“Okay.” She looked away, worry lines on her face.
“Hey, you can bring pajamas if you want, but—”
“It’s not that. The idea of whitewater rafting scares me. I read online that people have drowned rafting in Browns Canyon.”
It was true.
“Hey, come here.” He drew her against him, held her. “I’ll be there. Taylor, Moretti, and Chaska will be there. That’s four rescue guys, and two of us are paramedics. The rafting guide will be there, too. You’re not going to drown.”
“How can you be sure?”
He couldn’t resist. “I’m very good at mouth-to-mouth.”
She laughed, pushing him away. “Yes, I believe you probably are. Now go. Let me get some sleep.”
He left her suite, still grinning, and headed down the stairs and outside. He was on his way to his truck when he remembered what he’d planned to do.
He hurried across the street and knocked on Rose’s door—hard.
She poked her head out of the window above him, naked as a jaybird, her breasts visible, her long silver hair tousled. “Eric Hawke? What is it? Is someone hurt?”
“Everything’s fine.” He hadn’t meant to scare her. “It’s eleven thirty-six. I just wanted to make sure you got the time right so you can tell everyone in Scarlet exactly when I left Victoria’s room tonight.”
With that, he turned and walked to his truck, chuckling to himself.
* * *
Vic looked at the others. “Why am I the only one wearing a wetsuit?”
Everyone else was dressed in tank tops and shorts.
Eric’s gaze slid over her. “I don’t know, but I’m grateful.”
“Did Lexi tell you to buy a wetsuit?” Austin asked.
Lexi shook her head. “I just said most people rent wetsuits.”
They left their gear in the rafting company’s dressing rooms, then walked as a group down to the riverbank, where their guide, a tall man with a tanned face and shoulder-length, sun-bleached hair was waiting for them.
Was it too late to back out?
No, she couldn’t do that. Lexi and Austin had paid for this. Besides, she didn’t want to look like a chicken. If they thought this was safe, it was probably safe.
Then again, most of them were rock climbers.
“The number one rule of rafting is ‘stay in the boat,’” said the guide, whose name was Logan. “If you break that rule and fall in, or if the boat flips, the first thing you need to do is stay calm.”
Somehow, hearing she should stay calm made Vic feel anything but, her heart beating fast and hard. Ten feet away, the Arkansas River raced by them, a swirling menace of rapids and eddies.
“I’ll say that again. Stay calm. Your vest will bring you to the surface. It’s important that you get out of the water quickly to prevent cold shock. The safe way to do that is to point your feet downstream. Use them to keep yourself from hitting rocks. Some of those rocks you can see. Some you can’t. Use your arms like rudders to steer yourself toward the riverbank.” He looked over at Austin. “I know you’re all in Search and Rescue, but I have to give the speech.”
Austin grinned from behind his sunglasses, zinc oxide on his nose. “We understand. Safety first.”
“Any questions?”
Vic had about a dozen, but she was pretty sure she’d sound like an idiot, so she kept them to herself.
“Let’s get our boat in the water.”