Chapter 12
“So how was your business trip?” Allie casually asked as they walked the trail.
She hadn’t spoken to Carson much since he’d dumped that little bombshell on her.
At first, her old insecurities had reared their ugly head, wondering if it had been an excuse to ditch her, but then preservation prevailed.
She didn’t think secret government workers had business meetings, but what did she know?
“It wasn’t great,” he replied, keeping his gaze on the trail ahead.
“Can you talk about it?”
“No.”
“Will you have to go out of town again?” She wasn’t trying to control his whereabouts, but it would be nice to know if he planned on just up and leaving again. Just so she could prepare herself.
Sandy had told her not to worry, and she was trying not to, but she had to wonder if this would be her new normal. If it was, she couldn’t say she was a big fan of it. Sitting at home, wondering where he was and when he’d come back or the next time they’d talk.
“Not for a while.”
“Do you do that often? Go on business trips?”
“Yeah…” Allie didn’t like his monotone, almost one-word answers.
She knew he couldn’t tell her about his work, but she was hoping he’d throw her a bone, something, anything to feed her curiosity.
“Is that going to be a problem between us?” He finally glanced over at her, a tinge of worry in his tone.
“No, a little forewarning would have been nice though.” Not the day before he left. They’d been talking for over a week now; one would think the conversation would have come up before now.
Carson winced as if she’d slapped him. “Sorry, normally I have more warning, but there were circumstances beyond my control. Next time, I’ll tell you long before it happens.”
“But not where you’re going, and you’ll probably not check your phone messages,” she said instead of asked because she somehow already knew the answer.
Carson stopped on the side of the trail, his hands clenched at his sides like he was frustrated. It was Allie’s turn to wince. She shouldn't have pushed him like that. It wasn’t his fault there were certain things he couldn’t tell her about. She was either going to have to accept it or leave him.
“I imagine this hike is nothing for you. I’m sure you’re used to twice the weight on your back walking for twenty miles through marsh and uphill,” she commented, changing the subject.
Carson barked with laughter; the mood instantly lightened. “Where did you get that idea?”
“Movies about basic training always show long hikes with heavy gear and weapons in their hands. Is it not true?” Not that she watched a lot of military movies, but the ones she had seen always looked grueling. Someone was always yelling at you and telling you to drop and give so many push-ups.
“There were hikes, sure, but not twenty miles. Then there was water training.”
“So you had to swim with that kind of gear? How did people not drown?”
“You do know what SEAL stands for, don’t you?
Sea, air, and land,” he remarked without waiting for her to guess.
“We were trained for all different terrains. So we had to learn to maneuver on both with extra gear, or if we extracted someone, to carry their weight if necessary. Sure, we had packs and weapons, but a lot depended on the mission we did. Some required more gear than others. It wasn’t like we had to carry an extra hundred pounds on our backs trudging through the forest, but to answer your question, no, I don’t find this hike difficult. ”
“So, what is all in your backpack; it looks like it weighs a ton.”
“Just basic essentials.”
“No, this is basic essentials,” she said half turning to show her small backpack. “Yours is like living in the wilderness for days on end.”
“And for me, that’s basic essentials. You never know what you’ll need.”
“Planning on getting lost out here and having to camp, Gilligan?”
“Hey, if they had packed like I do, they would have been off the island in days, not years. But I’d rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. The weather could change any moment, and there might not be a shelter.”
“You’re saying there is a shelter in your bag?” It had to be small to fit in that bag.
“There is,” he responded casually, as if it wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t, she’d just never hiked with someone on a less than five-mile hike who had a shelter in their bag.
“Is there a full-size kitchen in it as well, or would that require two bags?”
The corner of Carson’s lip twitched. “You joke now, but if there was a sudden rainstorm and we had to seek shelter, you’d be thankful for the shelter in my bag instead of waiting under a tree.”
“I’m not the Wicked Witch of the West. I’m not going to melt stepping into a little water. I can walk back to the car.”
“And risk slipping on a rock and injuring yourself?”
Fair point. “So you didn’t answer my question.”
“No kitchen, just food packs.”
“MREs?” Eww, she’d seen those before. They looked awful. Anything that could be stored for years and heated in a matter of minutes made her leery to try. Even dried pasta had a shelf life.
“No, but similar.”
Allie made a point to look up at the sky.
“Well, lucky for us, not a cloud in the sky.” There was only supposed to be rain in the late afternoon, but they should be back home before it started.
Allie had never tried an MRE, and she didn’t plan on starting now.
However, she did have a little surprise for Carson when they made it to the end of the trail.
“How are you holding up?” Carson asked, giving her a side glance.
“Good.”
“Your ankle isn’t bothering you?”
Allie rolled her eyes at his needless concern.
“No, I told you it was fine. You don’t need to fuss over me, Carson.
I’d tell you if my ankle hurt or if I didn’t think I could finish this hike.
Though I must say, this feels like a scenic route.
” She stepped up on a boulder and leaped to the next rock to avoid splashing down in the stream.
“There are two ways to get to Big Falls. There is the regular dirt trail or follow the stream.”
“So, you thought a trek through the stream was the best way to go?” Not that it bothered her, she was merely curious.
“It’s not all walking through the water,” he protested. “This is nothing compared to some of the marches I’ve been on. Besides, where’s your sense of adventure?”
“It’s not my sense of adventure I’m worried about.
” She stepped on another boulder that was wet.
She felt her foot slip, but she maintained her balance before stepping down on the rocky trail.
“It’s keeping my feet dry. I didn’t bring another pair of socks.
” She had brought a jacket but nothing else.
She might have to add that to her essentials list.
Carson’s eyebrows shot up over the rim of his glasses.
“Shit, I didn’t think about that. I just thought this would be more fun than walking along the trail.
We can get back on the trail.” He started heading back across the stream, but she looped her hand around his bicep and pulled back to stop him.
His bicep felt like granite under her hand, hard and unyielding.
He was far stronger than her and could have pulled from her grip, but he stopped going in the direction of the trail.
“Carson, it’s fine. I told you before, I won’t melt in the water. My boots are waterproof. I was only giving you crap. Lighten up.” He glanced down at her hand still wrapped around his arm.
Allie slowly retracted it and stepped away. She gripped her backpack straps to help remind herself to keep her hands to herself. Her palm felt warm from his touch, which had everything to do with the man and not the heat of the sun. Her stomach started doing that fluttering thing again.
“You seem to know a lot about this trail,” she mentioned as she led the way, though she had no idea where she was going.
She was just following the water. Carson said it dead-ended into a waterfall, so she just had to follow this up.
It wasn’t a bad hike. She’d been on more strenuous hikes and even rock-climbed a few times.
“I’ve been up here a couple of times. My friends and I do hikes like this every once in a while.”
“I can see why, it’s really nice.”
“If you like this, then just wait.”
“For what?” She glanced over at him as he came up beside her.
“For this.” Allie looked to where Carson pointed ahead. She stopped in her tracks. “What do you think?” Carson asked, hands planted on his hips as he looked around.
Allie was in awe. It had a high craggily wall face with trees dotted all around it and in the center, a waterfall cascaded down into a pool that flowed down the stream they had followed in. “It’s beautiful.” Several hikers were already there admiring the view and taking photos.
Allie wandered around trying to take it all in. It was like walking into a little slice of heaven. She saw people with helmets and climbing gear standing near the edge of the waterfall. One person manned the belay line as someone climbed up the rock face.
Allie was jealous. She’d love to get that much closer to the waterfall and see what was on the other side. Next time she came here, she’d pack her gear.
Allie looked out for a flat spot and headed for it, setting her bag down and taking things out. “What are you doing?” Carson asked, coming up next to her.
“I packed us a picnic.” She laid out the blanket and started setting out the food. It wasn’t anything fancy, just sandwiches and chips. They had both packed water bottles, so she didn’t pack anything extra. “Join me.” She patted the spot next to her.
Carson set down his pack and sat next to her. The waterfall was in front of them. It provided the perfect scenery. “I packed, ham, turkey, or both. I wasn’t sure what you’d like.”
“Turkey is fine. You didn’t have to go through all this trouble. I had snacks for us to share in my bag.”