The scene from the first book, when Anne’s friends sent her down the river in a funeral barge—well, a leaky duck flat—and Gilbert rescued her.
“She wanted me to do it,” Liv said, still recording. “Because the fair lily maid is blond, you know? But I told her if my father found out I went out without a life vest, I’d be grounded for a week.”
No life vest? I stepped out on the rocks. “She’s getting kind of far out.”
The water was calm. But there were still dangers to kayaking solo in the lake, channels and currents and unexpected wavesfrom freighters. As I watched, the paddle on the side slipped, trailing in the water.
I cupped my hands to shout. “Hailey! Hey!”
She didn’t stir. She made a very good Lady of Shalott, lying lifeless in a long dark skirt, draped in a yellow scarf. The paddle blade cupped and dragged. The lake pulled it free.
“Hailey! Your paddle!”
She sat up abruptly, rocking the kayak. Saw the paddle drifting and made a grab for it. The open kayak rolled, dumping her in the water.
“Shit!”
She emerged, gasping, her wet hair streaming in her face, her long skirts slowly, inexorably sinking around her. The kayak bumped her shoulder. She flung an arm across the top as the flowers floated away.
I pulled my phone from my pocket and set it carefully on the rocks. “Call for help,” I instructed Liv and ran down the stony beach into the water. I yelped. Holy crap, it was cold. I forged forward, sloshing, sliding, my gaze fixed on Hailey.
I could do this.
The shelf dropped off. I was in over my head, but my mind, instead of darting in six different directions, was calm. Focused. I started swimming, legs churning, trying to keep my face above water. I reached the paddle first and splashed over to Hailey, clinging to the overturned kayak.
“I can’t flip it,” she said, a hint of panic in her voice.
I gulped and grabbed at the kayak. “It’s okay.” I thrust the paddle at her. “Hold this a minute. It will help you float.”
At least for a little while. A paddle wasn’t a flotation device. And her skirt hampered her kick, dragging her down.
Hailey nodded, shivering as she trod water a few feet away.I positioned myself in the middle of the kayak and launched my body over the hull, reaching for the opposite side. Gripping the edge, I pulled it toward me as I slid back into the water. The kayak came with me, rolling upright as I dunked.
I surfaced, sputtering. Raised my head to check the well at the back of the boat. Not completely full of water, which was good.
“I’m freezing,” Hailey said, her teeth chattering.
“I’m sure.” My fingers and lips were numb. I eyed the shore. Close enough to swim. Liv was still standing on the boulders by the path, her phone trained on us. A woman walking her dog stopped to watch. “Can you take off your skirt?” I asked Hailey.
She hung on to the kayak with one hand while the other fumbled at her waist. She shook her head. “It’s too wet.” Her face was white and woebegone.
“Right.” I slid the paddle under a bungee cord. “Let’s get you up. I’ll boost.”
She made it on the second try, lunging across the seat, belly down in the center of the kayak.
“Good girl. Can you sit?”
She tried, twisting her torso, pushing with her shoulder, contorting her legs. The kayak dipped and rocked alarmingly.
“Stop!”Before you capsize again.I pushed my sopping hair from my eyes. Blew out a breath. My sneakers felt like hundred-pound weights on my feet. “Here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to swim you toward shallow water, okay?”
“What should I do?”
I grinned. “Hold still. You’re the Lady of Shalott. You’re supposed to be dead.”
She gave a watery laugh.
I pulled myself to the back of the kayak and nudged it toward the beach, Hailey’s body draped across the seat, her legs dragging in the water. I couldn’t see and my hands kept slipping and I bumped my head on the stern when a swell caught the kayak, turning it sideways.
