She’d advised Ty to dress in layers, so they both wore long-sleeved shirts and pants. By noon, when she planned to break for a shore lunch, they’d be ready to strip down to shorts. A swim might even be in order. Something else she missed doing.
“It’s rare to see inland water this clear.” Ty kept an easy pace beside her, expertly handling his paddle.
“Kabby’s a glacial lake. The lake bed’s as rocky as the shore unless you get into one of the backwater bays, and then you’ll run into some sand and mud flats.”
Kayaking had always been one of her favorite pastimes. With twenty-five thousand acres of water, almost eighty miles of shoreline, and two hundred islands, there were limitless places to explore.
They’d borrowed a pair of Shelley and Darrin’s kayaks and left shortly after first light, with an intrigued and smiling Shelley waving good-bye from the dock. Her friend hadn’t asked any questions, but Jess knew the day of reckoning would soon be upon her. One thing had been very clear: Shelley approved.
In any event, that had been about two hours ago, and they’d paddled steadily and crossed a major stretch of open water. In retrospect, Jess realized that part of the reason she’d agreed to take Ty out on the lake first thing in the morning was that she wanted to avoid the confrontation with J.R.’s brother, Brad, which was certain to be unpleasant. But that had only been part of the reason. Truth was, she wanted to hear the rest of his story.
“Do we have a destination?” Ty’s question brought her back to the here-and-now.
The way he asked made her smile. “What’s the matter? You getting tired already?”
She knew otherwise. With upper-body and arm definition like his, he could paddle all day and not wear out. Besides, zero wind and calm water made their trip practically effortless.
“Just getting curious about your plan. We’ve passed some interesting islands. Makes me want to get out and explore. I’m thinking Native American artifacts galore. Ojibwe, right?”
“Somebody’s been doing some reading.”
“Blame it on your friends. The cabin is full of reading material on local history. I even learned some things that you didn’t tell me about at dinner last night.”
She laughed at his good-natured teasing. “Yeah, well, that was the free lecture. You want more details, you’re going to have to pay for them.”
“Fair enough.”
He was very easy to be around, this man. Easy to smile for. Easy to talk to. Easy to look at. And she had been looking. He had a nice stroke, competent and capable, and he knew how to handle himself around the water. No doubt, he knew how to handle himself in any number of situations.
While safety laws required that they wear life jackets, a thought did occur to her. “You do swim, right?”
“Am I going to have to?”
“It’s not in the plan, no. But the weather can be unpredictable. I’ve been out on the lake before when a squall came up and we had to race for cover.”
“I can swim,” he assured her.
“Good. Because it’s about forty-five feet deep right below us.”
They’d passed Picnic, Ram and Sheep Islands in the first hour, paddled on past Harris, and were about to round the wide end of Sugarbush when Jess balanced her paddle over her lap and motioned for Ty to do the same. She reached into the dry storage hole, pulled out her dry bag and the pair of binoculars she’d packed along with lunch and a first-aid kit she never went anywhere without.
After a quick check to confirm what she saw, she motioned Ty closer. When their kayaks gently bumped, she handed him the glasses.
“Two o’clock. Off the tip of that jutting stretch of shore.” She held the kayaks together as he lifted the glasses. “Past the white rock. In the water heading toward shore.”
He focused, searched, and grinned. “Bear.”
“Yup. A sow and twin cubs. They’re swimming right behind her.”
“Wow,” he said, still grinning. “That is amazing.”
“Blueberries are getting ripe, so they swim from island to island filling their bellies.”
“Are they a threat?”
“Black bears? Not so much. Not unless you corner them or get between a momma and her cubs, which we definitely are not going to do.”
He handed her back the glasses, and she took her turn watching the bears, even though they were close enough now that they could see them without the help of the magnification.
They watched until the lumbering trio disappeared into the island’s thick undergrowth. Tyler took a pull on his water bottle while she packed the glasses away.
“And that just made my day complete.” He pointed overhead.
A full-grown bald eagle bore down on them, its wingspan at least seven feet, talons extended.
“He’s fishing,” Jess said, and right then, the eagle swooped down to the water’s surface about ten yards ahead of them, reached deep, and came up clutching a wriggling fish.
“Man, oh, man. That is so freaking cool!” Ty exclaimed on a laugh.
She agreed. It was cool. So was he. She liked it that he didn’t try to hide his excitement. And she found herself taken again by how easy he was about everything.
“So you’re a nature boy.”
“Unapologetically.”
“How is it, then, that you ended up in Florida?”
“Ever been to Key West?”
“Nope. North Carolina is as far south as I ever got.” She’d lived on a few military posts as an Army wife. Most of the time, it was she and the other wives holding down the fort while the men were deployed.
“There’s more wildlife in Key West than you’d think. Especially at night.” He grinned. “Truth is, while I like it there—crazy tourists, cruise ships, Keysie ways, and all—it’s not the area I’d have chosen to set up shop. But I didn’t pick it. It picked me.”
“How so?”
“You really want to hear this?”
“I do.”
They’d increased their stride again and were easily moving toward Nashata Point and Stalinsky Bay. The promised conversation about J.R. and Maya hadn’t begun yet, but they had the rest of the day. Frankly, she felt fine talking about anything else except J.R., although she couldn’t help but be curious about Ty’s story.
“When I separated from the Navy, I was at loose ends for a while. Really didn’t know what I wanted to do. I had some time on my hands and knew one of my old commanders had retired in Key West. And when I say old, that’s a relative term. He was fifty. He’d always told me to come and see him when I got out. So I did. Turns out he’d started an air charter business a few years back, then expanded to air cargo.”
A pair of loons surfaced ten yards to their left and, apparently not bothered by their presence, cruised around for several seconds before diving again.
“As it also turned out, he was looking for a pilot. He wanted to expand his fleet and his routes. Asked me to join him. So I did.”
“How long ago was that?”
“Almost five years now. Three years ago, though, he got a wild hair and decided he wanted to pack it in and retire—for real this time—in Tahiti. He offered me a sweet deal on the business, so I bought him out, and that’s how I ended up in Key West.”
“It sounds exotic. Jimmy Buffett. Margaritaville. Surf. Sand. Sun.”
“Humidity, hurricanes, spring break, and a nightmare of federal regulations that make my teeth ache. Don’t get me wrong. I’m grateful. And business is good. But being here… well…”
He paused, and his silence compelled her to look at him.
“Being here is special,” he said, with a smile that was far more intimate than a conversation about Minnesota should be. “And not only because of the wildlife and the scenery.”
“There’s a little beach where we can put in on the north shore,” she said, knowing she was blushing again and hoping he’d think the exertion and the sun were at fault. “I thought we’d stop there and have lunch before
