Chapter Thirty-One Everleigh
Chapter Thirty-One
Everleigh
“Oh, hey, Everleigh,” Jamie says, opening the door. Her expression doesn’t convey expectancy. “What’s up?”
“Will invited me hiking. Is that okay?”
Jamie glances over her shoulder at the crew gathered in the living room. Maren and Ozzy. Fitz. And Will, who looks almost as surprised to see me as Jamie does.
“Uh”—he shakes his head as if his thoughts need to be rattled to life—“yeah. I stopped by her property this morning to check out the barn. And I mentioned the hike and offered to let her tag along.”
I’m not sure he can handle his dad’s impending death and his friends thinking he has feelings for me. So I help him out.
“I sort of invited myself. He didn’t have much of a choice.” I shrug, stepping onto the burnt orange entry rug so Jamie can close the door.
Will studies me through slightly squinted eyes, back against the linen gray wall beside the white stone-framed fireplace. A fall garland that matches the door’s wreath lines the mantel.
I can’t stop myself from imagining what our place would look like during the holidays. Would we decorate it like Jamie has done, or would we spend too much time gaming to care about decorations?
“I’m proud of you, Will.” Maren pats his back. “You’ve made amends with your past, and things don’t have to be so awkward. I’m glad you invited Everleigh.”
Jamie eyes me with distrust.
“Those are cute socks,” I say, nodding to her pink-and-purple wool socks.
“Oh, thanks,” she says, falling for the distraction. “Fitz got them for me this morning.”
“Fitz is a good man.”
“He really is.” She holds out her hand as if he’ll let her pull him from the sofa.
Instead, he hooks his arm around her waist and hugs her. My heart somersaults when he kisses her tiny baby bump.
I want that. A man who adores me and buys me cute wool socks. Instead, I’ve fallen for a tortured firefighter who keeps me at arm’s length.
“Everleigh!” Lola calls, barreling into the living room. “Thanks for the ice cream. You’re the coolest.”
“I’m glad you got it. I think your dad was eyeing it pretty hard.” I smile at Ozzy.
“I was making sure Maren didn’t eat it all.” Ozzy laughs for two seconds before Maren elbows him. I love their playful relationship, and the way Ozzy looks at Maren and Lola like he’s the luckiest guy in the world.
Lola parks her hands on her hips and cocks her head. “Are you Will’s girlfriend now?”
“Lola, no! Jeez, stop.” Maren laughs, pulling Lola in for a forced hug. “She’s just a friend.”
Will winks at Lola. “Sweet pea, Everleigh is too smart for me. Just like you’re too smart for all the boys who will want to date you.”
She rolls her eyes. “My dad said I can’t date until I’m thirty.”
Everyone laughs.
“Your dad is smart.” Will playfully tugs on her braided pigtails. I love the way he adores her.
“We only need to take two cars,” Fitz says. “Will, you can ride with us, and Everleigh can ride with them, unless you want to ride with Everleigh?”
Will and Fitz exchange a look, but I can’t decipher it. Have they talked about me? Lola takes my hand like we’re best friends, and I give it a squeeze.
“I’m riding with Lola,” I say, making the decision.
On the way to the trail, Lola talks nonstop, and Maren glances back at me, mouthing, I’m sorry.
I return a tiny headshake and wink. This is what I do best. I could listen to her all day.
When we arrive at the parking lot near the trailhead, I pull on my hat and gloves, and Will hands me my backpack, but he doesn’t just hand it to me, he holds it for me to lace my arms through it.
“Thanks,” I murmur.
“Yep,” he says, already ten steps in front of me before I get my sternum strap clicked.
“The pregnant lady sets the pace,” Jamie says. “Got it?”
“If you get tired, Fitz can carry you out,” Maren says. “He’s used to a good packout.”
“It’s my day off, but whatever.” Fitz smirks at Jamie. She sticks her tongue out at him, and he grabs her face with his gloved hands and kisses her hard.
“Down boy, she’s already knocked up,” Will teases, taking the lead despite that Jamie said she would set the pace.
“William, you just need the right woman to make you rethink your life,” Jamie says.
“If I do a good job rethinking my life, I might conclude that I don’t need a woman.”
“What about your parents’ neighbor? Didn’t you say she has a daughter who’s in her early thirties?
Single? An attorney in Bozeman?” Maren asks as I stay behind the pack with Lola, who likes to stop every few feet to inspect a rock or the pattern of leaves matted to the ground along with residual snow.
“He already tapped that. Called her the wrong name the following morning when she and her mom were on the deck having coffee.” Fitz laughs.
“Young ears, Calvin,” Maren scolds him.
Fitz’s shoulders lift to his ears as Jamie punches his arm. “Sorry,” he says.
“Are you guys talking about sex?” Lola asks. “I know all about it. Watching it is my grandpa’s favorite pastime.” She snorts and covers her mouth while shooting Ozzy a look.
“Lola! Jeez . . .” Ozzy presses his palm to his forehead. “It wasn’t funny then, and it’s not funny now.”
I look around as everyone laughs. It is funny, but I feel like there’s a story.
Maren lowers her voice and leans close to my ear, our shoulders bumping as we navigate the uneven terrain. “Lola caught her grandpa watching porn, and Ozzy did a terrible job of explaining it.”
I grin, but my smile doesn’t last long because I don’t enjoy thinking about Will having sex with other women.
Jamie tugs on Will’s arm, pulling him back so she can take the lead.
Fitz follows her, the protective husband.
As we continue along the trail, Will slows just enough to let everyone pass him, except me.
It’s subtle. No one looks back with any sort of suspicion.
“I’m not too smart for you,” I say, keeping my voice just above a whisper, shooting him a sideways glance.
He smirks, chin tucked. “You’re too everything for me. Be honest, did you already hike this morning?”
“Five miles.”
“Just five?”
“Well, I think I saw a bear fifty yards into a clearing, and it reminded me I need a hiking partner. Most bear attacks happen to lone hikers. And it should be hibernating, which means it was probably looking for one last snack. On my headstone, my parents will engrave: Everleigh Reichart—beloved daughter, solitary hiker.”
Will’s body bounces with silent chuckles.
“Do you think I need a gun? I see you and Fitz carry one.”
“Do you know how to use one?”
“No. But how hard could it be?” I hop up several stone steps.
“See, I think those should be the words carved on your headstone. How hard could it be?”
I giggle. “Perhaps. But I won’t have a gravestone unless I die after my father and before my mother.
My father will insist on cremation. It’s important to quickly release the soul from the body by fire for the journey of reincarnation.
But I suppose How hard could it be and solitary hiker could be in my obit.
What about you? What will your postmortem celebration entail? ”
Will laughs without hiding it. Maren and Ozzy glance back at us, but Will ignores them.
“I suppose it depends on how I die.”
“If you die in the line of duty, you’ll get full honors as a local hero. You’ll have a bell service and maybe a ‘Placing of the Glove’ service. Honor guard. Flag on your casket. The whole shebang.”
“Why do you sound so excited?” He laughs, and so do Ozzy and Maren.
“It’s a privilege for people to remember and honor you so fondly for your life and service.”
“Yes, but that means I have to die in the line of duty, which means I’ll die young.” He adjusts his gray beanie.
“You’re already forty. Young is relative.”
“Ouch,” Maren says with a laugh. “Careful, Everleigh. Most of us are not in our twenties.”
We reach a more challenging part of the trail that requires climbing a few boulders. Fitz makes Jamie go first, and he’s ready to catch her if anything happens. Lola flies up the rocks, and Ozzy nods for Maren to go first as well.
“It’s fine. No one needs to catch me,” I say when Will goes up the rocks before me.
He turns at the top of one boulder and holds out his hand. “If you need my old, brittle hand, it’s yours,” he says, wearing an ornery grin.
“Keep your hand. I’m a solitary hiker, anyway.” I climb up the rocks.
At the top, everyone stops for water. It’s a cool, crisp day with full sun illuminating the tranquil view of the valley.
Hiking this time of year is a serene experience.
Lola rips open a snack bar. I reach for my water and realize my bottle is empty from this morning.
In my excitement to be invited on this hike, I forgot to refill.
“Aren’t you thirsty?” Will asks.
I shake my head, and he reaches for my bottle. When I grab for it, he holds it just out of my reach and shakes it.
“You don’t have water?”
I wrinkle my nose. “I forgot to refill. It’s cold. I’m fine and plenty hydrated.”
“Here we go,” Fitz announces as Jamie continues up the trail.
Will hands me his water bottle as they leave us behind.
I take a sip and hand it back to him. “So your parents’ neighbor has a daughter who’s an attorney. Sounds like a good catch.”
“Don’t do this.” He caps his water bottle and continues up the trail.
“Do what?”
“Show your jealous side.”
“My jealous side? What is my jealous side? Is it like you dragging me outside of a bar before I make it to the ladies’ room with a hot football player?”
“That was for your protection,” he says.
“I doubt that, but whatever helps you sleep at night. I was just making small talk about a woman who has enjoyed your dick inside of her even though you don’t remember her name.”
“Her name is Karen.” He lengthens his stride until I have to jog to catch up to him.
“That’s unfortunate.”
“Why is that?” he asks.
“Because Karen has become a pejorative term.”
“Pejorative?”
“Disparaging. Belittling.”
“Then it should be easy for you not to be jealous of a Karen.”
“Why would I be jealous?”
He glances over his shoulder, slowing his steps for a second.
“I’ve had your dick in me too,” I mumble. “It’s overrated.”
He lifts an eyebrow, and I smirk.
“We’ll see about that,” he says.
Wait. What? We will?
Before I can follow up with a few pertinent questions, he joins the others and remains at the head of the pack for the rest of the hike.