The Carrier (The Carrier Series Book 1) (7 page)

“Good
grief, you still
haven’t
done that?”

“Nope.”
I
clicked on the last semester and read the grades aloud.
“Just
as I suspected—two D’s, two F’s, and an A.”

“An A?
Congrats!”

“In choir,” I explained.

“Holly hell.
What
a semester.”

“I’m screwed.”

We both took a deep breath and released it loudly.
The silence continued a bit longer until a familiar system of alarms rang out
in the distance, indicating one of the dam’s gates was being opened. We watched
gallons upon gallons of water pour through the concrete opening. Sometimes,
when many of the gates were opened, the force of the water would churn up the
minerals in the river and mix them with air. Fluffy, brown foam would build up
and collect around the docks to create a topping that looked not unlike the top
of a glass of freshly poured root beer. 

Perhaps the sight reminded him of the head on a
beer. “You really
oughta
hit the bar with me tonight,
kid.” He looked over at me with pleading eyes. I knew he was just looking for a
friend.

Although I could see him from the corner of my
eye, I didn’t shift my focus from the dam. “I’m nineteen years old, Jack.”

He looked back over the water. “Yeah, yeah,
kid. I know.”

When I got home that day I tried to put my bad grades
out of my head and went straight up to my room to call Ted. I took a seat on my
bed and then lay back on the pillow.

Ted answered the phone exclaiming, “Well, if it
isn’t good
ol
’ Ava! Long time no talk there, sweetie!
How’s life treating
ya
?”

Ted was an adorably short, dark-haired,
hilarious guy who rarely had a bad day and could make anyone laugh with a lift
of one eyebrow. Although we tried to keep in touch when we went off to college,
I hadn’t talked to Ted for a few months. We had been good friends since we
played blocks together in preschool, and although he and Aaron were best
friends in high school, I still remained friends with Ted even after Aaron and
I broke up.

“Hey, you
wanna
go
get some ice cream and catch up? I’m sure you’ve got a little extra cash in
your pocket after that OLS I saw you with this morning.”

Oh God. Did he have to bring that up?

What I really wanted to do was call Nolan, but
I knew I should remain loyal to my oldest friend and spend a little time
catching up with him. After all, Ted was always good for a few chuckles.
“Yeah, sure.
That sounds great, Ted. Besides, I’m sure
you’ve got a lot to tell me about your last semester in Milwaukee.”

After I hung up the phone, I stood up off the
bed, threw on a pair of jeans and a worn-out Milwaukee Brewers T-shirt, and
tied my hair back into a ponytail. Before I went downstairs to tell my parents
I was heading out, I couldn’t resist taking a peek out the front window in my
parents’ bedroom at Animal Island across the street. My heart dropped when I
didn’t see a soul. I realized I wanted to see Nolan more than anything.
Just one glance.

But as I was about to turn away, I noticed a
shiny black car with dark windows pull up into the driveway of Animal Island
and park. Two men wearing sunglasses and dark suits got out and casually looked
around. They seemed terribly out of place, and I couldn’t imagine why they
would be at the employee housing. I watched in awe for a few more moments as
they walked around to the white, two-story house at the end of the lot and
knocked on the door. My watch bumped the windowsill as I tried to get closer,
and it reminded me that I had to get going if I was going to pick up Ted.

I hopped in the Olds and headed north on
Capital Street. Ted’s family and my family both lived on the same street, only
several blocks away from each other. The main drag, Broadway, cut Capital
Street in half, and the strange thing was that on my side of Broadway all the
street signs were spelled “Capital,” and on his side they were spelled
“Capitol.” We both claimed our side was the correct spelling, but of course,
neither way was ever proved to be right or wrong.

When I pulled up to his house, Ted popped out
of the front door with his black and white cat, Mr. Kitty, prancing behind him.
He turned around right before he got to his car and bellowed for Mr. Kitty to
get back in the house. I leaned over the passenger side seat and yelled out the
window, “Aw, come on! No cat for our ice cream run?” I laughed as Ted pulled
open the door and then hopped into the passenger seat.

“Hey there, hot stuff! It’s so great to see
you.” He leaned over and gave me a hug. My relationship with Ted had always
remained platonic, although I thought for a while before I dated Aaron he might
have wanted it to be more. I never felt that way about Ted and made sure he
knew it. It actually was really nice to have a good guy friend. Sometimes I
only wanted to get away from girl drama and have a friend who didn’t care about
all that junk.

I parked the car in the Upper Dells parking
lot, and we walked down the short hill to the Dairy Queen on Broadway. I don’t
know why I hadn’t thought of it before, but at the bottom of the hill, before
the Dairy Queen, was a DBT ticket booth.

“So, can’t stay away, huh?” Nolan was leaning
out the window with the biggest smile on his face. His eyelashes seemed to be
waving me closer. Visions of Make
Out
Rock filled my
head. Butterflies instantly fluttered in my stomach, and soon, the whole world
around us seemed to fade to a blissful blur. It was only me and him alone at
the ticket booth. I felt my cheeks become rosy, and I was at a loss for words.

I had forgotten Ted was there until he cleared
his throat, obviously uncomfortable, and brought the world zooming back into
focus. I was about to introduce Ted when he said, “Hey, Nolan.”

Wait.
“Hey, Nolan?”

 
“Oh, hey
there, Ted. I see you got back on the river today.
Lucky
guy.”

They knew each other? How could this be
possible?

“You two know each other?”

Ted jumped in, “Yeah, we met while I was
driving the Ducks shuttle this morning.”

It was entirely plausible that they met here. I
wondered if they talked about me. Then I realized there was a potential
problem—Aaron had probably told Ted about Nolan interceding at my house. Ted
probably hated Nolan already.

An awkward silence followed, so I said, “We
were just about to get some ice cream at Dairy Queen. Can I get you something?”

Nolan politely declined, and mentioned that he would
be working at Lower Two tomorrow, and that I should stop by between trips. He
gave me a smile that I knew was only for me, and his calm, charming eyes tried
to give me a message that made me blush even more. I wasn’t moving, so Ted
grabbed my elbow and pulled me along. “Come on, Ava. See you later, man.”

“See you tomorrow.” I left the booth, but I
could feel his eyes following me as I walked away.

When we got closer to the Dairy Queen window,
Ted turned to me with a serious glare, and I knew I was in trouble. “Well, Ava,
you have got a lot of explaining to do!”

I tried to play innocent. “What do you mean?”
But I knew he could see right through me.

“I haven’t seen you with that look on your face
since Aaron finally started paying attention to you junior year! You are in
trouble. This guy’s got you all wrapped up already.”

I knew he was right, but was too proud to admit
it.

“I hate to be the one in the middle, but Aaron
told me he thought you two were getting back together. Well, until some dude
came out of nowhere and took a swing at him.”

I looked down at the ground. “That dude was
Nolan.”

“Seriously?
I
knew I was getting a bad vibe from him.”

“Hold on, you only have half the story. Aaron
was practically forcing himself on me!”

“Really?
I
don’t know...”

Ted was simply being overprotective. I was,
after all, one of his oldest friends, and he saw what happened to me after
Aaron broke my heart. I was able to change the subject while we were eating our
cones by asking lots of questions about his adventures going to college in
Milwaukee. I also tried to avoid talking about my crappy year at Stevens Point
by only vaguely answering his questions, but he wasn’t buying it. He could tell
I was holding back, and I ended up spilling the beans about being somewhat depressed
most of the year, and how my grades had suffered considerably.

“Dang!
Two F’s and Two D’s?”
He patted me on the back when all the
color drained from my face. “Listen, Ava, you are a smart, determined woman
with great plans for the future. You will figure this all out. You just have a
little adjusting to do, and if I know you, you’ll find your place in time.”

“
Thanks,
Ted. That’s
awfully sweet of you.” Somehow I had trouble believing him, however. We updated
each other on our families, and he politely told me what he knew about what
Aaron had been up to lately.

When I could feel the evening was about to end,
I knew I had to confide in Ted. “Listen, could I ask a favor of you? Could you
not mention to Aaron that I’m seeing Nolan? I don’t really know what he was
thinking the other day, and I just don’t want to see another fight between the
two of them.”

Ted was a good friend, and I knew he would keep
my secret.
“Fine.
But you have to promise me
something.”

“Sure, anything.”

“Just keep me filled in on what’s happening
with Nolan. I just don’t know about him, okay?” He looked up at me with
pleading eyes. It was actually a bit startling.

What was he seeing that I wasn’t?

“Don’t you worry about me,
Ted.
”
I patted his shoulder.

“Just promise.”

“Fine.
I promise.”
I needed to change the subject quickly. “Hey, you
wanna
hit the go-kart track? You know, for old time’s sake?” Ted and I frequented the
go-kart track growing up, and I thought it might be a nice nostalgic plan for
the rest of the night.

Ted gave me a big smile.
“Absolutely.”

We finished our cones and then headed back
toward the parking lot. By the time we walked by the booth again, it had closed
up. I wondered what Nolan was doing at that exact moment.

Nolan worked at Lower Two the next day. I
visited him a few times between trips but was sure to leave a little space for
him to wonder about me. I also decided to spend a few breaks up at Lower One
talking to Suzanne and Brian. The conversation turned serious early in the day
when they started talking about Nolan.

“Well, I think he’s a really nice guy,” Brian
was commenting. “He just oozes charm and really seems to have a good head on
his shoulders.”

“Oh, come on, Brian! Are you seriously getting
sucked into his tractor beam? I can see right through that guy. He is as fake
as
fake
can be.” Suzanne was sitting in the ticket
window, doodling on a pad of paper.

Brian challenged Suzanne. “The kid is like
twenty years old! What do you think he’s hiding?” Brian was leaning one elbow
on the counter and looked very relaxed.

“Listen, I like the guy. He’s a blast to work
with here in the booth, but I’ll be damned if there isn’t something he’s hiding
from us.” She tapped her pen on the glass counter and stared off into space,
thinking. “He sure does have a fancy car and phone for a guy who works off of
commission.”

“Maybe his family has money. Have you ever
asked him about his family?” Brian was pointing a finger in Suzanne’s face.

Suzanne playfully slapped his finger down and
said, “I don’t know why you are getting so defensive! I said I like the kid.
I’m just saying there is something about him that doesn’t rub me the right
way.” Then she stared off into space again and said, “Let’s see...armed robbery
?...
Oh! Drug lord
?...
Wait! I
know, I know! Gang fighting...”
That one made Brian laugh,
although Suzanne was serious.

“There is no way that Nolan is into gang
fighting! Give it up, Suzanne, maybe he’s just a good guy.”

They seemed to have forgotten I was sitting in
the corner of the booth. I’m sure they wouldn’t have had such a conversation if
they remembered I was right there. I decided to give them a reminder and
cleared my throat.

Brian turned toward me, and his face lit up
like a Vegas hotel sign. “Oh, shoot! I forgot! Nolan is going to kill me!”

What?

Suzanne threw the pen at the ceiling, and it
bounced off, landing on my lap. “Oh, see? I knew it. He’s into murder!”

Brian shot Suzanne an angry look before turning
back to me. “Go out to your car right now.”

Suzanne was yelling now, “Don’t do it! He
manufactures homemade bombs!”

Although my heart rate sped up, I sat still and
stared at them. Was Brian out of his mind?

“Come on! I promise you’ll be happy. Just go
out to your car and take a look.” But I couldn’t move. He walked a few steps
closer to me and looked me dead in the eyes.
“Seriously.
Have I ever led you wrong before?”

No. Hadn’t I known Brian as a good judge of
character and a level-headed guy? So I slowly and anxiously slid off the stool
and walked out of the ticket booth. I kept my eyes on Brian and Suzanne, not
quite sure what to expect.

A Dells Boat tour bus filled with passengers
from the Upper Dells crossed my path. I surveyed the parking lot but didn’t see
anything to be alarmed about. After all, I didn’t quite know what I was looking
for, and my imagination was definitely taking the better of me.

As I approached my Olds, I noticed something on
my windshield. It looked like an envelope and some type of bundle wrapped in
plastic. As I cautiously walked closer, I found a dozen red roses placed
carefully under the left windshield wiper. They must have been beautiful many
hours ago, but now they were dead and wilted from the summer sun. I laughed a
little—they had dried and stuck to the windshield, and as I tried to pry them
free, several of the petals fell to the ground and the stems broke.

The envelope was addressed to “My singing tour
guide.” A smile slowly crept onto my lips. Inside was a blank card with writing
on the back.

Dear Ava,

Thank you for the
amazing date the other day. I couldn’t have imagined a better time. Your sweet
smile is stuck in my mind, and I just have to get another fix. I would be
honored if you would accept another date with me. Meet me at the Island at 8pm
tonight.

Nolan

The huge smile on my face could not be hidden.
I looked back at Lower One and saw Suzanne leaning far out of the booth window
watching me. I chuckled to myself—how could I have let her scare me? I didn’t
care what anyone said; I was intrigued and had to make my own decision. I was
going to accept the ugly, wilted roses and go on that date. I only had to make
it through the day, first.

I looked out toward the dam. From the spot
where my car was parked I could see the dock where Jack was loading up the
passengers for our next tour. “Crap!” I yelled and sprinted past Lower One.

I could faintly hear Suzanne yelling, “What’s
the matter, kid? A swarm of bees fly up your shorts?” followed by that familiar
boisterous cackle. I just kept on running, all the way down to the boat.

Jack was already at the wheel, engines on,
ready to pull away from the dock. I untied the bowline and mouthed “sorry” to
him. He flashed a somewhat fake smile at me, and I quickly walked to the back
of the boat, untied the stern, and gave us a push as we left. I walked through
the crowd on the lower deck and approached Jack at the wheel.

He smiled more genuinely this time. “Glad you
could make it, kid.”

Jack picked up the microphone and turned on his
tour guide voice. “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome aboard the
General
Bailey
. My name is Captain Jack, and I will be skillfully driving you down
the Wisconsin River today. We have just embarked on a one-hour tour of the Lower
Dells. Be ready to see some gorgeous rocky scenery, learn about the history and
geology of the Dells, and hear Native American legends. Here to dazzle you with
her verbal dexterity is your very punctual and talented tour guide, Ava!”

It was nearing the end of June and our full
boat was an indication that tourism was finally starting to pick up. Another
clear sign was that our trips were going well that day. We had sold
considerably more guidebooks so far than the amount we had sold on any other
given day that summer. I felt right at peace, doing what I was good at and
making some money doing it.

Late in the tour, I was up on the top deck
giving my spiel on the loggers that used to come down the river riding on rafts
made from 100-foot-tall tree trunks tied together. It was another bright, sunny
afternoon in Dells country, and Jack and I were both in a great mood.

We were coming up on a green army Duck and I
knew instantly from the name on its side that it was Aaron’s. I started
explaining the next rock formation, Pulpit Rock, when we caught up to him. I
waved politely and he put his thumb and pinkie up to his ear and mouth, giving
the “call me” sign. I shook my head no and he mouthed “please” as I finished my
spiel.

Jack hit the throttle and left the little Duck
bobbing in our wake.

Just then I noticed Jack had propped open the
windows above the dash so he could catch some breeze while he drove the boat. I
looked down and the window seemed to have some sort of paper stuck to the
underside of it. It even seemed to have writing on it. Could Jack be trying to
send me a message? Sometimes he would tug on the microphone cord to indicate I
had missed a cue or was repeating something I’d already said, but I’d never
seen him use this technique before. I moved to the edge of the boat and leaned
against the guide wires so that I could get a closer look at the writing. It
said,
Whatever
you do, do NOT come down
!

Do not come down? Why not? Was there an evil
man in a ski mask holding him hostage at gunpoint? Was there a hole in the boat
and we were slowly sinking? Just when I was about to panic and go down anyway,
he pulled that piece of paper off and posted another. I read it through the
glass:
I farted and it really stinks
.

I burst out laughing and heard Jack reciprocate
downstairs. I realized he was throwing the boat in reverse to try to fight the
current and stay positioned next to a sign on the wall posted by the US
Geological Survey. It was time for me to continue my tour. Bursts of laughter
were still sneaking up my throat, but I tried my best to force them back down.
I would not let Jack get the best of me. I pushed my laughter deep into my
belly and put on a very serious face. I lifted the microphone to my mouth and began
talking, but every time I thought about Captain Jack sitting in his own stink,
it made me giggle a little bit.