Secrets in the Lowcountry--The River (6 page)

She didn’t respond
, but
she eased back on the throttle
and the boat settled into a more comfortable ride
.

“
Thank you,” he said in a normal tone.

“You’re
w
elcome,” she managed.

“
Do you have binoculars aboard?”
I
nstead of his death hold on the console, he leaned his back against it
as if for additional support
.

“Actually, t
w
o pairs,” she said.

“T
w
o?”

“
Dad and Mary enjoy
w
atching the
w
ildlife along
the river, so they each have a pair
.”
She opened the console dra
w
er and handed him the first set, then slipped the strap for the other binoculars over her head and let them dangle.

He thanked her
again,
as he, too, eased the strap over his head, before picking up the binoculars and surveying the river’s edge.
Only the green spartan
a grass and
the small rivul
ets of
w
ater that fed the Broad
stared back at him.

“Ho
w
coul
d Rod
do this?” S
he shook her head as if in disbelief.

“Taylor
, you
and I met the guy on
the same
day in school t
w
enty years ago.
”

“
W
hat has that to do
w
ith anything?”
She r
eturn
ed
to her previous angry state
.

“If you’
d listen for a minute,
”
he pleaded.

She nodded
and the
annoyed expression softened
.

Turning his atte
ntion to
the bank of the river,
so he
w
ouldn
’t have to
w
atch her
face
,
he continued,
“
You kne
w
him as
w
ell as I did.
S
ince I haven’t seen much of him
since graduating high school
ten years
ago, you kno
w
the man he’s become better than I do.”

“
But, y
ou’
re
his best friend.
”

He believed he could feel her staring at him, but
pretended to
sustain
his
survey
of
the river bank
. Actually,
he gave
the edge of the river
only a portion of his attention.
E
ven k
no
w
ing ho
w
I felt to
w
ard you, Rod
had to make a play and eventually steal you a
w
ay,
ending
any
relationship
between us
.

“
Rod
w
as
my best friend all through m
iddle school and high school, but I never fully understood him.
” Jeff
still kept his
eyes
trained on the marshy
, bro
w
n
river’s bank.
T
he man’s a selfish bastard
,
and al
w
ays has been. Y
ou’ve never seen that part of him or if you did
,
you choose to ignore it.

“You said, ‘
w
as your best friend’.
W
hat happened bet
w
een the t
w
o of you?”

W
ould she accept the truth?
Even if she did, this
w
asn’t the time to tell her.
“
W
e
w
ent to different universities, gained ne
w
friends, found diverse goals.
I moved a
w
ay and
w
ould still be up north if this teaching position hadn’t come up
and if Dad hadn’t had a stroke. Life changes one’s plans.
If Mom
w
ere
alive, perhaps I
w
ouldn
’t have come, but I’m Dad’s only family, so I
returned
.”
To his o
w
n ears, he heard the lack of enthusiasm.

“Aren’t you glad to be back in the Lo
w
coun
try
?”

Obviously, Taylor had heard his doubts.
He shifted hi
s attention from the shore line
to her.
Her tall, slim figure, her classic face, and her gorgeous, long auburn hair tied in a ponytail
w
ith strands
w
hipping around her face caused his heart to ache.
She
w
ould never be his.
She never had been his.
E
ven though he’d
al
w
ays
w
anted more, he’d accepted
she’
d never be more than his friend. R
egardless of
w
hom she married, he
w
ould be here for her.

“Jeff?”
she pushed
, dropping her glasses and staring at him
.

W
ondering ho
w
to ans
w
er honestly,
he
t
w
isted so that he could see the area to be searched
.
“I’m glad an opportunity cam
e up to teach at the University.
I’m enjoying the kids and the staff,
so I guess the ans
w
er is yes.”
He
intensifi
ed
his search of
the marsh, glad to have a reason to avoid Taylor’s eyes.

“Aren’t you pleased to see me and all your other old friends?
”
S
he eased back on the throttle
as she turned into the
W
hale Branch River
.

She didn’t kno
w
ho
w
glad
he
w
as to see her or
ho
w
much it hurt to be
w
ith her.
Instead of ans
w
ering
, he c
hanged
the subject saying
, “I th
ink you’d better slo
w
do
w
n more
.
W
e’ve reac
hed the area
w
e told your d
ad
w
e’d explore.
Let’s check one side on our
w
ay south and the other after
w
e turn back.
”
He gave a quick
glance
in her direction.

“
W
hile I drive,
if I s
t
ay in the middle of the river
or as close as the depth finder
will
let me
,
I can check the left side,
w
hile you do the right,” she countered,
picking up the glasses and placing them to her eyes.

“Sounds like a plan
.”
He resumed his position,
picked up the binocula
rs,
and began
examining
the shore line on
right
side of the skiff looking for a boat.

* ~ *

They’d combed almost the
w
hole area,
w
hen Taylor said, “Let’s check Brays Creek.
Last
w
eek,
w
hen Rod and I came to shrimp, he sa
w
red fish
tailing
and said he should have brought his fly rod.”

“I’ll call your Dad and
update him
.”

“Maybe
he has some ne
w
s for us,” she said,
hopefully, although her dad
w
ould h
ave gotten in touch if there
w
ere
any
.
She steered into the narro
w
creek, careful to ke
ep an eye on the depth meter.
For some strange reason, the shoaling from
the smaller feed streams often caused the middle to be shallo
w
er than the sides.

“Doc
, Jeff, anything ne
w
?
Nothing, okay, I’ll tell Taylor.
W
e’ve check most of the
W
hale Branch and no
w
are looking at the smaller streams.
She suggested that
w
e check Brays Creek, since she and Rod came here last
w
eek.
” He paused.
“
Here she is.”
Jeff handed her the phone.

Dropping the binoculars
so that they dangled from the strap
and t
aking one hand off the
w
heel, she listened
to her dad
.

“Taylor, the Coast Guard’s helicopter started their search at the coast since the tide had turned a couple of hours after Rod
w
ent out.
The DNR is going do
w
n the Broad, you might see their boats and
maybe
hear the Search an
d Rescue helicopter.
If
w
e learn
a
nything,
w
e’ll call.
W
e’ll locate
him,” her father added.

She s
w
allo
w
ed before saying, “I just
w
ant us to find him sooner rather than later.
I love you
, Dad
.”
Taylor fought back the tears, shook her head, and cleared her throat.

“
Love you, too,” he replied.

S
he
clicked off
,
handed the cell back to Jeff
,
s
w
i
ped the tears forming in her
eyes
w
ith
her palm
and sniffed.

Jef
f moved behind her placing
his arms around her shoulders.
She leaned back
abs
orb
ing
his strength
,
w
hile keeping one hand firmly on the
w
heel
.
Realizing she
should
concentrate on the search
instead of relaxing
, she eased
a
side
.

“Blast
Rod
!”
Taylor shook her shoulders, trying to chase the fear tha
t had started to invade her
w
hole being
. She
held up her hand to restrain Jeff as he edged closer
.
“I’m all right
.”

Jeff resumed his
original
spot by
the console.
He picked up the binoculars and resumed
scanning
for the boat and the man
.