“Hey, Hawke, did you hear what the other guides told Logan?” Taylor called.
Eric’s head snapped around. “What did they say?”
“Distracted?” Belcourt asked, a knowing grin on his face.
Taylor ignored them both. “I heard them say that rain in the mountains near Leadville last night has pushed the flow higher than it’s been since the spring melt. Most of the boats going through Seidel’s have flipped today.”
Seidel’s Suckhole was the only true class IV rapid on this stretch of the river and a real challenge. So many boats flipped there that people crowded the cliffs above it just to watch and cheer as rafters tumbled into the frigid water.
“Good to know.”
By the time the women had returned and the men had hit the john—one at a time—Logan had rejoined them.
“We’ve got the best rapids of the day ahead of us,” he said. “Who’s ready to get back on the water?”
They carried the raft to the water’s edge and climbed aboard.
Eric turned to Victoria. “Here’s where it gets fun.”
“I can’t wait!”
The rapids came one after another now, Logan calling out the names and giving them instructions on how hard to row and when. Screaming Right Hand Turn. Canyon Doors. Pinball. Zoom Flume.
Behind him, Victoria screamed and laughed like a kid on an amusement park ride, her enjoyment putting a stupid grin on Eric’s face.
Heckle Jeckle. Big Drop. Seven Stairs. Widowmaker.
A wave sprayed over his side of the raft, soaking him to the skin, and probably Victoria, too. She gave a shriek, then laughed.
Raft Ripper. Graveyard. Last Chance.
“You still with us, city girl?” he called over his shoulder.
“It’s not over already, is it?”
“Okay, we’re coming up on Seidel’s Suckhole,” Logan called out to them, shouting to be heard above the water. “When I tell you to row, give it everything you’ve got. Row hard, and don’t stop until I tell you.”
They passed the Hecla Junction Access, where people on half-day trips were going ashore. A few minutes later, Eric saw Seidel’s Suckhole ahead.
“What are all those people doing up there?” Victoria asked.
Eric looked up, saw a big crowd on the cliffs. “They’re watching boats flip.”
The raft ahead of them gathered speed, shot through the rapid, then vanished, sucked beneath the water, only to reappear seconds later, its passengers popping up above the surface and bobbing like corks as they made their way toward the riverbank.
“Okay, row! Row hard!”
The boat flew through the water, hit the rapid, then caught air, sending them sailing to the suckhole.
“Row!”
For a moment, Eric thought they’d nailed it. Then the boat vanished from beneath them, the current sucking them all down into the river.
He managed to get a deep breath before he went under, the frigid temperature a shock to the system. He kicked for the surface, glanced around for the others. He saw Logan and Taylor. Belcourt had Winona. Lexi’s head popped up close to the boat.
His heart gave a hard thud.
Where was Victoria?