Shoe Strings

why.”   She seemed to remember
she was talking to Jesse’s father and backtracked.   “I mean no disrespect, Cal, you know
that.   Jesse’s come a long way.   I’ve bashed him for so long it’s hard to
change old habits.”
    “I’d say you were justified in bashing.   He put y’all through hell.”
    “Water under the bridge, Cal.”   Kerri Ann leaned against the banister
and spoke softly even though she knew Ty was still asleep.   “I think Lita likes your boy more than
she’s willing to admit.   And she’s
no pushover, so he’ll have his hands full with that one.”   To Cal’s amazement, she laughed
again.   “Lord, she’s made quite an
impression on this town in a very short time.”
    He hadn’t thought about Lita leaving and realized he’d
better get used the place being quiet, at least until spring hung around for
good.   “Sure you don’t want to let
him sleep, come back for him later?   Or I can run him over to the restaurant.”
    “I’m sure, but I appreciate the offer.”   She twisted toward the door, but turned
around before going in.   “You okay,
Cal?   You don’t seem yourself this
morning.”
    I’m lonely, he thought.   Lonely and missing Ellie.   “I’m fine, sweet girl,” he said instead.   “Go and get your son.”

 

 
    Chapter 19
    Jesse hadn’t thought he could enjoy a float down one of the
slowest, quietest stretches of river in western North Carolina.   But he’d never envisioned floating down
a calm stretch with a Brazilian-American beauty.   In the span of an hour, he’d watched as
Angelita slowly let go of her anxiety and reclined back against the ducky the
way he imagined her sprawled on a float in a pool.   He’d enjoyed every step of her
transformation from tightly wound to completely relaxed.
    “Oh, Jesse,” she said.   “Look at the cows!   I never
thought we’d see wildlife along the riverbank.”
    Wildlife?   Was
she making this up?   “I hate to
burst your bubble, sugar, but cows aren’t considered wildlife.”
    “They are where I’m from.”  
    She’d taken the rag off her head and tied her hair in a
careless ponytail.   As the breeze
picked up, springs of her dark curls bounced free to frame her stunning
face.   When Jesse was able to pull
his eyes from her, he noticed storm clouds forming to their west.   He couldn’t gauge how long it would take
them to float to the take-out spot where Jerry and his friend had driven
Jesse’s car and left it for them.   He
hoped, for Angelita’s sake, they got to the take-out spot before the storm got
to them.   He knew for sure
Angelita’s relaxed mood wouldn’t survive a soaking.
    “It’s not uncommon to see deer along the banks and at the
rate we’re headed we sure won’t miss them.”
    “Deer!   They’re
not dangerous, are they?”
    She was too good to be true.   “Not unless a tick flies off their hide
onto you.   But we won’t get that
close,” he added when she looked alarmed.   He could have so much fun with her if he wanted to.   Although, come to think of it…   “You know, it’d be a good idea to check
each other really well after we get back to make sure we don’t have any
ticks.   That spot where we stopped
for lunch was pretty wooded.”
    “You think we’ve got ticks?”
    He deserved a medal for not laughing at the look of abject
horror on her face.   “It’s a
possibility.   We’d better check to
be on the safe side.”
    She ripped her hair free of the ponytail and ran her hands
frantically through her hair.   He
had to pretend to look through the dry bag for something to hide his
chuckle.   Once she’d scratched every
inch of her scalp, she settled in and relaxed again.   Ten minutes later, she was bored.
    “So,” she said.   “Is this all there is to it?”
    “I told you to let me take you on a class two.”
    “No, I’m not complaining, but we’re not moving very
fast.   And those clouds over there
are getting dark.”   She pointed
toward the sky behind Jesse.   “And
close.”
    He looked over his shoulder.   Yep.   They were going to get wet.   “Here.”   He handed her a paddle.   “This’ll make it go faster.”
    “What do I do with this?”
    “You row.”   Jesse
gave her a demonstration with a few strokes.    “See, it’s easy.   But we won’t make any progress if we aren’t
in sync, so try to get in a rhythm.”
    “Why can’t you row?”
    He sneered at her snotty attitude,