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At least, that’s what she kept telling herself. And she was trying every day to prove that statement right. Because she was running out of time and money. The boutique had good days and bad days. If Michelle could just survive, she’d be okay. And survive in every sense of the word was what she’d do.
Going bust in any way wasn’t an option.
“Everything will be…will be…fine,” Chloe said. Sort of. She sounded like she was dry heaving more than talking. Michelle frowned, then held the phone away to look at it when she heard what sounded like Chloe throwing up.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Chloe said, a little breathless.
“I’m so sorry; I didn’t know you were sick. I hope you feel better.” Now she felt like a terrible friend for giving Chloe a hard time.
“Thanks, but I don’t think I’ll feel better for nine months or so,” Chloe said.
“Wait…what?” Michelle asked around a bright smile. “That’s wonderful! You’re pregnant!”
“Yeah, but don’t say anything. Gage doesn’t know yet.”
Michelle beamed with happiness for her friend. “I won’t say a word.”
“Now go have fun. I want to hear all about it tomorrow,” Chloe said. The line disconnected on what sounded like another round with the porcelain god.
Michelle put her phone in her purse, adjusted her Marc Jacobs—letting the strap rest more comfortably on her shoulder—and read over the single sheet of paper she’d been given as instructions for this survival course.
The first part of the day would be spent in the classroom, learning from lectures. After a break for dinner, she and her class would take their newly learned skills and apply them to the wilderness. She glanced at her cute booties, jeans, and airy blouse and felt good about the adventure to come. She’d followed directions from her closed toe shoes to bringing only a small bag of necessities that the instructions stated “you can’t live without.”
With a final breath and determination on her face, she walked into the classroom and prepared herself to walk out as a goddess of adventure and independence.
“No way are you sticking me with this,” Dex Young said, trying really hard not to punctuate his words with a giant middle finger to his boss. Gage was more like his drinking buddy, but whatever.
“You just have to do the outdoor wilderness survival part tonight. I taught the class already,” Gage said.
“Then why the hell don’t you finish teaching this damn day in the wilderness? This was your grand idea to get more people in the community involved.” Dex liked Gage, they were friends, and yeah, he was the head of the North Carolina Search and Rescue sector, but this whole novelty “day in the life of a wilderness guru where you get taught how to make fire” was not what Dex had signed up for. He was actually good at what he did and didn’t want to teach a group of glorified tourists how to fashion a tent from tree limbs.
He’d been there, done that, and it was always the same. A bunch of rich people looking for something to talk to their friends about later. “I survived in the wild!” they’d say, and Dex always wanted to vomit, because seriously, braving the wilderness didn’t come with four-star campers or sangria by the fire. A fire that Dex always had to make for the upper-class assholes, because rubbing some sticks together would get their precious hands dirty.
This whole damn thing was a nightmare, and he hated it.
“I told you I’m not doing this bullshit ‘adventure for the one percent’ explorations anymore.” These outings gave him migraines, and after last week’s Millionaire’s Club, he was certain a tumor was forming behind his right eye. One more yuppie looking for “an experience,” and Dex would claw his face off.
“Look, Chloe called me, and she needs me home tonight. So suck it up, and teach the class. It’s only for tonight. Don’t kill anyone or let them die, and you’ll get your hours.”
Shit, his hours. Well, he couldn’t argue against that point. Not if he wanted to keep his damn job.
Dex had been doing search and rescue for years, and he was due for recertification. He’d been out of town a lot on missions, but now that the summer was coming to a close, he was back home for the long haul. He had to log eighteen hours of “training” for his job. At the very least, this stupid class would count for something.
“I get my hours doing this and you’ll sign off, so I can be done with the recertification?”
“Yep,” Gage said and slapped Dex’s back. “The group is a small one, but they’re meeting at outpost twenty-seven on the edge of the forest in…” He glanced at his watch. “Now. So you better get moving.”
“Jesus, you’re a pain in the ass,” Dex grumbled.
“Love you too, bro.” With that, Gage took off.
Dex got in his truck, checked his rucksack, and drove to the outpost. When he got to the small cabin, he stopped and looked around.
&n
bsp; Nature. He was surrounded by nature.
