Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
“Wakey, wakey ladies.”
Hunter’s deep voice rang through Hannah’s ear canals.
How was it morning already? She placed her fingers to her tingling lips.
Those kisses she’d shared with Hunter were fabulous.
Sitting by the fire, wrapped in his arms, had been comforting.
A repeat of that tonight, the last night of their trip, would be absolutely wonderful.
She frowned at that thought...the last night of their trip.
The last night she’d see him. She finally took a chance on someone and likely this would be it.
Just one more night, then they’d both be off living their new lives as college graduates.
The scent of taco meat wafted in the air. Had she slept so well it was dinnertime?
“Hey, the breakfast burritos are almost finished!” Hunter yelled. “Chop, chop. We have an awesome day ahead of us, and we need to get going.”
The man sounded cheerful.
Bianca rolled over with an annoyed groan. “What time is it?” she asked. Frustration laced her tone.
“Almost nine,” Hunter replied.
Holy shit. Nine. She hadn’t slept this long or this well for quite some time. Her nightmares had been subsiding, but a good night’s rest was still a rarity since her incident with Sebastián.
Hannah flipped back the top of her sleeping bag and snagged a fresh set of clothes from her backpack. She was more than ready to hit this day running.
Her stomach growled almost as loudly as Bianca, at the thought of getting out of the sack. Alyssa moved sluggishly, but with no verbal complaint.
The spicy aroma practically pulled Hannah out of the tent. As she slipped out, she caught Hunter’s upbeat gaze.
“Good morning,” he said as a smile stretched his sun-kissed, chiseled face.
The amber flecks in his warm chestnut irises sparkled with the help of a sunray, beaming through the trees onto him.
“Morning.”
She pointed to the cast-iron fry pan on the camp stove. “That smells delicious.”
“Breakfast burritos, just one of my many specialties,” he bragged.
Now his full-blown smile bared his straight white teeth.
Hunter snagged a plate off the table and handed it to her. “I’m not waiting anymore. I’m starving. Let’s eat. They can eat when they get up.”
She piled scrambled eggs with peppers and onions, taco meat, and cheese onto a flour tortilla, wrapped it up and took a seat at the picnic table. He did the same, except he made two for himself, and then he sat opposite her at the table.
Gazing ensued over breakfast burritos. She enjoyed both and couldn’t have asked for a better morning.
Hunter pointed to her tent. “Do you think they are ever going to get up? The hike into Lover’s Leap Falls is farther than the other hikes we’ve taken.
Not to mention that we need to break camp and canoe to that location.
We’re going to need a bit more time. Or.
..” he paused and winked at her. “Will it just be you and me today?”
The rapid flutter of her heart kept her words at bay for a moment, and that sexy as hell wink of his had her wanting him for herself today.
She could probably make that happen. Letting her friends off the hook from hiking today would probably be easy.
Except for being alone with that bear yesterday scared them, and they’d probably want to be near Hunter.
Alyssa slipped out of the tent and moseyed over to the picnic table, grabbed a plate, then made her burrito, and sat.
“Is Bianca moving?” Hannah asked.
“I don’t think she’s getting up today. We’ll have to pack her with the tent. She’s checked out,” Alyssa said with a giggle.
“I’m coming,” Bianca yelled.
She slipped out of the tent. Even with as annoyed as she was, she still looked like a million bucks. Hannah was sure she couldn’t look more opposite.
Bianca wrinkled her nose at the burrito makings, then glanced over her shoulder at Hunter. “I’d like a spinach quiche and a dish of strawberries,” she said as she batted her eyes.
“I’ll get right on that,” he joked in reply.
The only problem was that Bianca was probably serious and suspected he’d swim back to the main camp store and get the supplies to accommodate her wish. That’s what she was used to. She arched her brow.
“There’s a great family diner you can hit on your way out of here tomorrow that can probably whip that up for you, but until then, it’s breakfast burritos for you, sweet pea.”
Sweet pea. Hannah laughed at the nickname he’d just coined Bianca with. She loved how Hunter didn’t fall prey to or cater to Bianca like most men did.
The scowl on her friend’s face let them all know she didn’t appreciate it.
Sweetheart, gorgeous, or princess would be more to Bianca’s liking.
With some reluctance, Bianca assembled her burrito.
After breakfast, they broke down camp, loaded the canoes, and headed to the next site.
A pair of eagles soared above them. Hannah stopped paddling and leaned her head back to watch the magnificent birds. Large and beautiful, the royalty of the sky, floating through the air with ease, with hardly a flap of their wings.
“Majestic, aren’t they?” Hunter asked, drawing her attention from the birds.
She looked at him. He wore a soft smile. His and Bianca’s canoe was only a couple of feet from hers. It crossed her mind to lean over and kiss him, but she wasn’t ready for her friends to know that she liked Hunter. Not yet.
“They sure are,” she replied.
Hunter tilted his face to the sky.
“I never tire of watching them.”
“I don’t doubt that.”
“Hey, some help here would be nice,” Bianca said as she shot a glare at Hunter.
He jokingly cringed and paddled again.
“You were the one in such a hurry to pack up camp and scoot along this morning,” Bianca added.
After her tongue-lashing, Bianca faced forward again.
She shared a glance with Hunter.
Bianca hadn’t taken her happy pill this morning.
It still puzzled Hannah a bit that Bianca had agreed to this kind of trip, but sometimes friends just do the right thing, and she had to appreciate that Bianca would do this for her, even though her friend was cranky today.
This was a long time for Bianca to go without modern conveniences like a flush toilet, a hot shower, and a latte.
Only twenty-four hours or so and Bianca’s life would be restored.
Tomorrow they’d pack up, head back to the base camp, and then head home.
Home, back to the horrible life that loomed over her.
The trial. But once that was over, she could move on.
A slight shiver raked through her. What if Sebastián wasn’t found guilty?
What if he didn’t get sentenced to prison?
What would this mean for her with him on the loose?
Her body tensed. She’d live her life in fear of what he might do to her.
“Hey, you okay?” Hunter’s voice sounded.
She turned her head to face him. No, she wasn’t, but he didn’t need to know that.
“I’m fine, just sad we’re on the last day of this fabulous vacation.”
Those words drew a big smile from the handsome man in the canoe next to hers.
Bianca huffed.
“This has been great. I got some awesome photos,” Alyssa said.
Within the hour, they’d paddled up to the next campsite, which resembled the others. A small sandy beach area and a campsite equipped with a picnic table, fire pit, tent pads, and a pit toilet tucked back into the woods a bit. Lovely.
Even with very little help from her friends, their tent was set up and their gear was unloaded from the canoe within thirty minutes. She hustled, wanting to get on the trail to Lover’s Leap Falls. Their guide’s vivid description of it had a heavenly image already planted in her head.
“We’ll pack some sandwiches and picnic on top of the falls,” Hunter said as he pulled lunchmeat, cheese, and bread from the cooler.
She walked over to the picnic table to help him.
“Ham or turkey?” he yelled out.
“Turkey,” Alyssa responded.
“I’ll do the same,” Hannah added.
“Bianca?” Hunter asked.
Either she ignored him or didn’t hear him because she stood with her back to them over by the water.
“Bianca?” Hannah yelled out.
Her friend spun to face them. “Huh?”
“Do you want a ham or turkey sandwich for our picnic lunch today?”
“I’m not going,” she replied in not much more than a whisper.
She wore a strange expression. Not one of frustration with the trip. Oddly, more like one of concern.
Hannah walked toward her. “What’s the matter? Are you concerned about the length of the hike?”
“It’s not all that much farther than the ones we’ve already taken,” Hunter added.
“No,” Bianca said and dropped her gaze to the ground.
Now that Hannah was closer to her, she could see the deepened worry lines on her friend’s face. What was that about?
Bianca’s skin turned pasty white, and she wrapped her arms around herself as if trying to contain her visible shivering.
“Are you sick?” Hannah asked.
Bianca lifted her gaze from the dirt but didn’t meet Hannah’s eyes. Something was not right.
“I do feel...I don’t know. Just not right. Tired, I guess. I didn’t sleep that well.”
“Do you need a quick nap before we go?” Hunter asked.
She shook her head. “Why don’t you guys go without me today? I’ll just hang here on the beach and rest.”
Hannah watched as Hunter studied Bianca. Probably debating if that was a good idea. Leaving one of his guests unattended in the wilderness after the bear incident yesterday.
“I suppose that would be okay. But, know that we’ll be gone for the better part of the day. The staff will pop in while we are out to stock the food and ice, and firewood, so if you need anything, they can help you out.”
“Okay,” she responded, then turned and looked out over the water.
Unease coiled in the pit of Hannah’s stomach.
She could totally understand that Bianca was done with this trip, but her behavior seemed off, too off.
She’d started the trip off on the right foot—accepting even though camping and hiking weren’t her thing, but as the days came and went, she was less able to hide her displeasure, but still tolerated it.
Now, it wasn’t as much displeasure as it was despair, maybe.
Hannah couldn’t quite read it, and it concerned her.
“Bianca!” Hannah called out to her.
Without turning to face her, Bianca raised a sluggish hand in the air, waving her off.
Her stomach coiled into a tight knot. She had an eerie feeling this day would not end well. It started great. But…