“I wish I had a camera,” he said, realizing as the words slipped out that they were a mistake.
“Funny.You’re hilarious, Varner.”She stood up and brushed past him.
“I’m sorry,” he called out, jumping up to follow her.
“I have shampoo in my bag.You can borrow it.”
She stopped and whirled to face him, surprise raising her brows.
“Really?You’re not joking?”
“Honest.”He held up his hands, one in surrender, the other in a Boy Scout salute.“I have shampoo and conditioner, and you are more than welcome to them.All of it.”
Her surprise morphed into joy.“Thank you, Eric.I appreciate it.Bar soap would work, but it’s so hard on the hair.”She stared down at her toes.“And I forgot shampoo.I mean, I’m not likely to wash my hair on the actual down-the-river part of this trip, but here, in camp with hot running water, I sure am.”She reached out and squeezed his arm.“Thank you.”
His mood lifted immediately.Knowing he’d made her happy made him happy.Of course, he wasn’t certain he was out of the woods yet.The more he thought about it, the more he had the sense that it was more than his behavior during the trivia game that had her miffed.He wasn’t a serial dater, but he’d dated enough women and been around enough people in business and in life to understand that sometimes, perhaps often, an argument was the culmination of more than one grievance.He banked an ironic snort.It was rather like an unstable business negotiation.Hold that thought.He didn’t think Wanda was unstable, just upset about more than one thing.
“Okay, then.Let’s find you some shampoo.”In his head, he whispered, “Thanks, Mom.”
Chapter Eight
Thenextfewdayspassed almost too quickly for Wanda.Despite worrying about her business, she was completely, one hundred percent, enjoying her ‘vacation’.She loved being out on the water again and fully intended to get back into kayaking.Maybe she could teach kids.
Reluctantly, she helped Eric take down the tent and pack it back into its heavy canvas tote.“Is it weird that I’m going to miss camping?”
He laughed.“Funny.I was just thinking the same thing.”He straightened from zipping up the bag.“But we’re still camping.Only now, we have to set up the tent every night.I’m glad they’re hauling it in trucks between stops.”
“I’m super stoked about another four days on the water.”She did a little happy dance.“It’s going to be a challenge at first.It’s still spring, and the water might be high.That means navigating rapids–under pressure.You up to it, Varner?”
“Hey, I just have to paddle; you’ll have to steer.”
“You’ll have to be ready for when I need you to change sides.Sometimes, it can take both paddlers to navigate.”
He saluted.“Ready to take orders, Captain.”
She chuckled.“Let’s haul this stuff to the bus.”She shouldered both of their duffel bags and grabbed her bedroll.Eric picked up the other bedroll and the large tent bag.“Kind of makes me wish you hadn’t sent that car back.”
“I’m crazy enough to rent a car to chase a bus, but not crazy enough to keep paying for a car I’m not using.Sorry.”
They strolled toward the parking lot where the bus was loading.She noticed that he was quite upbeat the last two days.And she hadn’t caught him on his phone.Not even once.She’d been angry that he’d been late to trivia night because of a work call.She was aware enough to realize it was partly because he didn’t care enough about their team to be on time, but also because she was jealous that she didn’t have an instant connection if her business needed her.
Her employees could fully run the greenhouse and sales shop, but that didn’t eliminate her concerns.
“Did you notice that this is supposed to be a team-building event, but we’re always paired together?None of the pairs has changed,” Eric said.
“We’re paired together on the water, but grouped up differently in the evenings and for the hikes,” she corrected.“But it is weird.You’d think that part of team building would be for everyone to get to know everyone else, that there would be more mixing.”
After a moment, she added, “Of course, with the work of canoeing, not changing partners might be a safety decision.Most of the teams seem to be working well together on the water.That’ll help when we are on the river, where decisions and actions have to come faster.”
He seemed to consider her words as they walked along.She paused mid-path to let a couple of playful squirrels scamper past.“Did you hear the deer last night?”he asked.
“I was too exhausted.I think I died when I went to bed.Four hours on the water, and four hours of sports and games took it out of me.”
“Me too.”
“So, what kept you up?”She resumed walking, enjoying the sun on her face and the light, cooling breeze.
“The usual.Business.Muscle cramps.I work out three times a week, but this is on a whole different level.”
