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CHAPTER 7
The rapids wereexhilarating.
I screamed with laughter as we plunged over river rock, and sped through canyons.
The twins took turns riding on what Jacob called ‘the bull.’ The look of terror on their father’s face was both touching and comical. “They’ll be okay, Stephen,” Jacob said to him as he maneuvered both paddles from the back of the raft. “They’ll fall in before they fall out.”
Cody had Nora and the sorority girls in the raft behind us, and I imagined that Nora was giving them both the same kind of grown-up wisdom she’d given me, with maybe a little more sass.
At one point, where the river calmed a bit before the next set of rapids, I said to Jacob, “This is amazing. Thank you.”
His voice was sincere when he said, “You’re welcome.”
I leaned over and kissed his knee. When I looked up, a sweet smile crossed his face. His eyes were shaded by the sunglasses but I knew they were crinkling with the smile.
The river picked up speed. Jacob called for our attention. “All right everybody, listen up. This next section is pretty rough. When I say ‘paddle’ you paddle hard. We call this next section of waves The Big Kahuna—and it has earned its name so pay attention.”
It was a white-knuckle ride down the river. The icy cold water that splashed over the sides of the raft was shocking and invigorating. Jacob maneuvered the boat into an easy entry, and then we caught a wave that thrust us into a choppy section. The girls squealed in delight. I held onto my paddle and waited for Jacob’s instruction.
With a bump and a splash, sharp sprays of icy river water prickled my face. The raft was launched over a rock. When we came back down, Jacob shouted, “Paddle!” Furiously, we paddled to avoid getting stuck in a spinning vortex of water or slamming into the rock wall running along the river. My heart raced. Water splashed in my face. My cheeks hurt from smiling.
The rapids on the river eventually became less tumultuous, and we slowed into a more peaceful flow. I exhaled loudly. The twins turned and looked at Jacob in wonder. We all tried to hold in our giggles, panting and shaking our heads, exhilarated that we had survived.
Jacob lifted his head to the sky, smiling, and howled.
We all laughed.
“Girls, you up for a challenge?” I asked them.
They both nodded excitedly.
I crawled over the inflated bench in the middle and whispered in their ears. They both giggled. “We’re in.”
Jacob tilted his head at me.
I counted. “One. Two.” On the count of three, the twins and I stood up and jumped over the edge of the boat into the frigid waters of the Snake River.
When we surfaced, we were gasping for air. “Oh my god! This is cold.”
Jacob stared down at us from his guide perch. “Well, yeah.”
Stephen laughed, love for his daughters’ adventurous spirits shining through.
“I’m curious to see how you get back in,” Jacob said, looking down at me, a cheeky grin on his face.
“We’ll just float here for a bit.”
“Ah, I know what you’re doing,” he teased.
“All my parts are frozen, I couldn’t, even if I needed to,” I laughed, in between shivers.
Stephen helped the girls heave themselves back into the raft. Jacob reached out a hand and pulled me up. His hand rested on my bottom as I came up over the edge, and I quickly looked to Stephen and the girls, hoping they hadn’t seen the discreet touch.
Electricity bounced between me and Jacob.
Cody brought the other raft up alongside of us, having run the gauntlet just after us. The sorority girls were grinning and they also jumped over the edge of their raft for a swim.
I glanced at Nora. “Jump in! It feels so good!”
