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CHAPTER 5
A soft sunriseilluminated the sky as the group of rafters gathered at the store.
I was nursing a vanilla chai latte and reaching for a glazed donut when a young girl bounced in front of me, startling me.
“Hi, I’m Tracy.” Her chipper voice was a contrast to the early-morning quiet of the store. “And this is my sister, Jane.” She pulled the shy girl up alongside her. “We saw you the other day when we were here with our dad.”
“Right. Nice to meet you. I’m Camille.” I reached out to shake her hand.
“We live in the city so we don’t get out to the country much. I told all my friends about this trip. I can’t wait.”
We were dressed similarly in skorts and a tank. Her ponytail stuck out through the back of her baseball hat. Mine was pulled back in a braid.
The girls grabbed a donut from the bakery box Cody had supplied. Changing my mind about the donut, I grabbed a breakfast taco instead. The sauce dripped down my chin. “Mmmmmm, Cody these are so good, thank you.”
He handed me a napkin.
We were all milling around the unlit fire pit, chatting, eating and drinking coffee.
Jacob came out of his office, a grin on his face, and a clipboard in his hands. “All right, let’s make sure everyone is here.”
He made eye contact with the girls. “Tracy and Jane, I’ve got you.” He ticked them off the sheet, giving them a confident wink, and an affirmative nod of his head. “Mr.Delgado, nice to see you.” Check.
The dark-haired Italian man was busy trying to get his daughters to sit still, mumbling under his breath, “Stop bouncing around.” Then a quick smile to Jacob. “Stephen.”
Jacob nodded, and continued down the manifest. “Mrs.Townsend.”
“Please, call me Nora.”
A high wattage smile was the reward for the elderly woman. “Nora it is.”
The two sorority girls were the last to sidle up to Jacob.
“I’m Emily, and this is Hannah.” The dark-haired one flirted.
He gave them the same dimpled smile he gave Nora, but the eyes weren’t in it. “Got it.”
Jacob put the clipboard down on the sales counter. “Thank you all for joining us on this whitewater rafting trip. We’re happy to have you with us. On behalf of myself, Cody Price, and Camille Bradley, we welcome you to Brooks Outfitter and hope you have a safe and fun trip.”
Everyone clapped.
“Now, to start the day, I’ve assigned tents for everyone. Mrs.Townsend…”
She cut him off, “Please, just Nora.”
Jacob laughed at himself. “Right, Nora. Nora, you’ll be sharing a tent with Camille.” I raised my hand and smiled at the older woman.
Jacob continued, “Mr.Delgado, I have you and your girls in a tent together. And Emily and Hannah, you’ll be together.”
He clapped his hands together. It was nice to see him happy. “Okay everyone, let’s get your bags together, and head out back to the van.”
Everyone grabbed their gear. I helped the younger girls with theirs. Their small frames struggled under the weight of all the gear they’d been instructed to bring.
Cody and Jacob piled everyone’s bags into the back of an oversized pickup truck, while I helped everyone get situated in a 15-passenger van.
“Camille, do you want to ride in the truck or the van?” Jacob asked as he pulled a pair of polarized sunglasses from the neck of his shirt and put them over his eyes.
“I’ll ride in the van.”
