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Chapter Fifteen

AVA

T he river trip hadn’t gone as smoothly as I hoped, but everyone looked much happier and refreshed after we stopped at the biological station. It was a small building in the middle of a patch of leafy wilderness. Mia and Harold, the couple who took care of the station, welcomed us with smiles and plates of fresh fruit and sandwiches. The group gobbled up the food and took advantage of the restroom facilities. Those few amenities helped revive the spirit that the relentless heat, humidity and pesky insects had sapped. My clothes had dried by the time we left the raft, but the sharp smell of algae remained, so I changed. I noticed Jack had done the same. We’d hardly exchanged a word since the incident in the river, one that turned out far more harrowing than I realized, once I saw how close the crocodiles had come. I was thankful that Jack jumped in, but for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to tell him that. Possibly because I expected an acerbic retort afterward. Or it might have been because for some strange, inexplicable reason I couldn’t stop thinking about how his strong hands felt around my waist as he boosted me from the river.

“It’s a good thing I brought a second pair of shoes.” Norm’s harsh tone kicked me out of my thoughts.

Norm looked at me as if I was to blame for losing his shoe. “Next time someone asks if you can swim, tell ‘em the truth. It might be life or death … for you.” I walked away. Norman was one of those people who was much easier to tolerate in very small doses.

I whistled to get everyone’s attention. Pam seemed to have given up on pursuing Jack for now. She was clinging mostly to Ian and Milo. They were both giving her the attention she’d been craving from her professor.

“Make sure you have everything, because it’s a two-hour hike back to the station. If you have bug spray”—I looked at Norm—“ appropriate bug spray, apply it now before we set off. We’ve got about four hours of light left. We want to make good time, so we can get the fires lit before nightfall. There will be solar lights to use as well. The accommodations are crude. There will be three-sided shelters with canvas fronts, one full tent with food and first aid supplies, two outhouses and two outdoor showers. Research equipment is waiting for us in the huts, but it’ll just be the basics: microscopes, slides and sterile containers for collecting samples. All data will be recorded with pen and paper because there is no internet access where we’re going.”

There were a few moans, Pam’s the loudest. “Outhouses.” Reality had set in. Those decent accommodations she was hoping for were not waiting for us at the end of the hike.

“The campsite is across a wide tributary of the river, so we’ll be crossing a hanging bridge to get there. Let’s plan to depart in ten minutes. I suggest you use the facilities now, because after this, you’ll be using the surrounding forest.” More moans. Robyn was the only person not the least bit bothered by the lack of amenities.

Everyone traipsed inside for one more round using an actual toilet. Jack and I stayed behind. I pulled the bug repellant out of my bag and sat down to spray my legs. Jack leaned against the side of a tree with his arms crossed and a smug expression on his face.

“Thought you were tougher than that, Lo.”

“Even Superman would put on bug spray. I’ve seen people sick with dengue fever before. It’s not fun.” I held up the can. “Need some, or do the mosquitoes find you too distasteful to bite?”

He chuckled. “Good one, Lo. Guess we’re all lucky that Norm brought an extra pair of shoes. I worried we’d be taking turns giving him piggyback rides.”

As he said it, Norm came out of the station waving wildly at some bugs. He missed the first step and nearly fell down the rest.

“Hold that thought,” I said. “It just may happen.”

“Well then, I can’t be responsible for my actions if I accidentally toss him into a pit of quicksand.”

“Quicksand is not really a big threat out here.”

He shrugged. “A guy can dream.”

I took far too much interest in applying bug spray, and that was mostly because I knew there was something I needed to say to Jack, and I dreaded it because I knew he’d handle it like the cocky, arrogant man he was.

I’d coated my legs enough to keep everything with wings at a distance. I put the cap on the can and took a deep breath. My lungs were instantly filled with the chemical smell of the spray. I coughed a few times and then blurted out the words before I lost my nerve. “Thank you for jumping in. That shoe was jammed under a fallen branch, and it was in there good.”

Jack smiled. It was just cocky enough to set my teeth on edge. I braced for his arrogant reply.

“You’re welcome, Lo.”

I stared at him, sure there’d be more; something sarcastic or, at the very least, more Jack-ish. There wasn’t. “Right. Great.” I put away the bug spray. The students were slowly leaving the building. Pam looked back at it as if it was going to be her last vision of civilization. She was right. It was. At least for the next two weeks … as long as everything went as planned.