NANCY DREW - white water terror | Page 2

ha,� she replied.

Nancy climbed off the bed and went to the window, where she stood looking out at the soft summer drizzle that was falling. A river trip might be fun, but she could see Bess�s point. A beach vacation, a real one, would be relaxing, and baking under the hot sun on the shores of Fox Lake might be just the thing to take her mind off the detective business. But there was something else to think about. �You say you won a trip for four people?� she asked George again.

George nodded.

�Well, then, how about inviting Ned to go along?� Ned Nickerson was Nancy�s longtime boyfriend. He was away at summer school just then, at Emerson College, and Nancy missed him. She had the feeling that her friendship with Ned could be the most important relationship in her life�if she could just make a little more time for it. But Ned, who had always been the most understanding guy on earth, seemed to be getting a little impatient with her. Nancy couldn�t forget that during their case at Flash magazine, Ned had become involved with another girl. That hadn�t lasted long,but�. �.�.

The raft trip might be exactly the kind of thing to give the two of them plenty of relaxed, fun time together.

Nancy turned away from the window and continued thinking out loud. �Didn�t Ned go on a couple of white water trips with his uncle a few years ago? He�d probably be a big help in case of an emergency or something.�

�Emergency?�Bess went pale. �Like�like the raft tipping over?�

George looked at her scornfully. �Rafts don�t �tip over,� dummy. They capsize .�

Bess turned a shade paler.

�Rafts don�t capsize, either,� Nancy said, patting Bess comfortingly on the shoulder. �They�re too stable.� She stretched and yawned. �Listen, Bess, if you want a vacation at the beach, go for it. But I�ve never been white water rafting, and it sounds like fun to me�if Ned can come along.� She turned to George.

�Sure,� George said enthusiastically.�Yeah. Ask Ned. We�ll have a great time with him.� She cast a sideways glance at Bess.�And with all the other boys.�

�What other boys?� Bess asked.

�Are you kidding?� George replied. �The letter said there are six other kids coming along on the trip.Probably boys.� She paused. �Rugged, masculine, plaid-shirted boys with broad shouldersand�. �.�.�

�Well�.�.�.� Bess said indecisively.

�Oh, come on,� Nancy said. �It�ll be great.�

�Boys,� George teased.

�Okay,� Bess agreed. �I�ll come.�

�

�Bess Marvin has agreed to go white water rafting with you and George?� Ned said incredulously. He propped his feet up on Carson Drew�s favorite ottoman.

Nancy�s father was an internationally known criminal lawyer. He had taught Nancy a great deal of what she knew about detective work. At the moment, he was on one of his frequent trips, this one to the Middle East. Nancy missed him, but she wasn�t alone. She had Hannah Gruen , the Drews � longtime housekeeper, who had been like a second mother to Nancy since the death of Nancy�s real mother.

Nancy glanced at Ned. He was home for the weekend, and she was glad to see him. She was enjoying their cozy evening in the den watching TV.

�How�d you ever talk Bess into it?� Ned asked. �Lost River must be hundreds of miles from the nearest Neiman-Marcus.�

Nancy dipped into a bowl of popcorn that Hannah had made for them before she�d gone to bed. �It wasn�t easy,� she admitted. She looked at Ned. He was wearing his light brown hair a little longer than usual and his face was darkly tanned. She wondered if he had been spending time at the college swimming pool�and if so, whether he�d been aloneor�. �.�.

She put her hand on his arm. �How about you?� she asked softly. �Could I talk you into a white water trip?�

�Me?�

�Yeah, you.As in you and me.And George and Bess, too, of course.�

Ned pretended to look stunned. �I�I hardly know what to say. This is all so sudden.I�. �.�.� Grinning, he ducked the pillow that Nancy tossed at him. �Yeah, sure, I�ll go, Nan. Summer school will be over next week, and I won�t have anything else to do.�

�Well, I must say you don�t sound all that wild about it.�

Ned�s grin faded. �I guess I�m just surprised,� he said quietly. �Let�s face it, Nancy. We�ve seen each other only two or three times in the last couple ofmonths, and even then I was taking you away from your detective work�from something I felt you�d rather be doing. In fact, during a couple of your recent cases, I�ve gotten the idea that I wasn�t a very important part of your life. We�ve patched things up, but