you want to grab the paddles and the PFDs from the back, that would help.”
“PFD?”
“Personal Flotation Device. Life jackets.”
“Oh.” She gathered the equipment and hurried after him. Before they got to the dock, they reached a low, muddy spot. Sam walked through it without hesitation, but Dana carefully picked her way around.
Sam dropped the boats on the dock and looked back to see her circling. Laugh lines gathered at the corners of his eyes. “A little mud won’t hurt you.”
Dana shrugged. “I should have worn my other sneakers.”
“I thought Kansas was farm country. Aren’t you used to mud?”
“I live in town. Streets, sidewalks, grass. Minimal mud.”
When they reached the dock, a group of mallards followed by rows of ducklings cut vees through the water, racing each other toward the dock.
Dana smiled at the fuzzy babies. “Cute. But they’re not very wild, are they?”
“No. City ducks. They’re used to people.” He dropped a boat into the water next to the dock with a splash. The ducks quacked in protest and swam farther away. Sam tied a rope from the boat to a post on the dock. “Put your life jacket on and I’ll help you in.”
Dana buckled the jacket in place, but it hung loose around her body. Sam shook his head. “You need to adjust the size. Unbuckle and turn around.” He tugged on something on the back of the life jacket and then reached around her to snap the buckles closed. His breath stirred the hair on top of her head.
He was close enough for her to detect the scent of his bodywash, mingling pleasantly with the underlying scent of man. She closed her eyes for a moment before she realized what she was doing and stepped away. “I can get it now. Thanks.”
He nodded, pulled on his own PFD and stepped closer to the edge of the dock. “Ready?”
“Sure.” The small boat didn’t look too intimidating. She put one foot into the well in the center and the kayak rocked. She would have fallen if Sam hadn’t grasped her arm.
“Easy.” He squatted down to hold the boat with his free hand without letting go. She managed to slide her legs forward into the boat until she settled in and he released her.
He handed her a two-bladed paddle, untied the boat from the dock and gave it a shove. She went scooting across the water, sending the ducks that had congregated in all directions. A breeze caught her and pushed her farther into the lake. “Wait. What do I do now?”
“Paddle.”
She dipped the end of the paddle into the water and her boat curved toward it, slowing her and eventually bringing her around so she was facing the dock just in time to watch Sam slide into his kayak in one easy motion.
As he pushed off from the dock and dipped his paddle into the water, his face changed. Happy lines formed at the corners of his dark eyes. He seemed relaxed, at home on the water. He worked the double-ended paddle with practiced ease.
He paddled closer and rotated his boat so he was next to her and facing the same direction. Once he showed her a couple of basic strokes, she found handling the kayak surprisingly simple. In no time, they were circling the lake, easing into the scalloped edges.
Sam pointed toward a tiny island across the water, covered with grass and a patch of purple irises. “There’s a loon’s nest. Don’t get too close.”
Dana stopped and held up her hand to shade her eyes. Sure enough, she could make out a black-headed bird, with an intricate pattern of black and white across its body and wings, nestled among the grass on the very edge of the island. “How did you spot it?”
“I saw the nest last year, so I was looking for it. Loons like to use the same nest again. Look. Here comes the male. Must be time for shift change.”
As they watched, another similar bird swam closer and rubbed bills with the bird on the nest. After a moment, the first bird wrenched herself off the nest and flopped awkwardly into the water. Once there, though, she was remarkably graceful. The other bird waddled onto the nest. He took a moment to arrange something with his long, pointed bill before settling down.
Sam resumed paddling and she followed him farther around the lake. On the shore, a fat robin watched them, a worm hanging from his mouth. He flew into a tree, greeted by a chorus of chirping from the baby birds in the nest. A sound carried across the water, a haunting three-note call. “What’s that? A coyote?”
Sam smiled and shook his head. “The loons. Look.” He pointed at a tall spruce with a dead top on the shore near the loon’s nest. A huge bird with a white head perched there.
“Is that an eagle?”
“Yes. The loon is calling her mate to warn him.”
A moment later, the eagle spread his wings and lifted off, soaring into the sky. Dana gasped at the sight. “Beautiful.”
“I know.”
She watched Sam’s face. “You love this, don’t you?”
“What?”
“This place. Alaska.”
A slow smile stretched across his face. “It’s home.”
“It must be hard to leave for so long at a time.”
He shrugged. “That’s my job.” He paddled forward. She watched him for a moment as he pulled away, how his arms flexed under his shirt, the confident way he handled the small boat.
What would drive someone to leave a home he loved for such long stretches? Did he have family? Dana had only been gone a day when her mother started calling. Didn’t Sam have anyone who counted on him?
Dana gave herself a little shake. Sam’s personal life wasn’t any of her business. She was here to follow up on Dad’s estate, not to make a friend. It was nice of Sam to include her on this outing, but she needed to focus on her goal and then get back to Kansas, to her life. She picked up her paddle and propelled herself across the sparkling water. Maybe Chris would be back from his fishing trip tonight.
Sam narrowed his eyes at something over at the shoreline. “Wait here a minute.”
Dana watched as he worked his kayak through a tangle of vegetation to a place where a spruce tree leaned over the water, casting a shadow. He eased up to the bank, his movements almost languid and yet precise. He parted some weeds and something flashed green. His hand reached in to extract a fishing lure attached to a snarl of line, which he tucked in his kayak before paddling back to her.
“How did you know that was there?”
He shrugged. “It caught the light. Wouldn’t want the ducks getting tangled up.”
They paddled around the lake for another half hour before Sam led her back to the dock. Her shoulders ached from the unaccustomed exercise, but the sense of peace she felt after her time on the lake made up for it.
Sam climbed up on the dock and tied his boat to a post. Dana paddled alongside and he reached for her hand. She felt a moment of panic as the boat rocked while she tried to climb out, but he just smiled and pulled her onto the dock.
He lifted her boat from the water. “You did well for your first time in a kayak. Did you have fun?”
“I loved it. I’ve never seen a loon or a bald eagle before.”
Sam removed the mess of tangled fishing line from his kayak and deposited it into a garbage receptacle near the dock. “Whenever I get back from a rotation, I come here. I like to see the ducks growing up, the seasons changing.”
“It’s a special place. Thanks for bringing me along today.”
He flashed her a smile. “Anytime.”