Chapter Thirteen
Aaron
Once the dust kicked up by Skye’s tires had settled I made coffee and pulled up the list of hikes I’d planned to do before things had gone sideways.
There was a waterfall hike that was top of my list. With how dry the summer was, I thought the falls might be dry. There was only one way to find out.
I filled my pack on autopilot, water, sunscreen, protein bars then headed out, hoping to make it to the falls before the sun got too hot.
I put one foot in front of the other, dust puffing up under my boots as I went. It didn’t take long for sweat to form on my forehead.
I didn’t stop.
A marmot darted between the rocks ahead and disappeared into the brush.
My first instinct was to look around for Kyle before I remembered he wasn’t there.
Good.
The little menace had nearly tripped me down a mountain twice. The hike would probably be more peaceful without him weaving between my boots like a furry drunk driver.
Still, the trail felt strangely quiet.
No running commentary. No camera shutter clicks. No sarcastic remarks about my pace or my personality.
Just my own breathing and the crunch of gravel under my boots.
I let the strain seep into my muscles, let the sweat pour from my skin. I ignored the trees and the bugs and the rocks I stumbled over with the single minded focus of getting to the falls.
This was what I was here for. I had hikes planned and I was doing them.
The fact that my brain was being a melancholy asshole didn’t change the objective of the trip.
I burst through a clearing and stared up at the jagged peak above me. I was panting and my mouth was dry and tasted like dirt. The pictures I had seen online were of water cascading down the mountain side but there was nothing.
Just silence.
A long hard hike ending in a dry waterfall. I didn’t even pause long enough to take a piss. I just turned around and descended back to camp.
Turns out mountain views lost some of their shine when there wasn’t a free-spirited woman beside me and a cat leading the way.
By the time I got back to work after my week away, I was more than ready for a little normalcy.
“Welcome back,” Cliff said as I stepped out of the hot sun into the cool office. “I see you ran into my sister on your trip.”
I froze as I was dropping my pack on the bench in front of my locker. “How’d you know that?”
He pulled his phone from the back pocket of his pants. “I saw the posts.”
“Post?”
“No, posts, as in plural. Have a look.”
He handed his phone over.
Jasper appeared from somewhere and looked at the screen over my shoulder.
The social media page was called @TheMewtaineer and the picture dominating the screen was me at the lookout with Kyle standing on my head. She had covered my face with a smiley face emoji but anyone who knew me would recognize me.
“A cat influencer. I’m still baffled by that one,” I muttered as I scrolled.
“What will they think of next,” Jasper added.
“That’s my nephew you’re talking about, he has more money than we do,” Cliff said.
I snorted, scrolling through her pictures from the trip.
There were some landscape shots of the mountains and the lake, and a lot of Kyle.
The last photo was one I didn’t even know existed.
The photo was me sleeping, again my face was blocked out.
Kyle was laying behind me, mirroring my position. I read the description:
At the end of the trip, Kyle had charmed our guide, but we were on to our next adventure.
As far as photos went it wasn’t a piece of art like her others. The blankets were tangled in the background and my arm was hanging off the bed like I’d passed out mid-exorcism.
But it had that domestic quality to it that threatened to chip away the wall I’d tried to keep between her and I. It was a photo you’d put in an album rather than use to represent your business.
The fact that she’d thought to even take it meant something.
I clicked off the screen and handed the phone back to Cliff.
“So did she and her cat cramp your style or what?”
I shrugged and pulled off my sneakers. “We made it work.”
Understatement of the damn century.
Cliff nodded and turned his attention to lacing up his boots. I did the same.
Jasper gave me a knowing look, but I ignored the question on his face.
The trip was over. It was time to get back to reality.
My radio crackled where it sat on the bench and I snapped into action, grabbing my pack and getting ready for whatever the day had in store.
Everything with Skye was just too real right now. I needed some time and distance then everything would go back to normal.
I was sure of it.
Despite being sure, when I had a second to myself, I opened my social media, found The Mewtaineer account and hit the follow button.