Deadly Currents by Beth Groundwater

trips on their own without Uncle Bill?”
    Mandy’s head throbbed. She put her elbows on the table and dropped her chin on her hands. “I don’t want to do this. Not now.”
    David reached across the table and took one of her hands. “We’ve got to make sure Uncle Bill’s customers are taken care of. He would want that. And we’ve got to figure out what to do with his business.”
    When Mandy shot him a bleak look, he said, “Let’s just start with today and tomorrow. Get through these two days, then we’ll go from there. Where did Uncle Bill keep his customer contact information?”
    “On his computer. I can show you—”
    A knock sounded on the door, and it swung open, hitting the wall with a thud. “Mandy?” Rob’s voice called from the living room. He strode into the kitchen. “As soon as I heard about Bill, I came right over.”
    He stopped short, eyes glued on Mandy’s hand in David’s. “Oh, I didn’t realize you had company.”
    David looked Rob up and down then lifted an eyebrow at Mandy, as if to say, “Who’s this guy who feels like he can waltz into your house without knocking?”
    Mandy pulled her hand from David’s grasp and stood. She plucked at her matted hair, knowing she looked awful. “Rob, this is—”
    Then she saw the puddles forming under Rob’s feet, still clad in sandy river sandals. Big drops plopped from his clingy swim trunks. Even though she wanted nothing more than to feel his arms around her, this last little mess snapped the thin veneer of sanity over her ragged emotions. Her grief lashed out.
    “You’re soaking wet and dripping all over my floor!” As soon as the awful words were out of her mouth, she regretted them. She covered her mouth with her hand.
    Rob looked down. “Oh, sorry.” He gestured toward the kitchen door. “I’ll go out in the yard and chan—”
    Then he glanced at David again. “No, I should just leave. I’ll call you later, Mandy.” He turned and squished his way back across the living room carpet and out the front door.
    David studied the sodden footprints. “Odd guy. What’s his name?”
    With a groan, Mandy started toward the front door. “Rob Juarez, and I think he’s got the wrong idea about who you are. Give me a minute.”
    She sped up her pace and yanked open the front door to yell, “Rob, wait!” as he was climbing back into his truck.
    Rob’s square jaw looked chiseled in stone. “I thought you might need some comforting, but it looks like you’ve already got some.”
    “Yeah, but—”
    “I guess you were right about having nothing more to say to me. You work fast, Mandy.”
    He slammed his door shut.
    Mandy yanked it open. “You idiot!”
    “Oh, so I can’t call you stupid, but you can call me an idiot?” Rob folded his arms across his chest.
    Mandy had half a mind to walk off and let Rob stew in his own selfish, jealous juices until he found out for himself what an idiot he was. But she cared too much for this blustering, prideful, and totally endearing man to let him suffer. A smile was already tugging at the edges of her lips over the ridiculous situation. “That’s my brother, David. I told you about him, remember?”
    Rob groaned, slumped in his seat, slapped his forehead. He looked back at the house, where David stood in the front doorway, arms crossed. “You’re right. I’m an idiot.”
    David came over. “So, are you going to introduce me to the idiot?”
    Mandy waved her arms. “David, Rob. Rob, David. Rob and I started dating three months ago.”
    David reached into the truck to shake Rob’s hand. “Off to a good start, I see.”
    _____
    Feeling totally drained, Mandy pushed open the back door of her uncle’s house and stepped inside. After she had gotten David set up with her uncle’s computer, she met the van as it drove into the backyard and pasted on a smile to greet customers when they disembarked. Then she helped Gonzo and Kendra unload two rafts and wash the customers’