“And theEat Pray Love?”
“I think you already know the answer to that,” I say, conceding my defeat.
His smile lights up his entire face. “Iknewyou had both books with you!”
“And I have had the most painful blisters for days now, and I should absolutely have invested in some hiking boots like you said,”I go on, because why not. “You were right about everything. Literally everything.”
He bites back a smile, and probably anI told you so, too.
“I would remind you to make good on the bet we made,” he says, gesturing to my sad pile of coffee gear, “but it looks like you did that on your own.”
I’m sure he knows it isn’tthatmuch of a sacrifice to leave my coffee beans behind, since the coffee bros have been more than generous with theirs—but I don’t feel the need to bring it up, especially since I went back and forth for a good five minutes about whether I should put it back in my pack after all.
“I feel like we need a moment of silence for all this stuff,” I say with a sigh. “A funeral of sorts.”
Thorn holds a finger up as if to saybe right back—and when he returns, he has a fistful of wildflowers.
“Don’t tell anyone about these,” he says conspiratorially. “It’s illegal to pick them out here.”
I laugh. “Thank you for risking your reputation.”
He grins, then tucks the makeshift bouquet into the cone-shaped coffee dripper I use for my pour-overs as if it’s a vase. At the last second, he plucks a single flower out of the bunch—a lovely shade of blue with white at its center—and tucks it behind my ear. His skin brushes mine, and my cheeks grow hot.
“Won’t this be a dead giveaway that you deserve prison?” I tease.
His eyes are playful, flirty, intense.
“I can take it back if you—”
“No.” I bat his hand away. “I’m attached, it’s too late. And I’ve already said goodbye to too much today.”
He glances down at my stuff, then back up to me, probably wondering how on earth the Sadie standing before him is the same Sadie whoarrived in California nearly a week ago.ThatSadie would never have even considered leaving more than half her pack behind at a campsite, let alone actually followed through with it.
Honestly, I’m as surprised as anyone.
“Maybe I should put some things back in?” I say, wistfully eyeing my perfume. It’s such a small tube, I’d barely notice it. Why did I take it out in the first place, again?
Thorn puts his arm around my shoulder and sighs.
“Sorry, Sadie,” he says with mock solemnity. “I try not to make a habit out of digging up what’s been laid to rest.”
I snort. “Fine. But when I smell like nature and everything in it within a few days, just remember things could have been different.”
His gaze locks with mine. “You’re perfect just the way you are,” he says.
I wait for the punch line—nature smell and all, I expect him to add—but it never comes.
21THORN
Tonight, we get to stay in one of my favorite places in the entire trail network: Alexandria Flat, an expansive, rocky clearing where we’ll sleep under the stars. The night sky is always unbelievable there, a billion pinpricks of light amid surprising shades of dark teal and lavender, the Milky Way on full display. A sheer cliff juts high into the horizon at the far end of the flats, a massive waterfall spilling down its center; we’ll rappel down the cliffs tomorrow. There’s also a cave behind the waterfall—I can’t wait to show it to Sadie.
Thegroup, I mean. I can’t wait to show it to the group.
Today has been exhausting.
Not on the hiking front—it’s mymindthat’s been a battleground. I’ve been hypervigilant, on high alert for anything that might prove tricky or dangerous.
In good news, no one has come anywhere close to having another accident.
