That would make two of us.
I didn’t bother arguing, and within a few minutes, the others’ voices blurred into the trees behind us. Jess was doing her best to keep up, but her antics the night before were clearly taking a toll on her. The space between us stretched and then shrank again, as I slowed for her to catch up. The trail forced us closer until she was right beside me.
“You have a cabin out here?”
“Yup. Old hunting cabin. But I mostly just use it for an overnight now and then. It’s pretty basic.” I knew she was only trying to make conversation, and probably didn’t care about an old cabin, but still, she seemed to be listening. “It’s actually just back in the woods directly behind the lodge. But you can get to it from here.”
“Cool.” She nodded and looked down at her feet.
Silence settled between us, and it was finally Jess who broke it.
“About last night…”
“You were drunk,” I said quickly, not looking at her. “Forget it.”
She stopped short.
It took me a few steps before I, too, stopped, turning around in time to see a flicker of relief on her face. Or maybe it was disappointment. It was hard to tell with those big sunglasses on.
“It was all… I mean…”
“Don’t worry about it, Jess.” I couldn’t be sure whether she remembered what she’d told me or not, but I wasn’t about to press the issue if she didn’t. “It wasn’t a big deal.”
“Okay,” she said after a beat.
We walked on.
“Thank you,” she said, breaking the silence again. “For taking me home and…well, for being a gentleman with everything. I know that I probably?—”
“Like I said.” I gave her a look that I hoped let her know that I didn’t plan to make things anymore awkward than they already were. “It’s not a big deal. Forget it.”
She nodded once and dropped her gaze to the ground. We kept walking until we got to the creek crossing.
With the warm weather, the snowpack high in the mountains had started to melt in earnest, and with the rain we’d had a few days earlier, the water was running higher than usual. I stepped onto the first rock and turned around, holding out my hand to Jess on instinct.
“I’ve got you.”
She brushed my hand away, stepping out onto the rock. “I’m fine.”
She wasn’t.
Her boot slipped on the wet rocks, and she went down hard with a sharp gasp, twisting awkwardly as she landed in the water.
“Jess!” Tilley’s voice rang out behind us. I hadn’t even realized the older woman had caught up again. I briefly wondered how much she’d overheard, but there’d be time for worrying about that later.
I moved quickly and was at Jess’s side in a second, knee-deep in the creek as I bent to scoop her up. “Don’t move, let me?—”
“I’m fine.”
“Jess, you might have?—”
“I told you,” she insisted. “I’m fine.” Her voice wavered on the last word.
“Right.” I ignored her resistance and lifted her easily fromthe water, moving her back to safety on the bank. “Let me check to make sure nothing is broken.” I pressed gently on her ankle just over her boot.
She tried to put on a brave face, but I noticed the way she sucked in a sharp breath despite working hard not to.
“I don’t think it’s broken,” I said gently. “But you definitely twisted something.”
