couple of meters away, Lacey was also clear, her hands gripping the inside seams of her life jacket.
Lacey had been a superhero as she’d navigated the canoe through the rapids single-handed, with all the downside of his weight and none of his help.
And they’d almost made it. The front of the canoe had made it into the clear water. Their undoing was the undertow lurking under the calm surface, catching the back of the canoe, sweeping it around and tipping them over.
He could already see the self-recrimination written all over Lacey’s furious face as she paddled in the water a couple of meters away.
“It’s not your fault, O’Connor. It’s mine.”
“We need to get the canoe to shore so we can flip it.” Her refusal to even address the question, let alone look him in the eye, told him everything he needed to know.
“You guys okay?” Kelvin’s call echoed across the water. Lacey acknowledged him with a wave of her hand.
“I’ll get the front; you get the back.” She started swimming with strong, sure strokes toward the prow without waiting for his response.
Victor breaststroked his way to the stern, thankful for the life jacket that conserved some of the energy he would have otherwise used to stay afloat. Gripping the end of the canoe, he kicked and pushed it through the water toward the shore. In front of him, Lacey’s hand slipped once before she managed to get a grip on the side.
His legs burned as he tried to move through the water in heavy boots. At least the screaming muscles distracted him from his monumental stuff up.
In his peripheral vision, he saw the other two canoes silently pass them, heading for the riverside.
Lacey would take this badly. Doubly so as captain. By the time the two of them flipped the canoe, sorted out the gear, and changed, they’d lose at least an hour out of the day. If not more.
He kicked harder, gritting his teeth to try and stop them chattering. The team knew it wasn’t her fault. They all would’ve had a bird’s eye view of him losing his oar and her superhuman efforts to get them out of the rapids intact.
It was a borderline miracle that she had. If they’d gone over in the rapids, it would have been so much worse. They had life jackets but no helmets. If they’d gone into the water and one of them had hit their head … his mind retreated from even imagining the possibilities.
Just get the canoe to shore. Get the canoe to shore. The self-flagellation could commence once Lacey was safe and dry. His feet finally found purchase on the ground, and he pushed the canoe with more power, sloshing forward, his body slowly exiting the lake. Ahead of him, Lacey dragged the front of the canoe, the water lapping her body from chest to waist to thighs. Her face was bleached white, her body shaking from the adrenaline rush, the cold, or both.
He’d been distracted watching her. He could at least have the guts to admit it to himself. Now the entire team was going to have to pay the price.
Without a word, Lacey pulled the canoe the last few feet to land, the rocks and sand scraping against the bottom of the boat. She didn’t even look at him. Victor pushed it up the landing spot, ensuring it was far enough up that there was no chance of it floating back into the water.
Water sloshed off Lacey as she shook her hands and feet to help restore circulation.
“We need to get the gear out.” She still wouldn’t look at him, instead bending to salvage the gear from the waterlogged bottom. But her hands shook too much to untie the knots.
“This is my fault, O’Connor. It’s all on me. I got distracted and lost my oar.” Speaking of which, where was it? He scanned the water but couldn’t see it anywhere. They had to find it. There were more rapids today, and there was no way Kelvin would let them go through with only one oar in play.
“Something’s missing.” Lacey’s words brought his attention back to where she’d discarded her life jacket and stood surveying the equipment.
She was right. There was a gap. His gaze scanned the surrounds. Both of their packs were there, along with a waterproof bag of what looked like cooking equipment or food.
Oh, no. A rock settled in his stomach.
“The tent.”
They both saw it and said the words at the same time. For a