Chapter 1

1

"I'd much rather do the trust fall exercise and fall on my ass like last year." Holly Brigham had just arrived in Eugene, and so far, she wasn't enjoying it any more than she had on her previous trips. She tugged at the bottom of her swimsuit, hoping to cover more of her backside. "It's better than showing my butt to my coworkers."

"Oh, stop." Dahlia slipped her sunglasses down her nose and leaned back to get a good look. "You're too hard on yourself. At least we get to be outside having fun instead of locked in a hotel ballroom with a personnel coach and a stale lunch."

Holly sucked in a deep breath, puffing her cheeks as she let it out. "I'm not going to say that would be great, but at least I'd get to wear regular clothes."

"You're such a spoilsport!" Dahlia laughed.

It was true, at least in this case. Holly was willing to do plenty as a journalist. She knew that going the extra mile would usually make for the best story, and people didn't want to read anything that didn't captivate them. That was why she was so good at her job and had worked for the Newman Media Group for so long. She just wished she could go back to doing it at home with her laptop, but the annual meeting in Eugene, Oregon was something no employee was allowed to miss.

"Welcome, everyone! I'm so glad you're here!" As they walked to the boat ramp, a man in floral board shorts and a pink polo greeted them. Holly recognized Marshall Newman, the CEO of Newman Media Group. His brilliantly white teeth sparkled against his tan skin. "We'll have plenty of training, workshops, and news to review later, but we thought we'd kick it off with a little fun this year. What do you think?"

The crowd of about thirty or so employees around them cheered.

"Woo," Holly said dryly, not feeling the least bit enthusiastic. She could see the Willamette River just to the right, sparkling and beautiful. It was nice to look at, but that didn't mean she wanted to get in it. Even her inner bear recoiled a bit at the potential for danger. She couldn't see anything beneath the surface of the water. What was there, waiting to drag her down?

"This is Kevin, our guide on the river," Marshall continued. "He'll go over a few things so you guys know what you're doing."

Kevin, just as tan as Marshall, waved to the crowd. "Who's ready for a great time?"

"Kill me now," Holly whispered as the rest of the group cheered once again.

"What's the matter, Holly? Have you heard just how dangerous this river is?"

The voice in her ear gave her the instant sensation of slime dripping down her spine. Every year, she had to come to these meetings, and every year, she had to deal with Kyle Freeman. "I haven't, but thanks so much for that."

"It claims several lives every year, you know," Kyle continued, letting out a long breath as he looked over the river. "It's beautiful but dangerous. Kind of like you."

"Bite me." She'd tried being cordial in the past. The first year Holly had met him, she'd been happy to have someone willing to talk to her and show her around. After all, she didn't know anyone when she'd first started with the company. Unfortunately, it hadn't taken long for her to realize that Kyle was just trying to see who he could hook up with during the week they were there. It was a game for him, and she wasn't interested in playing it.

"Oh, I will if you'll give me a chance," he purred. "Really, Holly, if you get scared, just stick with me. Hey, we could tie our tubes together if you want."

"Looking at you makes me want to tie my tubes together," Holly hissed. "Will you shut up so I can hear what the guy is saying?" It was bad enough that she had to be in front of her coworkers in a swimsuit, but it was leagues worse if she had to deal with Kyle the whole time.

"…so if you just watch out for that, you'll be okay. Is everyone ready?"

With yet another cry of excitement, everyone hurried toward the pile of innertubes. Trepidation rose within Holly as she picked up a faded orange inflatable and followed Dahlia down the boat ramp. The water was innocuous enough when it was a few inches deep, but she could see where it dropped off just ahead.

"Here we go!" Dahlia tossed her tube in the river and sat on it as easily as if she were getting into a recliner. She waggled her hands and feet in the water, and in a moment, she was heading off with the rest of the group.

The last thing Holly wanted was to be left behind. Dahlia made it look easy. It couldn't be that bad. People did this sort of thing all the time. She'd heard about people getting in big groups to go floating, and they found it so relaxing that they brought along a cooler full of beer to enjoy along the way. She was overthinking it. She plopped her tube down but then froze. She couldn't go face-first. Turning around, she tried to grab the handle on the side so she could sit backward. That was basically what Dahlia had done. The left side of the tube flipped straight up into the air as soon as she leaned back, threatening to dump her straight into the water.

Holly gasped, sure that she was going to die before the trip even started. Just as suddenly as things seemed to have gone wrong, the tube flattened out again.

"Easy, there." Marshall Newman himself had appeared next to her, and he held down the other handle. "I'll hold it still for you. It takes a little practice, but you'll get it."

"Uh, thanks." Her voice was shaking. No, her whole body was shaking as she lowered herself into the river. Marshall looked so relaxed, but she braced herself against the inflated vinyl as the river took hold of her little personal raft.

"Looking good." Kyle paddled up next to her and gave her that weird upward nod guys do when they think they're being cool. "I meant all that earlier, by the way. I've done a lot of outdoor sports, and I know a thing or two. I can keep you safe out here if you just stick with me."

A foot clad in a bright pink swim shoe punched the back of his tube. "Buzz off, Kyle. You're killing the vibe."

He shot Dahlia a hateful look but then moved off to flirt with someone else.

"Thanks," Holly said as her friend pulled up. "I really don't need him buzzing around me right now."

"You're too tense," Dahlia advised, "and I mean that literally. Relax your muscles a bit."

"I feel like I'm going to fall right through this hole."

"At least no one can look at your ass now," Dahlia said with a bright smile. "Come on, honey. It's fine. If drunk college kids can do this, we can do this. If you pretend you're enjoying yourself, eventually, you will."

"Let's hope so." She forced her shoulders to relax, pulling them down so they weren't up around her ears anymore. She tried to trust a piece of plastic full of air to hold her up. It was holding everyone else up, after all. The most important thing, though, was that she didn't look down. Holly didn't want to know what was waiting for her in that water. Could she ignore it enough for the fear to go away? She doubted it.

Holly checked her senses, something she did often while working on a piece. As a long-form journalist, her writing was more than just a quick bit of information about what happened and where. It was an immersive experience, an article that would allow the reader to feel as though they'd actually been a part of something else for a while. Acknowledging all five senses in a piece and doing it artfully was one secret to success.

Holly took in the scenery around her, the trees waving breezily from the shoreline. Every now and then, she'd catch a peek at a roofline. It reminded her that she was right there in Eugene, yet in a whole different world from those going about their lives at home or work.

She inhaled deeply, her inner bear's senses coming through. The water was a tad fishy, but it wasn't bad. She picked up on coconut-scented sunscreen and the patchouli Dahlia had worn, even though it would probably get washed off.

The sound was much like a day at the beach. People were talking and laughing. A bird cried overhead. The water was different, making a trickling noise as it licked at the dirt on either side of the river instead of crashing onto the shore.

Then there was feeling. Her backside was more than cool enough, suspended in the water, but the rest of her was quite warm in the sunshine. Floating was a little like flying, and every now and again, the water would push her one way or another like a bird in the breeze.

Taste? Well, she didn't taste anything yet.

"Doing good?" Dahlia asked.

Holly allowed a small smile to cross her face. "Yeah, actually."

"You're not thinking about it like it's an article, are you?" Dahlia raised a brow over her sunglasses.

"It's a work trip, isn't it?" Holly challenged. "Besides, you told me to enjoy myself."

"Fine, girl." Dahlia laughed as she stuck her fingers in the river and splashed a bit of water at Holly. "As long as you're happy, I'm happy."

There was nothing to do but sit there and take in all the scenery. Holly rarely found herself with that sort of chance, and she started to imagine just what kind of article she might be able to make out of this. Would Marshall even want to publish it since it happened at their annual meeting? Probably. He was pretty cool for a guy who produced several magazines, blogs, and podcasts and even owned a few local papers.

She could compare and contrast how modern people see the river as fun, but early settlers saw it more as a tool. Or she could discuss the benefits of relaxation and letting the mind wander, something that rarely happened in today's busy world. This was a modern-day adventure, and Holly knew she could tweak it into an account that would work well.

"Holly!"

She snapped her eyes open, wondering just how long she'd had them closed. That daydream had gone further than she'd thought. Alarmed, she realized that her tube was suddenly much further away from everyone else's.

"Come back over here!" Dahlia cried out, waving her over. She and the rest of the group were all the way toward the right side of the river.

Holly, however, was toward the left. Panicking, she paddled her hands and feet, but it didn't seem to make any difference. Everyone was still shouting and waving at her, but now, she couldn't understand anything they were saying. She was just getting further and further away from them. Holly made arcing swoops in the water with her arms. Why was she so bad at this? She was from Cape Cod, after all.

Then she noticed the ripples weren't just from her movements. The calm surface of the water was breaking up into little waves, each with a crest of white at the top. Shit. She'd hit rapids! Her speed was picking up, and she careened further to the left.

What had Kevin said about this? She swore she'd heard something about it, but fucking Kyle had been boasting in her ear, and she hadn't heard any of it. There was no stopping. There was no changing direction. She couldn't do anything! Holly gripped the handles on her innertube for dear life.

"Forty-three years, and this is how it ends?"

Holly had relied on her bear instincts many times in her life, but they weren't helping right now. The beast inside her didn't know anything more about this than she did. Even if she were to shift right there and expose her secret to everyone, the current would probably just continue to carry her downstream. This was bad. This was really bad.

And then it got worse. Just ahead, she spotted a tree limb. No, it was more like a whole section of the tree that'd fallen down into the water. Smaller branches reached out from it like a net, waiting to grab her. Should she aim for it, hoping that someone could rescue her? Or should she try to paddle away? Her mind was full of fear and nothing else.

"Maybe I can push off of it," she reasoned to herself. If she could hit it just right and use it as a springboard, it would send her back toward the rest of the group. It was a long shot, but it was the only option she had.

Holly held on tight and hoped the river wouldn't take her too far to the left or right before she reached the tree. She picked up her left foot and set her heel on the tube, getting it ready for a hard kick. The raft wobbled as it sped over the rapids, and her heart had a permanent home in her throat. This was it. She was getting closer. She was going to do it.

Then, the raft tipped upside down. She clung to it as hard as she could, but it slipped from her fingers. She reached out, flailing in the water, but it was long gone. She was spinning, flying, swirling. She heard a hollow thump, and everything turned black.

"There she is." A calm voice echoed near her head. "Her eyelids are fluttering. She's coming back to us."

Something moved under Holly's shoulder and lifted her. It turned her to the side as she coughed up disgusting river water.

It was then that she realized she was coughing that water up onto the grass. Grass! With sturdy earth beneath it! She dug her fingers into it, wanting to be sure it was real. She had that taste she'd been looking for earlier, but she wouldn't be writing about it.

"Easy, there." That voice was still there, though it'd felt like a figment of her imagination. "You're going to be okay."

She squinted up into the sunshine, but her eyes refused to focus. "What happened?"

"Your tube flipped, and you hit your head on a tree limb," the gentle voice explained. "You've got quite a bump, but I think you're going to be okay."

"Really?" Because she sure didn't feel okay. Her bear was bursting inside her. It was surging beneath her skin all of a sudden, raging and railing even though she was now on dry land and no longer in that awful water.

"Yeah, I think so."

The sunlight behind him had been like a beacon from the clouds, but the clouds shifted and his face came into focus. Her bear went wild again as she took in his dark blue eyes, killer cheekbones, and square jaw. His wet hair dripped down onto his brow. He looked handsome, but it was his expression that got her the most. He was looking right into her eyes with genuine care and concern.

And there she was, lying in her wet swimsuit for the world to see. Maybe she should've gone for that bikini wax after all.