The sun is barely cresting over the horizon when I tiptoe downstairs into the kitchen and find Walker sitting at the small round table with a steaming cup of coffee in his hand. His leg bounces, rattling the spoon resting next to it.
Sensing my presence, he cocks his head to the side. His black hair is mussed from sleep and heavy bags sit under his eyes.
“Morning,” I murmur.
“Morning. There’s coffee in the pot if you want it.”
I walk to the fridge. “Thanks, but I’m gonna head out on a hike. I’ll have some when I get back.” I grab a bottle of water instead.
Walker straightens. “You going now?”
My steps pause. “Yeah.”
“Could I—mind if I join?”
His question takes me aback for a moment, and thehesitant look in his eye shows me he’s prepared for me to shut him down.
“Sure, yeah. I’ll wait if you wanna go change.”
He’s up in an instant, dumping the last of his coffee in the sink. “Alright, I’ll meet you out front.” As he passes me, he shoots me a stiff smile.
I return it, then go out to wait for him. The air is cool but with enough promise of heat to follow as the sun rises. It’s quiet out here. Peaceful. So unlike the city, even living removed from the hustle and bustle.
I inhale deeply, closing my eyes with my head tilted back, allowing the fresh air to help wake me up since I didn’t sleep great last night. I’ve grown so used to having Aspen snuggled into my side that the bed felt empty.
Walker emerges from the front door in black athletic shorts and a cut-off kelly-green T-shirt. He’s got a hat on like me, but his is positioned to cover his face.
“Here.” I hand him an extra water bottle. “Grabbed this for you.”
He takes it with a nod of thanks. “Did you have a trail picked out already?”
I pull up one I found on my phone to show him, and we take off. The mountains in the distance begin to glow as the sun slowly rises. It bathes the landscape in rays of golden yellow, illuminating the Joshua trees from behind.
We walk in silence for a while, both still waking up. The path is a mix of gravel, sand, and dirt. The wind whips up a bit of dust as we walk, but not enough to make it an issue.
“Should we have woken the other two?” he asks with a glance back toward the house. It’s a small dot in the distance now.
“If it was a few hours later, I’m sure Nik would’ve wantedto join. But no way in hell I was gonna try to rouse him this early.”
Walker huffs. “Fair point. Hayden doesn’t sleep in these days traveling with Carter, so better to let him do that.”
“Why were you up so early?”
“Couldn’t sleep. You?”
Even though his shoulders hang with exhaustion, he answers, “Same.”
The trail inclines for a stretch, so our conversation ceases while we make our way uphill. The view only grows more beautiful the higher up we get. Our breathing growing labored.
When we reach a bit of a plateau, I pause. “Take a quick break?”
Walker nods, sweat dotting his forehead. Now that the sun is completely uncovered, the nice, cool air has turned to a warm breeze. We uncap our waters, tempted to chug the refreshing reprieve. But according to the map on my phone, we still have a lot of trail left.
“I’m surprised you’re winded,” Walker says, his own chest heaving.
I take another small sip. “I haven’t been working out as much lately.”
“Ah. Been distracted, huh?”
