CHAPTER 1
The day was steaming and Roy Drum was tired and irritable when he arrived home to find his wife Trudy was out and as usual her over-fed dog ignored him.
Daughter Denise, who hated her name and wearing only panties, entered the kitchen.
She said dully, "Want a cold beer?"
"Jesus Denise, for put some clothes on. I'm your father."
She tossed him a beer anyway and he fumbled the catch.
"Has their been doubt that you are my father? Was that what you and mum were shouting about last night?"
"No I'm your father and your mum got mad when I said it was too hot for sex."
Denise's mouth dropped. "Do you and mum still have sex?"
The reply was to go and dress.
"Don't you like these daddy?" she said, scowling, and cupping her breasts.
"They're okay."
"As good as mum's?"
"Better."
Denise looked pleased and sat with a Coke.
"Mum's gone to stay with her parents until you become reasonable again."
"Oh crap. Not that again."
The 18-year old trickled some cold Coke between her breasts in a vain endeavor to cool off.
"Go do your homework and stop wasting your drink."
She sighed. "Dad don't be a jerk. You attended my graduation last week remember? I await going to college and most of my friends and all the half-decent guys have left town."
They sat in silence.
Denise knew her father was thinking. He kept stroking his chin.
A couple of minutes later he pulled out his phone and called someone.
"Ivan it's Roy. Something's come up. I need to go away for eight days. You run the company in my absence and refer any problems you have to the chairman. I'll send a confirming email to the chairman and Dot and all executive staff. Here's my daughter's phone number to contact me if you need me urgently. I'm not taking my phone."
He listened to something Roy said and thanked Roy and cut the call.
"I didn't say you could have my phone."
Roy said he wasn't borrowing it.
"You are coming with me on an adventure I did with Mary Royce when we were eighteen. You and I will do everything Mary and I did... er apart from the sex."
"Oh the sex will be okay daddy. I'm not anticipating a sex-free summer."
Roy snapped enough of that talk and told her to take the dog over to Mrs Smith who adored the little pile of absurdity and to leave a note for her mother saying where the dog was and they'd be back on or about the 24th.
"The dog's name is Rufus in case you have lapsed into dementia."
"You have a cruel tongue, just like your mother."
"I take it I have no say about going on this fucking adventure?"
"Correct and watch your foul mouth young lady."
"Oooh young lady am I?" she said, bouncing her breasts.
Roy sighed and went to send the memo.
Denise returned from Mrs Smith's with a bag of home-baked brownies. She found her father in the garage with the two kayaks down off their hooks, two paddles and camping gear spread out.
He unlooked the steel cabinet and pulled out his rifle that he placed beside a box of ammo.
Looking theatrical and big-eyed, Denise said, "I'm not coming back. A lonely grave awaits me."
Roy scowled at her and said to pack enough clothes for a week and handed Denise her backpack.
"Oh just six panties will suffice."
When she returned Roy said to check everything he had spread out to make sure nothing was missing.
When he returned with his backpack loaded Denise said, "We need to buy a dozen gas canisters for the camp stove if you want to eat hot food."
"Oh good girl."
"So I'm a good girl now?"
Roy sighed.
"I've also added our PFDs (personal flotation devices)."
Roy smiled and kissed her and rubbed her hair. "Do you wish to be called Sophie on this adventure?"
"Oh yes daddy and when we return could you once again try to get mum to agree to that name change."
"If she's still around. She may be hiding behind a divorce lawyer."
Sophie (no longer Denise) said: "That's unlikely. Mum knows she's on to a good thing. Are you sorry Mary what'shername went off and married someone else?''
"No because then I mightn't have had you as my daughter."
"Oh daddy," Sophie half whimpered.
They loaded the Toyota SUV and were seated, about to set off when Sophie handed her dad one of Mrs Smith's biscuits and he groaned and slapped his forehead. "We haven't loaded food for when we go downriver. Out and let's sit in the kitchen and think of what else we should have packed."
They added Sophie's battery charger for her phone and two torches and canned food and two can openers.
"So we are going downriver?
"Yes. We'll go to Brunner and stay the night in a cabin. We should get there by midnight. In the morning we'll have breakfast and then someone will take us upriver and drop us off and return the Toyota to Brunner."
"Who?"
"Whoever's available."
No one was about and no lights were on when they arrived at Brunner Staging Post just outside the boundary of the 360,000-acre National Park. They found a cabin with the door open and found it vacant.
"God I'm tired," Sophie yawned. "Ooops this cabin only has a double bed."
"That will be okay. Just don't hit on me."
"You're dreaming daddy."
Not long after dawn Roy left his sleeping daughter and went to the store.
Although the guy packing shelves had a beard, Roy thought he looked like Ted Bishop who might still be alive.
"Tommy Bishop?"
"Yeah pal, who's asking?"
"Roy Drum."
"The name's vaguely familiar."
"Twenty years ago when you were a kid of fifteen you were taking my girlfriend of that time and me upriver in your dad's Jeep and the motor blew up when we were a mile from Bitter Creek tributary. You radioed for a tow vehicle and they took Mary and me up to the launching place before returning to tow you home."