There was only one article that matched who I was, as a woman and as a writer. Only one version that really matched the expectations I’d set for myself and promised to the magazine.
I attached the post-Aaron article and hit send.
My chest tightened hard enough that I leaned back in my seat.
It was ridiculous. We’d spent what? A handful of days together? One reckless night?
I closed the laptop a little too quickly and stared through the windshield at the open road ahead.
I’d seen a lot of things in my rearview mirror but he had to be the hardest one to drive away from.
Chapter Thirteen
Aaron
Once the dust kicked up by Skye’s tires had settled I made coffee and pulled up the list of hikes I’d planned to do before things had gone sideways.
There was a waterfall hike that was top of my list. With how dry the summer was, I thought the falls might be dry. There was only one way to find out.
I filled my pack on autopilot, water, sunscreen, protein bars then headed out, hoping to make it to the falls before the sun got too hot.
I put one foot in front of the other, dust puffing up under my boots as I went. It didn’t take long for sweat to form on my forehead.
I didn’t stop.
A marmot darted between the rocks ahead and disappeared into the brush.
My first instinct was to look around for Kyle before I remembered he wasn’t there.
Good.
The little menace had nearly tripped me down a mountain twice. The hike would probably be more peaceful without him weaving between my boots like a furry drunk driver.
Still, the trail felt strangely quiet.
No running commentary. No camera shutter clicks. No sarcastic remarks about my pace or my personality.
Just my own breathing and the crunch of gravel under my boots.
I let the strain seep into my muscles, let the sweat pour from my skin. I ignored the trees and the bugs and the rocks I stumbled over with the single minded focus of getting to the falls.
This was what I was here for. I had hikes planned and I was doing them.
The fact that my brain was being a melancholy asshole didn’t change the objective of the trip.
I burst through a clearing and stared up at the jagged peak above me. I was panting and my mouth was dry and tasted like dirt. The pictures I had seen online were of water cascading down the mountain side but there was nothing.
Just silence.
A long hard hike ending in a dry waterfall. I didn’t even pause long enough to take a piss. I just turned around and descended back to camp.
Turns out mountain views lost some of their shine when there wasn’t a free-spirited woman beside me and a cat leading the way.
By the time I got back to work after my week away, I was more than ready for a little normalcy.
“Welcome back,” Cliff said as I stepped out of the hot sun into the cool office. “I see you ran into my sister on your trip.”
I froze as I was dropping my pack on the bench in front of my locker. “How’d you know that?”
