3. Quinn
3
QUINN
I am a mature adult. I will not lose my cool.
This is only for a day, and it’s for a good cause.
I keep repeating this mantra in my head, but Alex Roth is making it nearly impossible to hold on to my self-control, especially with him trailing behind me like a lost puppy.
No, that’s not fair. He’s not on my heels. It just feels like he is because I’m stuck with him as my partner. I can’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t just chance, and that Edna Monroe intentionally paired us together, despite her claims that the teams were selected “randomly.”
Of course, that’s crazy. Edna barely remembered who I was when I called to volunteer. She has absolutely no reason to know that Alex Roth bullied me in high school, nor would she care about the drama of people two generations below her. No, I’m just being paranoid, and I’ve worked too long and too hard on myself to let this set me back. I won’t allow Alex Roth to ruin my holiday cheer, even if he’s glued to my side.
“Who wrote these clues?” he quips, following me through the hiking trails.
I don’t respond as I pick up the pace. I’m not trying to lose him, per se, but I also don’t care if he keeps up. It’s not like I need him to win this thing, and my nerves will be much less frayed with him out of view.
“‘O’er yonder and through the hills, perhaps you’ll find where another clue spills!’” he laughs.
“It’s the waterfall,” I mutter, half under my breath. Instantly, I cringe, wishing I hadn’t shared my thoughts aloud. In part, I hope it will make him stop talking to me.
“What?”
I stop and spin around. “The waterfall. Spills? That’s where we’ll find the next clue.”
His grin falters but holds, and he nods slowly, his vivid green eyes brightening. “Right,” he agrees. “That makes sense. It would have to be something on the trails. But how do you know which waterfall?”
I grimace, genuinely annoyed with myself now, but I have no choice but to explain myself. “Frost Falls,” I answer shortly.
He stares at me uncomprehendingly for half a second, but to my utter amazement, another light flickers in his eyes. “Frost,” he chuckles. “Because the clue is a poem… so the waterfall would be like… Robert Frost?” Alex guesses.
I’m more impressed than I want to be, and I barely manage to hide it.
“Yes.” I turn before he can read my expression, cursing myself for being so easily swayed.
He’s quick. I forgot he was smart.
Turning back toward the trail, I march onward, and we carry on in silence, his footsteps on the snow echoing through the birdsong. His intelligence shouldn’t surprise me. That was never his problem. His problem is that he’s a jerk.
Alex keeps pace with me, mostly, and I can tell he’s debating whether to strike up a conversation or not. Clearly, I’m not making my desires known.
“So what’s it like teaching at Holly Ridge Elementary?” he finally asks, relenting to the awkward silence between us. Most of our group has scattered among the vast trails, seeking their answers elsewhere. We’ll regroup in ninety minutes to move onto the next section for those of us who have our clues solved, or eliminate the rest, the team in possession of our cell phone numbers if they need us.
“It’s fine,” I say, pausing at a break in the path.
“I haven’t been to the school since we left. Does it still look the same as when we were kids?”
“No.”
My head swivels left and right as I try to determine which way to go. It’s been a while since I’ve ventured down these trails, and I can’t remember which way the waterfall sits, especially now with all the barren trees. It looks so much different in the summer.
I glance helplessly around and catch Alex’s eye, suddenly embarrassed. Before I can admit I’m not sure where to go, he speaks.
“It’s this way,” Alex tells me, waving me to the right.
Begrudgingly, I follow him, his confidence unwavering as he takes the lead now, and I find myself walking behind him along the trail. His broad shoulders block the sunlight streaming through the pines, catching hints of gold in his short-cropped, sandy hair. He hasn’t changed a lot since high school. He’s still as attractive, the football player build holding, undoubtedly from his active job.
And he’s likely still the same jerk under that small-talk fa?ade.
His long strides take us through the biting winter air, the scent of pine and frost reaching my nose before I see Frost Falls. The cascade is frozen in place, glistening like glass in the pale sunlight.
He laughs as I come closer. "You’re right. It’s right here—the second clue!"
A rush of relief bursts through me as I join his side. I realize I’ve just been nervous. My instincts were wrong about the clue.
Can you imagine? Looking like a total idiot in front of this guy after all he’s put you through?
I shiver, but it’s not for the potential embarrassment.
An unexpected whiff of earthy cologne reaches my nostrils, taking me aback and lifting my head toward Alex. I step away, confused by the pleasant scent, blinking as another blast of wind flutters my bangs over my forehead. Suddenly, I’m heady, discombobulated.
“Woah, be careful,” he warns, putting out a hand to steady me. “It’s slippery by the rocks.”
Coupled with his hand bracing me, I’m doubly conflicted, and I shrug him off, regaining my footing. “I’m fine,” I mutter, sidestepping him to look toward the bright green sheet laid on one of the boulders by the waterfall. Even from where I’m standing, I can make out the Christmas tree decal on the paper, next to the bowl of glittery ornaments. I scoop one up to put in my pocket, and we move to read the message. “What does it say?” I ask as Alex picks up the page.
Behind us, voices bounce through the woods, and I whip my head back to peer behind me. One of the other teams is gaining traction on us. I lean forward to read over his shoulder, and we both scan the words quickly, but I’m mildly distracted by the incoming chatter at our backs. I spin around to gauge how close they are, suddenly very concerned about their proximity.
“I’m sure it’s Frost Falls!” a female voice chirps from the trees. “Trust me! The message is a poem. Like Robert Frost, the poet?”
“Come on,” I urge Alex, ducking away from the waterfall before the incoming pair can see us.
He stares at me, perplexed, but I wave at him frantically, and he eventually follows me back into the bushes.
“Why are you hiding?”
I press my finger to my lips. “We don’t want anyone to see us and think they’re on the right track,” I hiss. “Come on!”
My competitive streak rears its ugly head, but to my relief, Alex doesn’t argue. He almost appears amused by my demands and follows me back into the trees as the other pair emerges. We duck among the shrubbery and watch our next closest competition, a pair of teenagers, holding hands and giggling.
“See?” the girl laughs, pointing as she untangles her gloved hand from her boyfriend to scamper forward toward the clue. “I told you!”
“I should have never doubted you,” he replies admiringly. They embrace warmly.
Alex casts me a sidelong look.
“Do you know them?” he asks in a low voice.
I shake my head, straining forward. “I don’t think so.”
He leans in confidentially. “I’ll send their photos into the precinct and have them do a full background check. We’ll see if we can find anything to use against them.”
My head jerks back to him, my mouth parting in disbelief. “What?”
His mossy irises gleam mischievously, and I exhale, my breaths escaping in short, white plumes against the frigid air. “Oh. You’re kidding.”
A small dimple appears on his right cheek, and I have to look away. I’d never noticed it before. Of course, I’d never been this close to him before, either. Sinking further into the woods, I straighten up and try to remember what the second clue said. I’m completely out of sorts now.
“Darn it,” I mutter, my brow furrowing. “I can’t remember what it said verbatim…”
I wrack my brain, eying the waterfall through my peripheral view. We’re wasting time standing there, but I’ll have to get back and look again if I want to be sure.
Alex’s smile doesn’t falter as he produces his cell phone, swiping his photo app open. In spite of myself, I grin at him.
“You took a picture,” I sigh, thankfully. I hadn’t noticed him doing that, but everything about this day has me a bit topsy-turvy.
“Cop instinct,” he shrugs modestly.
More voices echo through the woods, and I glance at my smartwatch, noting the time.
“We have to keep moving,” I growl, remembering who Alex is. He’s not my friend, but he’s still on my team, and if I want to win, it’s best if we work together. At least for the next few hours. After that, I can go back to pretending like he doesn’t exist.
It’s Alex who solves the second clue, but it takes us longer than the first one. We puzzle over the odd phrasing for ten minutes, each minute making me antsier.
“We’re never going to get through this section,” I mutter, pacing up the path as I reread the obscure note. “We’re going to be eliminated.”
Alex is far calmer than me, which aggravates me for some reason.
“It’s tickling my brain,” he muses. “There’s a code in it, ‘clunking, punking, chunking… the missing word is…?’”
“It doesn’t even make any sense!” I argue, flopping down on a pile of snow.
“It has to do with the trails,” Alex deduces. “What’s on the trails?”
I wrack my brain, trying to remember what the endless wilderness has to offer. Hiking isn’t really my thing. It’s difficult not to appreciate the glorious Montana backdrop on which Holly Ridge sits, but I’ve always preferred the quaint shops to the endless outdoor activities our charming town offers. The selling point for me has always been the inherent coziness, not the vast outdoorsy aspects, beautiful as they are.
“I don’t know…” I drawl. “The waterfalls… There’s the one we just came from and another two I can think of.”
“They wouldn’t put a clue by another waterfall, especially not after putting the first one there,” Alex says, and I agree.
“That’s too obvious.” I stop in front of him, where he’s casually splayed over an oversized boulder, scrolling through his phone. “What are you doing? Doomscrolling? We’re supposed to be looking for clues, not checking emails.”
I can’t keep the impatience out of my voice.
He laughs. “No. I’m searching the hiking trails. I want to see what else is here to see if something clicks with the clue.”
Folding my arms over my chest, I exhale slowly, wishing I’d thought of that. I don’t want to admit it, but he’s a good partner. Quick thinking. His cop instincts are proving helpful. That doesn’t change the fact that I don’t like him.
“I’ve got it!” he declares, jumping up with a boyish grin on his face.
I step back, again overcome with his cologne. I hate the way it keeps sweeping over me and giving me little shivers.
I put a safe distance between us. “Well?” I demand as he starts toward the center of the woods. “Are you going to tell me?”
“Eventually,” he replies lightly. “This way.” His head bows over the screen of his phone, and I realize he’s following the GPS.
“Alex,” I grumble, my mood dampening with each step. “You might be wrong, you know? Tell me what you think it is.”
He glances over his shoulder, his grin faltering again. “I don’t think I’m wrong,” he says, his verdant eyes shadowing. “It makes sense. Spelunking rhymes with all those words.”
“W-what?” I sputter, and suddenly, it hits me, too. “The caves? The next clue is in the caves?”
He nods and continues onward. Silently, I follow, feeling slightly foolish and a little ashamed of myself for doubting him. But I immediately dismiss my second guesses. Why wouldn’t I doubt him? He’s Alex Roth, and he’s never given me a reason to believe him before.
The air takes on a bitter tinge as we dip lower into the hills, turning toward the small cluster of caves that are well known in the area. I haven’t been here myself in years, not since I was a teenager, and never inside. They’re sectioned off with caution tape and blocked for the season with cones, large warning signs posted everywhere for those who might get the idea to venture through unattended.
But a bright red page, embroidered in candy canes, sits perched on one of the orange pylons, and I hurry forward to snatch it up eagerly as Alex picks up the token for proof of our find.
Another flutter of elation rushes through me. “I know this one, too!” I exclaim gleefully, without much thought. “The clue is in the community garden, at the start of the trails! It’s bringing us back around already! I think we’ll be done first!”
Impressed, Alex joins my side and reads the clue, arching an eyebrow. “Can I see it?”
I step aside before I can again be inundated by his masculine scent, determined not to be distracted by his attractiveness.
“Sugar and spice and everything nice?” he reads with a laugh as I look back toward the path, ensuring no one is on our heels. “That sounds right, the herb garden. Wow, you’re good, Quinn. You got that right away.”
The compliment brings heat to my ears, but I again shrug it off. I don’t want or need the approval of my high school bully. Too little too late.
Glancing around for any other teams, I say, “It looks like we’re still in the lead. I don’t see anyone else.”
“I feel a little guilty,” he confesses, keeping my stride.
Frowning, I eye him. “Why?”
“I don’t know. Some people are really into this, and I’d hate to take away their chance at winning. It doesn’t matter to me if I get to light the tree.”
My scowl deepens, mostly because he’s making me feel shame as well. “It’s not like we’re cheating.”
He lifts his hands in surrender. “I know that. But shouldn’t we give the others a chance to catch up with us at least? I feel like we’re leaving them in our dust.”
“That’s literally the point. To win,” I remind him, annoyance growing inside me. “Why did you even come out if you don’t want to win?”
His strong jaw twitches, and he looks like he wants to say something, but changes his mind. I pause at the crossroads, trying to orient myself. “Do you know which path takes us back to the main gate?”
Alex gestures to the left, leading the way, and I shake my head as I follow behind him.
Isn’t that rich coming from him? Suddenly, he’s worried about hurting other people’s feelings.
I would have laughed if it wouldn’t invite questions. But I keep my emotions in check, hard as it is to do.
It’s going to be a long day, and I need to pace myself for both the scavenger hunt and hanging out with Alex Roth. I won’t let him wear me down.