No wonder the ragtag venture had quickly folded and the kayakers involved dispersed.
“It prompted Destiny to announce they’d be way more stringent with their excursion provider choices in the future—though that might have just been a PR number.”
The incident had put a lot of unwanted heat and bad press on legitimate excursion companies like LFA. But they’d weathered the storm and proven their worth, and now they were the first excursion company in the area to lead an onboard excursion component.
“They were pretty stringent with us,” Gage said. They’d done an extremely thorough background check on Last Frontier Adventures before allowing them to conduct even half-day land excursions.
He turned to Whitney. “I think it’s very smart of you to take the precautions you do.”
“Thanks. You’re definitely in the minority.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Most folks fall into one of two camps. Either they think I’m paranoid or they think I’m an idiot for going on excursions alone. I’m traveling with my aunt, but she’s not up for the excursions. I don’t see why I should miss out on the adventures out of fear something might happen, so I take precautions and enjoy the excursions I want to take. But, and at the same time, it’s nice to know Aunt Ellen is on the ship waiting for me.”
“Makes a lot of sense.”
She smiled up at him. “Thanks. That’s refreshing to hear.”
Darcy and Clint came through the clearing, the moon now full in the sky. Clint pressed a kiss to Darcy’s cheek and headed toward the crew’s tents.
Gage finished off his coffee and stood. “If you’ll excuse me . . .”
“Sure.” Whitney stood beside him and brushed the debris off her pants. “About time I turn in. See you in the morning.”
“Bright and early.”
“Don’t remind me,” she said, heading for her tent. “I love adventure, but definitely not early mornings.”
Darcy turned as Gage stepped to her side. “Looks like you made a friend.”
Gage watched Whitney slipping inside her tent, the shadow of her athletic form illuminated by the battery-operated lantern.
He lifted his chin toward Clint’s retreating back. “I could say the same. . . .”
“We were just catching the sunset. Clint found this amazing—”
“Cliff at the top of the rise?”
“Yeah.” She cocked her head, curiosity fluttering her lashes. “How’d you know?”
“I lead excursions out here all the time.”
“Right. So how come you didn’t head up there?”
“Wasn’t feeling it tonight.” In truth, he’d very much wanted to show Darcy himself, but after their argument . . . “Clint obviously was.”
She smirked. “Do I detect a note of jealousy?”
“Of Wonder Hands?” He laughed.
“Wonder Hands?” Her brows pinched together.
“That’s what the ladies were calling him earlier.”
“Really?”
“Interesting nickname.”
“Probably because he’s a massage therapist.”
“I’m sure.”
“Are you trying to suggest that Clint gets personal with the female passengers?”
“I’m not suggesting anything. Just stating what the ladies are calling him.”
“Calling who?” Kayden asked, tossing Gage an apple.
“Darcy’s new friend Clint.” He bit into it.
Darcy’s eyes narrowed on Gage. “Did you want something, or did you just come over here to annoy me?”
He’d come over because, as loath as he was to admit it, he wanted to know how her time with Clint had gone. “Actually, Whitney was telling me something that I thought might interest you.”
“Really?”
They took seats by the dying embers of the fire as Jake, Landon, and Piper joined them. All the passengers had turned in for the night, settling into their luxurious tents, while the remainder of the Bering’s crew were dispersed about their own business—most likely preparing for bed.
“So what helpful information did Whitney share?” Darcy asked.
Gage bit back a smirk. She clearly wasn’t a fan of his time with Whitney. Interesting.
“She reminded me of a disappearance involving the Bering. The couple disappeared during their excursion here.”
“Here?” Darcy’s eyes widened. “As in literally here?”
He went on to relay all that Whitney had shared, as well as some details he remembered from the media coverage.
Darcy shook her head. “I definitely need to do some digging on the Bering’s history. This all happened so fast, I didn’t have time to prepare, to do the typical background research I normally do. I was relying on Abby to catch me up, and then . . .”
“Whatever you do, don’t use the Bering’s computers to search for it,” Jake said, leaning forward and rubbing his hands together.
“Why not?” Kayden asked.
“Because everything is monitored.”
“What do you mean, monitored?”
“All the computers in the cruise ship’s Internet lounge are linked and can easily be monitored through their browser history.”
Kayden linked her arms. “And I suppose that’s just another random fact of knowledge you possess?”
“What can I say?” He shrugged. “I read.”
“So do I, and I don’t know the things you do.”
Jake kicked back the last of his cider and tossed the paper cup in what remained of the fire. “Guess you’re reading the wrong books.” He stood. “’Night, everyone.”
“’Night, Jake,” Gage said along with the rest—except Kayden.
He exhaled. “Every time, sis?”
“I can’t believe I’m the only one who finds Jake’s storehouse of knowledge strange.” She shifted to Darcy. “You’re a reporter. Surely you find his criminal knowledge suspect.”
“He said he reads a lot.”
“Seriously. You’re buying that? You were way more curious when you were in Yancey.” Kayden’s eyes narrowed. “Wait a minute. . . . What changed?”
“Nothing. I’ve just stopped thinking about it.”
“Just like that?”
Gage studied Darcy’s guarded expression. He was with Kayden on this one. Darcy simply walking away from something that had intrigued her so . . . Something was off.
Darcy stood and stretched. “I think I’m going to hit the hay. It’s been a full day.”
Gage and Kayden exchanged a look. Something was definitely up with Darcy when it came to Jake.
“’Night,” he said as she slipped into her tent.
Kayden looked over at him. “That was weird.”
He shrugged. “Never know what to expect with Darcy.” It was part of what unsettled him so much about her.
Kayden stood. “See ya in the morning, bro.”
“Yeah, see you.” Gage remained after Landon and Piper turned in too. Content to just sit and watch the embers die out. His heart was restless, stirring, and it scared him. He was much more comfortable feeling numb.
15
Darcy settled in her sleeping bag and rolled to face Piper. They’d dimmed their lantern, but the full moon shining through their canvas tent illuminated the small space between them enough that Darcy could make out Piper’s worried expression.
“How’s Reef?” Darcy asked. She’d been introduced to the McKennas through Reef’s homecoming, his murder charge, and the subsequent investigative ordeal.
“Good, I hope. It’s been a while since we’ve heard from him.”
“What? I thought he’d decided to stay.”
“He did. For about a week after you left.” Piper shifted, nestling into her inflatable pillow. “You know Reef—can’t sit still for more than a minute.”
“Will he be back for Cole and Bailey’s wedding?”
“I pray so.”
She did too. “I’m glad I got to bunk with you.” She’d m
issed Piper, missed all the McKennas, especially Gage. “Who’s Kayden bunking with?”
“Whitney Castle.”
Kayden was in one of the glamping tents? Darcy wondered about Gage’s influence on that decision, when she was the one who was supposed to be writing about the excursion experience from a participant’s POV.
“Ah, Gage’s new friend,” she said with a little more bite than intended.
“What?” Curiosity danced in Piper’s voice.
“Nothing.” She was being petty. Whitney seemed perfectly nice, and there was no reason for her and Gage not to converse. It wasn’t like she and Gage would ever be an item. They couldn’t.
His disapproval of her profession and questioning of her character were the least of their problems. She’d been praying about his utter lack of desire for a relationship with God ever since she’d first met the man. And she prayed still that God would bring healing—for only He could.
Though he frustrated her more than anyone she’d ever met, he’d wrestled a part of her heart away, and she feared it would always belong to him. As much as she hated to admit it, she yearned for his understanding, his assurance, and his . . . love?
“You okay over there?” Piper asked in the silence.
“Yeah, I’m just . . .”
“Deep in thought?” Piper propped her head on her hand. “Are you making any progress?”
Darcy sighed. “Not nearly enough.” Although Whitney’s conversation with Gage might have given her the first viable lead—a place to start digging on the Bering.
She needed to get back into Abby’s room without the roommate present and snoop some more, needed to see if Abby had hidden away anything containing more detail or more elaborate notes. For all she knew, the Bowen case Whitney mentioned was nothing more than what the media and law enforcement deemed it to be—that the man killed his wife and somehow escaped—but maybe there was more to it, something connected to Abby’s disappearance.
Piper shifted to face her better in the small confines. “Tell me about her.”
“About Abby?”
“Yeah.”
There was so much to say, so many memories. . . . Where did she start? “I met Abby freshman year of college. We were assigned to room together.”
“Did you hit it off right away?”
“More or less. Abby was a go-getter, smart, savvy . . . destined to be a reporter.”
“Sounds an awful lot like you.”
“People always said we were two peas in a pod.”
“Which is why she reached out to you when she was in trouble.”
Darcy let the comment slide, unsure how to answer. After she left investigative reporting, her relationship with Abby had changed. Abby had pressed forward while she’d gone to heal. Things hadn’t been the same since. They still talked—occasionally—still remained friends, but at a greater distance than ever before.
“I think it’s wonderful that you dropped everything and went to her aid.”
“She was my best friend.” Or at least she had been for years. Until that last case. “We were hired by the same paper out of college, both worked our way up to investigative journalism.”
“Like undercover reporting?”
Darcy nodded.
“Wow. That must have been exciting.”
“That’s one word for it.”
And for a while it was absolutely exhilarating, but then the cases began to wear on her—the heartache, the lies, the ugliness she was exposing. She was bringing the criminals to justice, but it began eating away at her. She’d wrestled with the idea of taking a breather but didn’t want to leave Abby hanging. She and Abby were the Starsky and Hutch of the undercover investigative world.
Then a case turned her world upside down, leaving her no choice but to walk away, to get out while she could still maintain her dignity, her character, everything she stood for—bruised as it may have been. Abby said she understood, but things had never been the same between them since.
Darcy moved on to covering the extreme sports circuit, reporting on the events and the athletes she’d grown up around. It was an entirely different world—one that didn’t leave her satisfied—but for a while she’d been content to remain in a holding pattern until God showed her the next step, the new direction and plans He had for her. This—Abby’s undercover case and disappearance—was an unexpected detour, but it was one Darcy had to take.
“You must have worked some pretty intense cases,” Piper said, never one to lack curiosity.
“I could tell you stories that would curl your toes. Which makes Abby’s fear of this particular case all the more frightening. I’ve never seen Abby so scared. The way she looked at me when I boarded the ship . . .”
“Which is why you’re willing to ignore your fear and push forward regardless.”
Darcy swallowed. “My fear?”
“You’re scared of water—you can’t swim, can you?”
“What?” Darcy sat up. “How . . . ?” How did she know?
“I’ve seen the fear before—recognized the panic on your face when you climbed into the kayak. We had a client at Last Frontier Adventures a few years back—Pete Baker. He’d grown up in the Aleutian chain surrounded by water but was terrified of it.”
Having grown up in southern California less than a mile from the beach, she knew the feeling all too well.
“He decided it was crazy to be scared of the water surrounding his home, so he decided to face it. He knew Cole from his competitive skiing days, so he came in the shop and asked for Cole’s help in overcoming his fear.”
“And did it work?”
“Yeah. Pete’s a scuba fanatic now. His passion for the sport nearly rivals Cole’s.”
“Impressive.” Clearly he was much braver than she was.
Piper swung her legs around to sit cross-legged and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. “You know you’re going to have to tell Gage.”
Darcy sat up. “I can’t. He won’t let me continue with the excursion. I’ll lose my job and any chance of finding Abby.”
“I’m sorry, Darcy. I understand how desperately you want to help your friend, but it’s not safe.”
“I managed just fine today.”
“Today, yes, but tomorrow we’ll be cutting across the south side of Kesuk on the Akalux River, and Class IV conditions are the norm, not the exception.”
Darcy swallowed.
“I can’t let you endanger your life like that.”
“But . . .”
“Maybe we can come up with some excuse for why you have to travel back on the supply boat.”
“Mullins won’t care about excuses. She’ll just hire someone else.”
“I know you are worried about your friend, but so am I.”
“What?”
Piper leaned across the space separating them and clasped Darcy’s hand. “You. I’m trying to protect you. I don’t want to lose my friend.”
How could she argue with that? But she still had to find a way to stay with the excursions. Her cover had to remain intact until she uncovered the truth behind Abby’s disappearance.
16
The charcoal-gray sky held none of yesterday’s warmth. A chill bit at Darcy’s cheeks as she stood on the soggy ground, mustering her courage to seek out Gage.
She glanced at the group settled around the fire, noting Ted, George, and Phillip’s absence. Perhaps they were busy loading the supply ship.
Gage stalked out of the woods at the north side of camp, frustration evident on his creased brow. Great. He was already irritated. That would make the conversation they needed to have go so much better.
Taking a deep breath, she started toward him. “Can I talk to you?”
“What’s up?” His breath shone like a swirling cloud in the cold morning air.
“Is something wrong?”
“Chef Phillip injured himself.”
“How?”
“He wandered too far off for his morning ba
throom break while it was still dark and ended up stepping into some poacher’s trap. Nearly cut his foot clean off.”
How had she slept through the commotion? “Is he going to be okay?”
“George had gone for a predawn hike and heard Phillip hollering. Good thing, because he’d gone well beyond earshot of camp. If George hadn’t been out there, Phillip could have easily bled out before any of us found him.”
“But he’s all right?”
“I hope so. I haven’t seen him. Ted and George made the call to head straight back for the Bering with Phillip on the supply ship.”
“They’re gone?”
“Left over an hour ago. Clint was waiting to tell me when I stepped from my tent.” He was clearly irritated he had been left out of the decision-making process.
“What about the tents, the supplies?”
“We’ll bring what we can safely carry on the kayaks—at least the personal stuff—and the Bering will have to send the supply ship back out to pick up the rest, or figure out something else if they don’t have time before the cruise continues.”
Piper and Kayden hurried toward them.
“Clint just told us what happened,” Kayden said.
“Is Phillip going to be okay?” Piper asked.
“I think so. Clint said they moved quickly because of the amount of blood Phillip had already lost. But they should be able to get him stabilized in the ship’s clinic.”
“They’ve already headed back with the supply ship,” Darcy said to Piper, hoping, since nothing could be done anyway, that she’d let her off the hook, not insist she tell Gage about her fear of water. He had so much on his mind with the circumstances . . . surely it could wait.
“He still needs to know,” Piper said.
“Know what?” Gage asked, his eyes narrowing.
Darcy exhaled, anticipating the blowback that would no doubt be coming. “I can’t swim.”
He dipped his head. “Excuse me?”
She swallowed. “I can’t swim—I’m terrified of water.”
“And you didn’t think that was worth mentioning before climbing in a kayak?”