Bait Shop Blues Page 11

  “Ready to quit before we start, aren’t you?”

  Cassandra looked up and found Leif leaning against the doorjamb with an, ‘I told you so’, smirk on his face.

  “In your dreams, Wilderness Man,” she scoffed, narrowing her eyes on the pack he carried by one strap. “How about a tip?”

  “Sure thing, sweetheart.” He ambled to her side and with amazing quickness he managed to slide all of the items inside her pack, then eased it over her shoulders. “While I check over the seaplane why don’t you walk around with that pack awhile,” he suggested.

  “Good idea.”

  After five minutes Cassandra realized this trip would be no picnic. Her shoulders ached from just walking around the backyard. She looked up when she heard Leif laugh and narrowed her eyes at him as he walked across the yard and stopped in front of her.

  “Think you can handle all that?” he asked.

  She eyed his pack and squirmed to adjust her own. “I can’t believe you’ve packed all of the things I did. Your pack looks flatter than mine,” she grumbled.

  Leif threw down his pack, opened it and proceeded to show her the identical items and then repacked them neatly.

  “Satisfied?”

  “Well, I think you could at least offer to carry some of my gear since you’ve a size advantage over me.”

  He raised his brow. “You said we were going to do this fair and square and that you wanted no preferential treatment.”

  “I didn’t think you’d follow through with that seeing as you’re such a gentleman,” she murmured.

  “There’s a lot at stake here, Cassie-girl. As far as I’m concerned, for the next two weeks, you’re just one of the guys.” He grinned. “I’m ready when you are.”

  She stared daggers at his departing back as she followed him, then entered the store. Grinning to herself, she decided the weighty pack didn’t seem to bother her as much as it had initially. Why hadn’t she heeded Maxie’s advice to start getting into shape for the trip? Not that she was in bad shape but it certainly would have helped if she’d taken up some sort of endurance training—like running, for instance, and lifting some weights, too.

  She found Maxie standing at the transaction counter, carefully unpacking a set of glazed, rust-toned stoneware dishes she’d found in Orr, thrown by a very talented pottery-maker.

  Maxie smiled at Cassandra. “Oh, my, what I wouldn’t give to have something this lovely in my home.”

  Cassandra tugged the pack off her back and dropped it at her feet, moving to stand beside Maxie.

  “It is lovely, isn’t it? If you’d like to purchase this set I can always commission Melinda to make another.”

  A melancholy look crossed Maxie’s face. “Land sakes, child, I can’t afford it. Maybe in my next lifetime,” she said, chuckling.

  At that moment Cassandra decided once she returned from her trip she’d ask Melinda to make another set for Maxie for Christmas.

  “You all set to go?” Maxie asked.

  “Yes. Leif is checking over the plane so we should be leaving shortly.”

  “It’s not too late to change your mind.”

  “You, too? I thought for sure you’d be on my side, besides, you know I don’t have a choice in the matter.”

  “Course you do! Why do you let Leif egg you on the way he does? No matter what he thinks, you have a right to Gateway, not to mention the law’s on your side.”

  Cassandra smiled sadly. “I have to wonder about that. Leif has a point. He did work alongside my grandfather for years.”

  “If you call selling lots of bait and a few trinkets work, I guess so,” Maxie replied with a shrug. “You’ve some good, sound ideas, Cassandra, and Roy was your grandpa.”

  “But you said you felt the same way Leif did when I mentioned my plans.”

  “At first I did. Same as Leif, I like the little hole I’ve dug myself into, but now that I see how much folks enjoy the coffee shop, and how they swarm the store to buy this artsy stuff, I think you’re onto something.”

  “You know, you’re right. Leif makes me feel like an intruder when I have as much right to be here as he does, maybe more.”

  Maxie nodded. “You most certainly do. He’ll get over being angry over the money you put out, sooner or later. You hurt his pride, that’s all.”

  “I know, but I should have been up front and told him about the money in the first place. I didn’t because somehow, at the back of my mind, I knew he’d refuse my offer to pitch in the cash.”

  “He would have, that’s for sure. And I’ll tell you again, he’ll come around. Now then, how about biting some of your own pride and telling him you made a mistake, and that you don’t want to go off on any harebrained wilderness trip?”

  “Not a chance. You mean to tell me you’d turn chicken and run when so much is at stake? And don’t forget the fact he’d never let me live it down, either.”

  “Hell, no! Nut I know how to survive in the wild. I’ve lived here all my life.”

  “Is there any one piece of advice you could give me that will help?” Cassandra’s shoulders slumped at Maxie’s words.

  “Mimic Leif. Every blasted little thing he does. How he carries his pack, how he walks and moves through the woods, how he paddles a canoe. Just follow him and you’ll do fine.”

  The front door opened and Leif’s big body stood framed in the doorway. “You coming, Princess? By the way, if you’re on any medication, don’t forget to bring it with you.”

  “I already packed it. Princess, huh? So, where’s my carriage?”

  He ambled toward her, stopped right in front of her with a big grin on his face. “Think my shoulders will suffice?”

  Her cheeks colored at the intimate, devilish look in his eyes but she sniffed and kept up the act. “Think I’ll pass. Here. You can take my sack, though.”

  “Too late to do that, darlin’. You’ll thank me for this short ride though, since you’ll carry your own weight the rest of the trip.”

  He snatched up her pack and put it on his back. Cassandra shrieked in surprise then when he leaned over, gently shoved one shoulder into her middle, and hauled her over one broad shoulder.

  Saluting Maxie, he bellowed, “We’re off! See you in a few weeks.”

  “You take good care of her, Leif. You hear?” Maxie shouted as he left the store with his precious cargo.

  Cassandra pounded his back and found she couldn’t control her laughter as he hauled her out of the store and down the steps. Just before he stepped onto the seaplane’s pontoon, she protested, “Put me down right now, before you drop me in the lake.”

  “Better get used to it. You’ll be wet often enough during the trip,” he warned.

  Gripping her thighs firmly with one big hand he released his other hand and held it out to his side, balancing himself as he easily walked the pontoon. She clenched her eyes shut and held on for dear life. Within moments he reached the door, yanked it open and set her down in the pilot’s seat.

  “How was that, Princess?”

  Haughtily, she said, “It’s a ride I’ll remember all my life.” She frowned then and noticed he’d set her down in the pilot’s seat. “I’m in the wrong seat.”

  “No you’re not.” He turned and walked the pontoon again and hopped onto the dock. Then he crossed in front of the plane and walked the other pontoon. Once he’d seated himself in the passenger seat he turned his attention on her.

  Cassandra’s heart pounded fiercely inside her chest and she found it difficult to catch her breath. “You can’t be serious.”

  “Serious?” He frowned. “About what?”

  She sputtered and moved her eyes frantically across the instrument panel. “Me flying this plane, that’s what!”

  “Hell, no!” he retorted. “You think I’m nuts? I’m just showing you a few things before we take off, in case of an emergency.”

  She cringed. “What sort of emergency?”

  “If I got injured and couldn’t fly I might be
able to guide you into doing it.”

  She shook her head wildly and started opening the door when Leif said, “Stay put a minute. The chances of me getting hurt are next to nothing. I give this impromptu little lesson to each fishing party I take out. Now, get a grip.”

  She breathed in relief and paid attention to his explicit directions after that. By the time he finished, she thought she had a fair understanding of how things worked.

  They switched places then and were on their way.

  “How far is it to the outfitter’s cabin?” Cassandra said.

  “About an hour. John Sheridan will have the canoe and all of our supplies ready for us.”

  “Oh.” Goody, she thought as she bit her lip and stared out the tiny window.

  Why did she all of a sudden feel as though she’d made a huge mistake challenging him as she’d done? Sending covert glances at him, she checked out his yard-wide shoulders in a chambray shirt, over it a khaki vest loaded with pockets. He wore tan cargo pants instead of his trademark shorts now that the weather had turned cooler, and she had to admit he appeared exceedingly competent to tackle the Minnesota wilds.

  She’d dressed in similar attire, including the hiking boots he insisted she wear instead of her tennis shoes.

  She glanced at her watch, sighed and leaned her head against the back of her seat, thinking a nice rest was in order. Six o’clock in the morning was an ungodly hour to take off on a trip, especially one that would likely prove to be arduous, but he’d insisted the flying was best that early in the morning, before the winds picked up for the day.

  ~ * ~

  Cassandra sat in the front of the canoe and paddled long, gentle strokes against the sky-blue waters of Lake Vermillion. Luckily she’d done some canoeing on Lake Michigan with friends so she wasn’t a complete stranger to the activity. She heard the calling of a loon from across the lake, a reply to the one just spitting distance from their canoe. The sun’s rays beat down on her back and she sighed contentedly as the warmth permeated her body.

  Leif had said that even though it was early fall the temperatures were staying fairly warm, at least during the day. Although to her mind forty at night and sixty-five during the day wasn’t a heat wave, by any means.

  “Getting tired?”

  She glanced behind her, watched enviously as Leif effortlessly paddled. Good grief! The man was in his element. She imagined sunburn would look good on him but decided he’d be too used to the sun to turn even a tiny shade of pink. Sunburn on her was a completely different story—that is if one could see the burn between the mosquito bites.

  “Not at all,” she replied as she paused in her stroking to let the paddle drift in the water, her shoulders and arms screaming in pain.

  “Then let’s pick up the pace. I want to make that island off Sand Point Lake before nightfall.”

  “Fine.” Cassandra simmered inside at his curt order as she dug the paddle into the water. She thought she’d done an excellent job, novice that she was, keeping up the pace, and yet, his words led her to believe he thought otherwise.

  This was only the first day of their fourteen-day journey. They’d stopped by Gil’s Outfitters to pick up their canoe and other gear before heading out. The sun was close to setting and they’d paddled across two lakes since ten in the morning, portaging in between the two.

  If someone had told her beforehand that portaging meant crossing land on foot, and carrying a canoe above her head, she would have had second thoughts about going. But then again, she knew it wouldn’t have mattered; Gateway was important to her. It was her home now. She’d made it through her first day without any catastrophes. That was something to be proud of.

  “You know, Leif,” she said, “you must admit I did very well for the first day, don’t you think?”

  Continuing her paddling, from behind her she could almost see him shrugging. And scowling. He’d done a lot of that since they’d started out this morning.

  “Yeah. Right,” he said drolly, “but tomorrow you could be singing an entirely different tune. Don’t boast about your success yet. We’ve thirteen more days to get through, and you know how the old saying goes about adventures, don’t you?”

  Cassandra paused in her paddling, and frowned at him over her shoulder. “No, what do they say?”

  He flashed a vivid white-toothed smile. “Adventure begins where control ends.”

  “Huh?” She narrowed her eyes on him thoughtfully a moment, then added, “Are you telling me that unless I encounter problems along this journey my surviving it doesn’t count?”

  “Not at all. I’m merely saying we had a day of canoeing with mild winds and lots of nice, warm sunshine. But you can’t always count on decent weather conditions.”

  “Perhaps you don’t believe that my accomplishments today, including paddling this blasted canoe and carrying it don’t amount to anything, then you’re dead wrong. You’ve a hundred pounds and a foot height advantage on me.”

  “I’m not saying that. I’m just giving you fair warning that things could change.”

  “Thanks a heap for the encouraging words,” she grumbled.

  An hour later they reached the island where they’d be camping overnight. She’d wanted her own tent, and had told him so when they’d planned the trip, but he’d nixed the idea, telling her they had enough stuff to carry without adding another tent. Besides, he’d promised her he’d be a perfect gentleman. She planned on holding him to that promise. She jumped out of the front of the canoe when they reached shore, held it while Leif brought supplies forward.

  She glanced around and took in her surroundings, realizing she’d truly left civilization behind. The thought both excited and frightened her. In all directions spires of dark spruce and pine trees dotted the island. It was beautiful, but unknown territory.

  “Let’s start unloading.”

  She turned and reached for the first item he passed her with two hands. It was a long nylon bag that held their small tent. She struggled and managed to lift the thing from his arms and dumped it on the grassy bank. Once they’d unloaded their sleeping bags and cooking supplies, including a portable camp stove and a lantern, Leif pulled the canoe up onto the shoreline and secured it with a long rope to a pine tree.

  He stopped and looked around, pointing to a flat area about twenty-five feet away. “I’ll pitch the tent right there while you go find some dry wood so we can build a fire.”

  “Oh,” she said hesitantly, not particularly eager to venture into the woods alone. “We’ve got that nice cook stove along. Why don’t we just cook our supper on that?”

  Leif chuckled. “I plan on it, but we’ll need a fire burning overnight to keep warm.”

  “I see.” Her cheeks warmed at the look on his face. They heated even more with his next words.

  “Unless you want to share your body heat with me, I don’t plan on being cold all night.” Her jaw gaped.

  Cupping his hand behind his ear he leaned toward her. “Is that a yes?”

  “No!” She rushed off to find his blasted wood. Even though, deep inside, a devilish voice told her it wouldn’t be bad at all if they shared a sleeping bag.

  Gingerly, Cassandra picked her way through the woods, climbing over felled trees and jumping small pockets of water. She’d managed to find six good-sized pieces of dry wood, then promptly dropped them all, screaming at the top of her lungs and scurrying up the nearest tree.

  Chapter Eight

  “What the hell!” Leif exclaimed, running through the woods, following the sound of Cassandra’s shrieks. “Keep it up, sweetheart,” he said under his breath. He came to a screeching halt when he saw the reason for her panic, then grinned from ear to ear.

  “Leif! Thank God you’re here!”

  “Hang in there, Cassie-girl. It’s just a bitty black bear. Remember, I told you all about them when you first came?”

  “Make him go away,” she pleaded.

  Leif had to admit he was amazed she’d managed to climb the
tree, and now stood on the second branch, about seven feet off the ground. He reached down, found a couple of medium-sized rocks and threw them at the bear. He immediately scampered off into the woods.

  Leif tore across the ground until he stood beneath her. His hands were on his hips as he looked up at her. “It’s safe to come down now. If you just dangle your legs and hold onto that branch I’ll catch you,” he suggested.

  “Just dangle my legs?”

  He grinned at her doubting expression and raised his arms. “Come on, Princess, you won’t fall.”

  She started to move, then stopped and scowled down at him. “And how can you be so sure of that?”

  “I said I’d catch you, and I meant it. You can trust me, Cassie.”

  After more squirming and shifting position on the tree limb, she shouted in frustration, “I can’t do it!”

  “Yes, you can,” he said calmly. “Just set your butt down on that branch and drop.”

  From his position below her he saw her throat bob as she gulped. Then, before he could offer her any more encouraging words, she jumped, without sitting down on the branch first.

  Leif stiffened his arms right before catching her, then collapsed to the ground, his precious burden sprawled across his body. Winded, he closed his eyes and tried breathing slowly all the while thinking she weighed a hell of a lot more than she looked! But then, falling forward out of the tree had given her momentum he hadn’t been prepared for.

  Then other sensations assailed him and he smiled. The feel of her full breasts against his chest caused heat to ripple through him. Her soft curls brushed against his chin and his smile grew wider. He raised one hand and curved it around her narrow waist, then slid it down over one lush hip.

  He’d been breathing heavily from the fall, and the impact of her body against his, but now it had turned short and ragged, sounding harsh to him.

  He groaned in disappointment when she pushed herself off him and rolled away. Next time he peered up at her she was kneeling beside him, a worried look on her face. “Are you all right?”

  He nodded.

  “You don’t look all right.”