We’ll see how I feel when I wake up in the morning.
“Hey,” Chev says later on when we’re eating dinner.
“Yeah?” I murmur, surprised by how utterly incredible the fish is.
Enzo wasn’t lying, this is bloody good.
“Later, when everyone is in bed, we’re going for a night swim. You in?”
“I thought we were meant to come up here to stop being rebellious?” I say.
Her eyes widen, and she reaches forward, putting her hand on my forehead. “Are you sick? You must be sick.”
I laugh, swatting her hand away. “You know I’m always up for an adventure, but I also don’t want to get killed by some wild animal in the middle of the night.”
“It’s just a swim, we’ll be careful. The camp is right there, no animals will come this close.”
Not entirely convinced, I narrow my eyes. “Are you some sort of outdoor explorer now?”
She grins. “No, but we’re just going to have a few drinks and a chat, not run off into the woods and start some body paint ...”
I grin. “Drinks?”
“I knew that would get you. Alice and I snuck some in, we weren’t coming up here without any. We don’t get a chance to run wild very often, we’re not going to lose a single night.”
“Fine, I’ll come for one drink, but that’s it.”
She winks. “I knew you’d be in.”
We finish up eating and then I help Madden and Elias wash up —the two of them are quite interesting to talk to, and I find myself enthralled with their conversation as they talk about the ranch and how many times they’ve come up here hunting.
By the time bed rolls around, I’m actually really tired and am reminded that Enzo promised to get into my bed later so I can’t go ahead and be out too long. Everyone settles in for the night, without much else to do after we chat around the campfire, and I lie beside Faye and Chev, waiting for her signal.
I’m nearly falling asleep when she shoves me, and I jerk.
“Come on.”
I actually don’t want to move, but I get up anyway because I’m not going to be labeled a party pooper. Not today, anyway.
We all sneak out of the camp using the flashlights we were given. We go down to the water, and I make a point of flashing my light around enough to ensure there are no animals nearby. There aren’t, and it’s a clear night, with a full beautiful moon. We all sit on an old fallen log, and Chev hands us the bottle to drink out of.
I take a sip, then another, and pass it along.
“How good is it out here?” I say, exhaling as I look up at the stars.
“I want a cabin right here,” Faye murmurs, “so I can wake up to this every day.”
“I’m coming.” Alice exhales. “And never leaving. My kids would love it here.”
Hudson would, too.
He’d love every second of being near the water, catching fish and being outdoors. He’s that type of kid and he would just love the ranch and everything around it.
“So, did you and Enzo get freaky earlier?” Chev asks, nudging me with her shoulder.
“Nope, but he promised tonight he’d find his way into my bed, so I’m not going to stay out for long.”
“Girl, if I hear you moaning ...” Alice laughs.
“I can’t promise anything.”
Faye giggles. “God, imagine one of those big mountain men just crawling on top of you in the middle of the night. Hello, daddy.”
“Faye!” I gasp, the cold wind has gotten to you.
She grins. “It’s being around all these men; you can’t help but stare and swoon.”
“I’d take a piece of Lake,” Alice admits. “If I were single, I’d dive right into him.”
“It’s Madden for me,” Chev says. “God damn.”
“Oh, for me it’s absolutely Elias and Dante, both at once, I’d be fine with that.”
I giggle. “It’s a toss up between Rhett and Enzo for me.”
“And you actually get one.” Chev sighs. “Lucky bitch.”
We talk for a little while longer, and then I find myself in need of a pee. The guys gave us particular spots to go and pee, but I don’t feel like walking up to the camp so I just stand and go down stream some more, where it’s dark and nobody can see me. I find a spot and squat down, humming to myself as I pee.
That’s when the sound of leaves crunching has my head whipping up.
I see it, clear as day. The shadow of a man. I can’t define him, I can only tell that someone is standing there, and it’s a man. The darkness is covering up exactly who that man is. I’m not going crazy, though. There is enough moonlight for me to see he’s tall and standing scarily close, too close for my liking.
“Enzo?” I squeak, standing quickly and pulling my pants up.