The Stars at Night

by Gerri Hill

  “Okay, fair enough. But I like you being around. Besides, if you’re out here by yourself, I’ll have to ticket you.”

  “Ticket me?”

  “I don’t believe you purchased a day permit.”

  Lexie laughed. “Well, hanging out with you does have its perks then. Saves me six bucks each time.”

  “Or you could buy a yearly pass.”

  “I suppose I could. It’s more fun sneaking in with you, though. Certainly cheaper,” she teased as she got back on her bike. “By the way, how was work today?”

  “Pretty slow. That cold snap ran off the few campers we had. There are two RVs still here.”

  “Is it always slow this time of year?”

  She nodded. “Depends on the weather. Christmas and then up to New Year’s we’ll be almost full, I think.”

  “We are too. I don’t understand it. Don’t people want to be home for the holidays?”

  Kyler balanced on her bike, holding on to a tree with one hand. “Well, not everyone celebrates, for one thing. And some people have this time off from work, so they take advantage of that.” She shrugged. “You have retired couples who are childless. They’ll come up in their RV and stay the whole two weeks. I think for some, it’s a chance to escape the reminder that they’re alone. There’s enough decorations in the park to give them the feeling of Christmas without having it shoved down their throats.”

  “So they come up here to be a little less lonely? I guess I get that.” She studied her. “What about you?”

  “Am I lonely? Not really. Your family always includes me. And if they didn’t, Tammy and Phil would.”

  “Do you miss your family?”

  Kyler hesitated. Did she? She didn’t give it much thought anymore, really. They hadn’t been close in so many years, it had become the norm. Did she miss them though? Did she miss having a relationship with them? With her sister? Could the occasional text message be called a relationship?

  “Honestly, I feel closer to your mom than my own. Strange, since I’ve only known Susan a handful of years.” She shrugged and moved her bike away from Lexie. “My mom will call around Christmas. If she thinks about it.”

  “You could call her.”

  “I do sometimes. I always feel like I’m interrupting their life.” She pushed off, heading down the trail. “We don’t have a lot to talk about anyway. They’re not too impressed with my job.”

  That was the excuse she used for not calling. It was easier to stomach than thinking her parents didn’t want to talk to her, didn’t want to know what was going on in her life. She stared at the trail but wasn’t seeing it. No, she was trying to picture her mother, her dad. Her sister. She was so far removed from them, it was like they didn’t exist—and she didn’t exist.

  A random text message from Kinley, a picture now and then of her kid. She got a family portrait—her parents included—at Easter. And a shot of her parents having dinner with them at some swanky restaurant. She wondered why Kinley had chosen those photos to send. Well, what else was she going to send? Changing the kid’s diaper?

  “Kyler?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m sorry.”

  She glanced at Lexie over her shoulder. “Oh, hell. Don’t be sorry. It is what it is.”

  She sped up a little, not wanting to talk about it. Truth was, yeah it did bother her that she wasn’t close with her family. She blamed herself. She was the one who had changed, not them. Maybe she should take Susan’s advice and use some of her vacation days to go see them, try to reconnect or something. The prospect of spending a week in Houston nearly made her cringe, though.

  When they got to the trail intersection where they’d gotten on last time, she kept going, taking Lexie through the woods that separated the tent sites from one of the RV sections. The tent area was still empty. When they got to the end of the campground, instead of continuing on the trail, she slowed and took a side lane that would put them back on the road.

  “I’ll take you to the office.”

  Lexie pulled up beside her. “That was fun. Was that the whole trail?”

  “No. It goes on a little way yet. It stops by the full hookup sites. If you were using this trail for hiking, that’s where it meets up with Skyline Trail. Bikes can’t make it, though, so they get out there and take the road.” She pointed up ahead. “That’s the office. And the entrance to the park. You want to meet Tammy?”

  “Sure.”

  She stopped by the side door and leaned her bike against the wall. Lexie did the same. She took her helmet off and ran her fingers through her hair. She was certain it was an unruly mess and she chanced a glance into the window, seeing her reflection. She groaned.

  “It looks no worse than mine.”

  Kyler stared at Lexie, her light brown hair still confined in its ponytail, a few stray strands dancing across her face. Before she could stop herself, she reached out to tame the strands, tucking them behind her ear. Their eyes met and she smiled, then lowered her hand.

  “Your hair looks like it did before the helmet. How do you pull that off?”

  “My hair is thin. Yours,” she said, touching it lightly with her hand, “is very thick.” Again, their eyes met. “I like it.”

  They were standing close, too close. Kyler let her gaze lower to Lexie’s lips, seeing a smile forming. A flirty smile that she was beginning to recognize was more teasing than serious.

  “Come on. I’ll introduce you to Tammy.”

  Lexie stopped her with a touch on her arm. “Kyler?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Would today be a good day to catch the sunset?”

  She had a hand on the doorknob, but before she turned it, she glanced again at Lexie. “It’ll be a perfect day. You want to?”

  “Yes. Please.”

  “Okay. We’ll take the road back to the lodge instead of the trail. Should get back in plenty of time.”

  Tammy was waiting when they went inside. A big smile greeted them.

  “You must be Lexie Walton.” Tammy held her hand out and Lexie shook it. “So nice to meet you. You’re as pretty as Irene said you were.”

  “Thank you. And you must be Tammy. My mother speaks highly of you.”

  Tammy was nearly beaming, and Kyler was afraid the smile would break her face. “I took her on a bike ride,” she offered. “Thought we’d pop in and say hello.”

  “I’m so glad you did. Things are downright boring around here. Not a single camper came in today.” Tammy turned her attention to Lexie. “So, how do you like it here?”

  “Better than I thought I would.” Lexie flicked her gaze at her and smiled. “Kyler has helped.”

  “As I told Kyler, it takes a certain kind to embrace this life out here. Especially coming from a city with all its amenities.”

  “Did you?”

  “Oh, yes. I lived in Dallas, worked in a high-rise in downtown, fought traffic, rushed through life as if it was a race.” She waved her hand in the air. “Then Phil had his mind made up to move out here. Since divorcing the man I loved wasn’t an option, I had to change my mindset. Instead of focusing on all my preconceived negatives about the place—and all the things I would miss in my former life—I started looking at the positives.”

  “Such as?”

  “No rush hour traffic. I didn’t realize how much stress my commute to and from work put on me. And the quiet. And the friendly people. Oh, and the stars! Have you taken a good look at the stars?”

  Lexie smiled at her. “Kyler took me for a sunrise. We got a glimpse of them. She’s promised to let me play with her telescope sometime.”

  Kyler laughed. “I’ll trade you a telescope session if you’ll cook dinner for me one night.”

  “Deal.”

  “It’s so nice the two of you have become friends. It’s not often young people move here. At least, not up here in Ft. Davis. As I understand it, Marfa is more of a draw.” Tammy looked at her. “Didn’t you meet some twins there once?”

 
; Lexie laughed and Kyler felt a blush creep up her face. “I did. Turns out we didn’t have anything in common.”

  “But you and Lexie seem to. So happy you’ve found someone to bike ride with.”

  “Me too.” She made a show of looking at her watch. “Speaking of, we should get going.”

  “Well, thank you for bringing Lexie by.” Tammy shook Lexie’s hand again. “Nice to meet you.”

  “Yes, it was. Thank you.”

  “You’ll need to bring her out to the ranch sometime, Kyler. Take her riding.”

  “Oh, I’m not sure I’m up for horses,” Lexie said quickly. “I’m just getting used to the bike.”

  “Nonsense. Kyler can saddle one of the older mares for you.” Tammy turned to her. “Bring her on one of your days off. Phil will cook on the grill for us.”

  “I’ll try to talk her into it.”

  “Okay, dear. See you tomorrow.”

  As soon as the door closed, Lexie turned to her. “You’re going to make me go riding, aren’t you?”

  Kyler smiled. “Make you? Do I have that power?”

  “You can be persuasive. Anyone who can drag Mark out during the middle of the night to watch a meteor shower must be.”

  They put their helmets back on and pushed their bikes away from the building. “I drag his ass out every once in a while to break up his routine.”

  “And his routine is being at the bar every day, every night?”

  “Yeah. Except for our occasional dinner dates on Saturday and football season on Sundays.” They peddled away from the office, keeping to the park road as they headed back toward the campgrounds. “He must have loved her very much.”

  “He likes to say he fell in love with her in the second grade, which is when they met. I can’t really think of a time in my life where Mia wasn’t around. By the time they were in high school, I think everyone—her parents included—knew they’d get married.”

  “Do you think he’ll ever get over it? Maybe date again?”

  “I hope so, but honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me if he didn’t. He lives with his memories. I think it would take someone very special to break that hold she has on him.”

  “It can’t be healthy for him. Mentally, I mean.”

  “No. Mentally. Emotionally. On the outside, he seems perfectly fine. And I think he really is okay. He’s just not ready to let her go. That’s something only he can decide.”

  They peddled back down the road, toward the campgrounds. “That’s the real reason he’s here then?”

  “Yes. When Mom and Dad bought this place, like me, Mark had no intention of joining them. After the accident, Mom made the offer to him. I think she knew he needed to get away from Austin. Much like she made me an offer, I guess.”

  “Because you needed to get away?”

  “I was slipping into a pit of depression, yes. I didn’t realize how deflating it would be to interview for jobs only to be continually passed over. My life had become stagnant. I can see that now. But I always kept so busy, was always doing something. It didn’t occur to me how empty my life was.” Lexie glanced at her. “Do you know what I mean? I had a full life, yet…something was missing.”

  Did she know what she meant? Could she relate? Her life felt full. She loved her job. She had a few friends. And she had Mark. She had some hobbies that kept her entertained. She wouldn’t call it empty by any means. Yet, sometimes, alone at night…yes, something felt missing.

  “So you’ve been here a couple of weeks. You miss your friends?”

  “I’m not sure.” Then Lexie gave a guarded laugh. “That sounds selfish, doesn’t it? I didn’t mean it that way. I thought I would miss my friends. Especially Trish. We saw each other several times during the week. Lunch once or twice. Dinner on the weekends. Barhopping on Saturday nights. I really don’t miss that at all.”

  “Barhopping?”

  “It’s a must-do when you’re in college. Sixth Street. And for a lot of people, it carries on after college. The group that goes—they’re Trish’s friends, really. Mine only by default. Most of them are single. Those that are married go less frequently. I joined them before Cathy. And we would go together occasionally. After I ended it with her, I started going routinely again. It was exhausting, really.”

  “What? Staying out until two when the bars close?”

  “Yeah. Then you’d feel like crap the next day, wishing you hadn’t agreed to meet for brunch and a Bloody Mary.”

  “So why did you do it?”

  “I don’t know. To keep busy, I guess.”

  “To keep from being alone on a Saturday night?”

  “Yes. And I know what you’re thinking. I must be terribly insecure if I can’t manage that.”

  “You don’t seem insecure.”

  “I’ll admit, my self-esteem took a hit after losing my job and then not being able to find another one. Then being single and friends trying to set you up with the wrong person. You start thinking maybe it’s you, not them.” Lexie lifted one hand from the handlebars and waved it at her. “Let’s change the subject. This one is depressing.”

  “Okay. So…what? Should I change it to something exciting like birdwatching?”

  “Yeah. And so that’s your insecurity! It’s something you love, yet you’re embarrassed about it. I don’t understand why.”

  “Because I’m not very good.”

  “Oh, Kyler. That’s relative, isn’t it? To me, you’re an expert. Because I know nothing.”

  She nodded, knowing Lexie had hit on the truth. “Yes. It is relative. And when I’m by myself, observing, I think I’m pretty capable. But when out with others—and god forbid there are real birders there—I freeze up.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with being a new birder, is there? I mean, even your so-called experts were new at one time.”

  “I know. I guess I feel like, in my profession, I should be better already. And I wasted years down at the coast where I could have learned, but I wasn’t really into it down there. Those birders down there are fanatical. Funny hats and all,” she added with a laugh.

  “And they intimidate you?”

  “Yes, they do. So it was easier to pretend I didn’t know a damn thing than to acknowledge I knew a little.”

  They rounded the last curve and the picnic area came into sight. She glanced to the sky, figuring they had at least forty-five minutes before the sunset colors would begin. An hour before it set.

  “Do I have time to change?”

  “Yeah. It’ll get cold once the sun sets. We can swing by my place before heading up the mountain. I’ll change too.”

  Lexie flashed her a grin. “Good. I’ve wanted to see where you live.”

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Lexie was trying to snoop without it being obvious. The cabin was small but certainly larger than her own little apartment. It at least had a kitchen. The room was tidy but not sterile. A couple of wildlife photos hung on one wall and a colorful blanket with a classic Mexican flavor adorned the side wall by the door. A sofa separated the kitchen and the living room. A coffee table had four or five books on it, and she peeked through them—an assortment of bird books and ones on stargazing. She smiled and put them back the way she’d found them. A large TV was against the wall and a cute fireplace was in one corner. The other corner was crowded with a Christmas tree, decorated to the hilt. She saw the birdwatching ornament that her mother had given Kyler and this, too, made her smile.

  She slid her gaze to the kitchen, which was against the opposite wall. The appliances were simple and white, the counter space taken up by a coffeemaker and a toaster. A small, square table was shoved against the wall and three chairs were slid against it. She wondered where the fourth had gone.

  “Planning a meal?”

  She turned, finding Kyler in jeans and a sweatshirt. “Snooping around. I like it. It’s cozy. And your tree is lovely.”

  “Thank you. I start a fire and turn all the lights off. Just the Christmas tree light
s are on and the glow from the fire. It’s as relaxing as a bubble bath.”

  She laughed lightly. “I can’t picture you taking a bubble bath.”

  “Well, seeing as how I only have a shower here, no.” She glanced at her watch. “Ready?”

  “Yes. We won’t be late, will we?”

  “No. There’s a service road that comes out near Skyline Drive. We’ll take that instead of the road through the campground.”

  Back in Kyler’s Jeep, instead of retracing their route, she turned left onto a small, dirt road with a Park Personnel Only sign.

  “How many cabins are there?”

  “Six.”

  “But you have more employees than that?”

  “We’ve got eight. Actually, two of the cabins are vacant. Todd moved into Ft. Davis last year when he got married. The other one, one of the clerks lived there for a while. She doesn’t work here anymore.”

  “Eight employees doesn’t sound like very many.”

  “Our allocation is based on traffic in the park, not the size. Actually, eight is pretty decent. When I worked at Goose Island, we had fifteen or sixteen, I think. That park gets the most traffic in that region, and it’s relatively small—acreage wise.”

  The dirt road hit pavement and Lexie was completely turned around as to where they were. Kyler turned left on to Skyline Drive.

  “Oh. Now I see. We came from that direction the last time.”

  “Yes. The campgrounds are down that road.”

  As they climbed higher, Lexie could tell the colors were starting to change. She could also feel the wind as it rattled the Jeep doors.

  “It wasn’t really windy when we were riding.”

  “Not too much. The trees help block a lot of it. Plus, we’re kinda in a bowl there. The Mt. Livermore area blocks winds coming from the west and this one blocks the north.” Kyler pointed to their right. “Red-tailed hawk making a final hunt before dark.”

  Lexie glanced just in time to see the hawk disappear below them into the canyon. When they got to the top, Kyler drove to the opposite side from where they’d watched the sunrise. Which, of course, made sense as they were now watching the sunset.