Chapter 21 #2
Gabe throws his head back and laughs. “Then we’re definitely not hiking the Tinker.” He shifts his backpack. I don’t know what exactly he has in there, but it looks heavy. I assume it’s more camera gear. He steps forward and motions me and Elle to follow him. “Okay, FDOTUSes, let’s get nature-y.”
“Nature-y,” Kyle cracks.
“I think it’s adorable they’ve got their own inside jokes,” Jaisha says. “Care to comment if you and Oliver have jokes like that?”
My face warms as Gabe gives Jaisha a warning look, but it’s not necessary. Billie loops an arm around her twin and steers her away. “Someone needs a shot of endorphins.” She points at her sister, then waves goodbye.
“Ignore Jaisha. She can’t turn off her inner reporter,” Gabe grumbles. He nods for us to follow him into the woods, which I’m more than happy to escape to.
The temperature difference is abrupt as soon as we’re among the trees. The stifling summer humidity is more tolerable under the shade with a light breeze. I close my eyes and appreciate the twittering of the birds and the musky wood and moss smells.
“This is what freedom smells like,” I say.
Gabriel already has his camera in hand. I pose with my arms wide, framing the trail, as he takes a picture of me.
As we walk farther into the woods, I’m very aware of how quiet it is, save Elle’s occasional yelp as she captures shots of birds and deer sightings for her feed.
She’s been skipping ahead as Gabriel and I hang back at a comfortable pace.
I don’t hear them, but I know Shaw and Nessa are close behind. And somewhere else in this park are Kyle and the twins. “Was Kyle acting funny to you?” I ask.
“Funny is Kyle’s default,” he says.
“Do you all do this often?” I press, not sure why the whole situation feels…off.
Gabe flashes a grin. “Absolutely. Last month I was guiding a Polynesian princess through these woods.” He shrugs. “Except she was able to take the Tinker trail.”
I playfully smack his arm. He laughs and I grin back. Our eyes meet and I’m glad we’re finally joking around again. Things have been so tense since the practice kiss. “Sorry. Seems like we’ve both been so busy the past few days,” I say.
He sighs, resigned. “Yes, but also my mom—she hasn’t confided in me or anything, but I think things are pretty bad with the inn.”
“How bad?”
“Like shut-the-doors-forever kind of bad.”
I try to make eye contact with him, but he’s suddenly interested in the moss too. “I’m so sorry. I know my tita is trying to help, but she represents a group of investors and they all have to agree on the projects they support.”
“First it was the pandemic and now it’s this new resort,” he says. “Business has been brutal.”
I stiffen. The new resort being one of Oliver’s family properties. “I’m so sorry. I still can’t believe the Darbys would do that.”
Gabe shakes his head. “I’m sure it’s not your boy’s daddy making this call.”
I clear my throat. “Oliver is not ‘my boy.’ We’ve been friends all our lives and I can talk to him about your situation—” I stop my thought, seeing Gabe’s sharp look.
“I’d prefer you not do that,” he says through gritted teeth.
I want to argue, but the look in his eyes stops me in my tracks. Maybe Ruby would feel different, but I don’t want to press Gabe further since it clearly makes him uncomfortable. “Maybe there’s resources for small businesses. I’m sure we can think of something.”
He shakes his head. “Thanks. Tita Karra is investigating that for us.” I nod. Of course she would.
We walk silently. “Seems working on the jubilee has been keeping you busy too,” he says.
“I’m sorry that we haven’t made much progress on your bucket list, but today, I think we might be able to check off two items.” He winks as he taps his backpack.
“Come on.” He heads left and steps into brush off the trail.
“You know you’re going off the trail,” I say, conjuring one of my tita’s tsking sounds.
“You know I grew up in the area,” he responds. A jolt of anticipation passes through me as he hollers for Elle to come back to us.
We trek up a large stone until we’re at the very tip. We’re about seven feet from the ground below. Rocks jut out and I give Gabe a wide-eyed look at his suggestion that we climb down.
It’s honestly not that high, but still high enough to twist an ankle or sustain a minor injury if we fall.
“I’ve done this millions of times,” Gabriel says as if reading my mind.
He crouches. “I’ll go first, then help guide you down.
Watch what I do.” He goes first and I do exactly as he directs me, including the part where I let him lift me down, relishing the quick but firm grasp of his hands on my waist.
Shaw has caught up and won’t let Elle do even half of what I did to climb down, which is easy for him since he’s six foot four.
Gabriel leads us through another group of trees, and I hear the water before we see it.
We arrive at a sandy, pebble-covered bank of a peaceful river.
The water moves lazily underneath the pale blue sky and drooping tree limbs.
The riverbank across from us could be easily accessed by hopping over stones or perhaps even with a cool, refreshing swim.
The air smells like warm mud and a bouquet of wildflowers. Even the heat is soft here.
“Do you like it?” Gabriel asks, his intense copper eyes searching mine.
My face tips toward the sun and I listen to the trickle of the small river. Time doesn’t move here. It just sways. DC hustle and bustle this is not. “I love it.”
“Picnic was on your list, right?” He taps his backpack, and now I know what he has inside.
He gestures for me to follow him. There’s a patch of grass and some logs not far away where we can set up.
My feet wobble on the uneven riverbank, but tripping isn’t the only reason I reach for his hand.
He adjusts his grip, lacing our fingers together as he guides me around rocks and roots.
His touch feels effortless, like it belongs here—like it belongs with me.
He picks a patch of grass near a log with a great view of the river and produces a red-checkered blanket from his backpack.
Next, he retrieves a cooler. He winks. “And now for the pièce de résistance.” I groan unintentionally as he pulls out peanut butter and Oreos, the two foods I told him I’d have at picnics when we first met.
“Oh, no way!” Elle, who I forgot was with us, hoots with delight as she reaches for a cookie. She heads toward a huge boulder not far away. “Where are you going?” I call after her.
“I have reception here,” she calls over her shoulder. Gabe asks her to join us, but I know better than to disturb Elle when she’s living her best life.
Our picnic spread is exactly how I envisioned it when I wrote my summer bucket list: fancy cheeses, salami, bread, butter, honey, and a fruit tray.
A bottle of sparkling cider to top it all off.
And bonus, it’s like we’re at a beach near a river.
Of course, not what I pictured when I imagined this picnic is the gorgeous boy sharing the meal with me.
No. I don’t think I could’ve ever dreamed of Gabriel Calabrese.
After our meal, Gabe and I recline against a log, our bodies leaning against one another. I lay my head on his shoulder. His head rests on mine. I inhale his musky scent and feel warm and safe. “I think this checks off more items on my list,” I say.
It takes him a moment to respond. “Oh yeah,” he drawls lazily.
“Nature-y hike, picnic, and vegging on a beach.” I sigh and close my eyes, basking as golden, tree-filtered rays of sunlight warm my face.
He muses. “Yeah. We need that in our lives. Especially you.”
I nudge his rib cage. “Says the boy trying to save his family’s business, get into a competitive summer art program, and escort a pesky, high-maintenance First Daughter of the United States.”
His eyes meet mine, a playful smile on his lips. “That last one is really tough,” he teases.
“You should get hazard pay or something,” I say, but the laughter on my lips freezes as I realize how close our faces are. How just an inch more and we’d be right back to where we were on that hilltop a week ago.
As his gaze searches mine, a surge of excitement tingles through my body. He leans close. “I thought maybe one of the bucket list items you were referring to was…” His voice trails off. His lips hover over mine.
I inhale his smoky, fresh-cut grass scent and sigh. “Yes, you can help me practice more.”
His laugh is husky. “They say practice makes perf—” My lips press against his. His hands wrap around my waist and he pulls me close.
We spend the afternoon exploring the river, then coming back to the picnic blanket to snack, relax, and sneak in kisses whenever Elle isn’t looking.
Elle must have caught on to her third-wheel vibes because her exploration trips get longer and longer. It’s not until after we’ve polished off the last of the grapes that Gabriel and I are interrupted.
“Abby! Come here quick!” Elle’s voice shouts from the trees across the river. I tilt my head. “How did my sister get to the other side of the river without us noticing?” I ask Gabe.
“We’ve been a bit distracted,” he says. But I can tell he’s also wondering the same.
Elle yells again. I feel bad having ignored her this entire afternoon.
Gabe follows as I head toward a group of rocks that would lead us across the stream.
I bite my lip. Old Abby would be nervous about falling.
Operation Bucket List Abby says even if I fall, the water is low and I’ll get a little wet. So what?
We find Elle in a clearing. I stop in my tracks, seeing she isn’t alone. Billie, Kyle, and Jaisha wave hello. This explains why Elle’s been gone in longer stretches. She found Kyle and crew.
My face warms and I wonder if they saw me and Gabe at our picnic.
“What are you doing here?” Gabe asks.
Kyle chuckles. “Bro, the Tinker trail.” He points behind him and I’m relieved the Tinker trail is the opposite direction.
They couldn’t have seen Gabe and me on the banks together.
I scan Kyle’s and the twins’ faces and they don’t look like they suspect anything between me and Gabe.
My stomach churns. Would it be bad if they saw us together?
The only thing I know now is that I’m not ready to go into it’s-complicated territory after such a blissful escape-into-alternate-reality kind of afternoon.
“See how much cooler the Tinker trail is,” he says.
I follow his gaze. Meanwhile, an excited Elle points at a depression in the ground that looks like a giant has stomped and left a footprint.
The ground slopes downward, with loose stones and boulders along the way, and at the bottom there’s a small hole that looks like a cave opening.
“Oh no. No. No. No,” I say, immediately reading my sister’s mind. “You are not going in a cave.”
She points her phone, which is on flashlight mode, into the hole.
Gabriel stands beside her and shakes his head with amazement.
“It looks like a possible entrance into a cavern system,” he says.
“The closest cavern entrance is probably a couple miles away. This may be the same system. How did you find this?” He looks at Kyle, who shrugs.
“I ran into everyone and we followed a weasel-looking thing,” Elle explains.
Jaisha crouches like she is going down. “I’m gonna check it out.”
Elle crouches beside her and inches closer to where the ground slopes down. “I’m going with.”
“Oh no, you’re not,” I say in my best don’t-argue-with-me mom voice. Elle looks like she is going to whine but I cut her off.
Gabe steps forward. “Elle, bad idea. Pretty sure avoiding dark empty caves is a First Daughter 101 thing. And I’d love to avoid jail time.”
She rolls her eyes. “Fine. But can I at least take a couple photos in front of the entrance? This would be such a fun ‘mysterious cave’ post.”
I study the entrance to the cavern. It’s steep, but not as steep as the way we climbed to get to the river. “Well, if it’s for your adoring fans,” I tease.
No sooner do I finish my words than my sister jerks forward, arms flailing as she rolls down the incline toward the entrance of the cave. I don’t know who’s shrieking louder as she falls.
Gabriel slides down the incline to grab Elle, his bigger body in front of her and hands up, stopping her from tumbling farther.
Shaw is on the scene seconds later, pushing Kyle and the twins aside. Nessa pulls me back. It takes me a moment to register they’ve been nearby the entire time. Nessa’s speaking rapidly into her walkie-talkie.
“Elle,” I cry. “Are you okay?”
She whimpers and I see large bloody gashes on her elbows and knees as Shaw carries her out of the incline. He places her on the ground and examines her. My body shakes seeing all the blood. Shaw is checking her joints. “Doesn’t appear to have broken anything,” he says.
Nessa is already cleaning them with her field first aid kit. She sighs. “Nothing major but she should get medical attention.”
Shaw picks her up again with ease. “Quite the tumble, but you’re going to be fine, Elle. We’re going to take you to the hospital to get you examined and patched up.”
It’s not until we’re back at the parking lot that I realize I’ve been holding Gabe’s hand the entire time. He squeezes my hand tight as Elle is loaded into Shaw’s SUV. After he orders me to get in with her, I realize he wants me to leave Gabe behind.
“Come with us,” I say. “You can get your truck later.”
“Abby,” Shaw warns.
Gabe shakes his head. “Go. Be with your sister. I’ll meet you at the clinic.”
I don’t get to say goodbye as Nessa leads me firmly into the car.
“Rhapsody and Rapunzel are secure,” Shaw says into his walkie-talkie.
As the truck speeds away, a garbled voice over the intercom informs my Secret Service agents that Rogers, as in Buck Rogers, is en route to the hospital. I trade glances with Elle as soon as we hear the code name.
Dad is on the way.