Out of the Depths

“Okay.” He shrugged. “I am a little hungry. How far is it to your place? Up the hill, right?”

“Right. But don’t try to walk it.” Trudy Lynn pointed to a squat, green, four-wheel-drive vehicle parked in the drive. “I’ll do a few chores, then bring the ATV back and pick you up. How much time will you need to get ready?”

“Ready to ride that? About six months should do it.”

“Cynic. I’ll do the driving. All you’ll have to do is shut up and hang on.”

His wry expression when he said, “That’s what I was afraid of,” was so funny she couldn’t help laughing.

Cody managed to shower and shave in short order. He didn’t think it would hurt to humor Trudy Lynn just this once. Besides, he wanted a chance to ask her more about the vandalism before he got Will’s opinion. He knew there wasn’t a whole lot he could do to apprehend whoever had been damaging the canoes but there was no reason he couldn’t at least try to get a description of them for the police. To his surprise, he was looking forward to having something constructive to occupy his mind for a change.

He was positive that he’d be able to mount the ATV successfully. How he’d stay on it once they were moving promised to be a bit trickier.

Trudy Lynn arrived in a cloud of dust and slid to a stop right in front of him. “Hop on.”

“What about my crutches?”

“We’ll clip them across the rack with a bungee cord. Come on. Gravy’s getting cold.”

Cody got on easily by keeping his injured leg straight and swinging it around and over, brace and all. Once he was in position behind Trudy Lynn, however, he was faced with the decision of whether or not he should slip his arms around her waist. His balance was off due to the knee brace and he didn’t want to wind up flat on his back in the dirt, yet he hardly knew the young woman.

“You’d better hang on to me,” she said, solving his dilemma. “This road’s kind of bumpy.”

“You don’t mind?”

“Not at all,” Trudy Lynn said. “I trust you.”

“Thanks.”

Cody did as she’d instructed, keeping his touch as light and gentlemanly as he could. Only in an emergency would he tighten his hold, he promised himself. Grabbing her like that would be a last resort.

It was a narrow waist, he noted. Yet Trudy Lynn wasn’t delicate or prissy the way Stephanie had been. She was a healthy, active woman who treated men as equals, neither elevating them to sainthood nor denigrating them for being male. Though her casual acceptance was going to take some getting used to, he found he liked it, liked keeping company with a woman who had no hidden agenda. Trudy Lynn wasn’t the type who picked out an engagement ring and started making wedding plans by the second date.

Whoa! Where had that thought come from? He didn’t intend to start dating anyone for a while, especially not his sister’s best friend. He’d been cured of any tendencies toward romance when Steph had dumped him. Besides, according to Will, Trudy Lynn was sort of in the same boat. Maybe that was why being with her seemed so pleasant. It was a welcome change to relax and not have to worry about whether or not he should consider a lasting relationship—or try to keep one from developing.

She broke into his thoughts with a question. “How’re you doing? Am I going too fast?”

“I’m fine.” Out of the corner of his eye he saw a dark blur. “Uh-oh. I must not have shut the cabin door tight. We have company. Sailor came along.”

“That’s okay,” Trudy Lynn said, raising her voice to be heard over the roar of the ATV’s motor. “He’s a sweetheart. I’m sure he won’t be any trouble. He might pick up a few bugs if he wanders into the woods but you can always wet him down him with flea and tick repellant if you have to.”

“Does the stuff come in fifty-five gallon drums?” Her light laughter drifted back to him on the wind, lifting his spirits further.

“It must. They dip sheep, don’t they?”

“Guess so. Since I won’t be able to wrestle him into accepting the treatment, I’ll have to leave it to you.”

“In that case, we’ll get him a flea collar instead. We can always fasten two together, end to end, if we can’t find one big enough to go all the way around his neck.”

“Clever. Are you always this smart?”

“Sure am.”

She stopped the ATV beside a single-story offshoot tied to a larger, log building. “That’s our store, camp office and laundry. I got tired of having to run over here to take care of late arrivals, so I built myself a connected apartment. Might as well live here. I’m on call night and day, anyway.”

“It’s very impressive,” Cody said. “The whole campground is. No wonder you’re proud of this place.” The small yard bordering the private portion of the building was bursting with color. “I see you like to garden.”

“Not if I have to fuss much. Those are all wildflowers that I’ve either transplanted from other parts of the property or started from seed. It seems like every day I notice something new starting to bloom.” She shut off the engine. “Do you want to get off first or shall I?”

“Better hand me my crutches before I try anything fancy,” Cody answered.

“Right.” She giggled when Sailor galloped up and slurped the back of her hand. “I guess he remembers me.”

Before Cody could answer, a yipping ball of brown-and-white fur raced around the corner. Teeth bared, it charged straight for the clueless Newfoundland.

Trudy Lynn screeched, “Widget! No!” and lunged, half on and half off the ATV, to intercept her little terrier. She’d have been successful, too, if Sailor hadn’t practically bowled her over making his lumbering getaway.

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