Chapter 17
CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN
Drowsily opening my eyes, I feel for Ryan beside me. He’s still snoring and in a deep sleep.
Immediately, my eyes bulge out of my head at the memory of last night. Scurrying out of the tent, I throw my shoes on and speed walk over to where I remember finding the handcuffs.
I search the ground, moving the sticks and leaves around with my feet.
After some time has gone by, I pause, starting to feel a little crazy.
“No, no, no,” I whimper. They were right here.
I touched them. I held them in my hands.
Closing my eyes, I remember the cool metal and blood against my fingers.
I take a deep breath to calm down from the impending panic attack I feel like I’m about to have.
What is going on? Is the isolation going to my head?
Abruptly, Ryan barrels out of the tent. I adjust my posture and slip into a smile that hides everything. “Hey, babe.”
“Good morning, beautiful.” He lets out a tired breath. “What are you doing out here so early?”
Sheepishly, I say, “You know, nature calls.” I huff out a laugh.
“Same, be right back.” Ryan heads to the tree line.
Walking over to our tent, I retrieve some workout clothes. I’m going to convince Ryan to go on a hike today. I need to get out of this area for my sanity.
Rushing to get dressed in leggings, a t-shirt, a sweatshirt, socks, and hiking shoes, I throw my hair up in a high ponytail.
As Ryan is walking back, he asks, “What are you planning for us today?” He quirks his eyebrow in question.
“Let’s go hiking. I want to see more of the park,” I answer as I start stretching my calves.
“Great idea, let me get dressed while you get some breakfast ready.”
“Okay,” I agree, walking over to the portable griddle and turning it on.
Going back to our cooler that is located on the floorboard of the backseat of the truck, I pick out some eggs from a container, and then grab our portable coffee machine, cups, plates, and forks.
Just as the eggs are about done, Ryan emerges and starts the coffee.
“Moving a little sluggishly this morning?” I tease Ryan.
“Just a bit, that whiskey gave me a serious headache.” Ryan winces, clutching his head.
“Grab some Tylenol, and I’m sure some food will help,” I instruct him.
I unfold our little table and place everything out for us.
“Can you grab the chairs?” I ask.
He does and unfolds my chair first, gesturing for me to sit down.
“How romantic.” I grin at him.
“So where are you wanting to go hiking today?” he asks.
“I’d love to see the red clay hills.”
“That’s quite the hike from here, about nine or so miles.”
“Are you saying you’re out of shape?” I jest.
“We’ll see who’s complaining about their legs on the way back,” he teases back.
I smile at him, knowing I’ll never cave, even if I’m in pain. It’s just my competitive nature.
Ryan is well aware of this and meets me with a challenging smile.
After we finish eating, we clean up.
Grabbing our backpacks from the truck, we double-check our gear and make sure we have enough water and snacks to stay energized and hydrated.
“Alright, let’s go,” Ryan says excitedly, putting his backpack on. Then, he points in the direction we have to go, and my stomach bottoms out.
We will be passing our new friends’ campsite.
Pausing for a moment, Ryan turns around. “Are you coming?”
“Yeah, of course. I was just doing a quick mental checklist, making sure we have everything.”
Puzzled, he says, “We just did that. Come on.”
We walk side by side and naturally fall into simple small talk, laughing as we go.
Ryan nudges me playfully, and I stagger a bit. “Hey!” I laugh, looking up as their campsite comes into our periphery.
We both stare at it. It looks empty and like the fire was just put out, the black smoke rising toward the sky.
“Wow, do you smell that?” I murmur to Ryan, holding my nose and breathing out of my mouth.
He’s pinching his nose, too. “It smells awful.”
Looking over at the RV, I quicken my pace. Then, I notice one of the blinds closes in the blink of an eye.
“Someone is in there. I just saw one of the blinds close,” I hurriedly whisper.
“Well, it is where they’re staying. They’re probably still sleeping. It’s only 7 o’clock.” He looks at me sideways, as if I have lost my mind.
I shake my head, trying to get the smell out of my nose. “Yeah, you’re right. Remember when we were that age? Sleep was everything.” I laugh, rushing to change the subject.
“Sleeping and drinking basically sum up my college experience.”
“I don’t know how we made it to classes before noon.”
“We weren’t human.” I roll my eyes at the thought of college.
Silence ensues as we continue our hike, and it’s always comfortable with Ryan; we’ve shared so much time together.
After a few miles, Ryan prompts, “Do you want to stop here and put some fuel in our bodies?”
“Yes, I’m already starving.”
We take off our backpacks and sit down, grabbing our snacks and water.
“What do you think that smell was?” I ask, feeling uneasy.
Ryan gives me a side glance, clearly annoyed with all my suspicions. “Mar, they could’ve caught some type of animal and cooked it over the fire.”
“You aren’t allowed to hunt here.”
“Some campers lay traps for squirrels and eat those.”
I scrunch my nose. “You’re joking.”
He snorts. “No, I’m not. It’s common to hunt squirrels, especially while camping.”
“You will never be able to convince me to eat squirrels.”
“I’m very convincing.” He shoots me a playful glance.
“Ryan Howard, it won’t happen,” I deadpan.
“Oh, come on, you’ll have sex in public, but you won’t try squirrel meat?”
“That’s different!” I look away from him.
“Uh, it’s not as common.” He looks at me in shock.
“Can you blame me? I have an insatiable appetite when it comes to you.”
He gives me a sexy look. “Oh, really?” He puffs out his chest. “So you’re saying my chances of getting laid tonight are high?”
“Oh, definitely,” I state in a serious tone.
He rubs my leg. “Oh, Marley Tanner, get ready to have your world rocked.”
Laughing, I roll my eyes and jump up. “Let’s get moving then. I have a hot date later.”
“Someone has some energy this morning. It better last; you’re going to need it.”
“Be careful what you wish for.”
We finally reach our destination, and I take some pictures. It’s so gorgeous. After taking some selfies together, we decide to head back before lunchtime, which is when the sun will be at its hottest.
“A nap is in my future,” Ryan declares.
“Without a doubt,” I agree.
After an hour, we stop again for a snack, and I look at the photos we took. Holding my breath, I zoom in on one of the pictures I snapped of Ryan. Without question, there is a silhouette of a person behind the trees above the hills, lingering directly above us.
They’re dressed head to toe in black with a black face covering.
I gasp and clasp my hand over my mouth as I wrap my mind around the fact that there was someone out there, lurking nearby and tracking our every move.
“Did the pictures come out well?” Ryan asks, interrupting my panic.
As best I can, I give him a little smile, fearful of my voice cracking if I answer him.
“Great, we’ll send them to the fam when we get service.”
During our last half a mile to the truck, my throat bobs, and I swallow thickly, knowing we have to pass their campsite again.
“Perhaps they’ll be hanging out outside, and we can make plans to get together again, maybe tomorrow,” Ryan says hopefully.
Faking his enthusiasm, I answer, “That would be cool.”
As we approach, we see AJ and Georgia outside and wave to them. After they wave back, we make our way over to them.
“Hey, guys,” AJ says. “What are you up to today?”
“We just got done hiking to the red clay hills,” Ryan replies, pointing in the direction we just came from.
“Oh, really? Is it worth the hike?” he asks, seemingly interested.
“Absolutely,” I say brightly.
“No, thanks.” Georgia rolls her eyes in distaste. “That long of a hike?” She shakes her head no.
“Georgia is more into drinking and keeping close to the RV.” AJ laughs.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see the RV rock back and forth.
Ryan sees it too and peers around AJ. AJ notices what we’re looking at and turns around, grinning. “Jared and Cora are just going at it; they like the rough stuff.” AJ lowers his gaze to my eyes.
Maintaining a straight face, determined not to let him see a reaction, I draw Ryan close to me.
Ryan chimes in. “Who isn’t these days?”
With a wicked gleam in her eyes, Georgia licks her lips and seductively says, “I’m a BDSM girlie.”
Laughing nervously, Ryan looks away, his cheeks reddening.
“We are worn out, so we are going to head back to our site and take a nap,” I say tiredly, putting my weight on one leg, because damn, Ryan was right. My legs hurt.
In a rush, AJ says, “If you guys want to stop by tonight, you’re more than welcome to.”
“We’re going to do our own thing tonight; we wouldn’t be good company anyway after such a long morning,” Ryan responds.
AJ reaches over and grips Ryan’s hand. Then, he nods once to me. “Alright, maybe we’ll catch up with you guys tomorrow night.”
“That sounds good,” I agree.
We say our goodbyes again and drag our feet back to our camp, feeling the consequences of the long hike.
We collapse as soon as we get there, skipping lunch altogether.