Moonstone by Jaime Clevenger Page B

she was an adult now. Kelsey passed by him and went to the storage unit. She changed out of her work clothes and then shimmied into a wetsuit. She carefully folded up her blouse and suit and set them on the dusty workbench. A neon orange life jacket hung from a hook near the door and she reluctantly slipped this on over the wetsuit.
    By the time she had the kayak in the water, the breeze had picked up sharply and the marina’s windsocks were sideways. She saw John watching her and waved, then tapped the chest of her life vest. He nodded and pointed at the gathering clouds. With John’s warning in mind, she pushed the kayak in a few feet and then hopped into her seat. She wouldn’t be gone long enough for him to send the ferry looking for her.
    With the winds blowing hard from the north and the tide coming in, she had a good fight starting out. Her left shoulder ache came on quickly but after she reached Wates Bridge and the current eased, the pain subsided. She’d grown used to ignoring all but the knife-sharp stabbing pain.
    She passed under the bridge and rowed at a slower pace, angling the kayak toward the slough. Beyond the bridge, the bay narrowed to a shallow passage. At low tide, even kayakers got stuck on sandbars. Larger rigs had no chance of making it up the slough, but because of the smooth water and the wildlife along the marshy edges, Kelsey preferred the spot. She wasn’t the only one. It was often too crowded with kayakers on weekends to have any peace. Through the week, though, she had the place to herself.
    An otter popped up alongside her kayak, and she settled back to watch him crack open a mussel. He ate his snack, fastidiously cleaning his whiskers afterward, and then rolled in the water while she watched. Finally he dove under the water. Kelsey waited for him to pop his head up again, but he’d disappeared. Kelsey glanced at her watch and reluctantly turned the kayak around. The sun peeked out between the clouds, glaringly bright on the water, and then disappeared as quickly as it had shone.
    She could see the back of the waterfront building where Joy’s optometry clinic was—close enough to the marina that they could meet for a long lunch sometime. Or she could borrow a kayak from John and show Joy a new angle on the bay. Maybe a hike along the shoreline trail was more Joy’s thing. Mather Island was the best spot for wildlife…
    Kelsey shook her head. She was already planning their first date. She hadn’t dated anyone since Hannah, but then she hadn’t officially even dated Hannah. She was out of practice even asking someone out on a date. With Hannah it had just happened. The fact that it never should have happened in the first place was part of the problem.
    Kelsey sighed. She’d come out to the bay to escape, like always, and the problems followed her. She watched a gull swoop past. The bird came close enough that she could hear the rustle of his feathers. She neared the bridge and had to focus on the water again. The current was always strongest where the warmer river mixed in with the bay and with the wind tugging, she worked up a sweat. She thought of taking off the life jacket, but the image of John’s face flashed in her mind and she ignored the sweat dripping down her back. By the time she made it back to the docks, she was wiped. There was a shower waiting for her and then the late afternoon meeting. But her thoughts wandered far from the afternoon schedule.
    * * *
    Kelsey counted the heads of a group of middleschool kids splashing in the deep end and then glanced at the toddler bobbing next to his mom. There was still another five minutes until shift change. Way too long to listen to Andrew. He’d been talking nonstop for the past ten minutes about the fight. Everyone seemed to be talking about it.
    “I heard that one of the teachers called the cops,” Andrew said.
    “No one called the cops,” Kelsey argued.
    “That’s what I heard.” He shrugged. “Someone said that