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the covered bridge, so he sat in his truck and waited. He tried not to think of Amberlee. Part of him hoped Ettie wouldn't show. Then he could go home and get drunk and watch ESPN, which was his usual Saturday night routine.
    Regardless of his bravado with Ettie, he'd lived an extremely tame life. Primarily due to the fact that he'd knocked up and married a very level-headed woman at the age of nineteen. Amberlee had told him to find a means of living and support them, and so he had done it. He was happy to do whatever she wanted just so long as they were together.
    Before that, though, he could recall being a bit adventurous. It had always been an effort getting his young girlfriend to go along with him, and there were some schemes she'd directly refused to participate in, but they'd certainly had more fun. He never questioned where the fun went. It was just part of growing up. But here he was, grown up, no wife, a son who was old enough to take care of himself...and fun had landed in his lap. He'd be a fool not to indulge.
    Ettie's headlights swung toward him. He watched in the rear view mirror as she approached. He climbed out of the truck and grabbed the duffel he'd packed out from behind the seat. She parked and hopped out of the car, wearing a bikini underneath a thin cover that came about mid-thigh on her. It was mesh, so he could see through. He grinned.
    "We got a short hike. You ready?" he asked.
    She pointed a sneaker-clad foot out in front of her. "I wore more sensible shoes. See how quickly I learn?"
    They held hands and took a trail that led steadily upward into the woods. He could smell the river as they got closer. The evening light was waning, but there would be a full moon tonight. Plenty of light to see this beautiful woman by. At last they arrived at the ledge of a cliff that hung right over the river. They were about sixty feet up. Ettie looked down and then grinned.
    "Don't get too excited. We're going down about twenty feet and jump off that one." He pointed off to their right and below to another cliff. There was a well-worn trail they could follow down.
    "Why can't we jump from up here?"
    "We can. But we'll start lower. Test the waters a bit."
    He tossed his duffel down and peeled out of his t-shirt. She grabbed him by the arm. "I should tell you," she said, looking up at him with those wide, brown eyes. "I'm not a very good swimmer."
    He shook his head slowly as he studied her. He tried not to smile. "You don't think that might have been good information to share before we made this date?"
    She grinned sheepishly. "I guess I really wanted to go cliff diving and was afraid you'd change your mind."
    He let out a laugh and looked away.
    "I can doggy paddle," she said. "I can get my head above water for the most part."
    "Oh, for the most part. Well in that case—“
    She slapped him on the chest. "Come on. I wanna jump."
    He shrugged. "It's your funeral, sweetheart."
    She beamed. They stripped down to swim suits and then he led the way down to the lower ledge. "I'll go first so I can fish you out."
    She was bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet, overwhelmed with energy and excitement. It tickled him something so simple as a swim in the river could get her all revved up. "Go on, then," she said.
    He stepped to the edge and took a breath.
    "Scared?" she asked.
    He glanced back at her and shot her a look. Then he jumped. The fall wasn't a problem. The ice cold water he plunged into, though, was shocking. He let himself sink deep and then swam to the surface. The cold was a slap in the face. He felt awake, though he hadn't realized he'd been asleep. Adrenaline coursed through him. He smiled up at Ettie and waved her down.
    "Okay!" she shouted. "Here I come!" She took three running steps and leapt.
    Wyatt immediately swam towards where she'd splashed. She came up sputtering and laughing. He caught her around the waist and swam her to the base of the cliff where there were ledges to hold onto. "Fun?" he