Lucky for me, my bus seems to be running thirty minutes behind schedule.
“Do you like hiking?” The stranger’s question pierces like a pin through my thoughts.
“I’ve gone a few times.”
“My sister used to hike with me—” He rambles on with the new topic.
I groan, silently beating myself up.Why did I say anything?
When Tristen calls I immediately answer and point to my phone as an excuse to slip away. The man doesn’t take the hint when I turn around, waiting by my side.
“Where are you?” Tristen demands through heaving pants.
“Um, hello to you too. Miss me already?”
“Sure. Now answer the question. Where are you?” he repeats, his words choppy.
“Why are you out of breath?”
I plug my other ear, blocking the voice of the man still complaining about his sister.
“Reese. This is not the time for twenty questions,” Tristen growls through the speaker.
“Where do you think I am? I’m at the bus station youdropped me off at less than ten minutes ago. There’s a delay, so we aren’t leaving for another thirty minutes.”
“Good.”
“Why good? Why are you being cryptic?”
“Ahh, bus station is underground.” His footsteps tap quickly, hollow sounding. “No wonder I couldn’t find it.”
I cup my hand around the phone. “Tristen Davis.No.You were supposed to go home. Do not come down here.”
“Too late.”
“You’re worse than Des.”
“Perhaps. But I couldn’t—is that guystillbothering you?”
“He’s harmless. You see that I’m alive and well. Go home.”
“I can’t,” he says and hangs up.
“Tristen,” I hiss at my home screen. Just when I thought we were making progress, he goes behind my back and follows me anyway. Always my babysitter. He must think I’m a colossal screw up if I can’t even take a bus by myself.
“My sister is due any day now. I had hoped to hike around more of Colorado, but I guess it’s back to Texas,” the stranger says, staring at the ceiling.
I blink at him, my brain pivoting from one conversation to the other.
“You’ll be an uncle. That’s exciting,” I say distractedly as I scan the area for Tristen’s dark head of hair.
“It is. But I actually have five nieces. My sister’s hoping it’s a boy this time.”
I spin to face him, my jaw slack. “Six kids?”
“Oh yeah, she wants a baseball team.”
“That’s cra?—”
