Lena's River Read Free Page A

then blurted out: “You’re welcome. He just showed up at my
camp so we’ve been on a walk looking for you.” She extended her hand: “I’m the
girl with the hot hubs from yesterday.”
    All at once she realized that didn’t come out right and
could feel her face turning fiery red again. She tensed and gave him her best
deer in the headlights kind of look. The guy broke out in a loud hoot which
made her blush more.
    “Ah, that isn’t what I meant to say.” She tried to
laugh along but it got caught in her throat.
    He continued to grin ear to ear and extended a hand
back. “Hi, my name’s Levi. I really appreciate you finding Pascal.”
    “Well, he found me, to be truthful.” Lena took his hand
and shook it. It felt warm and strong. There was a place inside her that
reacted to his touch but she fought it back.
    “Well, whatever. Thanks for caring enough to make the
effort.” He grinned at her. His teeth were very white.
    Lena liked his smile. His smile made her tingle .
“For god’s sake, Lena stop it. Whoever got off on teeth? You are so pathetic.” Lena, the school-teacher, had to hold herself in check again. The practical,
analytical, critical Lena wanted to scold her impulsive self at every turn. But free Lena just wanted to stare at his smile. She felt it was open and
honest, and she really did like his teeth. They were straight and bright and
not too large. She noticed now that he had a slight accent but it was one she
couldn’t place. And Levi wasn’t a name you heard every day in the Northwest.
    “So, you made it all the way out here with a
questionable bearing, huh?” He took off the baseball cap and rubbed the top of
his head as he let Pascal down. Lena noticed his hair was almost as wavy as
hers but dark and cropped close.
    “Yes, it didn’t give me any trouble but I will
definitely pack some more grease in there before we go home.” She thought she
saw him react to the word “we” but her brain was spitting out serious
hyper-hormones and so just stop it Lena; he’s not interested!
    She continued: “It’s funny you were headed out here too.
Do you fish or are you here for the hot springs?” Lena bit her lower lip again
waiting to be dismissed.
    Levi’s face lit up with interest. “Did you say hot
springs ? Those would be fantastic to visit. I’ve been fishing a little but
I don’t know much about this area and I haven’t had any luck. What about you?”
    As a second thought he asked: “Hey, can I offer you a
cold drink? My camp’s just right there.” He pointed to the other side of the
loop – a smaller site reserved for tents which was back from the road. There
was a mid-sized Marmot tent set up and a camp chair.
    Lena hesitated. She didn’t expect him to continue the
conversation. But it seemed like a genuine invite.
    “Um, okay. Sure.” She followed him over to the camp.
She noticed Pascal kept close to his heels.
    “So name your pleasure: I’ve got a nice Lebanese beer,
a raspberry Izze or two, and diet Pepsi.”
    “The raspberry seltzer sounds great.” His camp was spare
and tidy. “That’s a real nice tent.”
    “Yeah, it was expensive but I’ve used the heck out of
it already.”
    He offered her the one camp chair but she sat on the
picnic table with her beverage. She took a small sip and swung her legs back
and forth, nervous. They stared at each other, not saying anything for a minute.
She decided that all that leg-swinging might be annoying, so she stopped.
    “I don’t think I caught your name?”
    “Oh, my name’s Lena.” She took another small sip from
the can.
    Levi asked: “Are you here with friends did you say?” He
looked right at her then sat down in the camp chair and began scratching in the
dirt near his feet with a stick.
    “Yes, we’re kind of a funny crew – into fishing and
vintage campers.” Here Lena chuckled. “Some of us are a little more into the
vintage camping than others.” She used scare quotes in the air as