“Stop it. I’ve just had my sister texting to say the same thing. What is it with you people?”
Shane up lit his face with the flashlight, his eyes wide and zombie-like. “Us dead people?”
“Very funny.” She pushed past him. “I’m going to the washroom.”
“Toilet.”
“Whatever.”What they had out here didn’t pass for either, anyway.
She grabbed her washbag from the trunk then hesitated as she gazed at the path that disappeared into darkness.
“Want me to escort you?”
Yes!But he’d only tease her, and she’d never live it down.
“I’ll be fine.” Krista swallowed, aimed her flashlight at the path, and headed toward it. Behind her, Shane howled like a werewolf. “Oh, you’re just so hilarious!”
“That wasn’t me,” he called back, sniggering. “Must’ve been a cougar.”
“I hope it eats you first, then!”
Shane’s laughter followed her all the way to the washroom hut, and as she peed—in record time—he sang the chorus of “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?” By the time she’d cleaned her teeth, he’d moved on to a scary rendition of “Ghostbusters.”
So mature.
He was still singing when she got back.
“The Blair Witch Projectwas completely made up, anyway,” she told him.
“If you say so.” Shane snorted. “Will you be okay here for five minutes while I go and get more water?”
“Of course I will. I’m going to bed.”
“Make sure you zip up tight. You wouldn’t want any—”
“Good night, Shane.” Krista crawled into her tent.
Shane’s footsteps crunched toward the pump, and he was still whistling that same stupid song.
Inside the tent, she hugged her knees—and then she smiled.
Shane was a joker. He liked to play games, for sure.
And she knew exactly how to pay him back.
***
The pump worked a treat, even if the water was ice cold. Still smiling, Shane filled up their bottles. He hadn’t expected kick-ass Krista to be so jumpy, but then again, with all her talk of sweetness and fluff, there was a lot of softness beneath the bolshy. He’d only continued to tease her because she looked like she was expecting ghosts to jump out of her, and he’d kept talking so that his voice would reassure her in the dark.
Okay, maybe he could’ve chatted about the weather or about their plans for tomorrow’s hike instead of singing and howling, but she would probably have sussed that he was pandering to her anyway, and she probably didn’t want him to know that she was feeling a little unsettled out here. They were in the middle of the wilderness after all, with only each other for company. So far, they were getting along. Today’s hike had been spectacular, and no doubt about it, Krista was good company.
Shane made his way back to camp.
“Hey,” he whispered as he approached her tent. “You okay in there?”
He waited a few seconds, but Krista didn’t reply. At least she wasn’t too scared to sleep, though like him, she was probably too beat to lie awake for very long. They’d covered a lot of ground today, and he was more than ready to hit the sack himself, too.
Quietly, he unzipped his tent and crawled inside.
