by J. C. Cliff
“I’ll have you know I’m a very skilled hiker. I do this all the time,” she says, taking offense. I’m sure the lie is to help her look strong in the face of a stranger. I can hardly blame her. It’s a smart move, actually.
“Well, if you’re so skilled, you’d know it’s not safe to travel alone,” I counter while suppressing a grin, and then I hold up my lighter, “and you’d know how to light a campfire.”
“I was having a moment, that’s all.” Her words are defensive, and with her not knowing my sense of humor, it appears I might be unsettling her a bit. I don’t want to upset her, so I stop ridiculing her.
“Fair enough.” I extend my hand and introduce myself, changing the subject. “I’m Quinn, by the way.”
She hesitates for a beat, then places her petite hand in mine. “You can call me Lexi.”
“All right, Lexi it is.” We both fall quiet as I finish building the fire for her. When I’m done, I sit back and rub at the five o’clock shadow on my jaw while I assess her, wondering what could make someone like her kill another person. I’ve spent a lot of time reading people, and I don’t think she has it in her. But hell, we are talking about the mafia here, aren’t we? She was probably raised with a silver bullet in her back pocket. I internally berate myself for stereotyping her.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” she asks nervously.
I shake myself from my thoughts and look into her soft brown eyes. “Like what?” I ask, confused.
She waves her hand in the air, trying to explain. “I don’t know. Like maybe you’re studying me or something.”
“I don’t know. I guess I’m simply trying to figure out why a young woman would want to be out here all alone in the first place. It is dangerous,” I rationalize, exuding a genuine concern for her. “It’s not wise for anyone, including men, for that matter. Things can go from wonderful to tragic in seconds, skipping right over bad and terrible.” She picks up on my sincere demeanor, and her tense shoulders relax.
“You're right, and I’m sorry I snapped. I don’t really know much, if anything, about hiking,” she admits. “A friend set this up for me, suggesting I take a hiking trip. You know…to get away and clear my head.”
“That’s not a very good friend.”
“Why do you say that?” she asks, tilting her head.
“Because friends don’t let friends camp alone in the wilderness, especially if you’ve never done it before.”
She doesn’t argue with me, and nods her head in agreement as she slowly eyes me up and down. “Well, you’re alone.”
I shake my head. “Negatory, sweetheart. I brought my best friend.” I can tell I’ve confused her. I give her a playful wink before I let out a loud whistle. Not expecting the sudden sound, she reflexively flinches.
“Sorry about that; I didn’t mean to startle you.” I’ll have to remember with her being on the run, she’ll be jumpy for a while.
Kimber comes ripping through the bushes at high speed, and I brace myself for impact, but it never comes. She bypasses me and plows right into Lexi, knocking her off balance. Lexi lets out a squeal of laughter as Kimber licks her from cheek to cheek, wagging her tail.
“What the fuck, Kimber?” She has never, and I mean never liked any females around me. She’s always been jealous of them.
Lexi giggles as she sits up, rubbing behind Kimber’s ears, and asks me, “What’s wrong?”
I shake off my annoyance of her disobedience and introduce the two of them. “Well, looks like you’ve already met Kimber.”
“Kimber?”
“Yep, that’s her name. She’s a retired military dog, so she came with the name.”
She rubs the dog’s neck, and then leans in for a kiss and a hug. “Well, I love your name, Kimber,” she playfully coos.
Kimber is eating up all this attention as she wags her tail. No doubt she’s excited to have found her mark. It’s probably the first time she’s ever been allowed to celebrate her victory, too. Oh, what the hell, I’ll let her have her moment of stardom. I have no doubt Kimber was able to pick up on Lexi's distress, and she’s trying to make her feel better. Dogs are intuitive like that.
“I’m sorry about her mauling you. She’s always been well-behaved.”
“It’s okay. I love animals. Is she a Shepard?” she asks inquisitively.
“No, she’s a Belgian Malinois. They get confused for Shepard’s quite a bit.”
“She’s kind of small, isn’t she? I mean, I always imaged bigger dogs being in the military.”
“Don’t let her sixty-five pounds fool you. She’s all muscle and very protective.” Kimber has had some serious aggression training, and I shudder to think of what she could be capable of if she’s ever pushed to protect. I’m not one to test that theory either. She has also performed a few search and rescues, but I don’t need to tell Lexi that. I don’t ever want her to be able to put two and two together down the line. “This little rascal is probably worth close to forty grand,” I inform her as I reach out to stroke Kimber’s back.
“Holy smokes, are you serious?”
“Yep,” I say, nodding my head. “These dogs are highly intelligent, and can sniff out an IED like no other.” I pause for a moment as I watch her pet my dog in the most loving way. She seems innocent enough, sweet actually, and I’m amazed Kimber is bonding with her so quickly. “So you like animals, huh? What kind?”
“I love horses,” she gushes, breaking out into a beautiful smile. “Even when I was a kid, I loved them so much I wanted to become a large animal vet.”
“Really? That’s pretty cool,” I comment, amazed how the mere mention of horses puts her in a happy place.
“I wanted to specialize in horses,” she rambles on. I shake my head in awe, because—I’ll be damned—she’s not coming off as prissy as I originally thought she would. She seems pretty down-to-earth. Unlike most women, she doesn’t mind Kimber’s wet licks or the dog hairs coating her pants. Since I adopted Kimber last year, none of the women I had brought home ever gave her a second glance. She was more of an annoyance to them than anything.
Kimber’s ears perk up, and she looks out into the distance, letting out a low growl. “Easy, girl.” I look around and don’t see anything, but I go ahead and detach her leash from her backpack and hold on to her just in case. A minute later, a park ranger appears on the narrow trail leading down to us. Kimber holds steady, waiting for me to give her an order. Poor thing, she’s all of a sudden gone into combat mode. “Stand down, Kimber,” I order. The hairs stay raised on the nape of her neck as she sits down at my side. Her ears are waiting for a command as she’s still on full alert, just in case I change my mind. I can’t help but smile at her stoicism.
“Good evening,” I holler out to break the silence. I can tell he’s a park ranger by his brown uniform. “Is everything okay?”
“Good evening to you, too. I’m just out making my rounds,” he explains, and then lifts his chin toward the shelter behind us. “You got a permit to stay here?”
I glance back over at Lexi with a raised brow and watch her begin to sweat. “I umm….” She stumbles over her words, and then chooses to come clean. “Permit? No, I’m sorry. I don’t.”
I decide she’s already had a rough day, and I value her honesty, so I cut to the chase, ending her panic. “I told you I would handle the permits dear, remember?” She looks at me quizzically, and I grin. I lean over and rifle through my backpack, and pull out the zip-lock bag, which contains my important papers. I stand up as I pull out the permit, and then hand it off to the ranger. Thank God, Travis worked on the nuts and bolts of this trail. Hell, truth be told, I didn’t even know about needing a shelter permit either.
After reading my permit, he hands it back. “Well, looks like you folks are good to go then.” He eyes me up and down real good, making me feel uneasy, and then he informs me, “Thought you should know there have been a few black bear sightings close by.”
“Bears?” Lexi pipes i
n, her panicked eyes darting about the forest.
“Well, your other half here looks as if he’s an experienced hiker, so I think you’ll be fine, miss.” The ranger turns back to me, and continues, “And I probably don’t need to insult your intelligence, but you do know to keep your food away from your campsite, right?”
“I sure do, and no insult taken. Better to be safe than sorry, right?”
“That’s a fact; it’s always better to play it safe.” We chat for a few more minutes, and then he’s gone, off to finish making his rounds before it gets too dark. The second the ranger is out of sight, Lexi asks about the permit.
“I had no idea you needed a permit. I never heard of such a thing.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s only for the Shenandoah Valley area. Besides the National Park Services, there’s a mix of federal, state, and local lands that make for some very complicated trail planning.” I point to the shelter she’s claimed for the night and add, “These shelters are all up and down the trail, and each are about a day’s hike apart, but you don’t know if they’re going to be occupied when you get there.”
“How long is a day’s hike?”
I shrug my shoulders as I think back to the map I studied earlier. “Probably about thirty miles.”
Her eyes grow big and round. “Thirty miles?!”
“That’s not but a day's hike,” I reason with her. It's nothing for me to hike that out. However, she shakes her head at me, not liking the sound of thirty-miles.
“That's insane.”
I chuckle at her response. She looks so damn sweet and unassuming. Hell, she doesn't even look as if she could be part of the mafia, or related to Tony for that matter. If it weren't for her olive skin, and dark hair, I would've never guessed.
I look up to the sky above and realize it's getting late; dusk is settling in. Either I need to stay or go, but I need to play this off as carefully as I can. I don’t want to make her feel uncomfortable, as if I could be one of those potential stalkers or weirdos. I need to come off indifferent, as if I don't care about leaving her alone. If she sends me on my way, then I’ll stealthily track her, eventually crossing paths with her while pretending it was an accidental run-in.
I arch my back and stretch out my arms before putting my gear back on, and as I do, I say my goodbyes. “Well, it’s getting late. I’d better get going before it gets too dark. I need to look for my own spot to set up camp before nightfall, and then cook myself some dinner.” I smile at her and hold out my hand for her to shake. “By the way, you can keep the permit.” I figure she’s going to need it more than I do.
She stands up, dusts off her hands on her jeans, and then bites at her lower lip with worry before accepting my hand. “Umm…look, why don’t you guys stay, huh? The shelter is big enough for all of us. It’s the least I could do, being as you’re the one who actually holds a permit.”
I return her smile, but politely decline, “I really don’t want to impose on your hike, Lexi.”
“No,” she quickly blurts out, “no imposition at all. Truth of the matter is I really could use the company.” I tilt my head and eye her warily, but it’s all an act. She’s playing perfectly into my hands, and the ranger couldn’t have had better timing, scaring her with the possibility of black bears roaming nearby. “I’d really love the company…scouts’ honor.”
“Are you sure it’s the company in total, or just Kimber?” I ask, arching a brow. “Or maybe it’s bear protection you need, hmm?”
She lets out a small, nervous laugh, and a light blush creeps up her neck. “What if I said it’s all of the above?” Her smile fades, and I see the imminent promises of fear and loneliness getting ready to consume her. She obviously didn’t think this adventure through, because it’s plain to see she has an aversion to being all alone, out in the vast wilderness. “Please, I’d feel better if you stayed.”
Mission accomplished. I'd come to the conclusion that since I've got plenty of time, I’ll use this opportunity to my advantage. She’s been forthcoming thus far, and I’m curious enough to find out the real reasons as to what has this beautiful young woman on the run.
I know I should just turn her over to her father and call it a day, but something is stopping me. Maybe because instinctively, I think I'm detecting a guilelessness about her. I have always had an innate ability to read people, and there is some level of purity that radiates off her. There’s something unspecified about this girl that has me intrigued. I only hope being a sucker for a damsel in distress doesn’t come back to bite me on the ass.
The crickets chirp a symphony in the background as I lie here, trying to fall asleep, but my mind keeps spinning. I find myself continually reflecting back on the long day, and it's keeping me awake. I felt like such an idiot getting busted crying the way I was by the sexiest man I’ve ever met. It was awfully embarrassing, but I couldn’t help the impending breakdown. My emotions had finally caught up with me.
It really messed me up to leave my family behind. Even though I only saw my parents once a week for family dinners, it was the thought of not knowing when I would get to see them again. I didn’t even get to say goodbye to them. My family, being Italian, is huge, and I know they are going to be turning the world inside out once they read the email I sent them. I kept my letter as vague as possible, and told them not to worry about me. I tried to explain I needed a break to clear my head and would be in touch as soon as possible. I didn't want them to worry for me, but knowing my dad, he would definitely get all worked up. Well, freaking out would be more like it, right along with my mother and brother.
It was hard to figure out what little mementos to bring along, because everything in my house came with a fond memory attached to it in one way or another. I wound up settling on a small photo album of my favorite pictures taken over the course of my life. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to convince myself this will only be temporary. Maybe I can pretend this is simply an extended vacation/adventure, because I have to be able to go back. I just have to.
I sniffle and wipe away the tiny tear that's slipping from the corner of my eye. Not only did I leave my family, I had to leave my job behind as well. I had worked so hard to move up the ranks in the graphic and design company I worked for. Since graduating college, I had built up my own client base from nothing. Walking away from all of that hurts, because I know I won’t have a job if or when I’m able to go back. As much as my boss loves me, it's not how money is earned for the company, nor how business works.
I cover my mouth and hold back an audible sob as I think of all the future holidays I won’t be a part of. Don’t even get me started on Griffen, my horse. I feel as if a part of my soul has been ripped out, and that I'm being disloyal by leaving him behind. I left my small house at about four in the morning in order to spend my last few hours with him. Naturally, I’m exhausted, both mentally and physically, but with the amount of heartache I feel, I'm too upset to fall asleep.
I have always felt a level of repressed personal growth around Vince and sometimes my parents, because I'm the type of person who's always eager to please. I don't like disappointing others, but this isn’t how I wanted to achieve it, by running away. Once I hit the trails this morning, I forced myself to hike hard and fast to keep from turning back around. Confusion, anger, and heartache consumed me, and I couldn’t stop thinking of how betrayed I felt by my childhood friends, who were the reasons I was here in the first place. How could I have not seen this type of traitorous deceit coming? I guess I’ve always only wanted to see the best in people, and not think they would be capable of doing something so heinous, especially to me.
After a few hours of the endless unanswered questions swirling around in my head, the anguish became so unbearable I had finally reached my breaking point, and I needed to stop and grieve. When I saw the empty shelter, a part of me felt relieved, because my feet had also hit their breaking point.
The shelter was an answer to my prayers, because with not having
slept the night before and the added stress I was under, I was exhausted. I also didn't have the energy to figure out the miniature one-man tent I was carrying. Despite the dilapidated exterior of the shelter, it looked overly inviting. Dispirited by the previous day's conflict, it all caught up to me, and I found myself overcome with extreme fatigue. I needed to lie down and sleep more than I needed my next breath. I rolled out my sleeping bag, and as soon as I laid my head down, I was out. I slept longer than I intended to, so when I woke up, it was late and I was starving. I wanted to start a fire before dark, because I knew with it being springtime in the mountains, the nights would turn chilly once the sun went down. I was alone, hungry, overwhelmed, and depressed, and when I couldn’t concentrate on getting a fire started, it was the straw that broke the camel's back. The reality of my situation crept in, and I began to break down and cry.
I quietly sniffle and look over at Quinn, the moon outlining his masculine profile. It was perfect timing when he and Kimber showed up, because I was fixing to have both a nervous breakdown and no fire. Aside from the fact he's a complete stranger, he somehow makes me feel unusually safe. It doesn’t hurt that he is off-the-charts ruggedly handsome either. He has this absurd amount of animal magnetism rolling off his person, and his almost translucent, bright blue eyes are spellbinding. He's been nothing but a perfect gentleman to me the entire evening.
When the ranger mentioned bears, I thought I was going to have a stroke. With all the troubles that had been on my mind, I hadn’t even considered bears. Granted, my friend had packed pepper spray for me, but I’m not sure how I would’ve reacted in the face of a bear. What if I misfired the spray, or what if it wasn’t enough to stop it, and what if I only succeeded in pissing him off more?
Needless to say, I felt this huge weight lift off my shoulders when Quinn said he’d stay the night. He’s been very kind and helpful, and he seems to like me enough, because he’s been very attentive to my every need. My lips lift in a slight grin, thinking of Kimber’s and the affection she's shown me. She totally digs me, and with me missing the unconditional love of my horse, Kimber gave me hers freely. It was almost as if she could sense my loneliness and despair.
