Rachel smirks at me, like she knows I was checking out Nova’s firm ass. “Please tell me you packed the bikini I pulled out for you.”
I groan, because I didn’t have much of a choice. For one, I am not about to go skinny dipping on the trail. And two, Rachel wouldn’t let me leave without it. Which means yes, there are two small scraps of yellow fabric buried in the bottom of my bag, much to Rachel’s delight.
I take a deep breath, because this is it. Now or never. I head to the canopy, pulling out my permit as I go. When I step up to the table with a PCTA banner taped to the front, one of the two women sitting there greets me. “Good morning, Miss . . .”
“Dawson,” I tell her, showing her my permit.
While the first looks over my permit, the other woman matches my name to her list. “Looks good. Says permit for two. Where’s your partner?”
“Couldn’t make it,” I tell her, once again not wanting to talk about the asshole. I came here to forget about him. Why does he have to keep popping up? “But I have my emergency beacon, and the tracker on my phone sends my contacts updates whenever it finds a signal.”
The woman nods with approval. “Well then, have a good trek, Miss Dawson.”
I take back my trail permit, and just like that, I’m stepping toward the dirt road Nova and his friends disappeared down a few minutes ago. He seemed nice. Was certainly nice to look at. But do I want to get attached to a guy this early in my trip? Or three guys, for that matter. I spent plenty of time by myself before Bryce. Plenty of time with Bryce by myself too. I like the solitude, the quiet. It gives me a chance to clear my head and think. After the last two months of my life, I needed that. Right?
“So this is it, huh?” Rachel asks from beside me. “The start of the trail?”
I suck in a deep breath, clearing Nova from my mind as I start forward. “Yep. This is the trailhead. Most have a bulletin board with a ‘You Are Here’ sort of map, trail condition updates, wilderness permit forms if you don’t already have one . . .” I stop when I notice Rachel is no longer next to me.
She’s standing a few yards back, beaming with happiness for me. “You got this, Liz.”
I jog back and wrap her in a tight hug. “Thank you for everything, Rach.”
She hugs me back, sort of. My pack makes it awkward. “I’ve got your back, girl. No matter how far apart we are. Now go get ’em.”
I let her go, turning back to the trail ahead of me.
Canada, here I come.
Day 1:
Lake Morena
2,630 Miles To Go
Kayden Moore, but like Belle, you can call me “Nova”
My knee keeps bobbing up and down of its own accord, barely missing the underside of the picnic table I’m sitting at, waiting for hot water to boil so I can cook my dinner. Stew, I think. Might have grabbed chili? Okay, maybe I’m a little distracted.
Bats smirks at me from his hammock and shakes his head. He’s huge, six-four and two hundred plus pounds of thick muscle. He’s played football for as long as I’ve known him, including college ball. I’m surprised the trees he’s tied his hammock to aren’t bending under his weight. For most people, he has two expressions, stone cold or I’m going to put you on your back. Both go well with his dark hair and slate gray eyes. He doesn’t say much, but if you spend enough time around him, you learn to read the minute expressions. Tonight, they’re saying, “You dumbass.”
Grinder walks back into camp from his trip to the restroom, looking all cleaned up. His brown hair is styled, or at least combed, and he might have shaved. He always looks ready to walk into a boardroom full of businessmen ready to make a deal, with an expression that says he’d rule that boardroom too. Grinder can be intense, but I love him like a brother. Both of them. They’re the siblings I never had.
Noticing my bouncing knee, Grinder suggests, “There’s still an hour and a half of daylight if you want to get a few more miles in.”
“I’m good,” I tell him, my eyes locked on the nearby trailhead. Grinder likes a fast pace, which means we tend to get to the good campsites first. He had no problem agreeing to this one. Right next to the trailhead where we can get an early start tomorrow. Yep, that’s why I suggested it.
“Then maybe you should cook something before you run out of fuel,” Grinder suggests. “I’m not detouring for you to pick up more butane.”
“He can always use mine,” Bats suggests. He’s got this little box that he feeds twigs and such to cook over a flame. It works, and he saves weight since he’s surrounded by fuel. At least for now, that is. I’m not sure how he’s going to cook anything crossing the Mojave Desert.
I dunk the vacuum-sealed bag into the boiling water and set a timer. The table shifts as Grinder sits across from me, setting up his own burner.
“Spill it,” he tells me.
“Excuse me?”
He sighs and looks at me like I’m being difficult on purpose. “You dragged your ass today. What’s up? Did you get enough sleep last night?”
“You know I did.”
“Then what was with you today?”
“We kept your insane pace, didn’t we?” I snap, perhaps a little too harsh.
Grinder scoffs in irritation as he attaches his fuel canister to his stove. “Nineteen miles and two small climbs in nine hours? We should have done that in eight.”
Even Bats laughs at this. “Sorry us mere mortals slowed you down. Should we skip lunch tomorrow to make up for lost time?”
“Whatever.” Grinder growls, then lets out a long breath. “New day tomorrow and all that. We’ve had our warm-up. Better tomorrow, right?”
“Yep,” I agree, as we go back to relative silence while our dinners cook.
Grinder’s right, though. Compared to what we typically do in a day, my performance was shit. Probably because I kept looking behind me, hoping for even a tiny glance of a brown-haired wonder. So yeah, I might have been a little preoccupied. It’s a long trail. You’ve got lots of time to think. Why not think of something cute with plenty of curves, an inviting smile, and eyes that shone with the color of a clear summer sky?
I glance at the time on my phone. Add a few hours for breaks—you know, those things Grinder doesn’t believe in—and she should have arrived by now. Her being out on the trail by herself isn’t sitting right. Not that I don’t believe her when she says she can take care of herself. But for all its beauty, this trail also has a reputation of being rather dangerous. It chews up more hikers than it lets pass to the end. Trekking the PCT alone isn’t a smart idea, and Belle seems smarter than that. A lot smarter. I wouldn’t mind finding out how smart she is, especially if it means spending time with her.
My water bubbles over, and I snap back to the task at hand, swearing as I work the knob to cut the fuel a bit.
From his hammock, Bats looks at me and says, “She’s fine.”
This gets Grinder’s attention. “She?”
I sigh and shake my head.
“Really, dude?” Grinder spits out. “Already got a bunny hopping over for a playdate? Who is it? The brunette from the trailhead?”
“Bite me,” I reply.
“Is this why you were dragging ass today?” Grinder demands.
I answer by folding my arms over my chest and looking away.
“Look alive, Nova,” Bats says from his perch. He nods toward the trailhead and smiles at me. “Showtime.”
I follow his gaze to the woman strolling off the trail, a smile on her face and a bounce in her step. Suddenly, I’m smiling just as bright, and there’s a definite bounce as I leap to my feet. Which lasts all of two seconds before I stumble, trying to extract myself from the table.
Grinder turns to see what Bats and I are looking at, then turns back as he mutters under his breath, “Fucking hell. I hate you.”
I laugh and tell him, “I hate you too, bro.”
I make my way over to Belle, my pace faster than it’s been all day, as I call out to her. She turns toward me. And damn, those eyes are too much. I’m going to blubber like an idiot if I don’t pull myself together.
“Hey,” Belle calls back.
“You’re getting in kind of late.”
“Yeah, I ended up taking a few more pictures than I expected. Plus, I had to stop a few times to adjust my straps. They weren’t sitting comfortably.”
I nod, understanding about the straps, at least. I’m not sure what pictures I would have stopped for. It all looked the same to me. Maybe that’s another layer to the enticing mystery standing in front of me.
“Well, all the good campsites are taken, but we’ve got room for the night.” I point toward our spot and mentally cross my fingers. “How about it? I could use some good company.”
Confusion wrinkles her brow. “I thought you were traveling with your friends.”
I grin. “They’re horrible company. Save me from my boredom?” She bites her lip as she weighs her options, and I get a sinking feeling in my stomach. “Hey, no pressure. Just offering to hang out if you want to.”
“You’re sure they’ll be okay with it?” she tentatively asks. I get the sense something’s holding her back, and I wonder if it has to do with why she’s out here alone.
I smile. “Why wouldn’t they? Come on. I’ll introduce you. If I’m wrong, I’ll help you find somewhere else to camp.”
“Okay,” she agrees with a slight smile. I don’t know why, but I want to make it my mission to turn it into a genuine smile.
I guide her to the campsite, and by the time we get there, Bats and Grinder are already staring at us. “Hey, guys, this is Belle. Belle, that’s Bats there in the hammock, and the sourpuss is Grinder.”
“Hey,” Belle says with a small wave. “Nova says you have room for an extra tent?”
Bats grunts his approval. Grinder lets out an irritated huff, but says nothing.
“See. No problem,” I tell her, my voice full of glee. I point to the green pop-up a few feet away. “There’s a spot behind my tent. If you need anything, I’ll be right here.” Belle still doesn’t look convinced, but she nods and heads for the back.
Grinder waits for her to disappear, then leans over toward me. “Seriously?”
I shrug. “She’s flying solo.”