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Riley met up with Justin and the others at Three Rivers Park, where a rental company had their kayaks ready and waiting. Justin had his own kayak, with a small cooler strapped to the back and a smaller waterproof supplies box strapped to the front.
Once in the river, the kids began having a blast, pretending they were pirates and that Justin was their Captain.
“Is Daisy okay, Miss Riley?” asked Kyle, the youngest of the boys, from his kayak.
The sandy-haired child had an impish smile and dark brown eyes, and he seemed to have made it his mission to keep a check on Daisy, never rowing too far away from Riley’s kayak.
Supposedly she was keeping an eye on Kyle and one other boy, Jevon, who also stayed close to her kayak without her saying a word. Perhaps Justin had asked them to keep tabs on her? She wouldn’t put it past him.
She glanced at her dog, wearing the life jacket Justin truly had come up with and looking absolutely adorable. Daisy was perched in the kayak, surveying the water with great interest, but not enough to be tempted to dive in at any point. She seemed content with taking in the scenery. Fortunately Riley had kept her kayak afloat thus far, with no tip-overs, and she and Daisy hadn’t taken any spills into the river.
All the same, Justin had hooked her to Riley, so that the dog couldn’t get more than a few feet away even if she wanted to. Riley liked it that he’d thought of all these extra touches to keep Daisy safe, and knew he’d done the same, likely much more, for the boys.
“Yeah, I think Daisy is feeling on top of the world,” she told Kyle. “This life being captured by pirates doesn’t seem to bother her.”
Daisy was probably getting a big head with all the attention she was receiving from the kids—Kyle especially. The boys had been so excited to meet her, even if Daisy only looked at them as if they were crazy when they tried to get her to do tricks. Daisy’s one and only trick was to sit, and she only did that when she wanted—which wasn’t often.
The boy paddled his kayak closer and held on to the side of Riley’s, keeping their crafts side-by-side as they floated along the gently moving river. Although there had been a few sections of water that her required paddling, they could have floated most of the trip like this, without any work other than making sure they didn’t run ashore or run into the rare downed tree.
“Could have” being the key phrase. Because the boys weren’t content with a leisurely float and were only happy if they were paddling. If not for the guide slowing them down to point out various turtles, birds, and other wildlife, they’d probably have already finished their trek.
“Captain Brothers didn’t really kidnap you, did he?” Kyle asked, his expression telling her that he hero-worshipped Justin more than a little and wouldn’t believe anything negative she said.
Smiling, Riley shook her head. “Shh, don’t let the others know, but Daisy is the only real princess you guys are holding captive.”
Kyle grinned. “I didn’t think so. Captain Brothers is too nice.”
“Pirate captains aren’t usually nice, are they?” Riley couldn’t resist teasing the boy.
“Captain Brothers is,” Kyle assured her. “He’s a nice pirate.”
“That he is,” Riley agreed—although she wasn’t too sure about the pirate part. The more she learned about Justin, the more she admired him, and questioned her initial impression of him as a playboy.
Which didn’t mean anything except that he was a good guy. Good guys existed. Who knew?
“Are you Captain Brothers’s girlfriend?”
At Kyle’s question Riley’s face heated—and not because of the hot South Carolina sunshine. “No.” Not even close.“We work together at the hospital.”
In the way that impish little boys did, Kyle grinned. “Maybe you can be my girlfriend.”
Not sure what to say, and certainly not wanting to encourage him, but knowing he’d meant the comment as a compliment, Riley smiled, part of her flattered that he’d do so. “Maybe... But I’m betting that when you grow up you’ll have lots of much younger girlfriends.”
With a cheeky grin, Kyle waggled his brows. “I have lots of girlfriends now.”
“You rascal,” she teased, wondering at what age boys even started having girlfriends, much less lots of them. Seven seemed young. Still, what did she know about kids? And Kyle was adorable and seemed so proud of his claim. “A girlfriend in each port, eh? You really are a pirate.”
He beamed. “Captain Brothers says I’m his first mate.”
There went another big dose of that hero-worship.
“That must mean you’re special. Daisy sure thinks so.”
The boy’s grin widened.
“Kyle? Are you making sure Miss Riley isn’t planning an escape?” Justin called from where he floated behind the group.
