Chapter 21
Marlow
Setting off for the summit of Craigleith’s peak, I had my fair share of back-and-forth conversations with Elaine while we hiked.
Despite my initial impression of her—and the very obvious mirror that had been kindly shoved into my face—we’d grown to have quite the repertoire between us. She was a nice woman, and while talkative, incredibly knowledgeable in survival.
Having been to Austin Adventures twice before this, she’d come well-versed, pointing out spots to avoid along the trail while we walked, giving me tips on how to ascend up the steeper inclines when we finally reached them, and keeping up the reminders to stay well hydrated.
She kept my brain focused on the here and now, refusing to let me get too deep into my thoughts before she was pulling me out with another fun fact or regaling me with her stories about the two other times she’d been here, which was a crazy feat if you asked me.
Austin Adventures was a welcoming place but definitely wasn’t for the faint of heart. The waivers that were signed before any sort of payment was taken were the real deal and definitely a component the older couple I’d helped rescue that day on the river failed to consider.
So, to me that meant Elaine was nothing short of a badass.
Plus she shared her snacks with me.
What better partner could I have asked for?
Talos’s sabotage had turned into a blessing in disguise. One I was sorry to have judged at first glance but now was entirely onboard with making up, even if Elaine was none the wiser to my inner turmoil.
Making it to the top of the summit, right at sunset, was fucking spectacular.
Reds and oranges collided with the darkening blue of the sky. Peaks of pink were fading in between the stark colors of the dying light, golden rays touching the treetops of the evergreens that littered the side of the mountain and the valley below it.
A breathtaking view and nothing like we had back in Ellington Heights.
I got why Blake stayed up here. Why he refused to go anywhere past Wakefield. Growing up with this kind of scenery, like it was something out of a painting masterfully done by the most skilled of hands, was enough to almost convince me to call up my job and quit right here on the spot.
“Here…” I felt a nudge against my ribs, forcing me to rip my eyes away from the incredible sight as a disposable camera was offered my way by Elaine. “I know they’re old school but the pictures that come off of these things are unreal.”
“You’re the fucking best,” I said, carefully taking it from her.
She laughed and quickly moved along the other side of me to another vantage point, bringing her disposable up to snap a few shots before moving down farther.
Other hikers were around us, some sitting, some taking pictures, too, with their digitals or phones, and others were helping Talos and Ivan, another one of our guides, set up our camp for the night.
Following in Elaine’s footsteps, the sound of the shutter in the disposable going off sprang up memories from my childhood, back when we were still living on supplemental income and trying to make it by before my dad hit big.
Times like this, I missed my old man. He would’ve loved to come out here and experience something like this.
His heart failing him for too soon was still a sore spot to me.
Being thirty-four and well into my adult years was sometimes a hard thing to cope with during those times I just wanted my dad by my side like I was still a kid.
I used to take my time with him for granted and now that I no longer had it, it ate me up inside.
Blake was lucky to have a man like his grandfather still around. I envied him a little bit for it.
I wasn’t sure what his family situation was and didn’t care to speculate outside of general curiosity with why he was given the director spot and his parent wasn’t. He’d certainly earned the damn title, but it was still an interesting topic to wonder about.
Maybe I’d ask him once I saw him again. I’d love to get to know him more outside of how he liked to be touched. He was such an interesting man that I was sure extended far beyond what I knew of him already.
A throat clearing right behind me had me swinging around. Talos stood close to me, his sunglasses pushed up into his hairline while he hit me with a sour frown. Right as I was about to ask him what his deal was, he lifted something in his hand.
“For you.”
My eyes shot down to the radio he was offering me, confusing me immediately. “Uh...”
“Take it past the tree line. I don’t want anyone else coming over to ask me if they can use it.”
What the hell?
Slowly slipping it from his grasp, I glanced down at the screen, realizing it was turned to channel six.
My eyes widened.
Quickly brushing past him, I headed for a dense part of the tree line that descended down toward the main trail we used to get up here.
It was a little steep, causing my hiking boots to catch on some of the pebbles crumbling away from the face of the rockhead.
I caught myself on a nearby tree, stopping right before face planting into the dirt.
Nearly out of breath, I pressed the walkie’s button. “Hello?”
“Marlow?” Came Blake’s familiar voice.
I swallowed thickly. “Hey. Did you get my note?”
“Yes. Sorry. I got distracted and completely forgot to check the schedule or else I would’ve reminded you.”
The tension in my chest melted away entirely, leaving me feeling like my entire body was turning to Jello.
I leaned back against the tree just in time for my legs to give out and slowly sink myself down against the foot of it.
The bark bit through my t-shirt, scraping me to hell.
Barely any pain was coming through the sheer relief flooding through my system.
He wasn’t mad... apologizing to me for my own fuck up, even.
He was too good for me.
“No, I’m sorry. I was the dumbass who signed up for it without realizing what I was doing.”
There was a pause on the other end. “Wait, really?” His laugh was cut off too prematurely, quickly followed by, “How in the world did you manage that?”
Rolling the radio’s antenna along the bridge of my nose, tracing it up to where my temples were, I contemplated telling the truth. While we were on a private line, it wasn’t at all secure or secret.
If Talos was smart, like he’d proven to be in the past, he would’ve taken Ivan’s radio from him and hopped right on this channel to monitor why the fuck the director of the entire property was personally calling up to talk to me.
If I were in his shoes, I’d do the same.
It wasn’t being nosey, it was being concerned.
None of which I blamed Blake’s second for.
He was a good man with a healthy amount of worry for his boss.
Obviously, if I was taking up enough of Blake’s time, to the point where I was getting personal calls from him, that was something to feel uneasy over.
Pressing the radio’s button, I said, “Well, Friday was kind of... a tough day for me.”
There was another long pause of silence on the other end. “I’m sorry.”
Smiling, I pressed the button again. “No worries. Just means you owe me three bread pudding cups.”
He laughed again into the receiver. “Is that your tax?”
“Yup.” Among other things, but I wasn’t about to get into that over a semi-private radio channel. “Anyway, how did the first day go?”
“Amazing. The kids did great. You should’ve seen them.”
“Wish I could’ve. Maybe next time.”
“They’ll still be here by the time you get back.”
Was that an invite?
I flexed my hand around the walkie. Blake wasn’t granting anyone permission over to that side of the property. For good reason, of course.
And yet... was that strict rule being lifted for me?
Because he wanted to spend more time with me?
During all of this back-and-forth with him, I was trying not to get my hopes up about anything.
Mainly because mitigating the distress of leaving him and this place behind was already going to be hard enough.
Adding more fondness to tether me here was turning this into a recipe for self-flagellation.
“I was actually toying with the idea of coming up there tomorrow.”
I reeled back my hand to stare down at the radio. There was no way I heard that right. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. My granddad offered to run the show tomorrow so I can actually get a full night’s sleep. He’s been picking on the circles under my eyes all day. But... I was thinking about doing something else instead.”
I grinned. “Sleep’s for losers anyway.”
He laughed again. “I take it you won’t mind if I crash your party.”
“You’re going to love Elaine.”
“Oh. Elaine Matthers? Did Talos set you up with her?”
“Oh yeah, we’re getting along like a fire in summer.”
“Why am I not surprised...”
How hard would it be to sneak off with Blake once he got up here?
I could probably catch him before he made his grand appearance, sneak off while Talos had his back turned and his attention somewhere else in order to meet Blake somewhere down on the trail.
I’d probably be in deep shit once it was realized I was missing, but honestly, how much did I care when it got me to have a little bit of alone time with Blake for a bit?
All I wanted to do was grab him and kiss him.
That soft, sappy shit you saw in romcoms when the two leads finally came together again after being forced to spend an extended amount of time apart.
We’d barely been separated for eighteen hours and I already practically wanted to crawl out of my own skin with need.
“Come up here,” I said into the radio.
“Okay. I’ll start out as soon as the sun comes up. You guys will be there all day so I should see you just after lunch.”
“Sounds perfect. I’ll save you some trail mix.” God, I couldn’t wait.
“Want anything from base camp?”
Just you, I almost said before stopping myself. “Nah. Just promise not to twist your ankle before you get up here.”
“You got it. I’ll see you soon.”