enjoying it,” he replied, watching her blush slightly.
Lace saw the blush and turned to look at him. He winked. James saw Lace hesitate a moment and glance back at Rae. Then a wide smile crossed her face. “Dave,” Lace called, “we want to go canoeing this morning. But I’m riding with you. Rae sent me into the drink last time.”
Dave appeared in the doorway, munching on a piece of bacon. “Only if I’m steering.”
“You can steer,” Lace agreed, getting up to clear her place.
“Lace, I wanted to lounge on the patio with a book,” Rae remarked, stacking the plates.
“No, you don’t. You want to go canoeing.”
Rae looked at her friend, puzzled. “Okay.” She glanced over at Patricia and James. “Either one of you want to go canoeing?”
“The kids and I have a date with a pair a horses,” Patricia replied, smiling.
“Can I steer?” James asked quietly.
Rae looked at him, finally caught the byplay between him and Lace, flushed, then laughed. “Sure.” She snagged her friend’s sweater. “Come on, Lace. You need to put those plates in the sink.”
Lace let herself get tugged out of the room. “I need to put these plates in the sink,” she agreed, winking back at James.
Dave watched them go with a rueful smile. He tugged out his chair with his foot. “It is going to be a long week.”
James laughed. He had a feeling both he and Dave were going to enjoy it.
“Do you want to beach the canoe and rest your wrists for a while?”
James smiled. “Relax, Rae. I’m fine. That’s the fourth time you’ve asked.”
“You’re here to recover, not make matters worse.”
She rested her paddle across the bow and leaned over to watch a school of sunfish slide by near the surface.
She had a nice back. He’d been admiring the view for the last hour.
His wrists were sore, but not intolerable. His shirt was almost dry. There had been a laughter-filled water fight between the two canoes about forty minutes back. He hadn’t felt this relaxed in months. Nothing to do but drift with the current and spend time with a beautiful lady.
The canoe way ahead of them rocked wildly and Rae ducked her head so as not to look. “Tell me she isn’t trying to stand up.”
James chuckled. “Okay, I won’t.”
Lace somehow managed to turn around without tipping the canoe over. “Want to catch up with them?” James asked.
Rae shook her head. “They are probably debating the ethics of civil litigation again. I’ll pass.”
“What does Lace do for a living, anyway?”
Rae resumed paddling, her movements sure and smooth. It added a slight sway to her back. “It’s more a question of what she hasn’t done. She’s the daughter of a federal judge and a district attorney. She’s got a law degree, but more because it’s what the family does than anything else. She’s forgotten more law than most lawyers ever learn. She doesn’t like to settle down. She’s worked in international banking, edited textbooks, worked for Senator White. She’s currently doing some consulting work for a sports management firm downtown.”
“Was that where you three met? College?”
“I’ve known Lace since I was nine. We met Dave and Leo at Northwestern. We made an awesome foursome. Dave the fighter for justice, Leo the energy, Lace the constant new interests, and me the practical planner.”
James smiled. “You’re also the hub they revolve around.”
“That’s because I’m always there doing the same thing,” Rae replied with a smile. “I’m a creature of habit.”
“You grew up with your grandmother?”
“My parents died in a car wreck when I was nine. We were living in Texas at the time. The next day this wonderful lady in her fifties appeared and said, ‘Don’t worry. You’ve still got me.’ I had heard about her all my life, got Christmas presents and birthday gifts, but not seen her since I was about five. The day we arrived at her house in Chicago, five inches of snow fell. I thought I had moved to another planet.”
James smiled. She had loved her grandmother a lot, he could hear it in her voice. He caught a glimpse of golden brown and dipped his paddle deep, turned the canoe twenty degrees to the left. “Look behind that fallen tree.” A deer had come down to the water’s edge to drink.
“She’s beautiful,” Rae whispered.
The animal raised its head, paused, then went back to drinking.
They watched for several minutes. The animal picked its way over driftwood, then slipped back into the woods.
“Want to try out those sandwiches Patricia sent?” There was a clearing up ahead of them.
Rae picked up her paddle. “Sure.”
“So, did you have a good time?”
Rae rolled onto her side in the spacious bed, half smiled at the question from the other side of the dark room. “I can’t believe you set me up.”
“He’s a nice guy.”
Rae smiled in the darkness. “Yes, he is. He’s also leaving the country in less than three months,” she pointed out, being practical.
“That’s tomorrow’s problem,” Lace replied. “It was good to see you enjoying yourself.”
“Lace, I always enjoy a vacation.”
“Not since Leo died.”
Rae bit her bottom lip. “I really miss him, Lace.”
“I know you do,” came the soft reply. “You okay?”
It had been a nice day, but it had been hard. The cabin was yet another place filled with memories of Leo. She had missed Leo’s tap on the door, waking her up at 5:00 a.m. to go fishing, missed having him fix breakfast for them. She had enjoyed the afternoon with James. He didn’t seem to mind the silence or the space she preferred. It was almost better, knowing he was going back to Africa—easier at least. The last thing she wanted to even consider was risking getting hurt again. “Yeah, I’m okay.” She would be. When God helped her fix the hole in her heart. “Remember those canoe races Leo and Dave used to have?”
“Holding that rope across the water for a finish line was not one of our more well thought out actions,” Lace replied.
Rae laughed softly. They had both been pulled into the water when the guys reached up and grabbed the rope. “They had to have been planning that one for weeks ahead of time.”
“You got Dave
