“Whatever.” Courtney shrugged, lowering the back of her raft into the water. “Like you’re one to talk, Palmer.”
Beth dragged our raft to the river’s edge, and it took all my willpower not to respond.
“You guys ready?” Emma already had one foot in the water and plopped her backpack into her raft.
Gigi warily assessed the fast-flowing water. “Shouldn’t we be wearing life jackets?”
“We’re inrafts,” Courtney said. “No one’s going in the water. Plus, we would’ve had to carry them, and none of you guys would’ve wanted that.”
Beth climbed into the back of our raft as I held onto the side. “Did you guys know that on this side of the river is the Olympic National Park and the other side of the river is the Olympic National Forest?”
“So?” Courtney asked.
“So, missing persons investigations are handled by completely different authorities depending on which side of the river you go missing on. If one of us falls out and goes missinginthe river, it’s the luck of the draw whose jurisdiction it would be.”
Gigi moaned. “I don’t want to think about that.”
“I’m just saying,” Beth continued as I nudged our raft away from the shore, “that one side has a much better track record at performing in-depth searches for people than the other. Anyone want to guess which side it is?”
“No,” Courtney and Emma shouted.
“Let’s go,” Gigi called, climbing into the back of the raft she shared with Courtney.
I lowered myself into the raft, in front of Beth, adjusting myself in the tight space as she extended her legs on either side of me. I pitied Gigi’s being stuck in a tiny raft with Courtney all afternoon.
“Let’s do this,” Emma called as she started down the river.
I envied her confidence. Emma didn’t look the least bit nervous as she paddled downstream.
My blood raced, pulsing with force. The current swept us along, and it struck me how dangerously remote we were. We hadn’t passed a single person on the trail, and I hadn’t had a phone signal since we’d left the trailhead.
Behind us, Gigi and Courtney pushed out into the river in silence. I shot them a curious look over my shoulder, wondering how they were managing to be in such close proximity without screaming at each other. Courtney was in front, looking blissful as she took in the surroundings. She appeared completely unrattled—disturbingly so—by the argument they’d had on the bank only moments ago.
I faced forward, suppressing the shudder that ran down my spine. The current carried us speedily downstream. Beth and I paddled toward the middle where it was deeper and there was less chance of running into a logjam. The color of the water changed to a dark green. Beneath the moving surface, I could no longer see the bottom.
I used my paddle to steer us away from an uprooted tree, which protruded from the bank and reached nearly halfway across the river.
Up ahead, Emma soared over a steep slope, like a mini waterfall. Her raft disappeared from view before reappearing downstream. Water splashed over both sides of the raft.
“Wahoo!” I heard Emma yell, pumping her paddle overhead.
“Hold on,” I said when Beth and I reached it.
I paddled to the left, afraid we might go down sideways and flip. I held my breath as our raft tipped over the edge, grabbing onto both side handles. Beth squealed. I closed my eyes as we dipped forward.
When we landed, I was jerked backward against Beth, the raft bobbing atop the fast-moving water. Water splashed the side of my face, and I opened my eyes.
“That was fun,” Beth shouted in my ear.
A laugh escaped my lips as relief washed over me that we hadn’t capsized. Beneath us, the current picked up, propelling us toward the next bend.
“Paddle to the left,” I told Beth, dipping my paddle into the water to keep us in the middle of the river.
Emma rounded the next river bend as Beth and I sped toward it. Behind us, Gigi screamed as she descended the drop.
“So dramatic,” Beth said.
I smiled at her quip.
