Lure (20 page)

Shells walked to the front of the boat and leaned in to talk to Greg, "It's like they're trying to kill me," she said, and Greg chuckled.

"You and me both, sister."

The two young men now floated with the handles in hand and were giving the thumbs up.

"Everyone good and secure?" Greg asked, and the girls huddled closer to Sam, who was doing her best not to get aroused and failing miserably. "OK. Here we go."

Sliding forward only a little at first, Greg slowly pulled away from the slack rope until it was taut. Both boys now had their elbows on the boards, both hands on the handles and looked ready. The canyon roared to life as the boat responded to Greg's request. Sam thought at first that he might send the boys flying with such an abrupt start, but both were shouting in delight as they quickly were able to push down with their arms and bring their knees to their chests, which allowed them to kneel on the boards. Each pulled a velcro strap across their legs and that's when the show began.

"Faster!" one of the young men shouted, his muscular body glistening in the late afternoon light. Sam looked at the other who was smoother, but no less fun to look at. This day was turning out far better than she had expected. Maybe this vacationing thing wasn't so bad.

Greg squeezed the throttle forward and the twin V8's sang a glorious song that was amplified by the mountains. A curling wake sped away from the hull and became a playground for the boys. At first they moved one at a time, curling out wide and then racing back toward the wake. Like a moving ramp, the wake sent the young man into the air, and he did a full flip before landing back in the water. He nearly missed the landing, but it drew applause from those onboard, and a more distant roar from a crowd of boats that had gathered to watch the spectacle. The other young man did his best to outdo whatever trick the first threw down, and after a mid-air 360 degree turn, he landed sideways, the side of his board digging into water and sending him face first in to the turbulent wash. The rope snapped from his hands and went flying through the air, but a moment later he was bobbing and waving in the waters behind them. His friend bailed out moments later.

Water seemed to rush up behind them as they slowed, and Sam saw the black helicopter as it made the turn to enter the main valley. Greg made a slow sweeping turn to pick the boys up. Both looked ready to go again and Greg skillfully brought the ropes back to them. The boys grabbed on, and Greg wasted no time in bringing them back up to speed. The pair seemed to spring from the water and were on their knees faster than the last time. Sam wasn't sure if Greg had seen the helicopter, but when it came in for a close pass, a man with a camera and zoom lens hanging out the side and the massive weighted tarp hanging below it, Greg couldn't help but notice. Making an almost complete circle around the boat, which was racing through a canyon pulling two knee-boarders who were now both flipping in the air at the same time, it made for a memorable experience.

"Are we in their way?" Greg asked after slowing.

"You're fine," one of the young men shouted, and Sam was pretty certain it was the Mayor's son. "They've been filling up over there for days. I think they were just having some fun with us or taking some pictures for T and T."

"What the hell is T and T?" Shells asked. "That's not like T and A is it?"

"Uh, no. Sorry. I've been hanging around local government for too long. It's Travel and Tourism."

"Ah, right. I dig it," Shells said. "Still, it seems to me that T and T might be looking for some T and A."

"Looks like they found it," Greg said with a sideways glance at the topless girls, who, though covered by an expansive beach towel, managed to still look naked. The cool air was also having an effect, and Sam was certain the little sailor was no longer below decks.

A pair of wave runners roared toward them, and a number of the gathered boats drifted closer.

"Can we have a go?" asked the younger boys on the wave runners.

"Sure thing," the Mayor's son said with a grin. "Mind if we watch from the wave runners?"

"Deal," the first boy said, and within minutes, the younger boys were on the kneeboards and the older on wave runners.

"You ever do this before?" Greg asked, and the younger boys gave him the thumbs up. "Alrighty then. Hold on!" Despite the thumbs up, Greg took off a bit more slowly than he had been, and it took the boys longer to get up on their boards, but they did an admirable job; soon they were slicing through the water. Though there were less acrobatics, the boys still showed some skill. One raced out wide, away from the boat's wake and glided along smooth water that looked like glass. With a heave, he pulled the handle to his chest and then spun around three times, his hands deftly passing the handle from front to back each time.

The older boys, not to be outdone, raced alongside, albeit a little farther back than the knee-boarders. After a few experimental passes across the wake, they began jumping it, and it wasn't long before the smoother of the two caught enough air to throw the wave runner into a barrel roll. The landing was awkward, but he managed to stay on. The boys on the kneeboards saw this and cheered them on.

Greg swung the boat into a wide turn that would give them a long, straight path back through the canyon. A fiberglass fishing boat, all glitter and engine pulled up alongside and the passenger shot footage from a handheld camcorder. Soon both boats, the wave runners, and the knee-boarders were rushing through the valley in a spectacle unlike any that had been seen there before. The black helicopter joined the chase, and Sam was quite certain this footage would end up on the news.

The sun cast deepening hues of orange and blue across the rippling waters, and Greg eased the boat back to where the Mayor's son's boat was anchored.

"I wish we could do this all night," Greg said, "but I should probably get this beast out of the water. Thanks for helping me blow the cobwebs off of her though."

"How dare you talk about Sam that way!" Shells said with a sly grin. "Oh. Wait. You meant the boat. Sorry."

Sam just threw a life vest at her.

"Thanks for the fun, y'all," Kim said, and when she bent down to retrieve her top, she put her ass on display. Even Maddie cocked her head to the side and gave it a once over. "Not bad at all," the look on her face said.

Chapter 12

Shadows deepened as Sam, Shells, Greg, and Maddie pulled into the parking lot of a sizable restaurant perched on a hillside that overlooked the beach and much of the lake. The Mayor's son, Nick, and his friend Wayne had suggested the place, and they pulled in moments later.

Kim jumped out first and trotted over to where the group stood. "Let's get a table out on the balcony," she said with a broad and irresistible smile. Sam wasn't certain if she was dating Nick or Wayne, but by the way they both watched her, she guessed it was neither; yet. She wondered if the friendship would survive competing for the same girl. Kim didn't seem to mind the looks that followed her, but also didn't give any indication that she felt any attraction in return.

Walking past the bar, they made their way to the balcony and pushed two tables together. "Hi y'all," a cute waitress with curly red hair and just enough freckles said after they seated themselves, "my name's Trish, and I'll be serving you this evening." Greg, Nick and Wayne tried to hide the fact that they were undressing her with their eyes, but none of the girls were fooled for an instant. Kim looked as if she would kick one of them under the table, but that would mean revealing that she cared; for the moment she resisted, but it was clear that she would have preferred a waiter, or at least someone warted and homely. This girl looked like she could bring cold food and still get tips.

The view pulled Sam's attention back to the lake. The water now seemed almost purple, and the towering presence of Rumbling Bald stood out from the wooded ridgeline with burnt umber rays bathing it. Now that Sam had been to the spot, she could feel its pull even more keenly. Watching Maddie, she noticed the other woman's eyes repeatedly drifting to that same spot. The rest seemed oblivious to the call, and Sam said nothing about it. When Trish returned with their drinks, she stepped between Wayne and Nick and leaned over to place the sweet teas that the girls had ordered around the table. Gravity seemed to draw their eyes to her, and again, Kim looked as if she would bite one of them.

"What can I get you to eat?" she said when she straightened.

"How's the pizza?" Greg asked.

"It's the best around," she responded with a twinkle in her eye.

"You sure?" he asked. "I heard you couldn't get a decent pizza south of the Mason Dixon line."

"Where y'all from?"

"I'm from New Jersey," Greg said, and Trish wrinkled her nose. "Damn, it's not all that bad. And we have some of the best food around; especially pizza."

"I thought New York and Chicago had the best pizza," Trish said, clearly looking to get a rise out of Greg. Sam was pretty sure she'd already succeeded.

"Say what you will, but Jersey has the best pizza and cheesesteaks. New York, Philly, and Chicago can chew on that for a while," he said, his grin annoying Sam for some reason.

"Well, I'll let you take that up with them," she said, "but you are in luck; our pizza guy is from New Jersey."

"That settles it then," Greg said. "How about a large pie with sausage and pepperoni; we can split it."

"Did you think of asking us what we want?" Shells said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah," Kim said. "I don't eat meat."

"See?" Shells said. "I'm with home girl. Save the fuzzies, yo!"

Sam shook her head. Shells was ever the vegetarian of convenience.

"How about add another large cheese pizza with green peppers and mushrooms?" Sam asked. "Does that sound good?"

Kim nodded.

"Hell yeah. I'm down with that," Shells said. "All the hot girls say 'Ho!'"

"Ho!" echoed Kim, Trish, and Maddie, and a few of the girls at nearby tables. Already their group was drawing looks, but none of them seemed to care; rather it seemed to please them quite a bit. Sam had spent so much time trying to stay out of the center of attention, that she was momentarily uncomfortable.

"What did you all just call me?" Shells asked, and most of those within earshot laughed. "That's right, bitches."

Despite the levity, Sam couldn't help but be drawn back into silence and wondering. Too many things weren't adding up. "What do you think about the fire?" she asked Nick, who gave her a quizzical glance.

"That's an odd question," he said. "I suppose I think it sucks. This is my home, and I love the trees and wilderness. The thought of it burning is something I try not to think about."

"I understand," Sam said, "but doesn't it strike you as odd that you can't smell it or see any smoke from anywhere?"

"Not really," he said. "Many of the valleys and gorges around here are remote and even have their own weather patterns. Just because the wind is blowing in one direction here, doesn't mean it is blowing the same direction on the other side of a ridgeline. Jersey's flat, right?"

"Yeah," Sam said. "It's pretty flat for the most part."

"Well there you have it. You're just not used to being in the mountains. Here we grow the men tough and strong-"

"And the women are barefoot and frightened?" Shells asked.

"Don't let him fool y'all," Kim said. "Southern Bells maybe sweet and nice to look at, but we can hold our own. You want me to show 'em?"

"No. No," Nick said. "Not that. Please!"

Trying to act as if she weren't suspicious, Sam said, "How about all the military and under cover police we've been seeing?"

Nick just laughed, "Honey, this is the south. We support troops and law enforcement around here. They're all just here vacationing. It's either that or they're all part of a top secret plot to keep that spaceship that crashed here last year a secret."

Shells raised an eyebrow, but Kim spoke first, "Stop it, Nick. Now you're just tellin' tales. There's nothing unusual going on around here, y'all. This is just late summer in Lake Lure, that's all."

Though unconvinced, Sam let it drop.

The thumping of the helicopter returned slowly to the valley and then grew louder as the chopper cleared the ridge, its lights scanning the surface of the lake. All eyes in the restaurant turned to watch the spectacle of the refilling of the water vessel. Sam had to admit that it was an impressive sight that still amazed her despite seeing it several times and up close. The sight did nothing to quell her suspicions, but the arrival of the pizza removed much of the sense of urgency. The smell alone was enough to distract her.

Kim grabbed a piece of the mushroom and green pepper pizza and started to cut it with a knife and fork.

"Seriously?" Shells said, her mouth hanging open. "That's sacrilege, girlfriend. You can't eat pizza with a knife and fork, for real." Shells grabbed a piece and folded it in half. The tip drooped a bit, but Shells got her mouth under it and caught the dripping grease before it hit the plate. "You gotta take small bites at first when it's hot," she said while chewing. "Damn, this shit ain't bad!"

"Told you," the waitress said as she refilled the drinks.