Pauline thinks she’s going on an ordinary vacation, but instead finds the most thrilling and dangerous adventure of her life…and one very handsome young Marine.
Pauline is supposed to be a new college graduate, but after a very embarrassing incident at college, she leaves school and returns home. She’s also dealing with her younger sister’s suicide. To fulfill her sister’s dream, Pauline goes on a summer rafting trip in the wilderness of British Columbia, Canada, though she’s not as outdoorsy as her sister was.
Once Pauline starts the journey down the river, returning to civilization proves rife with unexpected and treacherous obstacles. She soon finds herself trapped with her river guide, Ellis, a young Marine who harbors his own dark secrets. The pair start off not liking each other.
Things take a turn for the worse when they begin to suspect they are being followed, and Pauline is the target. As they make their way down the river in a race against time, they have to work together to outsmart her potential killers.
Publisher's Note: This book has previously been released elsewhere. It has been revised and re-edited for re-release with Finch Books.
General Release Date: 22nd March 2016
Pauline
There has to be some mistake.
That’s the first thought that pops into my mind as I wait outside the busy airport terminal. The morning in Vancouver is warmer than the night was in Boston when I boarded my flight to Canada. Sweat dampens my back and seeps into my shirt. The trip has gone smoothly until now. Fiona, the tour guide from the rafting company, isn’t here to pick me up.
Vancouver looks a little like Boston. If most of British Columbia looks like this, then maybe this trip won’t be so hard after all. I’m kind of here to challenge myself anyway. My younger sister, Samantha, should have been here instead of me—until she took her own life, and I took her place on this trip.
I’ve learned to surround myself with a hard shell, and inside that shell Sam’s death is the tender part—something I can’t talk about. Completing what would have been Sam’s journey is the only way I can break the shell and move past what happened to her. That’s what I’ve come to believe. Then I can regain the normal life I once had and messed up.
With my luggage weighing me down, I head to the security booth and explain my situation to the guard there. He shrugs and suggests I ask the man hailing taxis for incoming travelers.
“Do you know if there is—or was—a woman my age from a company called River Tours waiting to pick me up? My name’s Pauline,” I tell the man, who wears a dark red uniform and cap with gold piping.
“Sorry, miss, I haven’t seen anyone like that.” He rushes off to help an older, bag-laden woman open a cab door.
“But, sir…” He runs to help another traveler, and I check my phone. Should I call Mom and tell her what’s happening? No, I can’t do that. At twenty-one years old, I’m determined not to depend so much on my parents. I know Fiona through Sam, but I don’t have her number. I’ll call the tour company and let them know what’s going on, risk getting Fiona into trouble with her employer.
Inside the terminal, I seek an escape from the day and buy an iced coffee at the kiosk. I put my luggage down, sit with my coffee in my hand in the waiting area and enjoy the air conditioning. Outside the long glass windows near me, the day is clear and sunny. Maybe I’ve gotten it wrong and I’m supposed to meet Fiona at the trip’s starting point. I sure hope not. According to the map on the tour company’s website, it’s in the middle of nowhere, and I have a lot of luggage with me. I look up the tour company number and call. It rings six times, and just when I think I’m going to get voicemail, a man answers. His voice sounds older, grandfatherly.
“Hello?”
“Hi—hi, this is Pauline Choice. I’m scheduled for a week-long rafting trip with Fiona. I’m waiting here at the airport, but Fiona’s not here yet. I believe she was supposed to pick me up?” I hate my girlish pitch, it makes me sound so damn young. I bring my voice down lower when he doesn’t reply right away. “Sir?”
“Yep, we have you down with Fiona for your trip.” The man introduces himself as the owner. “I’ll reach her, then ring you back. I’ll make things right for you if need be. Sorry about this. I hope there’s no hard feelings.”
Not yet. “It’s okay. Do you know when she might get here?”
“I hope she’ll be there real soon. I’m very sorry about this. I’m going to give you a call back in a moment.” He sounds eager to hang up so he can figure it out. “Thank you, miss.”
I end the call and sip my iced coffee while I wait. After a few minutes, my jingling ringtone plays. It’s the rafting company.
“This is Miss Choice?” The voice belongs to the same guy I spoke to.
“Yes. Hi. Any word on Fiona?”
“I’m afraid I can’t reach her. I don’t know what’s going on. I’m so sorry about the inconvenience for you. This has never happened before, and I can assure you we’re normally very reliable.”
He’s trying to comfort me, but whatever he’s saying doesn’t matter. Through my ears I’m only hearing that the trip might not happen. I swallow back tears and wait for him to tell me they will have to cancel the trip and give me a refund. I have to take this trip for Sam. I don’t know how I will ever turn around and head back home having done nothing in her memory.
“But we are working on getting another guide for you to go in her place,” he says.
“Oh, thank you.” I’m relieved, until I think of something else. “I hate to sound picky.” I pause. “I’d really prefer the guide to be a woman for obvious reasons, since we’ll be camping overnight.”
Silence on the other end, then a sound emits from the man’s mouth as though my request won’t be an easy task for him to carry out. After a minute he speaks. “I’ll see what I can do for you. I will warn you that it could take some time for me to find a replacement, seeing as all our other guides are already out on multi-day expeditions.”
“No problem. I’ll take a cab to get a head start and meet whoever you send there.” Without Fiona’s guidance, how will I know where to go? His voice trails off and I’m worried I’ll lose him. I bring up the tour company’s website on my phone and make him talk me through the directions.
He speaks in a fatherly manner. “If you follow the website directions we went over, the person will meet you at the River Tours access point. There’s a sign posted on a tree. You can’t miss the sign. Good luck with getting a cab, miss.” I don’t understand why he’s wishing me good luck. In a city this size, how hard can it be?
I get up, grab my bags and throw the plastic coffee cup into a nearby trash bin. I head outside into the late morning and wait for the man in the red cap to hail me a taxi. A white cab pulls up and I get in the back seat after the driver throws my luggage in the trunk.
The driver, an older man with a snowy beard, lowers the radio volume as I get settled. “Where to, ma’am?”
His card reader looks like it’s not working. “You don’t accept credit cards?”
He looks back at me and an amused grin washes across his face. “Nope. Cash only. You want to stay in or get out?”
“No, I have enough cash on me.” I think. He’ll run me dry, and I doubt I’ll see an ATM once I leave the airport in the cab.