Page 21 of No Such Thing as Serendipity

“Your internal energy doesn’t match your external facade,” Robyn began. “Your energy is as pure as Emma’s, but you hide it.”

“So you’re saying I’m not as big of an asshole as I come off?” My tone came out with a strange mix of defensiveness and playfulness.

“I rest my case.” Robyn chuckled. “You just solidified my assessment.”

Despite myself, I laughed, and it felt good. It had been an eternity since someone saw me as anything but the hard-nosed businesswoman I’d become.

After that, we’d moved on to other topics, and I found myself enjoying the winding conversation that flowed like the creek we paddled down. We’d been talking for some time when Katlynn called from in front of us.

“What’s wrong?” Robyn asked.

“We’ve got a problem,” Katlynn said.

Since Robyn and I brought up the rear, I craned my neck to see around the others.

“Looks like there’s a tree limb across the creek,” Robyn said. “I better go investigate.”

Before I could say anything, she paddled off. As I approached the logjam, I realized the limb looked more like a trunk that spanned the entire width of the creek. It wasn’t in the water, but it still blocked our path.

When we’d all gathered near the blockage, Katlynn said, “Now what?”

“Under, over, or around?” I said.

“Or we could move it,” Emma said.

Annie laughed. “Honey, we might bust a gut if we try to move that.”

“I don’t want to get wet,” Katlynn whined.

“You’re right. The best solution is around,” Robyn said.

Emma and the others paddled the short distance to the shore, but I stayed in the middle of the creek. As I watched Emma move away, an earlier conversation with her rattled in my brain. She missed the playful me.

I smiled. “I’m going under.”

“Are you nuts?” Annie said. “You only have about a six-inch clearance.”

“I used to be pretty good at the limbo.” I approached the tree with a determined glare.

“No way. You won’t,” Katlynn called. She’d reached the shore and was tugging her kayak up the low bank.

Emma groaned. “Now you did it. I’ve never known Blake to turn down a challenge.”

Another woman clapped. “Do it. Do it!”

“People! Stop encouraging her, or we’ll have to fish her out of the creek,” Emma shouted, but the amusement in her voice told a different story.

Emma’s laughter warmed me. I glanced at Robyn, who was still sitting in her kayak, waiting for the others to finish getting out of the water. She said nothing, but the sparkle in her eyes told me she was watching my antics with interest.

The front of my kayak slid under the tree, so I wrapped one arm around it. With a dramatic flair, I hugged it and said, “I’m gonna make you mine.”

“Hold on, you fool,” Emma said. “Let us get on the other side in case you get stuck.”

Shit. I’d not considered I might get stuck, but I’d come too far to back down. “Hurry up then,” I yelled. “I’m on a mission here.” Little did Emma know the current was crushing me against the tree and my arms were already tiring.

By the time the others carried their kayaks around the tree, I’d formulated a plan.

“Okay, genius,” Emma said. “How you going to do it?”

“I’m not very tall.” I refused to use the word short.

Annie laughed. “You may be short, but, honey, you ain’t short enough to slide under that, no matter how far back you bend.”

I’d already determined that doing a traditional limbo, bending backward, wouldn’t work unless I wanted to rip my face off. That was if I didn’t get hung up on my boobs.

“I’m gonna hunker. There’s plenty of room in here. But I need a couple of you to steady me while I get into position.”

“This is not gonna end well,” someone muttered.

“Annie, would you care to help me?” Robyn said. “You and I are probably the strongest.”

“Hey, I might be small, but I’m mighty,” Emma protested.

“Um, could you guys stop arguing,” I said, “before I get crushed?”

Robyn and Annie rowed into place in front of my kayak. The pressure against my chest lessened.

“Can you push back a bit? Give me a little more room.” I held up my paddle. “Em, can you grab this?”

Emma rowed back to the tree, shaking her head. Her eyes twinkled. “Let the record show, I declare this a bad idea.”

“Hold my beer.” I laughed and extended my paddle. “Or in this case, hold my oar.”

Robyn smiled. “Don’t tell Vera I allowed this, or she might pull me from leading any more groups. Also, I want to second Emma’s assessment that this is a bad idea.”

“Yeah, yeah, so noted.” With room to maneuver, I pushed the kayak’s seat back, so I could no longer touch the foot pegs. Promising. It meant I should have plenty of room. I scooched down farther, pushing my legs toward the front of the kayak. I felt cocooned. Good thing I wasn’t claustrophobic.

Just as I thought it, Katlynn said, “Oh, god, I’m having a panic attack. It’s like being in an MRI.”

“Hush,” Annie said. “Not helping.”

I chuckled. She was right, it was like an MRI. When my feet hit the end of the kayak, I still wasn’t low enough. I bent my knees as much as I could before they knocked against the top of the kayak and slid my butt a little farther down.

“Shit.” I wedged myself farther into the kayak. I glanced at the tree. “Will I have enough clearance?”

“No!” Emma shouted. “You’re going to whack yourself in the face. Admit defeat.”

“Never! This calls for drastic measures.”

Emma groaned and pointed at Katlynn. “I’m holding you personally responsible for the stitches she’s going to end up with.”

Katlynn laughed, obviously hearing the levity in Emma’s voice.

“Okay, here goes.” I flipped onto my side, and the kayak rocked. I didn’t move for a few seconds, letting it steady. Then I pulled my knees into a fetal position and wiggled down until my head rested on the seat. “I did it,” I called from inside the kayak.

“Say that when you get to the other side,” Robyn said.

I wiggled a little more, getting as comfortable as possible, took a deep breath, and hollered, “I’m ready. Let’s do it.”

I couldn’t see anything, which was worse once the kayak surged forward. Shit. I hadn’t expected the rocking motion as I raced down the creek. At least, it felt like it was racing. I gave a victory scream, though it was tinged with a bit of terror.

“Blake!” I heard Emma’s voice, farther away than I’d expected. Or maybe I was just having a hard time hearing stuffed in the kayak. “We need to catch her.”

I felt like I was back in the pickup bouncing along the pothole-filled road. At least this was much smoother. Still, I pinballed against something as I bounced along. I felt a jolt, which I assumed meant I’d hit the bank before I bounced off in a different direction.

I tried to unbend my legs, but I was wedged in tighter than I realized. Fuck. I wiggled, trying to flip onto my back. As I did, the kayak rocked, causing my stomach to lurch. Perfect. I was going to make myself seasick and vomit all over myself.

Something about the visual tickled me, and I started laughing.

“I told you she’s lost her mind,” Katlynn called. Her voice sounded closer than Emma’s had earlier.

Full of determination, I flopped onto my back.

In that position, it enabled me to push off with my legs, and my head emerged through the hole in the kayak.

Just as I pushed harder to bring myself to a sitting position, I must have hit something because the kayak listed.

Without thinking, I shifted my weight to correct the movement. Big mistake.

The kayak tipped, and I plunged into the water.

By now, I was laughing hard but snapped my mouth closed before my face smacked through the surface of the creek.

Once in the water, I pushed off the kayak and swam underwater to clear myself from it.

I surfaced several yards away and burst into the sunlight.

It had taken longer than it should have to fish me out of the water since we were all laughing so hard.

I wasn’t certain if I had tears streaking down my face from laughing or if it was the creek water pouring off my head.

Emma had the biggest smile of all, even though she chastised me for my recklessness.

Finally, back on course, I was sad that Robyn no longer rowed beside me. Instead, Katlynn moved up next to me. I supposed I needed to get to know my villa mates, so I turned and said, “So tell me about yourself.”

Yep, the sun and water were doing something weird to me.