"Yes, I do. It's great. Thank you."
Well, this isn't awkward at all. On the positive side, they're out of their rooms. Annnnd that's about the extent of the good news.
"I've got an idea I want to run past you both," I say, resting my knife and fork against the edge of the plate. "How do you feel about going on a hike? We can stay at our family cabin, and I can show you some cool, off-the-beaten-track places. There's even a waterfall only a few people know about."
"That sounds wonderful, but I didn't bring any hiking gear," Wilkin, ever the pragmatist, says.
"Same," Jett chips in.
"That's a solvable problem. We can jump online and get gear delivered. The question is, do you want to?"
Wilkin's eyes travel to Jett who glares back at him so harshly, Wilkin actually flinches. He turns to me with a smile I initially took for smugness but am starting to suspect I misread.
"I'd like to," he says.
"Same," Jett adds quietly.
"Great. After lunch, we'll jump online and get you everything you need. Hopefully, it'll arrive tomorrow, and then we can head off the day after that."
If they haven't murdered each other in their sleep by then.
7
Jett
"This is really beautiful," I say, taking in the soft, undulating hills around us. "So different from hiking in LA."
"Yeah, you can actually breathe," Wilkin quips.
Reeve smiles, and to my horror, so do I.
We set off two hours ago. I'm walking beside Reeve, and Wilkin is a few paces back. As usual, Reeve has been the one doing most of the talking, pointing out a few things of interest, but mainly it's been quiet.
It's nice being outside. Wilkin and I have spent most of our time here holed up in our rooms. I don't know what his rationale was, but I've been doing my best to avoid bumping into him. I was kind of hoping he'd change his mind and wouldn't come hiking, but when his face lit up when the stuff we'd ordered online arrived yesterday evening, I knew I wouldn't be that lucky.
Despite the beautiful scenery and warm summer air, I'm on edge. Not because of what we saw back home, which I'm doing an okay job of not thinking about too much, but because of beingforced to be in such close proximity to Wilkin. I avoid him like the plague at work, but here? I don't have a choice. Just knowing only a wall separates us makes him feel way too close.
I supposeIcould have not come along, but then that would have given Wilkin a chance to spend a few days with Reeve…and I am way too petty to allow that to happen.
"So, tell me more about your adventuring," I say to him. "Are you like Bear Grylls or something?"
"I'm nowhere near as commercial as he is," Reeve says, curling his nose in disgust. "And for the record, I've never drunk my own piss."
I grin. "Good to know."
Wilkin catches up to us. "What exactly do you do then?" he asks. "I don't know a whole heap about adventuring."
"I just check out places that look fun."
"Define fun," Wilkin presses.
"Places that aren't touristy for starters. If I'm seeing it on Instagram, I don't want to go there. It'll be overrun with people. I prefer visiting areas that fly under the radar. Maybe they're hard to get to. Maybe they're dangerous. As long as they're beautiful and remote, sign me up."
"Where does that approach come from, do you think?" Wilkin asks.
"To live an interesting life you have to do interesting things," Reeve replies. "That's what Grandpa used to say. It's not much more complicated than that."
Wilkin smiles, and it's the other kind of smile. Not the smug one he uses on me but the warm, genuine smile reserved for everyone else.
