Page 57 of The Love Bus

FLOATING ALONG

F umbling with the life jacket I’d just been handed, I glanced up to find Noah watching me. Not in a smug way or even amused, really.

Just…watching. As though he remembered the way I’d insisted on doing everything myself on the plane and then back in Moab—and now he was waiting to see if today would be the same.

Because I’d come on this trip by myself, and even though I hadn’t realized it at the time, once I’d set foot on that plane, I’d been determined to reclaim my independence.

For a second, I thought about being stubborn, just figuring out this web of straps by myself.

But instead, I gave him a small nod.

He stepped forward, fingers brushing mine as he took the straps from me.

“You don’t mind?”

I shook my head, and he didn’t say anything else. He just adjusted the fit, tightening here, loosening there, cinching the sides until everything was snug.

He was standing so close, his full focus locked on what he was doing, brows slightly drawn as he concentrated.

And I couldn’t stop watching him.

The way his lip caught briefly between his teeth.

The way his fingers moved—steady, sure, careful.

This close, I could almost count the whiskers along his jaw, every dark, perfect edge of scruff that made me want to run my fingers along it.

Noah’s voice dropped low, barely above a whisper as he worked. “Keep looking at me like that, sweetheart, and the whole damn bus is gonna figure us out.” And then, with a little tug. “Is that too tight?”

“A little?” But that was all I could say, because…hey, when his knuckles grazed the top of my chest, I had to fight off the urge to snag the straps of his lifejacket and pull him down to kiss me.

Of course, that would be counterproductive, seeing as the other members of our tour were wandering around in the nearby area, and also, I needed this life jacket to fit me properly.

I was an ocean girl.

Saltwater. Waves. Tides that would pull and return.

Rivers were…different. Even though this one looked smooth and almost glassy on the surface, I couldn’t help but wonder what it looked like underneath, or around the next bend.

The memory of that whitewater back in Glenwood Canyon was making me tense.

This was the same river, after all.

The corner of Noah’s mouth twitched as he loosened one of the buckles. “You ready for this?”

I thought for a second, and then I realized I wasn’t afraid like I thought I would be. I was excited.

For a little float trip, tame enough that people twice my age were participating.

But still.

“I feel…” How long had it been since I’d felt so free? So… “ Limitless .”

I didn’t say it to get his approval, but I wouldn’t deny how I loved seeing that look in his eyes.

“Let’s do this then.” He gave one of the straps one last tug, finally satisfied, and then stepped back.

“Are you always like this?” I asked.

“Like what?”

I flicked my hands over the life jacket. “Safety guy. Protective. Watching out for everyone else.” I mean, this guy was one of the most caring, protective people I’d ever had the honor of knowing. With his mom. With the people on the tour. And Noah, he was the only one who called Joey “Joe.”

Then there was way he treated me…

How on earth had I misjudged him so badly on that plane?

“Safety guy?” He folded his arms in front of his chest, leaning back against the tree providing our precious shade.

“Is that a bad thing?” he asked.

“No! Not at all.” I stood up straight. “I just wonder… Is that Noah Noah, or is it Doctor Noah? You don’t have to be on all the time, you know.

You aren’t responsible for everyone.” But then I remembered how he’d stepped right in to help Roger…

Maybe, he kind of did. If he hadn’t been there, who would have handed him the aspirin?

And Roger might not have made it to the hospital…

That was a lot of pressure.

Before he could answer, our guide approached, along with a few stragglers.

Our rafting guide was exactly the kind of guy you would picture in the role—mid-twenties with shoulder-length brownish-blond hair tied in a messy ponytail, pierced ears, and darkly tanned skin that ended in crisp tan lines that only just peeked out from under his shoes and shirt sleeves.

Mostly ignoring us for now, he led the people he’d brought along over to the pile of life jackets and began helping them sort through it.

A couple different guides were assigned to our group, since each boat could only fit maybe seven or eight people at a time.

Babs had already dragged Mrs. Grady off to join the same crochet group that had formed when the first bus broke down, leaving Noah and me to form a group with the youngish family of four that had just been brought over—a mother and father and their two boisterous sons, who looked to be a little older than Blakey and Max.

Once they had finished putting on their life jackets, our guide gave one last tug to one of the boys’ straps and turned to look up at all of us together.

“Sup, everyone,” he said. “My name’s Cody, and, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, I’m going to be your guide on the river today.

Now we’re probably not gonna see much more than some roller waves—I know, right?

Whoo. Scary —but…” He pointed a stern finger at each of us in turn.

“That does not mean you should neglect your safety. A river’s a powerful thing, and it deserves your respect at all times. ”

Cody then went into what sounded like a very well-rehearsed safety speech, describing things like what to do if the boat flipped over or how to position yourself if you fell in the water, along with the definitions of a few unfamiliar terms for some of the items on and in the raft.

But then the two boys started pestering him with questions, each one proposing a more outlandish scenario than the last. Cody indulged them for a while, but as he did, I noticed the other boats gradually departing ahead of us, one by one, until we were the only ones left on the little beach.

“We…don’t really get hurricanes in Utah.” The guide looked toward the boys’ parents, but they were lounging on the side of the raft, chatting away about some nosy neighbor or something back home. “Or tornadoes, or—hey! Don’t mess with that.”

The smallest one now had a stick that he was swinging around and poking at the inflated parts of the raft, like it was a balloon he was trying to pop. Cody swiped it from him before he could do any damage, but then the other boy started kicking at the remaining life jackets.

Poor guy. I would guess our rafting guide was at least somewhat familiar with kids but not used to having to put his foot down with someone else’s children. I wasn’t sure if I should try to step in or not? The parents didn’t seem bothered at all.

It took maybe another ten minutes for our group to get the boys to calm down and finish preparing everything for the ride. By the time we got the boat in the water and were able to set off, all the other rafts were far ahead of us, out of sight, surely way beyond the next bend in the river.

I didn’t mind too terribly. Away from the prying eyes of the rest of the tour group, Noah and I wouldn’t have to worry about keeping our relationship a secret until the end of the float trip.

“I’m Melissa,” the mom introduced herself as we drifted away from shore. “This is Jacob.” She pointed to her husband and then the boys between them. “And these two are JJ and Killian—Kill for short.” Then she sent a threatening look their way. “They will behave nicely. Or else.”

JJ and Kill both smirked, and I was pretty sure they both bounced a little harder on their seat.

But seriously… Kill? Who named their kid Kill?”

Despite that ominous introduction, the ride itself settled into a pretty relaxing rhythm after that. The raft glided along smoothly and quietly, its movement almost hypnotic, like the river was humming beneath us.

I straddled one of the inflated pontoons near the front, one foot on the floor of the boat, the other skimming the water. Noah sat just behind me, and since the rest of the boats had gone ahead, there was no reason for me not to give in to the pull, using Noah’s big, solid chest as a backrest.

Without a word, his hands found my hips, steadying me as the boat swayed. His thumbs traced soft, absent circles against my sides, like he wasn’t even aware he was doing it.

The water was glassy and deceptively calm, its surface reflecting the red canyon walls towering around us. Light shimmered off the ripples, and a dry breeze tugged at the edges of my hair.

When I tipped my head back against his shoulder, Noah’s breath slid across my temple. We didn’t talk. We didn’t need to.

It was the kind of quiet I hadn’t realized I’d been craving—where nothing had to be explained, nothing had to be earned. I could just...be.

At some point, his fingers slid lower, linking with mine where they rested on my thighs, and I threaded my fingers through his without hesitation.

The raft rocked gently beneath us, but I felt steady. Anchored.

Our trusty guide sat perched on a raised metal seat in the center, both hands gripping a set of oars, lazily moving them back and forth like he’d done this a thousand times before.

“I could fall asleep.” I was lulled by the sun, by the drifting shore, and by the fact that, away from everyone else, I could just enjoy the moment.

We might as well be completely alone.

“You should then.”

“But then I’ll miss the canyons.”

The idea of closing my eyes really was tempting though, and with his arms around me, I knew I’d be perfectly safe.

How was it that I could be so excited to be with him, but so relaxed at the same time?

Or, I was relaxed, until JJ leapt out of his seat and began jumping on the middle of the boat like it was some kind of miniature trampoline.

“Careful there, kiddo.” Cody didn’t seem all that concerned as he rowed us into the current. Even though the entire boat was jostling with each bounce.