The return walk to the landing where she'd left Jerod and Matt was almost blessedly quiet. The strangely mismatched but fatefully linked pair made their way back up the miles of river that the water had hurled them down, and for the life of her, Bree could not think of a single thing more to say. Instead, she simply wrapped her arms tightly, one over the other, about her chest, in a sparse defense from goose bumps rising all over her skin, thoroughly chilled without a towel to dry off on this cool Oregonian day. 

It was not lost on Bree in the least, that during the entirety of their first brief, incredibly strange conversation, that Ethan had kept her at the proverbial arm's length during the entire exchange. Whatever kept their interaction stilted and awkward was, she was sure, something more he did not want her to know, yet another secret [secrets?] he most desperately wanted to keep to himself. But Bree did not read minds - nor numbers, obviously - and she had to content herself that whatever else he held close, it was not apparently criminal.

Or at the very least, she had no proof that it was, which was more-or-less the same thing. And there was nothing that said the two of them had to be friends at the end of all this - hell, they didn't even have to be friendly. Yes, his request to stop through Denver for identification raised all kinds of red flags in her head, but considering he knew very well the FBI were coming after him, perhaps it would not be so strange that he'd have secured his true identification far away, on the off chance he was arrested or stopped by authorities for any reason at all - even a speeding ticket.

[i]Then again, wouldn't Ethan be able to foresee something like that, a speed trap, if... [/i]

Bree groaned, unfolding her arms just long enough to let her fingertips massage her temples for a moment. Trying to figure out how all of this actually worked would give her a headache like no other, and she was just too damned exhausted for the effort. The wave of relief that washed over her when she saw the landing where they were meant to launch, Jarod and Matt and a few other family friends milling about around the raft, Jarod's strong face darkened with worry as he spoke animatedly with his middle brother Josh. 

"Jarod!" Bree called his name, waving and then jogging the remaining distance before she threw herself into his arms. 

"Damn it Bree," he said tenderly, a relieved smile that promised he wasn't really mad at all. "I was about to call in the National Guard!"

She let her head lie against his chest for a moment before she spoke, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I went into the river," she murmured softly, "We both did." Bree lifted her head to look to Ethan, waving him closer with her one hand. 

"You... [i]What!?"[/i] Jarod's dark eyes narrowed thoughtfully as they swept between Bree and this green-eyed stranger.

"Jarod, this is Ethan."

"Ethan... ?" His brow furrowed for a moment before widening in genuine shock. His lips pulled back over his teeth in something very like a snarl, both his hands wrapped around Bree's upper arms as if he would pick her up and pull her away to safety from some rabid dog that had followed her home.

But Bree only put one palm gently on Jarod's wide chest, the other tenderly bringing his handsome face to hers. "No. No, it's all right Jarod. I'll explain to you later, but I promise, it's all right. We were both in the river. He saved me - I saved him too. But I'm afraid I've got to cut our vacation short. I'm so sorry, but there are simply things I have to do... " 

She stood to her toes to kiss Jarod lightly, and his arms slid easily around her slender form as he pulled her to him tightly. His dark eyes lifted over her shoulder to glare at Ethan, his mouth a thin, disapproving line.

For his part, Matt leaned against a nearby tree trunk and maintained his usual silence, brows furrowed curiously over his hazel eyes as he took in the whole of this strange, [i]strange[/i] scene.