“That is true,” Kevin admits. “Business can get very bloody.”
I slow down and drop back to walk beside Kendall. “Hey, Kendall, how are your allergies going?”
“The air out here is full of toxins and pollen. I’m dying.” He sniffles dramatically; his nose is a little red. But just a little.
“Are you sure you’re dying and not just loving life?”
“Nope, I’m pretty sure it's imminent death. I will require you to take my body back to my parents before I get eaten by wildlife.” Kendall huffs. “How can you be out here with so many dangers?”
“Where’s the danger?” I say with a laugh, and then have to smother it when he trips over an exposed root.
“You see! Everywhere, you could trip over that log, break your leg, and lay here wondering about your life choices until you starve to death down the hill there because you have dragged yourself, but it's too far and too painful, and in your last moments, you wish you hadn’t worked so far from the city. Oh, god!”
I get the giggles. “First, if I break my leg, you should know I never go out here alone.” This is a lie, but I wouldn’t tell them that. “Second, I’d use the branches to splint my leg, and I’d set up a fire and wait while whoever I’m with went and got help.”
“That sounds ridiculous; what about predators? Won’t you die on your own?”
“What’s going to attack me? Butterflies, blue skies, and sunlight.”
“Germs, rodents, and storms.”
“I’ll have you know that spring storms out here are some of the most beautiful-”
“-Dangerous.”
“-events to witness.”
He side-eyes me and shakes his head. “I feel like you are a walking danger magnet. I’m sure you’ve shortened your life by a half a dozen years.”
“If you had aerosol disinfectant right now, would you be spraying me?” I ask curiously.
His cheeks turn red.
I slap his arm, laughing. “Cheer up, Kendall. It’s a gorgeous day.”
With that, I finally let myself acknowledge that I’ve been aware of them the whole time, that they are right there, and it’s been burning inside me, a flickering flame of awareness.
Vale passes me, not stopping, though he does give me one heated look that has me fighting the urge to fan myself.
Instead, it’s Cyn that walks shoulder to shoulder with me.
“What is your work like?”
“Honestly? Boring. There is something to be said for inheriting a business that is a well-oiled machine. The reason we’re all out here is because our companies are looking at a potential merger. And our intention was to step back to pursue our own interests.”
“What are those?”
“Well,” Cyn looks off thoughtfully. “I’m not exactly sure. We do like being outdoors and away from the cameras and press.”
I mock gasp. “Are you serious?”
“Haha, you are very funny, aren’t you?” he teases, and seeing Cyn light up with mirth is like seeing the sun for the first time in days.
My mocking smile eases into a more natural one. “I can’t help it; you guys bring out the worst in me.”
“Is it the worst?” he says low and intimately.
I glance at him sharply. “I don’t know anymore,” I admit. “You aren’t who I thought you were.”
