At that moment, the raft veered to the right. The bucket instantly filled with the rush of water coming at them. Jana screamed, but instead of letting go of the now full and heavy bucket, she held on to it with both hands as the raft tipped to the right. While Sierra watched, powerless to do anything, Jana went over the side, still holding on to the bucket.
14
ierra screamed and rose to her feet.
“Sit down!” Bob bellowed. “Keep paddling!”
In a minute and a half of furious paddling, they had steered the raft past the dangerous boulder, out of the white water, and to the side of the lake where the water rippled quietly over tiny, well-worn pebbles.
“Where is she?” Gregg yelled, standing up and calling out behind the raft. “Jana! Jana!”
“I’ll go in and get her!” Danny announced, throwing down his paddle.
“No, wait!” Bob told them. He stood and pulled out a bullhorn and a rope from a box in the back of the raft.
“Jana!” Tim and Gregg called at the same time.
Sierra spotted Jana clinging to a shelf that jutted out on the big boulder in the middle of the river. “There she is! Jana!”
Mountain Bob stood and yelled at Jana through the bullhorn. It was the same instructions he had given them at the beginning of their float—what to do in case of an emergency. Sierra wondered if Jana had been paying attention then, or if it was like when they were on the airplane and the emergency instructions seemed more useful as joke material than as actual warnings.
“Let go, Jana!” Bob yelled at her. “Float on your back and keep your feet in front of you with your toes up.”
They could hear Jana screaming that the water was cold.
“Let go, Jana!” Mountain Bob yelled, repeating the instructions.
Sierra’s heart was pounding. “Come on, Jana!” she yelled with Bob. “Let go!”
The others began to yell the same instruction until they saw Jana release her grip and begin her float toward them on her back, with her toes up.
It took only a few seconds before she floated right to the raft. They all began to talk at once, cheering and reaching to help her climb in.
Shivering and still shook up, Jana slumped onto the seat next to Sierra, which Gregg had vacated when he had moved up next to Tim. Everyone pelted Jana with questions until she finally managed to say, “I lost the bucket.”
They all laughed, and Gregg said, “You almost kicked the bucket is more like it.”
“Why did you hold on to the bucket?” Danny asked.
“I thought that was my job.”
“I don’t think she heard you,” Sierra said, turning to Mountain Bob. “When you told her to put down the bucket and start to paddle.”
“I guess not,” Bob said. “Glad you’re okay, Jana.”
“I’m okay,” she said, still shivering.
“We’ll get you out in the sun, and you’ll warm up nicely,” Mountain Bob said. “We only have one more rapid, and that one is about fifteen minutes down the river. You have a fairly easy float between here and there.”
Sierra liked the sound of floating in the sun for the next fifteen minutes.
“I hope you guys all saw in this situation the importance of listening to instructions and following them. If anyone else goes over, remember to get on your back, keep your toes up, and let the river take you downstream. Let your life vest carry you. That’s what you put it on for.”
As the river took them into a sunny stretch of calm water, Jana seemed to catch her breath. Sierra put her arm around Jana’s shoulders. “You okay?”
Jana nodded. Water still dripped from the ends of her dark eyelashes.
“That must have been pretty scary.”
“It happened so fast,” Jana said.
The two friends leaned close and talked quietly while the others leisurely paddled. Danny was stretched out along the side of the raft, soaking up some sun.
“Do you want to lay across the bench so you can get the sun all over you?” Sierra asked.
“Where will you sit?”
“I’ll just squish up front with the guys.” Sierra carefully moved off the bench so Jana could stretch out.
“We can stop for a while if you guys want to,” Mountain Bob said. “Up ahead on the left is a nice sunny cove.”
“That sounds great,” Sierra said, answering for all of them. She balanced on the edge of the raft as Bob directed them into the cove.
Sierra thought the water looked as if the sun had poured out all its summer riches into the liquid blue, like a bagful of gold coins that now glittered with each swish of the paddles.
“This is beautiful,” she murmured.
“It sure is,” Tim agreed, casting a shy smile at her. He looked up at Bob and said, “We can go swimming here, right?”
Mountain Bob nodded. “It’s the best place on the river to swim. The water is much warmer, and see those high rocks over there? The water is about twenty feet deep. Safe enough for jumping. But everyone hear me on this: jump feetfirst only; no diving!”
“Got it,” Gregg said. “Do you want me to get out and pull the raft up on shore?”
“This is shallow enough,” Bob said. “How about if everybody gets out here, and I’ll park this buggy.”
The moment Sierra’s feet went into the shallow water, she felt even more sympathetic toward Jana. If this was the warm water, Jana must have been freezing back in the white water. Tim waded into the water and, without warning, stretched out and began to swim toward the jumping rock.
“Isn’t it cold?” Sierra called to him.
“Not once you get all the way in,” Tim called, turning to float on his back. “It’s nice. Are you going to come jump?”
“Sure,” Sierra said. “Do you want to come, Jana?”
“No way. I want to get warm.” She had made a smooth place on the pebble beach to stretch out in the sun and waved Sierra to go on without her.
“I’m coming,” Gregg said.
“Me too,” Danny said, making the biggest splash when he went all the way into the still cove water. “Yee-haa!” Danny hollered as he surfaced. “That’ll clear your sinuses.”
Gregg went in with much less noise and splash. He followed Danny and Tim around the corner with strong, steady strokes.
Sierra was having a hard time working up the nerve to dip into the cool water.
“Are you going in?” Jana asked her.
“I’m talking myself into it,” Sierra said.
“You know,” Mountain Bob said as he tethered the raft and was about to stretch out in the sun on the middle bench, which was the longest. “You can walk to the jumping rock. See that trail over there? It’ll take you right to the top. First jump is always the best when you’re dry going in. And remember, feet first.”
“Okay,” Sierra agreed. “If you hear a shriek loud enough to start a landslide, that will be me.”
“Try to keep it down,” Bob said, stretching out. “Some of us around here will be sleeping, right, Jana?”
“Quiet,” Jana teased. “I’m trying to sleep.”
Sierra took off on the trail. She was glad to see that Jana was joking with Bob. Sierra took it as a good indicator that Jana was feeling better.
At the end of the trail, Sierra could look down on the guys, who were just emerging from the water and climbing up the rock. She was tempted to stay in her fairly hidden spot above them and listen to what they said. But they weren’t talking; they were jumping.
Tim went first, quietly jumping into the water and coming up with a wide-eyed expression that showed just how brisk the water was.
Gregg went next, clowning by plugging his nose as he jumped. Danny was last. He hesitated, started to get in position, then stopped. Sierra knew how he felt.
As Gregg climbed out of the water, he called up to Danny, taunting him to jump. When Gregg looked at Danny, he noticed Sierra standing there.
“How did you get up there?” he yelled.
&
nbsp; “There’s a trail,” Sierra said.
“Are you going to jump, or are you out for a stroll?” Gregg taunted.
“I’m going to jump,” Sierra said, edging her way down. Her wet tennis shoe caught on some foliage, and she nearly slipped but managed to correct her balance and remain standing.
Danny applauded and yelled out, “Make way for the Queen of Coordination.”
“Hey, be nice. I’ve come to offer you some moral support.”
“You really going in?” Danny asked when she joined him on top of the jumping rock.
“Yes, of course I am. But you first.”
“Oh no,” Danny said, his smile swelling with overdone charm. “My mama always taught me to let ladies go first.”
“Well, these are modern times, Danny boy. Women and men supposedly have equal rights,” Sierra said, smiling back. “So you have the right to go first.”
“How about we jump together?” Danny suggested. He offered Sierra his large hand.
Sierra placed her hand in his. It felt sweaty. She wondered how sweaty hers was.
“On the count of three,” Danny said.
“And it has to really be three,” Sierra said. “None of this two and a half stuff or pulling back at the last minute.”
“Right. I hate that too.”
“Okay, then on the count of three,” Sierra said.
They shouted in unison, “One, two, three!” With hands tightly clasped, Sierra and Danny leaped into the air.
15
ou didn’t have to hold his hand,” Jana said, giving Sierra a whap on the thigh. They were lying on the dock in the late afternoon sun, resting up for the evening events. It was just the two of them, with no one around to hear. Gregg and Tim had gone over to Danny’s to combine their fireworks and set up everything on the Morrisons’ dock for a combined Fourth of July fireworks show.
“Ouch,” Sierra said. “You don’t have to hit me.”
“There I am, recovering on the beach from my traumatic experience—”
Sierra broke in laughing and repeated, “Your traumatic experience.”
“And I gaze up from where I’ve washed ashore, looking like a beached whale, I’m sure.”
“Not even close to a beached whale,” Sierra said.
“I look up and there, against the perfect, pristine blue of the wide Montana sky, what do I see but you holding hands with Danny Morrison!”
“We were jumping!” Sierra protested. “What was I supposed to say? ‘Oh, thank you for the offer to hold your hand while we jump, Danny. You’re a kind, considerate gentleman, but you know what? My friend Jana over there might see us, and it would be more traumatic than the last traumatic experience she had when she wouldn’t let go of the bail bucket—’ ”
“Hey!” Jana jumped in, sitting up and socking Sierra again in the thigh. “At least I don’t go around knocking out poor, innocent airport employees!”
They both laughed.
“You gave me a bruise,” Sierra whined. “One good bruise deserves another. Where do you want yours?” She sat up and faced Jana with her fist ready to strike.
“You already gave me a bruise! You bruised my poor heart when you let Danny hold your hand!” Jana wailed playfully. “Life is so unfair!”
“Oh, listen to you! You changed your mind about him faster than anyone I’ve ever seen.”
“I did not,” Jana said.
“You did too! How am I supposed to keep up with you? Yesterday it was, ‘I’m going into the woods, and I’m going to bag me one Danny Morrison and bring him home on a silver platter.’ Then you see him, and you realize his body has grown faster than his social skills.”
Jana laughed. “I got a little spooked being around him at first.”
“I guess,” Sierra said with sarcasm.
“He’s younger than I am, you know,” Jana said.
“So? That didn’t seem to be a problem for you in the middle of last night.”
“What do you think about Danny? Honestly,” Jana asked.
“I think he needs another year to grow up.”
“Unless maybe he had someone to help him along,” Jana suggested.
“Let me see, who could we find to take on such a project?” Sierra struck a pose, as if she were thinking hard.
“All in all, I think he’s a nice guy,” Jana said.
“I think so too,” Sierra agreed. “I admit, once he quit pulling my hair, he was a lot of fun. Jumping off the rock with him was great. But what about your plans for a summer romance with Tim?”
“I think Tim thinks I’m too young for him. Which I’m not, but my brother makes me look that way in front of him.”
“I think that’s the way Tim views me as well,” Sierra said.
“He really is a nice guy,” Jana said. “And cute in a snuggly kind of way.”
“Is it my imagination, or is one of us changing her mind every twelve seconds?”
“Come on, Sierra. Don’t be so critical. This is all part of it.”
“Part of what?”
“Part of figuring out life. You know, leaving childhood and venturing into the wild, wonderful world of womanhood.”
Sierra laughed. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“You know what I mean. You said it last night. It’s time to blossom. I’m just trying to figure out what that involves. And if it means giving Danny another chance, then I should do it.”
“Another chance? I never noticed you giving him a first chance.”
“I told you. I got spooked.”
“Oh.” Sierra paused for a moment and then with a giggle turned to Jana and said, “Boo!”
“Very funny. You can stay on the little girl side if you want, Sierra, but I’m going to step over into womanhood this summer.”
“And what exactly does that mean?” Sierra said, examining Jana’s expression more carefully.
“It’s nothing outrageous. All I’m saying is that I want to figure out how to act around guys and maybe figure out how they feel about me. That’s all.”
“Take it slow,” Sierra cautioned.
“Sierra!” Jana said with a twinge of irritation. “I think I have taken this whole guy thing pretty slow when I’m sixteen and just now trying out my relationship wings.”
“Well, I think there are some definite advantages to lingering on the girl side a little longer. Once we step over to the woman side, it’s not likely we can ever turn around and go back,” Sierra said, stretching out her legs.
“And why would we want to go back?” Jana asked.
“Good point.”
They lounged contentedly in the warm sunshine, with the soothing sound of the lake echoing off the underside of the dock. Overhead, the wide Montana sky spread its gorgeous blue wings.
“I never told you about the verse I read last night when I came out here on the dock,” Sierra said. “It was in Daniel. If I remember correctly, the verse said, ‘Those who have insight will shine brightly like the expanse of heaven, and those who lead others to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.’ Isn’t that poetic?”
“Poetic?” Jana said.
“Yes. I thought it was last night. And today I thought the trip on the river seemed like our journey through life. Some parts of the trip are easy floats and some parts we have to paddle over the rough stuff.”
“And what about the parts when you go over the side?” Jana asked.
“I guess that’s when you follow the emergency instructions and keep going, feet first.”
“Now that’s poetic,” Jana said. “You’re becoming a shining star of insight, Sierra.”
They both laughed. A contented silence came over them for a few minutes before Jana’s mom called to them from the grass. “We plan to leave in fifteen minutes to go over to the Morrisons’.”
Jana jumped up and said, “They sure didn’t give us much notice!” She took off for the cabin while Sierra reluctantly left her perfect napping spot on the dock.
They wer
e both ready to go in the allotted fifteen minutes. Jana put her hand on the doorknob of their room and stopped. She leaned closer to Sierra. “I think I’m ready to be around Danny and not get spooked. Wish me the best.”
Sierra smiled at her friend but felt sad and a little out of order inside. Jana was ready to move ahead without Sierra. And Sierra wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
16
he big Montana sky was fading from blue to a deep lapis shade as the group congregated on the dock in front of the Morrisons’ big house. Sierra settled in, cozy and contented, on a lawn chair with a blanket around her. Danny and his dad were at the end of the dock with Gregg and Tim, preparing to set the night sky on fire with their combined fireworks.
“We need a little cannonball music,” Mr. Morrison said over his shoulder to the audience lined up for the show.
Mr. Hill began to hum the “William Tell Overture.”
“I don’t think that’s what he means,” Mrs. Hill told her husband.
The “pyros,” as Mrs. Hill called the guys, had strung up a long line of fireworks and appeared to have a definite plan of attack.
“Are we ready, gang?” Mr. Morrison asked.
“Ready!” they answered.
Sierra looked up into the star-flecked sky. The first star of the night was there again, winking at her. She winked back. For a brief moment, Sierra thought what a pity it was to ruin what she considered to be a much better light show than anything these guys could come up with.
An echoing boom sounded from somewhere across the lake. The first fireworks of the night. The boom served as a starting gun for Mr. Morrison, as he lit three punks with his pocket lighter and ceremoniously handed a punk to Danny and one to Gregg. Mr. Morrison held the third one, and the guys lifted the long, slow-burning punks in the air as proudly as if they were holding the Olympic torch in their sweaty fists.
“Let the show begin,” Mr. Morrison declared.
With that, the three of them bent down in unison and lit one firework after another after another. Three seconds later, the first one exploded above the lake, sprinkling its red and white twinkles into the thin air.