I nodded. “Maisie said you loved it.”
“You’re not hiking by yourself,” Merrick growled to his sister.
Merci rolled her eyes. “I’ll be fine. Murderers aren’t morning people, and they take Mondays off. I overheard it on one of Kenna’s favorite podcasts.”
Merrick pinched the bridge of his nose. “A woman was attacked a week ago while hiking alone at sunrise. They found her body at the bottom of a ravine.”
“Well, shit. Then Hatchet can come with me,” Merci suggested, throwing a devious smile my way.
My gut tightened. The last thing I needed was for Merrick to suspect something was happening between his sister and me.
Merrick nodded, completely unfazed by the idea of me spending time with her. “Good idea. I can handle the meeting with Sol Solutions on my own, and you can trapeze through the fucking woods or whatever she wants to do today.”
“You sure?” I asked. “The manager likes me.”
“I’m sure. The manager wants to fuck you. Probably better if you’re not there. It pisses her husband off.”
“You’ve got fifteen minutes,” Merci said, pushing my shoulder. “You might want to change into shorts and grab a water bottle. It’s going to be a scorcher today.”
* * *
An hour later, I was already cursing Merrick for making me tag along on Merci’s hellish hike. “Did you have to pick the hike that was just uphill? On the hottest day of the fucking year?”
“Stop being a baby. It’s not that bad.”
I huffed, focusing on placing one foot in front of the other. “It wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t already ninety fucking degrees.”
“Well, if you hadn’t taken forever, we could have gotten out of here earlier,” Merci countered. “I wanted to get out here at sunrise, but I slept through my alarm.”
My phone pinged, and I looked down, opening the Facebook message. I stopped in my tracks, staring at my phone.
“What?” Merci asked with a laugh. “Knock up a sweetbutt? Or did one just test positive for syphilis? I can write you a prescription.”
I barely heard her jabs as I read the message again. I let out a shaky breath.
“What is it?” Merci asked, her tone filled with worry.
I looked up. “It’s my mom.”
“Your mom? The one who abandoned you?”
I rubbed a hand on the back of my neck, still processing.
“You look like you’re going to pass out,” Merci said. “Sit.” She pushed me to a large boulder on the side of the path and perched beside me. “What does she want?”
I looked at the phone again and began to read the message out loud. “Jonah, I’m sure you don’t remember me, but I’m your mother. I’m sorry for what I did. I’m at Acres Memorial Hospital. Please come see me. There are things you need to know.”
“Deathbed confession?” Merci rubbed my arm.
I shook my head and slipped my phone into my pocket. “She can keep her secrets. I’ve survived thirty-three years without knowing her. I don’t need to start now.”
“Hatchet, you should at least?—”
“No. End of discussion.” I stood and stalked forward on the trail. “Let’s go. Finish this goddamn trek of torture.”
I heard Merci trailing behind me, so I didn’t look back. We trudged in silence until we hit the pile of rocks that indicated the turning point.
“At least it’s downhill from here,” Merci said.
