The Carrier (The Carrier Series Book 1) (8 page)

Jack and I unloaded our last boat and watched
the passengers walk down the dock and out of sight. It was 6:15 and we were
both beat. We walked down into the bottom part of the boat and Jack began to
sweep the deck.

I totaled the day’s sales after our six tours
and cut Jack half of the profits. “Well, partner, we were one hundred
twenty-five for six today! Here’s ninety-seven bucks for you!” He took it with
a smile, did a little bow, and said, “Thank you, ma’am. Now that’s more like
it.”

We locked the Bailey to the dock and then
headed out to the parking lot together. Jack seemed awkward, like he had
something to tell me but didn’t know how to say it.

He was looking down at his feet when he said,
“I know you’ve noticed my unexplainable good mood lately. Well...I met
someone.” I looked up at his face and saw a wide smile stretched across it.
“She’s perfect for me.” He stopped at the back bumper of his truck, turned, and
looked right into my eyes. “I’ve just never felt quite this way before.”

“Jack...that’s great! Really, I’m just so happy
for you.” I hoped this lady was perfect for him and that Jack could find the
peace in his heart that he deserved. I put my right arm across his upper back
and gave his shoulders a squeeze. He smiled at me, said, “See you tomorrow,”
and got in his truck.

I turned and opened my car door and saw a
shadow on my car. Someone was behind me.

“I hear you’re dating someone,” a familiar
voice said.

I took a deep breath and turned around slowly.
“It’s over between us, Aaron,” I said firmly. “I’ve told you that already.”

He took a step closer to me and I flinched,
thinking about the last time we were this close. Where was Nolan? Would he pop
out of the bushes and come to my rescue?

“Ava, I need you.”

I tried, but couldn’t keep fear from my face.

There was the popping sound of a car door
opening and Jack get out of his truck. “Is there a problem, here?”

Aaron’s tone changed.
“Oh,
hey Jack.
No, no problem here. I was just saying hello.”

“Ava, go on and head home,” Jack told me.

“Thanks, Jack.” I felt brave with Jack standing
there, so before I left, I looked deep into Aaron’s eyes and said gently, “I’m
letting you go, Aaron. She’s out there somewhere, waiting for you. But it’s not
me.”

Aaron looked annoyed.
“Yeah,
whatever.”

I got in my car and pulled away. Jack was
talking with Aaron as I left the Lower Dells parking lot. I hoped he could smooth
things over with Aaron and talk him into leaving me alone. As I passed Lower
One I thought about Nolan. I was supposed to meet him at Animal Island in an
hour and a half!

A sudden nervousness swept over me. What was I
going to wear? Where would he take me? My brain was swimming with questions,
and the next thing I knew I was at my front door, and I barely remembered
driving home.

 My mom and dad were talking on the front
porch. They were each holding a small glass of red wine and discussing something
quietly. They looked very serious and even concerned, but unlike the squabble
from the other night, they seemed to be on the same side this time. Dad reached
over and patted Mom’s knee right as they noticed me standing before them.

“Everything okay, honey?” Mom asked. “You have
a strange look on your face.”

“Absolutely.
Everything okay with you two?”

“You bet.
Just enjoying the
evening sunset.”

“Okay. I’m
gonna
go
take a shower.”

I supposed I could be making something out of
nothing, so I smiled and went inside. Laura was sitting at the kitchen table,
and since I hadn’t seen her for a long time, I stopped to chat before I got
ready for my date.

“Hello there, stranger!” she said. “Tell me,
how is it that our schedules have been exactly opposite all summer long? We
live in the same house, but I never ever see you!”

“I know, sis. It’s crazy.” I took a chip from
the bag lying on the table.
“
So
how are things on the Upper?”

“You know, same as things on the Lower, I’d
assume. I’ve been driving a bit on trips, but they won’t let me dock yet.” Then
something popped in her head quickly. Laura had a short attention span and was
easily distracted.
“Oh my God!
I totally forgot to
tell you! The other day, I was carrying a brand-spanking new box of a hundred
fifty guidebooks down from the office, and my sunglasses slipped off my head,
so I bent over to pick them up, and my foot was right on the middle of where
the two docks met and my ankle twisted and...
BOOM!”
She jumped off her chair for effect and I was so startled I bit my tongue. She
was acting the whole thing out now. “I dropped the whole damn box into the
river!”

“Oh my God!
That’s like two hundred bucks down the drain!” I tasted blood in my mouth.

“Yeah, I know!” She was bouncing, all excited
from her story. “And right when the box went out of sight, I hear some guys
sitting over at the dispatch stand laughing their butts off! They totally saw
it all! I had to go back up to the office to beg for another box! I don’t think
I’ll ever live that one down.”

My sister was always good for a laugh. I told
her briefly about my upcoming date and then headed upstairs to shower and
change. As I climbed the stairs my phone rang out—a new email. I swiped the
screen and swallowed hard. It was from the Dean of Education at UW–Stevens
Point.

My stomach dropped out, and my pulse quickened
as I stopped, frozen in the middle of the staircase.

“No, no, no,” I whined, terrified.

I jogged up the last few steps, my hands
shaking and tears forming in my eyes. I entered my room and shut the door
quickly, collapsing to my knees. I took a shaky breath and then read the email.

It was just as I dreaded. I would not be
considered for the School of Education my sophomore year and, in addition, my
bad grades had landed me on academic probation. I closed my eyes and dropped my
head in my hands, defeated and angry.

It was all so real now. I screwed up. Fat tears
began to fill my eyes, and my shoulders shook as I allowed myself to cry. How
could I have done this? What would my parents think of me? A whole year of
college tuition, wasted.

The tears flowed for several minutes as I felt
sorry for myself. But then I heard the front door shut as my parents entered
the house. I didn’t want them to know about the email, at least not for now. I
sucked in a deep, cleansing breath in an effort to clear my head.

I had a date to go on tonight. A date with
someone who made me
feel
really happy. I showered and
dressed, vowing to myself that I would deal with college later.

At 7:58, I said goodnight to my family, and
headed out the front door. I glanced over at Animal Island and saw Nolan
chatting with some Upper guides near the bonfire. The walk around the block was
short, but by the time I arrived at the bonfire site, the guides had left, and
Nolan was sipping from a water bottle, staring into the orange flames
absent-mindedly.

As I approached, Nolan rose from his seat on
the grass. He looked very stylish wearing a plain white polo and blue plaid
golf shorts.

“You look amazing,” he said quickly, but then
added, “What’s wrong?”

Uh-oh, it was written all over my face.

“Nothing, I’m fine.” I pasted a smiled onto my
lips.

Nolan held his hand out to me. “Come here.”

I sat down next to him and stared into the
fire. I would have to come clean.

He took the hand he was holding and lifted it
to his lips, administering a gentle kiss. “Please, Ava. What’s bothering you?”

I took a deep breath through my nose as I
pulled out my cell phone, handing it to Nolan. I waited while he read.

“Oh. Jeez. I’m really sorry, Ava.”

I felt the sting again and fought back a tear.
No, not now.
 

“I’ve never wanted to be anything but a
teacher,” I sniffled. “I just don’t know what to do.”

Nolan slid his arms around my back and sweetly
kissed the side of my face near my eye. Then he spoke quietly in my ear, only
for me to hear. “Here’s what you do. You chase your dream. You get back up and
try harder. Look, you haven’t been kicked out, you’ve only been warned. You’ve
been given a second chance and you’re
gonna
take it.”

He was sweet. Picking me up when I was down. I
smiled through my tears.

He kissed the side of my head this time and
then pulled back slightly. “Ava, you’re a great teacher. I’ve seen it in
action. You can’t give up now. Hundreds of future school children will miss
out.”

I laughed gently. “Thanks, Nolan.” I turned my
head to meet Nolan’s eyes. They emanated sincere concern. My heart melted. He
really cared about me.

“Anyway, I guess there’s not much I can do
about it now. I’ll just have to really focus when school starts again in the
fall.”

Nolan caught the last tear with his thumb
before it could drip down my cheek. “You’re exactly right,” he said.

I looked around. There were two cabins on the
right side of the fire and four on the left. Each cabin had olive green siding
and a red roof and was basically the size of my parents’ living room. The
large, two-story, white house stood on the corner of the lot. It looked like it
had seen better days. There were a few old trees scattered throughout the lawn
between the two rows of cabins, and there was a gravel driveway running up the
left side of the property.

“Which one is yours?”

“Right here.”
He
pointed to the second cabin on the right side. “You want the grand tour?” He
stood up and offered a hand.

Two crooked and wooden steps stood in front of
a ragged screen door. As he led me through the door, I noticed a jacket hanging
from a bright blue boat cleat screwed into the wall. We took a sharp turn to
the left and were instantly in the space used as the living room, dining room,
and bedroom. A small, hunter green, obviously used loveseat was pushed up
against the window in the front wall. At the window on the opposite wall was a
twin bed. Behind the wall by the front door was a tiny three-piece bathroom,
and on the other side of the wall hosting his bed was a kitchen just as tiny as
the bathroom. The overall feeling was definitely old, but it was clean and
smelled faintly like cologne I had smelled once before. 

“I’m trying to read your face, but I can’t tell
what you’re thinking. Is it that bad?” Nolan kicked a lone sock out of sight
under the bed.

“No, no, it’s very quaint. It’s perfect for
your summer home.” I said sincerely. He smiled and leaned in to kiss me on the
forehead, then moved his mouth deliciously close to my ear and whispered, “I’ve
missed you.”

Nolan grabbed my hands and interlaced our
fingers, twisting our arms up so he could hold my hands close to his quickly
beating heart. He kissed my forehead again, and then let go of my hands so he
could wrap his arms around my waist. The gap between us slowly closed as he
pulled me in until our bodies touched. He buried his face in my hair and took a
deep breath. It sounded like he said, “
Mmmmm
,”
quietly, but I couldn’t be sure. Nolan rubbed his hands across the top of my
back. There was something so satisfying about being held by Nolan. I felt so
safe, so comfortable.

I had missed him, too. But how could this be? I
had only met the guy a few weeks ago, but somehow I felt like I had been dating
him for several months.

The side of my head snuggled right up into his
shoulder, and I gently closed my eyes, allowing the feelings of peace and
happiness to fill my heart.

As if there was music playing in his head,
Nolan began to sway us back and forth like we were slow dancing. It was very
sweet and gentle...and then a gargle from my stomach broke the whole serenity
of our dance.

He pulled away, raising an eyebrow at me.

“Sorry, that was my stomach,” I smiled at him
sheepishly. “I hope you had dinner plans for us.”

“Of course I do.” He grabbed his wallet and car
keys off the table by his bed and led me by the hand out the door.

Outside his cabin was a silver car that looked
very fast and very cool. I don’t know how I missed it when we were outside
before. Like the gentleman that I knew him to be, Nolan walked over to the
passenger side door, unlocked it, and opened it for me. I slid onto a very
comfortable beige leather seat. The fancy control panel caught my eye while
Nolan shut my door and walked around to the driver’s side. It had some type of
sophisticated computer in the place where my Oldsmobile had only a radio. I
gently moved my fingers over the dials and wondered where he got the money for
such a fancy car. Nolan hadn’t entered the car yet—he was standing outside his
door texting someone. I hoped it was his mom and not some old girlfriend.