“No way, I’m coming with you. If it’s a bear or something, I should be there.”
I shot him a glance and said, “So you can do what? Become the bear whisperer and save my ass?”
“Shut up,” he groused. “I had those koi eating out of the palm of my hand. I’m a natural with animals. Besides, it’s not your ass I’m worried about.”
I began climbing up the sharp incline. When I heard Bennett struggling behind me, his boots sliding through the soft dirt, I reached my hand out. He automatically grabbed it like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“So you’re coming with me so you can save my dog?”
“What can I say, I’ve grown fond of him. Besides, he smells better than you.”
I chuckled. “My fart factory of a dog smells better than me? Thanks.”
Bennett started to speak, but the sound of Bear barking had us both stopping in our tracks. Once I pinpointed where the barking was coming from, I turned in that direction and practically dragged Bennett behind me. It was several hundred feet up the incline before we reached a small clearing. It took just seconds to locate Bear by a small outcropping of boulders.
And he wasn’t alone.
“Lucky?” I called when I recognized the boy’s red shirt. He was walking towards us, along with Frankie. Both boys looked over at us.
“We’re okay,” Lucky returned as they trotted towards us, followed closely by Bear.
“What happened?” I asked. “Why’d you go off the trail?”
“Um, I caught up to Frankie and we thought we heard something—”
“That’s not true. It was me,” Frankie cut in. “I got scared because I thought I saw something on the trail and just panicked and ran. I couldn’t figure out how to get back so I started calling for help.”
I noticed the teenager’s eyes were red-rimmed. After Lucky had told me he’d seen Frankie crying earlier this morning, I’d done a check-in with Frankie to make sure he was okay, but he’d brushed my concerns aside with a cocky remark about all the shit he’d seen living in the city and these woods being “a walk in the park.”
“Lucky heard me and came to show me how to get back.”
Lucky dropped his eyes and I saw some color seep into his cheeks. “It was nothing,” he murmured. “I marked the map with the alternate route like you said so I didn’t get lost.”
“I’m really proud of you, Lucky. That was good thinking,” I said as I patted him on the shoulder. I turned to find Bennett staring at Lucky with a wide grin on his face. His love for the boy was so apparent that it made my heart hurt to think about how tough it would be for him when he got back home and had to deal with what was happening with Lucky. Not only would he be carrying around a massive amount of guilt, he’d be struggling with having to let the boy go into a whole new situation.
I led the small group back down to the main trail and Bennett and I held back, letting Frankie and Lucky walk ahead of us. I noticed Bear was practically attached to Lucky’s hip the entire time.
“He’s a great kid,” I said to Bennett.
“He really is. I know I’m not supposed to get overly attached to them—”
“Bullshit,” I interjected and waited until Bennett was looking at me to say, “You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t get attached.”
He nodded. “Thank you,” he said softly, and then suddenly his fingers curled into my hand. When he linked our fingers, it felt like my heart was going to burst out of my chest.
Because it was so fucking perfect.
And I knew in that moment I could do it. I could let the past go and focus on the future.
A future with him. But as quickly as the thought entered my brain, reality crashed down, because Bennett said, “They’re my life, you know?”
“I do,” I managed to say. And that was the crux of it. Even wanting Bennett wasn’t enough. He had a whole life waiting for him back in New York, and mine was here. I didn’t even begin to know how to make something like that work. It wasn’t like we could date while living 2000 miles apart. Not to mention that nothing about our lives would mesh. He’d told me he was being groomed to take over the investment firm his father had founded. He’d have everything at that point— wealth, status, power. And I’d still be me. Xander Reed, caretaker’s-son-turned-wilderness-guide. I was the hired help. Even if Bennett could see past that, his friends and family never would.
I forced myself to release Bennett’s hand when he relaxed his fingers. I listened as the boys chatted with each other, and pride swelled in my chest when Lucky offered to let Frankie walk ahead of us so it would look like he’d finished the hike on his own. For whatever reason, Frankie declined, which surprised me because I was certain he’d jump at the chance to save face. But the young man took it a step further, because as soon as we reached camp, he went straight to where everyone was setting up camp and began telling them exactly what Lucky had done. Lucky was treated to a variety of accolades, but his eyes lit up when Calvin got the group to start chanting Lucky’s name and then led the boys in a raucous round of applause. As the excitement died down and the boys began sharing enthusiastic stories about their solo hikes, I wondered if this trip had sparked a desire in any of them to spend more time researching or trying to get back into the wilderness. It made me wonder if there was a way I could help other kids have similar experiences.