The water was a deeper green here. On whatever the right side of a kayak was called, the river cut around the base of jagged cliffs. To the left, lush forest blocked out any hint of civilization.
It was just her and the river. And that deer drinking from the shore, she noted. She held her breath as the current carried her past the doe. Its tail flickered white, and it watched her, waiting to see if Maggie revealed herself as a threat.
“I’m nice. I promise,” she whispered.
The deer seemed to believe her and went back to drinking.
“Oh my God. Is that a fucking bald eagle?” She watched the bird swoop low, talons dipping into the river less than fifty yards in front of her. When it rose again, there was a shimmering fish in its grasp.
“Okay. I get it, Nature. You’re awesome,” she said dryly. “That doesn’t mean that I have to drop everything to come out here and appreciate you.”
Her stomach growled. She’d probably burned through a lot of extra calories holding her rage inside, Maggie guessed. She remembered the cooler and hauled it out of the footwell.
There was a bottle of sunscreen in it, and grumbling about not knowing how long she was going to be in the sun, she slathered a layer on before poking through the rest of the contents in the cooler.
The man had packed her a sandwich, two bottles of water, a Pepsi, and a piece of cake left over from Dayana’s small but festive birthday celebration earlier that week. The napkin had a handwritten note on it.
Float. Think. Be. And if you still feel like hitting me with the paddle when you get to Jeb’s Pull Out （you can’t miss it）， I’ll hold still while you swing.
Even when he wasn’t with her, the man was still trying to tell her what to do. She was going to have to fix that. It had been too easy to let him maneuver her into this accidental relationship. He’d distracted her with orgasms and hiking and his loud family. Then managed to weasel his way into her life.
Hell, they had conversations about things like what to make for dinner and choosing between college or a gap year for Cody. They took turns doing the laundry and swinging into town to run errands.
The man had tricked her into a full-blown relationship.
She reached for the sandwich but then reconsidered. Revelations like that made it an eat-the-cake-first kind of day.
Maggie ate her way downstream. She had to give him credit. Silas knew just how she liked her fluffernutter sandwiches. Cracking open the soda, she carefully propped her feet on top of the kayak’s body and leaned back.
The river meandered around another bend, and she spotted a cozy timber cabin on an emerald rise of grass. Near the shore, there was a couple sharing a lazy moment in a hammock, a wine bottle open next to them.
The man raised his glass to her, and Maggie held her Pepsi aloft.
They looked relaxed. Happy. Completely content to be doing nothing. When would she feel like she’d earned the pause? How many houses would it take? Subscribers? Dollars in the bank?
Would her very own show on a network make her happy? It was bigger than she’d ever dreamed. She’d read the basics of the offer about a dozen times so far. There was so much to it that it took her breath away. She and Dean hadn’t had a real discussion about it. Not since he’d been spending most of his free time with Michael.
Maybe it was smarter to stay the course. Decline the offer—politely, of course—and find her next property.
She glared down at the soda—because she was allowed to call it a soda in her own damn head—and wondered if Silas had managed to spike it with some of his philosophical leanings. She liked working hard. Liked accomplishing. Liked setting goals and marching after them single-mindedly.
But does it make me happy? asked a tiny voice that should have been easy to ignore.
She thought about happy and reached back into her memory banks.
The hot springs with Silas came to mind. That ticklish drop when she jumped, free-falling into the alpine lake below. The heady combination of contentment, anticipation, excitement when he wrapped his arms around her. The way he managed to surprise her again and again in small, thoughtful ways.
Cody’s graduation. The pride when he held up his diploma, the shock and joy when he realized the car was for him.
Watching Dean and Michael explore something so new and so tender.
Margaritas and shopping with Dayana, Niri, and Kayla.
She went back further.
Her father. Standing up the bookcase they’d built together. His half-smile. His hand on her shoulder. “This is really great work, Maggie,” he’d said. “You have a lot of talent, but it’s the work ethic that’s most important.”