My first afternoon is spent at a nearby hot spring, so for my second day I decide to go on a couple local trails and check out the wildflowers in bloom. By the time I return to camp, the sky is beginning to turn lavender. After a quick rinse in the outdoor shower, I’m starting to make dinner when cars roll into the other camps. Dustkicks up along the road and reaches me in a rolling mass as I’m making my bonfire.
I cover my eyes and cough. What the hell, did everyone in these camps decide to arrive at once? Like a big…
Group.
A big group coming to bond together over the week.
My back is so straight I can probably snap it in half as I peer out at the rest of the yurts. People start getting out—noticeably all adults and no children. They unpack between laughter and shouts at each other. My eyes skim the camp closest to mine. Two young women, both of them trying to get cell reception, holding their phones high in the air, wearing their Patagonia finery. I walk down the path to the next camp. Two men—one older white man with a bald spot and a younger Latino one wearing paint-splattered Dickies. This feels like the kind of motley crew that only an office or jury duty can create. The prick of dread grows into something heavy and leaden. And in the third camp, I spot him.
Ellis is grabbing something from the trunk of a black Jeep when he notices me. He stills—then grins. Oof, that smile. Gonna be hard to let go of that one.
“Are you for real?” he asks, walking over to me in quick strides, a backpack slung over his shoulder.
“Areyoufor real?” I ask, keeping my voice teasing but feeling every ounce of blood pump through the veins in my body.
“Wow, what are the chances?” He’s so excited by the coincidence, but I know the truth. There are no chances.
“Which site are you in?” he asks, craning his neck.
“Ten, the very last one available.”
His eyes are twinkling when they meet mine, his smile crooked—exuding intimacy and innuendo.
“El—no way you got your girlfriend to meet us here.”
My eyes whip over to the sound of the voice. Daniel is walking toward us, his sunglasses hooked into the front of his half-zip. I finally get a good look at him, at his face.
He has what could only be called leading-man good looks. I suck in a breath at his jawline, the thick Clark Kent black hair, the well-managed physique. The devastating white smile with straight teeth that have no right being on a British person.
“I wish I was that slick,” Ellis says with a laugh. “Cass booked this spot unknowingly.”
I notice he doesn’t correct “girlfriend.”
“Sorry, you’ll be stuck with us,” Daniel says with another knockout smile.
“However will I manage?” The flirting is swift, instinctual. Every part of me is aware of this man. The connection is so real, so clear.
A pull on my overall strap. I look over to see Ellis’s serious expression and I wonder if he senses my antenna tuned to Daniel. But he says, “Are you sure it’s okay we’re here? I know this trip is supposed to be private.”
My antenna is going haywire. I soften and put my hand on his arm. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll be out hiking and doing my own thing.”
“Okay, but seriously let us know if we’re being obnoxious. Things can get rowdy.”
“This lot is buttoned-up, but give it ’til sundown,” Daniel says with a wink. “Cheers, Cassia.” He walks off, his hiking boots crunching the sand. Hearing my name coming out of his mouth makes me legitimately speechless.
“I should probably…” Ellis waves at his yurt.
“Yeah, go!” I push him gently. “I’m just starting my fire.”
“Can I come visit you?” he asks, a small smile hovering over his lips.
I clench my hands in my pockets. This is going to be painful. Every part of it. “Sure. Um, maybe after dinner?”
He nods, moves in as if he’s going to kiss me on the cheek but thinks better of it. He looks apologetic. “Work people.”
“I know.” I smile, staving off the panic of the next couple days.
12
