“I’m glad she no longer considers me public enemy number one.”
“She didn’t have a lot of nice things to say about Yvette.”
“Right, but she did mention that’s what Malcolm thought,” Valerie pointed out. “She can’t be held responsible for that.” Plus, actions speak louder than words, and Penny’s offer of a new wardrobe was incredibly kind.
“True.”
Valerie thought over the conversation. “There’s one thing though. She’s lying about not knowing about Roger and Yvette.”
“Why?”
“I’m not giving up on David being my guy,” she warned. “But that’s not how people work. She knew he was seeing someone and she seems like the type to hate being left out of a secret. Also, people in love are never as subtle as they think they are.”
Nico watched her. “No?”
She stared at Roger, sitting out on the raft and kicking his feet as he talked to Alice. “No way. Roger would have broadcast it like a beacon. He would have mentioned her name, and he would have been hanging around the Lakeview more.”
“It’s possible for a man to hide it better than that.”
There was a deepness in Nico’s voice that made her wonder if he was thinking of someone in particular. It seemed rude to pry, although she desperately wanted to, so she looked to the lake. “Someone has a canoe out. I always thought that would be fun.”
Nico gestured to one tied to the dock. “I can show you how.”
“You canoe?” She shouldn’t be surprised. Nico seemed capable of doing anything.
“Well enough.”
“Then yes!” She jumped to her feet and put her hand to her head as the world spun. “Oh.”
Nico was there in a second, holding her shoulders to steady her. “Are you okay?”
“Got a head rush when I stood up. I’m fine,” she reassured him.
His hands fell away and she briefly considered wobbling again to get them back. But that kind of subterfuge wasn’t her style. Five minutes later, as Nico talked her through how to step into a canoe, she hoped drowning wasn’t her style either. She tugged her life jacket a bit tighter as she gazed down to where Nico balanced in the canoe like he’d been born to it.
He reached out his hand and she wished hers was less sticky with sunscreen before grabbing it. The next thing she knew, she was sitting on the board seat in the front, a little unsure of how she got there, and Nico was handing her a wooden paddle. “Or for your first time you can just sit back and enjoy the ride.”
She looked back at him suspiciously but Nico didn’t seem to see anything out of the ordinary about what he’d said, so she put aside the dirty joke and tested the paddle’s weight. “Do I have to hand in my Canada card if I don’t try?”
“I heard the RCMP does spot checks and will take away your maple syrup privileges if you fail.”
She’d never met anyone so deadpan. She loved it. “Teach me.”
He was demonstrating the correct way to hold the paddle, with one hand flat on the top of the grip, when Roger swam back and climbed up the dock. “You know,” he said as he wrapped a towel around his shoulders, “if the canoe turns over, you can wear it on your head.”
“What?” She looked at the black water as a small bug skimmed over. “No way.”
“Sure you can. It’s capsized.” He looked pleased with himself. “Get it? Cap-sized?”
She covered her eyes and sighed. “I get it.”
Then they were off. Valerie immediately realized that paddling a canoe, like kicking a ball straight or drawing an accurate map, was harder than it looked. She’d figured they’d simply glide along in beautiful unison. Instead she flailed, splashing everywhere.
“Why is water so heavy?” she said as she desperately tried to make theJshape Nico described. “Damn.” Her paddle was now drifting away on the water.
“How did you manage that?” yelled Roger, who was watching for either safety or entertainment value from the dock.
“I let go,” Valerie hollered back to him.
