1
MONROE
The sun was high enough to burn off the morning chill, but the canyon still smelled of cool stone and dust as Lila and I hiked a narrow trail at Devil’s Hollow.
“Remind me again why I let you talk me into this?” I asked, tugging at my backpack strap.
I loved the outdoors, the fresh air, and the sun on my face, but our hikes had been at Eagle’s Crest Trail—flat terrain, familiar, and safe. That was, until I caught my ex there groping a woman. Regardless, Devil’s Hollow was none of those things, and if Lila hadn’t shown up at my door determined to drag me out, I would be home reorganizing my closet and pretending today didn’t exist.
Lila huffed, flicking auburn strands from her face. “Because if I didn’t drag you out here, you would be cleaning your spotless stove instead of facing what today really is.”
If I scrubbed hard enough, maybe I could erase the memory of signing those divorce papers or that image implanted in my brain of Ryan’s tongue down another woman’s throat.
She wasn’t wrong, but I had plans with my fifteen-year-old son, Ethan, though that was a poor excuse since he slept until early afternoon.
“Do we really have to talk about my divorce?” Just mentioning that word had my insides knotting with anger.
A year after signing the divorce papers, I was still in the furious stage and couldn’t seem to shake out of it. Every time I thought about my ex, I wanted to scream my head off or hunt him down and swing my fists at him. But I couldn’t. Ryan was stationed overseas at the moment, which was probably good for him, or rather, the both of us.
“We’re not talking about it. We’re celebrating it,” she said cheerfully. “You can’t keep allowing that jerk of an ex-husband to live rent free in your head.”
I snorted as my boots crunched over the loose pebbles along the trail. “Let me guess. You brought champagne for the occasion.”
Lila Grant was one of my best friends in the world. She’d moved to Colorado from the East Coast five years ago to accept the guidance counselor’s position at Pine Valley High. We hit it off her first day when she’d spilled her high-energy drink on me during a school-wide assembly.
“No, that’s for later,” she said from behind me. “This morning is all about breathing in fresh air, clearing your mind, and finding a sense of peace and maybe a haunted ghost or two.” She giggled. “You never know. You might meet a hot guy in the caves.”
I rolled my eyes. “Highly unlikely.”
I’d been to the caves before, and all I’d taken away from them was nothing. They were big holes carved into rock, but they certainly drew the tourists into Pine Valley. Still, I hated that she remembered my divorc-er-versary. She and my other longtime friend, Evelyn, had been by my side through the entire divorceprocess. But after I’d signed away my last tie to my high school sweetheart, Ryan Blake, and stormed out of the county clerk’s office, both Lila and Evelyn had been waiting to whisk me away from the hell I’d been in.
At times, I thought I was still pining for the asshole. I’d given him too many chances to change, trusted him when I shouldn’t have. A small part of me still loved him. After all, he’d been my first everything. Sometimes, I thought that I’d fallen out of love with him long before I found him cheating. No matter. The sting was still there, rubbing anger into a tailspin.
We stopped at a juncture where one trail went up and the other down. I took out my water bottle and chugged a few swallows.
“It sure is beautiful here.” She sat on the edge of a rock, opening her water flask. “We need to do this more often.”
The crisp fall air was helping clear my head as I eased onto a large boulder next to her. “You’re right. Up here, problems don’t exist.” Or rather, they felt less painful.
We sat in silence for a moment as I scanned the canyon. The sun was high in the clear blue sky, the scents of fall wafted in the air, and a few hikers and rock climbers were out enjoying the weather like Lila and me.
“I’ve been meaning to ask,” Lila said, her gaze angled toward the horizon. “You think that you’ll change your last name anytime soon? Maybe that would help you get over Ryan quicker.”
I shrugged. “Honestly, it’s the trust he broke between us that pisses me off, and I’m mad at myself for not seeing the signs.” If there had been any. “One day, I will.”
She gave me a sidelong glance. “Would you ever take him back?”
“Hell, no. Once a cheater, always a cheater.”
“That’s great to hear. I think it’s time for you to?—”
“Don’t you dare say it.” I narrowed my eyes at her.
She gave me a pouty look. “What? Come on, Monroe. You need to spread those beautiful wings of yours and start dating.”
I choked on a mouthful of water. The only guy I’d ever dated was Ryan. I wasn’t sure I knew how.
“We live in a small town where everyone knows everyone. And don’t you dare say that there are always new military men coming into Ridgeway Air Force Base. Because you know military men are off-limits to me.”
