Carter

I got up from the couch and noticed the cottage was quiet. Glancing over to the bedroom, I saw that Zoey wasn’t there or in the bathroom. Walking over to the window that provided a spectacular view of the lake, I saw her standing by the water with her hands tucked into the pockets of a light jacket she was wearing. She was probably overthinking what happened between us last night, even though I made it very clear that it meant nothing. I put on a sweatshirt, made two cups of coffee, and walked down to where she was standing.

“Morning,” I spoke as I handed her a coffee cup.

“Morning. Thank you. You missed the sunrise.”

“I bet it was nice,” I spoke as I sipped my coffee.

“It was incredible. Look at this view. All this nature and the mountains.”

“I will admit it’s pretty. Do you want to talk about your nightmare last night?” I asked as I stared out at the lake.

“No. It wasn’t even a nightmare. It was more of a memory from my childhood.”

“It must have been a bad memory to make you react the way you did.”

“It wasn’t bad. It was just something I had forgotten about. We need to do that.” She pointed out to a couple who was kayaking in the lake.

“Why?” I asked.

“So we can scatter Nora’s ashes.”

“Why can’t we scatter them right here?”

“Really?” She glanced over at me. “Are you just going to stand here and dump them all in one spot and risk them getting blown on shore? If we take a kayak out far enough, we can scatter them where it’s nothing but water.”

I sighed. “We really need to get on the road to Sedona. Have you forgotten how long of a drive it is?”

“No, I haven’t. But do you really want to do this half-assed?” Her brow raised.

“I’ll go shower and then we can head to the lobby to find out where we can rent one. But we’re going to need to hurry because it’s already seven thirty. I want to be on the road by nine.”

After I quickly showered and got dressed, Zoey and I took our bags to the lobby and had the desk hold them for us until after our little kayaking adventure. We walked out to the back of the hotel and down the beach, where we found the rental place.

“Do you want our all-day rental?” the guy behind the counter asked.

“No. We’ll only be out there about a half hour.”

“Oh.” He looked at me strangely.

After I paid and signed the paperwork, I asked Zoey, “You do know how to kayak, right?”

“How hard can it be?”

“You’ve never done this before?” I asked with irritation.

“No.”

“For fuck sakes.” I shook my head and sighed. “You’ll sit in the front and I’ll sit in the back. All you have to do is paddle from side to side and we need to do it in unison. Understand?”

“Okay. No problem.”

We climbed into the kayak and began paddling out.

“Like this?” Zoey asked from up front.

“Yes. Just like that.”

Before long, Zoey was out of unison and our paddles were clashing.

“Zoey!” I shouted.

“Sorry.”

A small smile crossed my face as I watched her from behind.

Once we were far enough out, we stopped paddling and I opened the backpack I had stored in the kayak. Taking out urn number one, I held it in my hands, finding it difficult to move.

“It’s okay, Carter. This is what she wanted,” Zoey spoke.

“I know. Just give me a second.”

I took in a deep breath and tipped the urn so it was over the water.

“Paddle, Zoey,” I spoke.

She did as I asked, and as the kayak started to slowly move, a light wind swept over not only us, but also Nora’s ashes and spread them over parts of the lake.

“Rest in peace, baby sister,” I whispered.

****

Zoey

I smiled as I looked a few feet in front of the kayak and saw Nora standing on the water. I turned and glanced at Carter as he sat there and held the urn.

“Do you think she’s happy?” he asked.

“Yes. I do,” I replied.

He stared at me, and to my surprise, a small smile crossed his lips. It was in that moment that a tiny piece of the darkness that shrouded him began to fade. I turned and looked at Nora, who was still standing there.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

I smiled as she faded into the distance.

“I think we should head back and get on the road,” Carter spoke.

“Sounds like a plan.”

We both picked up our paddles and began paddling back to shore. By time we returned the kayak, grabbed our bags from the hotel, and loaded the SUV, it was nine thirty. As soon as we both climbed in and shut the door, Carter sat there with his hands gripping the steering wheel.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

He slowly turned his head and looked at me.

“I don’t know. I just have this weird feeling that maybe we should go back inside the hotel and eat breakfast before we leave.”

“We’re already a half hour behind,” I spoke.

“I’m aware of that, Zoey.”

“Then let’s go. I’m starving.”

We climbed out of the SUV and went inside to the Sierra Café.

“Table for two,” Carter spoke to the hostess.

We followed her to our table, took our seats, and looked over the breakfast menu. After placing our order, I wrapped my hands around the white coffee cup and stared at Carter while he made a phone call to his office. He was so handsome and I couldn’t stop thinking about what happened last night. No one had ever made me feel the way he did in those moments and it scared me. It scared me because I knew, in some way, we belonged together and that was something he’d never see. Not until he put closure on Angelique and his baby’s death.