Daredevil’s Run

“So,” Sam said in her down-to-earth way, “coincidence it must be.”

Matt was sitting in his van in the Penny Tours equipment yard. He had the motor running and the air- conditioning on, and he was waiting for Alex to finish up inside so he could catch her on the way to her car. His brother and Sam were in Booker T’s king cab pickup truck on their way to the hospital on the other side of the lake. Matt was supposed to go back to the motel and wait for them, but he had no intention of doing so, not without talking to Alex first.

He watched people come and go through the yard, some with finished tours coming in and unloading, others prepping and loading up for future runs. Sometimes they waved at him, and he’d smile and wave back, but his mind was chewing over the problem of how he was going to convince Alex to come away with him for a while. He couldn’t very well invite her to lunch or dinner, since it was the middle of the afternoon and they were both still stuffed to the gills with the burgers they’d stopped for on the way through town. He didn’t know if she’d be willing to come with him, just to talk, but he felt in his gut that if he could just get her to someplace where they could talk in private…maybe do more than talk…everything would be all right.

He didn’t know how, but…since the alternative wasn’t acceptable, it had to be all right.

He’d waited long enough. He was beginning to consider getting back in his chair and going into the building to look for her, when he saw her coming through the open warehouse door. The blond guide was with her-Eve, that was her name-and watching the two women walk out into the sunshine, Matt had the weirdest feeling. It was a jolt of gut-level animosity that, if it had been a guy walking beside Alex, he’d have had to say it was jealousy.

He dismissed it with a wry snort and a shake of his head, reminding himself he and Eve never had gotten along, even back before his accident. He’d pretty much tolerated the woman because she was a friend of Alex’s, but he never had understood what Alex saw in her. As far as he was concerned, the woman was a real pain in the ass, always getting her feelings hurt about something or other-usually nothing important. Matter of fact, he was kind of surprised to see she was still around. In his experience, people like her were always moving on, figuring all their problems would be solved if they were somewhere else.

But who gave a damn, anyway? All he cared about was Alex. Watching her emerge from the warehouse into the bright sunlight, he felt hungry juices pool at the back of his throat. She may have been a full head shorter than the lanky blond “California girl” beside her, but she’d command any man’s eye first. She was…The word that came to his mind wasn’t beautiful, although to his mind she was. What she was, was… vivid. She’d changed into jeans and a yellow tank top that lit fires in her golden-tan, dark- freckled skin, and with the sun striking red highlights into her dark hair, freshly braided and snaking over one shoulder as she turned to call to someone across the yard, she put him in mind of a painting by that Frenchman whose name he couldn’t recall, the one that painted scenes from the South Pacific. She was warmth and light and life. And so damn hot she sizzled.

He rolled down his window and called to her, and she changed course and headed toward the van. After a little hesitation, Eve did, too, throwing a look his way that told him she wasn’t pleased.

And in that moment, Matt caught a glimpse of something in her face…A flash of something came and went in his memory, like a lightbulb’s little mini-explosion before burning out. Something…about Eve. Something…That look. I’ve seen it before. Something…

But it was gone.

And anyway, who cared? The only woman he gave a damn about was Alex.

“Hey,” he said when she came to his window. She had a wary look, a half smile, as if she hadn’t decided whether she really wanted to be there and might leave in a heartbeat if he said the wrong thing. So he kept it light, and the dimmer half-down on his own smile. “Where are you off to? Were you gonna leave without sayin’ goodbye?”

She gave a defensive half shrug. “I thought you’d already left. Gone back to the motel.”

“Figured I’d wait, see if you wanted to grab a cup of coffee…or something.” He waited, watched her eyes slide away from his, then drop, a flush wash over her cheeks. And he took a chance…let some of what was inside him leak into his voice when he softly added, “It’s been five years, Alex.” You owe me this much. The last part silently, of course, and what he’d really meant was, Us-you owe us, Alex.

He could hear his own heart hammering as he waited, not breathing, for her reply.

She looked at Eve, who promptly looked away into the distance. Pouting, probably. Well, screw her, he thought.

Alex?

“Okay,” she said, “I guess we could do that.” And he started to breathe again. “Eve, I’ll catch you later, okay?”

Eve shrugged and said sullenly, “Yeah. Sure. No problem.”

Alex gave the woman a distracted glance as she made her way back across the yard with arms folded, like someone in a sulk, and when she looked back at Matt he saw doubt in her eyes, and all sorts of other things he wished he hadn’t.

“I have my car,” she said. “I’ll see you at the motel, okay?”

“Sure,” he said, and she nodded and walked away.

He told himself, as he drove out of the yard and onto the highway, that it was okay, because at least she’d agreed to come to him. It would all be okay, he told himself, if they could just…talk. In private.

Yeah, and what will you say to her, dumb-ass? That you were a stupid fool to let her go out of your life? That you love her? Can’t live without her? Want to stay here and make a life with her? Marry her and raise a bunch of little river rats with her?

Yeah, right-you know how she is. You’d scare her so bad you wouldn’t see her for the dust.

What, then? Remind her how good you were the past couple of days, together again on the river? Ask her to take you back, maybe pick up where you left off before the accident? Partners…battling lovers?

Except, even if she was willing, you know that’s not what you want. It wouldn’t be enough for you. Not anymore.

And if that’s all she’s got to give you? What then?

He knew the answer to that, even though it made his belly sore thinking about it.

Pray, man. Pray you’ve got the strength to walk away.

Chapter 9

Alex parked her SUV next to Matt’s van, turned off the motor, then sat still, staring at the motel room door in front of her and listening to her heart hammer.

Why am I doing this? What do we have to talk about?

We were great today, on the river. Admit it, Alex. It seemed almost like before the accident.

But it’s not like it was. It won’t ever be again.

Yet a voice whispered…and it was the voice of a temptress, It could be. It could even be… better.

Tears threatened, and she fought them off with anger. He broke my heart when he told me he didn’t want to be with me and wasn’t coming back. Didn’t want to come back.

I was stupid enough to let myself depend on him. Let myself need him.

I won’t ever do that again. Ever.

With her resolve thus recharged, she got out of the car and knocked on Matt’s motel room door. He opened it almost immediately, and her heart slammed up against her throat. She wondered if he’d been sitting by the window, watching her, wondering when she was going to get up the courage to get out of the car and face him.