This, though, is a real wilderness retreat.
Inside, the cabin is dim and smells like pine and woodsmoke. We dump our gear and head off to explore the lakeside, where we find a deer trail that leads above the tree line. We climb higher and higher, the ground turning loose and rocky underfoot, until at last we reach a saddle between two peaks.
There we stop, breathing hard and grinning.
The views are unbelievable.
Beyond the ridge, mountains stretch as far as we can see, while McKinley Lake sparkles in the afternoon sun.
“Have you been up here before?” I ask Dex.
“Not on this ridge. But my dad took me on a hunting trip to this cabin once. We stayed here and spent the weekend hiking all around.”
I don’t say anything more, because I know he’s still hurting about his family cutting him off.
I want to drink in as much of these views as I can. This is something real, something I can remember when everything else is going to shit.
Holding out my arms so I can feel the wind buffeting me, I turn in a circle, taking in the ridges and snow fields and wildflower meadows and glistening water.
And the light. The sun is beating down on us, painting the sky a vivid blue, glaring off the contours of every peak. It’s so intense it makes my eyes water.
We linger on the ridge long enough to eat our lunch of salvaged snack bars. Even though we’re not talking, it’s enough having Dex here with me.
By this point the breeze has chilled the sweat on my back, and the cold is working its way deeper, so we hurry down the ridge until we reach the more sheltered lower reaches where the sun beating off the rocks warms us.
“We’ll sleep well tonight,” Dex says wryly when he stops to massage his calves.
“Did you not get enough of a workout at the fire?”
“I’m an experienced firefighter now. It wasn’t hard at all.”
I snort.
By the time we return, the cabin is warm and humming with the sounds of voices. It looks like we’ll be sharing it with a mother and teenage daughter and a couple guys hunting in the surrounding forest.
The hunters are going on about the moose they saw the previous day while the teenager listens in fascination. They’ve have brought beers with them, and it looks like they’ve beenhere several days already. You can tell they’re great friends, and I find myself wishing Dex and I could enjoy that sort of easy camaraderie, instead of whatever the hell it is that’s going on between us.
I suppose fucking someone you want to be friends with complicates things.
Dex was right to suggest the trip, though. Something about the hike today rearranged something inside me, and I’m not even worried about sleeping in a room full of strangers.
I’m out like a log all night.
Chapter 34
Dex
I pretended I didn’t care, but in the morning I’m dreading my uncle’s reaction when we show up late.
Still, it was worth it for Korren’s sake. I’ve never seen him so at ease.
We share a leisurely breakfast at the cabin before we pack up our gear and hike out. A layer of clouds has rolled in overnight, and the bite in the air tells me our first snowstorm of the season might be on its way. It’s early for snow, but August can be unpredictable here.
“Are we going straight to the fire station?” Korren asks when we reach the car. “Or home to shower first?”
“Straight to the station. We’re late enough as it is.”
He grunts in agreement.
