“And did you wait? Was it special and cherished?”
Caden winced. “You know me. That’s not ever going to be something I look for.”
Pain lanced my chest. “Why?”
His gaze slipped from me. “It’s just not. Don’t want to go there.”
Caden hadn’t always been this way. When he was in middle school, he’d had girlfriends he took on dates and to dances. After Clara died, that had all stopped. There was nothing resembling commitment in his romantic life now.
“Can I have your water again?”
He handed it over. “You okay?”
I nodded but had to admit the first part of this trail had gotten to me more than it usually did. I wanted to lay down and take a nap. “I didn’t sleep great last night.” I’d been too worried about him.
Caden took the water bottle back. “We can go back if you’re not up for this.”
I shook my head. “No. The fresh air will help.”
We started up the path again, and my muscles protested the movement. I ignored them and kept pushing on. It got a little better, but my vision blurred when we reached the first outlook, the scene in front of me wavering.
I reached out for Caden’s arm on instinct.
“Whoa.” He immediately steadied me. “Why don’t you sit down for a minute?”
Caden helped me over to a boulder, but my legs shook the entire way. He crouched in front of me. “You dizzy?”
“Yeah, and my vision’s blurry.”
Even through my not-quite-right eyesight, I saw Caden’s worry.
“Can I have some more water?” My tongue felt like it was sticking to the roof of my mouth.
He handed me the bottle, and I guzzled the rest of it down.
“How do you feel now?” he asked.
The world tilted again. “Not right. I feel like I’m high or something.” Not that I knew what that felt like, exactly, but this was what I imagined it would be.
Caden stood, pulling out his phone. “I’m going to call your dad.” He cursed. “I don’t have enough bars.”
“You don’t need to call him.” I stood, but it was a mistake. I tipped sideways. It felt like the ground was a moving conveyor belt beneath my feet.
Caden caught me before I hit the dirt. “Shit, Gigi! What’s going on?”
“I-I don’t know.” Pain lanced through my stomach.
Caden’s face was a blur above me as he lifted me into his arms. “I’ve got you. We’re gonna get you some help.”
“You can’t carry me.” It was too far back to the trailhead.
“You? You’re nothing compared to those massive guys we’ve had to haul off the mountain.”
I might be tiny, but he was carrying me all by himself, and we’d already gone at least a mile or two.
Dark spots danced in front of my vision, and my head slumped against Caden’s chest.
“Gigi?” Panic lit his voice.
“Hmm?”
“Stay with me. Stay awake,” Caden commanded.
I wanted to. I always wanted to be with Caden. But I was so tired.
The darkness pulled me under, but not before I heard his voice calling after me.
“Don’t you leave me, too.”
1
GRAE
PRESENT, ELEVEN YEARS LATER
I adjusted the backpack on my shoulder as I strode toward the small cottage on the edge of downtown. My boss, Jordan, had turned the house into his base of operations for Cedar Ridge Vacation Adventures. The company ran day trips for everything from hiking to white water rafting, and Jordan had a bunch of cabin rentals on top of it.
Opening the screen door, I stepped inside. A whistle sounded, and Eddie grinned as he leaned back on one of the sofas. “Back and looking a little worse for wear.”
I scowled in his direction. “How would you look if you had two couples who insisted they were expert hikers but started moaning and complaining one mile in?”
Noel’s lips twitched as he looked up from his desk, flicking his shaggy, dark hair out of his eyes. “Should’ve turned around.”
“I tried, but one of the damn husbands was determined to finish the loop. I’m pretty sure his wife is going to file for divorce when they get home.”
Eddie chuckled, his amber eyes lightening with the action. “Nothing like finding out your hubby wants to off you because his man card gets threatened on a hike.”
“Love is a con,” Noel grumbled.
Jordan popped his head out of his office, his gaze running over me. “That bad?”
I grimaced. “The fact that I’m three hours behind schedule should tell you everything you need to know.”
He winced. “Sorry about that. I had a feeling that guy was overstating his experience level.”
“I’d be surprised if they’d done more walking than between sample sales in Manhattan.”
Jordan chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’ll try to do a little more recon before we send another group on the Upper Ridge Trail.”
I sank into my chair and pulled out my phone to check my glucose monitoring app. While on the trail, I’d tried to manage things the best I could, but my clients hadn’t made it easy. Opening my desk drawer, I pulled out my peanut butter and some M&M’s. I popped a few of the sugary candies and then ate a spoonful of peanut butter.
Eddie pouted at me as he crossed to his desk, and I poured some M&M’s onto his stack of papers. The pout turned into a grin. “You always take such good care of me.”
I held up the bag in Noel’s direction, and he just frowned at me.
“What?” I mumbled around a mouthful of peanut butter.
“He wants to know if you’re okay,” Eddie said, translating Noel’s grumpiness.
I knew the look. I’d become an expert in grunts and grumbles with Roan as a brother, but I hoped that Noel would back off if I asked.
“The hike was longer than I thought. I just need to cover.” Otherwise, I’d end up being awake all night with one low blood sugar alarm after the other.
Eddie popped an M&M into his mouth. “You sure about that? We could all take the rest of the week off and go to the hot springs.”
“Yes.” I stuck out my tongue at him.
He tried to grab it like the weirdo he was.
“Gross. I don’t want your germy hands in my mouth.”
Eddie snickered. “Then watch where that tongue goes. Although I wouldn’t mind it near—”
I smacked a hand over his mouth. “Do not finish that sentence.”
Jordan sighed. “Do I need to show another human resources video about harassment?”
“No!” we all shouted at once, but Eddie’s was muffled by my palm.
We might give each other hell, but we were our own little band of misfits, and I wouldn’t want to work anywhere else. I’d known all of them for most of my life. Had gone to school with Noel and Eddie and was family friends with Jordan, who was a few years older. They had become family over the years, and there was no one I’d rather work with.
My family thought it was crazy and reckless that I wanted to lead outdoor treks after my Type 1 diabetes diagnosis. But that only made me want to do it more. The way I had to fight for it only made the reward sweeter.