Chapter 8 #4
“Yeah,” I agreed, but the word came out sounding defeated.
That Jack cared about me wasn’t in doubt.
He just cared about lots of other things more, like his friendship with Webb, and the difference in our ages, and the fact that, for no reason I could understand, he wasn’t interested in a committed relationship while insisting that I needed one.
“Anyway, don’t tell him I came, or he’ll assume it was because of him.” Webb winked. “He may have made some valid points, but I don’t want him to get a swollen head over it. Later, Hawklet.” He saluted me as he headed down the trail.
“Asshole,” I called out with a laugh.
A crunch from behind me caught my attention, and when I whirled around, I saw Simon hiking down the trail from higher up on the peak. He gave me a frown. “Hawk? Were you talking to me?”
“N-no. My brother. Sorry.” My face heated.
I’d literally just told Webb that I needed to be alone to have time to think—especially since Webb and Crys had just given me wildly conflicting advice—but somehow, my isolated camping area had become Grand Central Station.
“Thank goodness. I was hoping I hadn’t earned the moniker before even saying hello.” Simon blew out a sigh of relief and smiled.
It was a nice smile, with even, white teeth that set off a little bit of a tan he’d acquired since the last time I’d seen him.
Though he was dressed for hiking in a pair of Salomon boots and a Patagonia zip-up jacket, his hair was perfectly combed and he didn’t look sweaty or tired at all.
In fact, he looked like a poster model for healthy living.
“I can’t imagine anyone yelling at you,” I said, shifting my weight from one foot to the other awkwardly. “Were you hiking up at the peak? Was it for Evola stuff?”
He shrugged. “One of our crews brought some surveying equipment to the back side of the mountain, and I hitched a ride as far as that old, rickety footbridge over the creek—”
“Friendly Footbridge is a protected local historical site,” I informed him.
“JP Friendly painted Despair of Honesty on that bridge in 1913.” I frowned.
“You know motorized vehicles are prohibited except in specifically designated areas, right? Rocky Cut is way too steep, and the other trails on the north side far too narrow for anything with wheels, and you’d end up damaging vegetation.
There are penalties, including imprisonment and fines of up to—”
“Whoa, hey! Do I look like the kind of person who’d violate posted signage?” Simon pressed a hand to his chest and grinned, the very picture of innocence.
“I guess not,” I admitted. At the very least, he was smart enough not to confess to it if he had.
“Anyway, I brought my pack so I could head up to the summit once I was off the clock and stretch my legs a bit. Took some pictures for the website, too. I hadn’t expected to run into anyone, though, especially you.” He looked around my campsite. “Are you staying up here?”
“For a little while, yeah.” I dragged out the sleeping bag Webb had brought and spread it out flat. “Have a seat if you’d like.”
“Maybe for a minute.” He sat down with a tired little groan, which made him seem immediately more human. “This area’s beautiful.”
“It is.” I settled myself down on the other side of the sleeping bag. “Which is one of the reasons I care so much about preserving it.”
He nodded but kept his mouth shut, which helped me relax even more. Had he tried arguing with me or defending Evola’s position, my hackles would have stood right up.
After a moment, he said, “I really admire you. This is a brave thing you’re doing. Standing up for something you believe in without being destructive or disruptive is mature and conscientious.”
I stared at him, feeling a little like I’d stumbled into an alternate reality. First, my brother had called me brave, and now Simon, too? That wasn’t a word I normally associated with myself, but it was pretty nice all the same.
“Thanks,” I said softly. “That means a lot.”
“You know, you didn’t reply to my text last night. And you never did get in touch with me about hiking.” Simon shot me a look under his eyelashes. “I couldn’t decide if that meant you were busy today or… busy forever.”
My face went hot, and I couldn’t help thinking about potentially pornographic leaf emojis. “Not forever,” I hedged.
“You’re cute when you blush.” Simon grinned, showing a truly impressive number of very white teeth, and I was pretty sure that made me blush harder.
“I tried Pride and Prejudice again after you said it was your favorite. Mostly to impress you, I admit. But… are you gonna hate me if I say I didn’t like it? ”
I fake-gasped and clutched my imaginary pearls, but I couldn’t keep up the pretense. “Kidding! Of course I won’t.”
“It was just…” He hesitated. “A bit unrealistic? I know it’s fiction, but the author was really dismissive of the Wickham character. He was so two-dimensional. Every villain has an origin story. If there was no Loki, there’d be no Thor.”
This time, my gasp was completely real. “Wickham? Are you serious? Dude. Some villains are just villains. Period.”
Simon let out an easy laugh. “Okay, maybe you’re right. Maybe I’ll give it another try.” He bumped his shoulder into mine. “Or… maybe I’ll let you explain it to me in person. What do you say, Hawk? Would you like to go out to dinner with me this week?”