Hope has a sudden urge to protect this moment, their privacy, for as long as she can. It won’t last. She knows what happens next, and whathasto happen after that. But she can make this moment last as long as possible.“Get down,”she whispers to the others, and she lowers herself so that only her eyes and nose and mouth and the top of her head are above water.
Caro follows suit.
“You guys look like alligators,” Ash says, grinning. “Or crocodiles. Which are the ones with eyes on top of their heads?”
Caro is trying not to laugh, too. Hope cracks up, and the men turn but don’t see them. Yet.
“Duck,”Hope orders, and they all go under, and while they’re down in the water the sun comes out again. Hope feels it, and she opens her eyes. She has never opened her eyes in water this cold, not even when she was filmingThe Deep. The water is clean but silt floats through it, and looking across she sees that neither Ash nor Caro have opened their eyes; they are still screwed tight shut, which is probably the smarter move—who knows what Hope is getting in her eyes right now, is that a bug floating past, is she going towatch a bugas it swimsinto her own eye?!?—and then a shadow crosses above.
The others open their eyes, too, and Hope sees that they all know:We’ve been found.
10
CARO
“HOLY CRAP,” ONE OFthe men says. “What areyoudoing here?!?”
He’s tall and tan, with dark eyes and a shaved head. He wasn’t with the other two at the food truck the night before. And he looks entirely different from the last time Caro saw him, which had to be what? Fifteen years ago? Still. She knows him instantly.
“Caro?”he says. “Caro Stewart?”
“Oh my gosh,” she says. “Spencer Clayton.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Hope raise her eyebrows.There’s no need, Caro wants to tell her.Spencer’s cute, but we haven’t seen each other in years, and even then we were friends. With occasional benefits.
“How long has it been?” Spencer’s standing a respectful distance away but still, perhaps, too close, given that she’s in her bra and underwear and would prefer to have this reunion fully dressed. “Ten years? Fifteen?”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” she says with a laugh. “What are you doing here?”
“Same as you,” he says. “Hiking.” He gestures to the two men who have now caught up to him. They’ve got their trucker hats on again. One of them has a tattoo of what appears to be a date on his forearm. “This is my friend Kevin,” Spencer says, gesturing to the non-tattooed guy, “and his brother, Tony.”
“Nice to meet you guys,” Caro says. “Or, rather, see you again.” In answer to Spencer’s quizzical look, she explains, “We ran into each other at the food truck last night.” She darts a quick glance over at Hope, who has turned her back to the group. Ash has already moved to partially block her from view. “Um, I’d love to talk more, but it’s actually freezing in here and we need to go get our clothes. Could you guys—” She pauses, not sure what to ask. But Spencer was a nice guy when she knew him in high school and when they hung out and made out the summer after her freshman year when she was home for college.
And it appears he’s still a nice guy now. “Oh yeah, yeah,” Spencer says. “Of course. We wanted to hike farther down anyway and see what’s in store for us tomorrow before we settle in here for the evening.” Kevin and Tony’s expressions indicate that this is news to them, but Spencer gives Caro a cheerful wave. “See you later!” he says over his shoulder. “Let’s catch up! It’s been too long.”
“Sounds good,” Caro says.
“That was nice of your friend to get the guys out of here so we could get dressed.” Ash glances over at the men’s campsite. “We’re the only ones without a tent. Do you still think that’s fine?”
They’re dressed and have warmed up, their wet hair drying into tendrils in the desert air. The men have returned and are setting up their tents at site 7.
On Caro’s advice, the women decidednotto bring tents—less to pack in and out of the canyon, the forecast was good, and they all felt like sleeping under the stars. They knew that there would be other people camping near them, but perhaps they hadn’t realized exactly how that would feel. Although flimsy fabric walls don’t offer any real protection, it would offer some privacy. “I’m sorry,” Caro says. “Maybe weshouldhave brought them. We’d be less out in the open. They’re kind of cumbersome. I know we wanted to keep this as streamlined as possible.”
“Oh, for sure we made the right call,” Hope says. “Ilovesleeping in the open air all bundled up in my sleeping bag.” Her cheeks are pink and her eyes bright. “Like, with only my nose out. Iwantmy nose to be cold.”
“Same,” Caro says.
The men have finished putting up their tents. They glance over at the women. Tony removes his baseball cap and ruffles his hair. It stands up in sweaty spikes, visible even from a distance.
“I think they want us to cheer or something,” Hope says. “They’re looking at us.”
“We’re looking at them,” Caro points out.
“I bet they send your boyfriend over to talk to us,” Hope says, and Caro rolls her eyes.
“I’m married,” she reminds Hope. “Remember Dan? You love Dan.”
“I do love Dan,” Hope agrees. “I’m feeling kind of middle school right now. It might be the matching hoodies.”
