We drove on, climbing higher until the road ended at a small parking area. A wooden sign proclaimed it to be the Iron Peak Trailhead, and beyond it, a lookout platform jutted out over the canyon.
Grayson parked and came around to help me down out of the truck. His hand was warm and rough against mine, and I felt the contact all the way up my arm.
“Wait here a sec.”
He walked over to a small ranger shed and pulled out a logbook, scrawling something in it before returning. I’d wandered to the edge of the platform, gripping the weathered railing as I stared out at the view.
Grayson appeared at my shoulder and looked out with me.
The canyon dropped away beneath us, its walls striped in layers of gray rock. Far below, a river wound through the valley, barely visible from this height. Waterfalls spilled from the cliffs in misty curtains, and I could see steam rising down below.
That must be the hot springs.
Birds circled overhead, hawks maybe, their cries echoing off the stone.
“Is that where we’re going?”
“Naw. I’ve got a different spring to show you. It’sbetter. You ready? The hike is a couple miles out.”
I nodded, and he led me toward a section of forest that looked completely impenetrable. Dense pines crowded together, their lower branches creating a wall of green.
He stepped off the carefully marked trail into the woods.
“Wait, there’s no trail here,” I hurried after him, ducking under branches.
“There is if you know where to look.” He glanced back at me, something almost like amusement flickering in his dark eyes. “This is a deer trail. I’ve been walking these mountains my whole life. It’s mostly critters up here, not many people.”
I followed in his footsteps, trying to see what he saw. Gradually, I noticed the subtle signs. Bent grass, a gap between trees, a worn patch of earth. A trail that was invisible unless you knew it existed.
“Are there any dangerous animals out here?”
He went quiet, then muttered, “Yup.”
“All we have in Florida are alligators, and they’re pretty easy to avoid. They mostly hang out by ponds and lakes. Out here, though…”
“You want to turn back?” Grayson glanced back at me, and the scar on his face caught the dappled light filtering through the trees. I wondered again what had given it to him.
“No, no. Just thinking about what could be out here. I guess you’re used to it, though.”
“Yup.” He kept walking, moving through the woods with an ease that made him seem at home in this forested world.
I kept up my side of the conversation for the next thirty minutes while I pulled one-word answers out of the man.
Just when I started to think he’d used up his word quota for the day, his phone rang unexpectedly, shattering the forest silence.
He pulled it from his pocket and answered with a gruff, “Ford.”
I could only hear his side of the conversation, but I pieced together enough. A family of campers had gone missing.
“How long overdue?” A pause. “Which sector?” Another pause. “Yeah, I know that area.” He listened for a long moment.“Naw. Nowhere near there. I can head that way if Chuck can’t go, but I’m on the other side of the county right now.”
“Yup.” Another pause. “All right. Keep me posted.”
Grayson ended the call and slid the phone back into his pocket.
“Do you need to leave?” I asked.
“No. Four other guys are closer. Wyatt says they can handle it for now.”
