The man didn’t appear to be a threat. He apparently thought he knew me. Clearly confused and obviously a guest to the Stevenses. Not wanting to offend my friends, I remained calm and pressed my hand firmly against the man’s chest to set a boundary. Then quickly removed it. My face blazed from the bare touch of his warm skin.
“I’m sorry. I’m not who you think I am. My name is Sarah. I’m a friend of Laith and Elisa. I’m looking for Dr. Raymond Stevens.”
He stared at me for what felt like an eternity, but I let him despite my growing angst. Slowly the man released my arms, his breath came in and out heavily. “I see. I apologize for my confusion. You look like someone I use to know a long time ago.”
Looking at his rugged face and the frustration embedded in his eyes, a part of me wished I was this Ava.
“Won’t you come in?” he asked, stepping to the side.
I hesitated, but then allowed him to guide me into the front sitting room. A grand piano sat in the corner and was the main focal point of the room, or would have been if it weren’t for a certain half-naked man standing next to me. Again, my face flushed.
He gestured me to a tan linen couch while he took the paisley accent chair across the way. I noticed that his tattoo stretched down the left side of his amazing back as well. Frustrated, I glanced about me as a distraction from the awkward tension brewing, but there was not much there to look at. Plainly decorated, the room must have been used primarily to relax and enjoy the music of whoever was talented enough to play. I briefly wondered who the musician of the family was.
The man cleared his throat, drawing my attention. He leaned forward in his seat, bracing his elbows on his knees, and clasping his hands together. “So, Sarah, what was it you said you needed from the good Dr. Stevens?”
The muscles in my forehead contracted. “I didn’t say, and I would prefer to keep it private, please.”
“I see.” He smiled, but his gaze tightened. “Do your friends know you’re coming to see him?”
I crossed my arms. “No, they don’t. Do my friends know you’re here? I was just with them last night and I don’t believe they told me of any visitor coming to stay. Just who exactly are you?”
The man pushed off from his knees. “I apologize. I guess I never did introduce myself, did I?”
“Nope,” I said with a pop of my lips. The man almost smiled.
“My name is Darius.” He tapped his forefinger on the arm of the chair as he regarded me. “I am a friend of the three.”
The Three? My heart thudded strangely within my chest, my pendant growing warm against my skin. “The Three?” I asked aloud.
One brow raised curiously. “Yes. Ray, Elisa, and Laith. I’ve known them for years.”
“Oh,” I breathed.
I remembered on the night of Elisa’s birthday, Ray had mentioned a colleague named Darius… the same night Ray had told the story of the Heralds and the Three.
They failed to mention how good-looking their colleague and friend was. My nerves flurried awkwardly inside my stomach.
“So Darius, do you think you could put on a shirt any time soon?”
“Why?” His lips twitched up in one corner. “Does it make you uncomfortable?”
I pished. “I’m not uncomfortable.” But I was a horrible liar.
“Are you the new friend Elisa told me about?” he asked, eyeing my reaction, and I was sure noticing the way my face flushed. “The one that is watching over some guy in a coma?”
Shocked my friends had told him about me, I laced my fingers together nervously.
“Ben. Yes.”
“Better be careful,” he said, giving me a wink. “Don’t let the poor guy think he’s fallen for you, if he hasn’t already.”
“What?” It wasn’t lost on me that both my father, and now this stranger, had warned me about the possibility of Benjamin falling for me. “That’s ridiculous. He’s not in love with me,” I lied again, trying to forget what Benjamin had already confessed the previous night.
“I’m not so sure. If I had a pretty girl like you taking care of me, it’d be hard not to. If I remember correctly, it’s called the Florence Nightingale effect.”
“The Florence Nightingale effect is generally the caregiver developing feelings for the patient, not vice versa, and it’s not a real medical condition. Besides, he’s not in the hospital anymore. He woke up and they released him.”
“How old are you? You act older than you look.” When I didn’t answer, he asked, “Are you and this Ben dating?”
What the heck? I needed to go.
I stood. “You know what? I think I’ll just catch up with my friends later.” I set off towards the door.
“Wait. I thought you needed to speak to Ray.”
“I’ll catch him some other time,” I said reaching for the handle.
“I’m sure he’ll be back soon,” Darius said, placing a hand on the door to stop my exit. His muscled shoulders were eye level. I could feel the heat emanating from his body, almost read the inked text on his skin if I looked closer. Anger grew rapidly into my face. My throat tightened.
“I’ll catch him some other time,” I repeated slowly, menacingly.
“Why don’t you stay?” he asked; his hand remained fixed in place, his biceps flexed.
Trapped. I felt trapped, like an animal caught in a snare. I exhaled roughly.
“Remove your hand from the door before I make you remove it.”
The man gawked at my threat, then after a moment, a slow smile spread to his face. He retracted his hand. “I’ll see you soon, Sarah,” he promised.
I huffed, yanking the door wide. Not if I had any say in the matter.
I had barely gotten out of my car at Cheryl’s house when I heard the deep rumblings of a large vehicle coming down the street and watched as a black truck, so easily recognizable to me now, pulled directly in front of the house. My insides squeezed with anxiety. Did they know of the less-than-friendly exchange with their guest, Darius? The passenger side window rolled down.
“Good morning!” Elisa called out. “We’ve come to steal you and take you camping with us. It’s another one of our spur-of-the-moment ideas, so don’t feel pressured if you can’t go.”
“Wrong. Feel the pressure, Sarah. You’re going.” Laith squinted down at me with a look that said he would not abide any argument.
“Did you just come from your house?” I asked.
“Nope. We’ve been up for hours. Just came from getting food and ice.”
“Oh,” I said, glad that they hadn’t been able to talk to Darius yet—their overbearing and stupidly handsome friend. I glanced at the bed of the truck and saw a cooler, three or four backpacks, and sleeping bags, along with other items that I didn’t recognize. “You’re already packed?”
“Yep.”
I stared into those green eyes of his. I couldn’t quite place it, but there was something odd going on. “Laith, what are you up to?”
His shoulders lifted innocently, “Do I always have to be up to something?”
Elisa interjected. “He always has his gear ready. Normally we don’t take this much. Laith likes to commune with nature and loves sleeping underneath the stars. I don’t though. I sleep in the cab. Even though it’s been a warm January—”
“Good grief, it’s practically spring. It’s seventy degrees today!” Laith said. “And absolutely no snow anywhere nearby.”
“It’s still gets too cold for me,” she glanced pointedly at Laith, “so I have heat packs, thermal underwear, and a small battery-powered heater. I brought some extra thermals for you if you don’t have any and extra heat packs. Laith thinks it would be a perfect time to introduce you to the joys of camping”
Just then Cheryl came out of the house carrying my phone. She greeted my friends happily. “Laith and Elisa, right?”
“Correct,” Laith grinned.
“You’re going camping?” Cheryl asked, catching the end of the conversation.
“We’re hoping so.” Laith and Elisa climbed down from the truck. “We’d like to coerce Sarah into going as well.” He nudged me with his elbow. “I actually brought a tent this time and an extra heater. I knew this would be her first time, so where she sleeps is totally up to her. I have dinner and stuff for breakfast. Elisa packed a lot of other junk.”
“Believe me, we have everything we need,” Elisa said. “Laith knows how to make an awesome fire, and he’s just as good a cook as his dad.”
“Really? Dr. Stevens is a good cook? Is he going with you?” Cheryl asked, her cheeks grew pink as we all turned to her.
“No. He’s been out of town on a business trip. He gets back later tonight, but don’t worry, he knows where we’re going,” Laith said with a grin.
“Well, I hope you have fun. Here, Sarah. Your phone vibrated a minute ago,” she said. “And this sounds exciting. You should go. Although I think it’s fair to warn your friends that you don’t do well in the cold and you swear like a sailor when frustrated.”
“I do not!” I blushed.
“Really?” both Laith and Elisa said at the same time. Laith laughed, but Elisa didn’t seem like she believed it.
Cheryl smiled mischievously then turned and walked back into the house.
“Oh my gosh. She’s hot.” Laith acknowledged when she was out of earshot.
I had never really looked at her in that way, but he was right. Cheryl was beautiful.
“Not appropriate,” Elisa warned him. “Sarah, he’s not serious.”
“Oh, I totally am.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “We are setting her up with Dad.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” I said with a grin.
I opened my cell phone and looked at the message. My heart dropped as I read another text from Benjamin.
I can’t stop thinking about you. Can we meet up, please?
Frustrated, I deleted the message without responding. Was a few hours’ sleep his idea of giving me time?
“That’s another thing,” Laith interrupted my thoughts. “This is a strictly no cell phone trip. Mine and Elisa’s are already off and in the glove compartment. No technology allowed when in nature.”
I laughed, more than happy to comply with his demands.
“I’ll go.” I said handing him my phone. Anything to keep my mind off Benjamin. Laith deposited it with the others in the glove compartment. “But I think I’ll need you guys to help me pack.”
“No problem,” Elisa said.
18
Distractions
Laith waited in the living room as I changed into jeans and t-shirt and packed an extra set of clothes. As I undressed, I glanced down at my mother’s pendant. There was rarely a time when I took it off, but the last thing I wanted to do was lose my most precious possession forever in some unfamiliar forest. I slowly unhooked the clasp and slid it off my neck. Although the chain was slender, my bare skin felt uncomfortably exposed. For a moment, I clutched the stone to my chest then carefully placed it inside my jewelry box, trying to ignore the inexplicable uneasiness.
Soon we were on the road heading north toward Payson, Arizona. It took a little over an hour to get to the dirt turn-off that would take us to Laith’s favorite camping place, then another fifteen minutes of bumpy mountain terrain before we arrived.
As we pulled into the campsite, I noticed that we were the only ones brave enough or, depending on how you looked at it, stupid enough, to come camping in January. As we came to a stop, I quickly jumped out of the truck and inhaled the wonderfully clean, pine-scented air.
Pine cones and needles littered the campsite and laid among patches of dead and yellowed grass. Fallen tree trunks made interesting patterns on the forest floor. Some had turned brittle and begun to decay. The farther I looked into the woodland beyond, the larger and closer together the trees became, creating an obscure and seemingly-endless forest.
I shivered, but not from the cold.
Laith pulled a rake from the back of his truck and cleared away the forest debris. He created a circular pile of rocks centered in the middle of our site for a campfire and together we gathered several pieces of dry timber and placed them in the pit. Five minutes later we were warming ourselves in front of the growing flames.
Laith pulled out what I assumed to be the tent he had packed for me, but I stopped him, feeling brave. There was no way that I would be sleeping in a tent on my very first night camping. “I’ll sleep in the bed of the truck if that’s okay with you.”
“Absolutely.” Laith grinned.
Laith and Elisa seemed to have an endless amount of camp stories and I listened to them all with kind interest, but something about the way Laith peered at me from time to time made me curious. My intuition whispered shenanigans, and after a break in the conversation, I decided to address my hunch.
“So Laith, tell me something. Why did you decide you two needed to take me camping in the first place? To introduce me to the joys of camping?”
“What are you talking about?” He stood, gathering more wood for the fire.
“You had an agenda. Out with it,” I said.
Laith hid a smile. He laid the logs upon the blaze then shuffled the dirt by the campfire with his boot. “You’re observant, Sarah.”
“The truth, Laith. If we’re friends, I deserve to be told.”
“Laith,” Elisa looked at him curiously, “Was there a reason?”
He sighed, looking away to the trees. “I did have an agenda.” He picked up a stick and snapped it in half, throwing it into the fire. “And it isn’t the perfect time to go camping. Way too cold for my liking. “He sat down with a huff. “I didn’t even feel good about going in the first place, but I didn’t trust my intuition. And I didn’t listen to you, Elisa, when you told me she could take care of herself.”
“What do you mean? Why didn’t you think I could take care of myself?” I asked.
“Something bothered me last night when that creep was talking to you. I know I didn’t even see the guy’s face, but I had the feeling something was wrong about the whole situation. I didn’t like that he was talking to you, and I really didn’t like that he was trying to persuade you into going on a date with him, so I came up with a plan to ensure you would be gone.”
“You did this so I wouldn’t meet up with Jonathan? But why didn’t you just ask me?” I watched the way Laith clasped and unclasped his hands in obvious frustration.
“Because you were so defensive about it, and I wasn’t sure you wouldn’t change your mind at the last minute.”
It was true. I would be lying if I said that Jonathan’s offer wasn’t tempting. Maybe I would have gone.
“My idea seemed so perfect at first,” Laith said, “but the more I thought about it, the more something didn’t feel right. I almost changed my mind and nixed the whole plan. Then I spoke to Elisa.”
I glanced over at Elisa, her focus lowered to the ground. “And what about that conversation changed your mind?”
Her tone was soft as she answered for him, “He asked me what I would do in your shoes, and I answered him honestly. I would have gone. I don’t like to make anyone feel bad, and I have a hard time telling people no.”
“And that made up my mind,” Laith said.
“So you both conspired to get me out of the Valley and keep me from doing something I wasn’t sure I wanted to do in the first place. I guess I’m lucky to have two such friends, but I’m still not getting what the big deal is. I’m not mad that you brought me out here. I’m a little embarrassed, but not mad.”
Laith shrugged. “There is no big deal. You are our friend and I want to protect you from the jerks that are out there. That is all.”
“Well, thank you. I guess.”
“Come on, Sarah,” Elisa interrupted. “I want to show you my favorite place. Laith, do you want to come?”
He smiled at Elisa. “You two go ahead. I have a few things I want to set up here.”
She grabbed my hand and led
me away into the forest following a trail that dipped down and turned west. At first we tracked a well-beaten path, and I was comfortable with our direction, but after a while, it grew less distinguishable, and I was no longer sure we even followed a trail. As we continued, I heard the babbling of slow-running water and saw a clearing in the trees. As we drew closer, the ground turned greener with every step. At long last, we came upon a tiny creek that had dug a path deep within the mountain floor.
Although currently small, the markings in the ground near the creek made it clear that during Arizona’s rainy season, this little stream would have been quite a sight. The water crept along at a casual pace, and I automatically turned to follow it. Elisa trailed behind me. Farther down we came upon a miniature waterfall no longer than two or three feet, but the waterfalls continued to grow larger as we moved along. Finally, we reached an area of the ground that opened up wide allowing the creek to gather into a tiny pool. It was almost tempting enough for me to take off my shoes, roll up my pants, and wade into the knee-high pond.
“Look over there, Sarah.” I followed the direction of Elisa’s finger where the stream progressed and saw an old bridge covered in dirt and the overgrowth of dead grass. It was several yards wide, large enough to cross over, but I didn’t trust it to hold us. The water, I assumed, flowed below the bridge and back through to the other side, but I couldn’t see past the brick face. It was pitch black underneath the channel, as if something blocked out all light from entering its hiding place. I hesitated a moment, worried of what I might find within, but then tucking away my fear, I decided to get a better look anyway.
Elisa put out a hand to stop me. “Wait. What are you doing?
“Getting a better look,” I said.
“I’m not going over there,” she stated nervously. “I never do.”
“Why?” I asked, even though there was a part of me that was glad she didn’t want to go.
She shrugged. “It just reminds me of a story.” Elisa placed her hands on her own shoulders in comforting way. “A story that Ray once told me. Silly, right?” She smiled but still didn’t look completely relieved.
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