my head swiveling to check out the rock formations from all angles. The way the afternoon sun glinted off the rocks gave them the impression of pure gold.
“This is incredible.” I was breathless as I focused on the rock formations created by Mother Nature. “The Lady of the Lake is an amazing artist.”
Gulliver paddled slower now, his voice behind me secondary to the vision before me. “These are called the mainland sea caves,” he explained. “They’re a favorite hangout of kayakers.”
I turned slightly to see him. “We can go inside them?” I asked in total awe.
“Of course,” he said, chuckling. “That’s why I didn’t bring you here when we went to Oak Island. I wanted you to have the whole experience. The caves are created by the lapping of Lake Superior. People often question the power of this lake; then they see the caves and they no longer do.”
The smile on my face was reflected on his. “Thank you, Gulliver. Seriously, if I had known these existed, they would have been on my bucket list.”
“You’re welcome, sweet Charity. Sometimes the best part of the bucket list is not having one, right?”
I thought about what he’d said for a moment and nodded. “I guess you’re right. The surprise of discovering something I didn’t even know existed was far more satisfying than checking something off a piece of paper. I’m still stunned by their beauty.”
“There are more out by Devil’s Island, but you’d need a much bigger boat to get to them. The caves here will ice over in the winter, and if the lake freezes hard enough, you can come out and walk through them. The wonder of Mother Nature never ceases here.”
“Wow,” I said, my head turned back to the giant monoliths before me. “I would love to see that.”
“Well, if you’re ready, I’m about to give you the tour of a lifetime,” he promised as his paddle dipped into the water.
“I’m ready,” I agreed, clapping excitedly as he glided us through the first keyhole in the shimmering golden rock.
“They’re so beautiful. I’m so in love right now.”
“They are, and I am,” he whispered.
His words reached my ears and rang there before lodging in places I hadn’t known were empty.
CHAPTER 11
The fire had burned down, and we held our hot dog sticks over the low flame in anticipation. The hot dogs warmed, crinkled, and charred almost instantly, testing our reflexes to pluck them from the fire before ignition. Mojo sat whining by my chair, waiting for the first dogs to land in his bowl. I blew on them, knowing he’d burn his mouth in his haste to enjoy the strange delicacy that dogs and humans alike loved to snarf down if I didn’t.
“He’s hilarious.” Gulliver laughed at Mojo as he pranced from foot to foot as if the ground were hot lava.
