Chapter 4
FOUR
Great. Just great. The first hot guy my body’s responded to in a year and I repulse him .
Frankie glanced at Waylon out of the corner of her eye.
My reward for my good deed. Some reward. Why do I get stuck with all the jerks?
When Waylon cleared his throat on the bus to get her attention, she thought for one stupid moment that he might be apologizing, or maybe striking up a conversation with her like she was a normal human being, which would have at least made the day tolerable.
Maybe even fun.
But no. Her hot, full-of-himself ‘Buddy’ wanted nothing to do with her beyond wondering what she had against him. After the cold look he’d given Frankie when he’d gotten a better look at her, no way was she going to give Waylon the satisfaction of telling him the other reason why she didn’t want to waste a perfectly lovely autumn day paired up with him on a hike.
Stephanie set me up with him because she feels sorry for me.
Frankie batted the thought away. She didn’t want pity. Now that she was done with her cancer treatments, she wanted normal again. More than that, she wanted the adventures she’d promised herself once she got better. The last thing she needed was someone humoring her—or worse, trying to hold her back. And Mister Whatever-Hospital-Related-Job would undoubtedly do just that once he realized she’d been a cancer patient. He’d be over-the-top protective, reminding her of what she couldn’t do.
She pulled her beanie down lower and sank into the coat that had been a little tight on her last fall. She wondered again, How could I have let Stephanie guilt me into this?
The bus pulled into a parking lot at the Ceran St Vrain trailhead. Outside the bus, the gorgeous day waited for them. A few aspens were starting to turn, leaves like golden coins flickering and flashing in a cool breeze. In a couple weeks, the trail would be lined with solid-yellow trees against dark evergreens—and packed with leaf-peepers.
Waylon grabbed his pack and scooted off the seat without a word to Frankie, getting out ahead of the other Buddies. Frankie picked up her daypack and let the people behind her exit until only she and Stephanie were left. She tried not to glare at Steph, who was already squinting out the window at Waylon.
“Are you sure I can’t be your Buddy?”
“Nope,” Stephanie answered, her eyes still on Waylon. “Once we hit the trail, you guys will be fine.”
Frankie sighed. “I don’t think so. He really doesn’t like me.”
Stephanie turned and smiled at Frankie. “Don’t be so sure.”
“Pfft. We have nothing in common.”
“Eh, I’m pretty sure you’ll find something in common today.”
“I doubt it.”
Stephanie rolled her eyes. “Go on, scoot, Ms. Pessimism.” She shooed her off the bus then stood up and followed.
Waylon stood off to the side. The other Buddies were all getting along great. Frankie envied them. She reluctantly joined Waylon, who at least didn’t scowl or walk away this time.
“All right, every…buddy.” Stephanie smirked at her own pun. “To day’s hike is an easy one to get us warmed up. It’s a bit low on adventure but high on getting to know your Buddy. Hopefully, it won’t be too boring. Follow me.” She turned and headed for the trailhead as everyone followed her two-by-two.
Like she’s a modern-day Noah . Frankie couldn’t help grinning. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Waylon glance at her, then back up to Stephanie. The corner of his mouth quirked up for a fraction of a second— maybe he sees it that way, too? she wondered—before he went back to scowling.
Well, at least the sun came out for a second before going back behind the scowly clouds. She wondered what he’d look like smiling for real.
Probably gorgeous. No. He’s already gorgeous. More gorgeous .
“Ugh,” she breathed. That earned her another scowl.
Guess I’ll never know .
Frankie and Waylon fell in at the end of the line. She was disheartened at first when Stephanie said it might get boring. She definitely was not going to get to know Waylon better. It had been a long time since she’d gone hiking in the mountains and she already felt her heart pounding in the thinner air. She was so out of shape. The upside was that maybe she’d get kicked out of the group by default if she couldn’t keep up. But that was the only upside.
She gritted her teeth as she thought, I’ve lost so much. This is the least of it .
Stop thinking that way. Look at what you do have. A good life. A beautiful day in the mountains. Another chance. She glanced at Waylon . And admit it—something nice to look at.
Maybe it was a blessing that they weren’t talking. Frankie was already getting out of breath and they’d been walking what, fifteen minutes? Talking would have made it worse. She promised herself that she would hit the rec center every day next week before Saturday’s adventure.
They continued on silently until they got to a rough wooden bridge spanning the river. Waylon walked down the middle while Frankie grabbed the guard rail, wondering just how long this trek was going to be. They made it halfway across the bridge before she said, “This whole thing is a mistake. I’ll tell Steve I’m done after this hike and she can find you a new partner.”
Waylon frowned. “What do you mean find me a new partner? Steph’s already on the lookout for someone else for you.”
Ouch. That hurt . And it took her by surprise. She hadn’t caught Waylon asking Stephanie for a replacement this morning.
He didn’t even want to give me a single day .
She was so upset she almost missed what he said next.
“That was our agreement when she roped me in. I thought I was getting paired up with some guy named Frank. She obviously knew I’d back out of a blind date.”
“Huh?” Frankie blinked at him. “What do you mean a blind date?”
“That’s what this is, isn’t it? You needed a ‘Buddy’—”
Frankie stopped in her tracks. “Hang on. I didn’t need a Buddy, you needed a Buddy.”
Waylon had kept on walking, but now he stopped and turned. “Me?”
“Yeah you. Steve told me she was one person short and talked me into joining.” She crossed her arms and debated marching right back to the bus.
The rest of the Buddies crossed the bridge and disappeared around a bend as Waylon walked back to her. “Hang on. When was that?”
“A little over two weeks ago.”
Waylon shook his head slowly. “She told me only a couple days ago that she needed an extra—for Frank, specifically. I told her I’d only do it if she promised to actively find someone else to take my place.”
“Oh.” Frankie hated the way her chest loosened when she realized Waylon had wanted out before he’d even met her. It wasn’t personal .
“So…you’re telling me that Stephanie set you up, too?” Waylon asked.
“Of course she set me up.” Sudden anger flared inside her chest. “Wait. Do you think I asked her to do this? To force some total stranger to spend the day with me? For the record, I thought you were going to be a woman.”
“That’s not what I said.”
Frankie started walking again, sliding her hand along the top of the wooden railing. “How dare you think I’d be desperate enough to coerce?—”
Something sharp poked her arm between her wrist and the cuff of her jacket.
“Ow!” She stopped and examined her arm. A long splinter had pierced her and lodged itself sideways under her skin.
“Oh, shit.” Her heart sped up as she stared at it and her brain screamed Infection!
How many germs were on the damn thing? Puncture wounds were the worst. God, how could she be so careless? Panicked, she started tearing at her skin, trying to rip the splinter out of the wound before it was too late.