"I'm in Colorado," Nick said, kicking a rock. It hit the side of the building he was standing next to. He glanced toward the car. Bree was just getting back to the vehicle after grabbing drinks from inside the store. She looked around for Nick, confused because she'd left him by the gas pump. Nick sighed, "I just wanted to update you. Look, can I call ya back later and let you know more the details? I'm kind of at a sketchy gas station." Bree spotted Nick and started walking towards him just as Nick hung up his cell phone. He sauntered over. "Sorry, I got a phone call."
Bree laughed, "So you hid?" She elbowed him as they turned together to the car. "Was it from a woman perhaps?" she teased.
Nick snorted, "No. No women."
Bree raised an eyebrow.
"What?" Nick asked.
"You just said that rather... ferociously." She laughed, "Are we harboring a secret?"
"I'm not gay." Bree choked on a laugh and rushed ahead to climb into the car. Nick sprinted after her and got in, too. "I'm not," he insisted. She was still laughing. "Seriously. I like the ladies through and through."
"Okay now you're just getting defensive," she teased.
"Dude!"
"Nick it's okay if you like cupcakes."
"Seriously?" Nick's voice lowered, "I don't."
"Too sugary?"
"Too dry, you need lots of milk to --" he paused, "You know what? Forget this conversation because it's just really making me confused if we're talking about sex or dessert."
Bree smiled. "You're funny, Nick."
He sighed. "As long as you're entertained, I guess." He turned the car on and guided them back into traffic. "We're almost there," he promised.
Bree turned in her seat to study him a moment. "So how come there's no women?" she asked.
Nick bit his lower lip and shrugged, but the way his face contorted, the subject was clearly somewhat painfu. He shook his head, "No reason, really," he answered, "Just... the right one's not here is all."
Bree nodded, "Fair."
"How about you?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, "Anyone in your love life."
"Ew no, the boys at my school are gross," Bree replied.
Nick laughed, "Oh c'mon. There's not even one guy you're interested in?" he asked.
Bree hesitated. "Well, maybe there's one," she answered.
Nick crowed with triumph, "I knew it. I knewwww it..." he laughed. "And are you sneaking behind porta-potties to call him when I ain't lookin'?" he teased.
Bree's face flushed, "No," she answered.
Nick smirked, "Why not, Breesy?"
"Because I don't need to," Bree replied. When Nick looked at her, a semi-almost-concerned look slipping onto his features, she added, "We aren't as needy as you and your woman."
"Needy! Pshaw!" Nick waved a hand, "Please."
"All I know is you're calling somebody every single day," Bree replied, "And you hide when you do it."
Nick hadn't realized Bree had noticed his habit. He'd been calling his probation officer, of course, but he didn't really want Bree worrying about that. Though he wasn't entirely sure why it bothered him if she knew who he was calling. It just did. It seemed like maybe she wouldn't respect him or wouldn't trust him as much, and Bree had been the first person in a long while that had trusted and seemed to respect Nick in quite some time. Years and years, in fact. He rather liked the feeling. He didn't want to give it up over something as stupid as the probation officer's calls.
Luckily for him, the perfect opportunity to change the subject arose as he pulled the car around a corner and a wide-mouthed bridge appeared before them. Nick put on the blinker and pulled the car to the side of the road just before the bridge, in a small pull-off, his emergency flashers on. Bree looked around curiously. "Where are we?" she asked.
"C'mon, I wanna show you something."
"What?"
"C'mon."
Nick got out of the car and Bree watched as he ran around the front of the nose of it, towards the bridge. He waved his arm for her to follow, a wide smile on his face. She shrugged and climbed out after him, and he led her onto the bridge.
It was a relatively narrow bridge, and long. It spanned a deep gorge - though compared to the Grand Canyon the gorge was teeny-tiny. It was still impressive, though. A white-capped river ran below, and bit down the river was a great big falls. The water rushed over the edge of it, hugging rocks. Bree stared, wide-eyed, at it's majesty. "Wow," she murmired, "That's beautiful." She clutched the handrail.
Nick pointed. "Look above it. See that foot bridge?" Bree's eyes carried up a rocky face that climbed higher into a mountainside on either side of the carved out mouth of the waterfall. A few hundred feet above the fall was the bridge Nick was pointing to. It seemed to sway with the mists of the waterfall below it.
"God," she gasped, "That's insane. You'd have to be freaking mental to get on that thing."
Nick grinned, "You're gonna be there in two days."
"What?" Bree whipped around and looked at Nick.
He looked like a cheshire cat.
"Yeahhhh no," Bree shook her head, "You have fun with that."
Nick laughed, "You've got to," he said, "Your dad did it." Of course this was a bit of a lie, but Nick figured he could tell her the whole story later.
Bree looked at the bridge. "I thought my dad was scared of heights?"
"Terrified of them," Nick said.
"You're so full of crap," Bree accused, "No way did he get on that thing."
"I'm scared of heights, too, and I got on it."
"Yeah, well you're clinically insane."
"I bungee jumped off it, actually."
Bree pointed to the car. "I'm going over there. Where it's safe. Because you're clearly not in your right mind."
Nick laughed and followed her back to the car. When they got in, he looked over at her and said, "You're gonna enjoy this. I promise."
The first thing Bree noticed about Lost Paddle River Adventures was the burely woman behind the counter as the walked in the door. A windchime shaped like a school of trout jingled as Nick pushed open the door and the woman looked up from paperwork she was leaned over. Nick's eyes widened at the sight of her. "Well holy shit," he laughed.
She squinted at him a moment. "You're back," she commented. "They always come back."
Bree glanced between the woman and Nick, confused.
Nick sauntered up to the desk. "Sooooo, Pat," he said, leaning against the counter. He pulled out his wallet and dropped a couple crumpled pieces of yellow paper in front of her. "I didn't see an expiration date on these anywhere."
Pat stared at the papers, then looked back up at Nick. "You held onto these for almost seventeen years? Well sweet Jesus, I guess we can honor them on principle alone." She glanced at the door, then at Bree. "Where's the other one?"
Nick stared at her for a long moment. She meant Brian. He felt his throat tighten. "He had Leukemia," he said, pronouncing the word slowly. Bree looked at Nick. A heavy feeling settled over the room. "He died about six months after we were here," he said.
Pat looked shocked. "I'm sorry," she said slowly. She looked at Bree, then back to Nick. "Is this your daughter?"
"It's his daughter," Nick replied.
"His?" Pat looked at Bree again. "Now that you say it... I can see the resemblance." She paused. "And is this your female friend's daughter, then? Were they a couple?"
"No," Nick said slowly, "No. Me and Amanda were the couple." He shook his head, "No this is Brian's daughter. She was born eight months after he died."
Pat frowned. "I'm sorry. Again." She turned around, clearly wanting to break up the conversation and started hitting buttons on a computer screen. "The next river trip leaves in a couple days," she said. She looked back at Bree. "You ever been water rafting before?"
Bree shook her head. "I've never been on a boat before."
Nick's eyes widened.
"Well then. There's a life vest training session fifteen minutes before we leave on the adventure." She pulled a piece of paper from a legal pad and scribbled down a date and time. "I'll honor your ancheint vouchers for this trip," she said, pushing the page to Nick, along with his vouchers. She turned back to her paper work.
"Thanks." Nick shoved the papers into his pocket. "See ya then, Pat."
"Yep."
Nick led the way out to the car. The moment the car doors slammed shut, Bree announced, "She looked like a freakin' gym teacher."
"Wait 'til you see her in action," Nick said, nodding. "She's got a whistle."
"A whistle?"
"You'll see."
