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“Okay,” he chuckled. “I need to leave soon. Can you be ready in an hour?”
My head darted to my closet and then around the room. “Absolutely.”
“Good. I’ll be at your place in an hour. I just need to finish packing a few other supplies. I have more than enough food, but you’ll want to pack a few days’ worth of clothes. I’ll need at least three days to get all of the samples done. It’s a full-day hike to where we need to go.” I heard the car door shut in the background.
“Sure thing,” I said.
“See you soon?” he questioned, appearing to give me one last out.
“Can’t wait!”
I threw the phone down. I had definitely not thought this through, but I had to protect Logan. If I could keep the creature away, or Logan away from it, then he stayed alive.
A few days in the middle of nowhere with Logan. I just had to keep him alive… and not let him know how much I wanted him. They both seemed like equally difficult tasks.
The image of the canyon filtered through my mind. The thought of Gray Eyes brushing his lips over mine sent pulses of excitement licking down my chest. I should not be wanting two men. Now I was just as excited to see Logan as to dream of Gray Eyes.
I ran to the closet to grab my oversized hiking pack. Ping-ponging from closet to bathroom to bag and back, I packed like a madwoman, rolling clothes and shoving them in the pack. I also grabbed extra canteens and socks. The pack was full at the end of forty-five minutes.
Finally, I sat on the edge of the bed and dialed the person I knew would pick up.
“Hey, Charlie, you okay?” Dad said.
Why does everyone answer the phone like that when I call?
“Oh, yeah, I’m fine. I just wanted to give you a call and let you know I’m going on an impromptu hiking trip with a friend.”
“Oh, really?” he asked, puzzled. “Well, what’s her name?”
“Uh, Tanya,” I said, rubbing my temples. If I told Dad it was a man, there would be more questions I really didn’t want to answer. It was easier to skip the interrogation. “She’s actually going for work, but I decided I would go along. It might be about a week, and service might be spotty,” I said, trailing off. “I just wanted to let you know in case you called, and I couldn’t answer.”
“Where are you going?” he asked gruffly. I knew he’d hate the idea of no cell service.
“It’s on the edge of Arizona. It’s a big canyon with lots of different trails,” I said, hoping he wouldn’t pry further.
“How many days will you be gone?”
“A week. I will call you next Monday.”
“Are you sure this is okay with your professors?” he asked.
It was not like me to take a trip in the middle of the semester, especially not a spur-of-the-moment one. I had never missed a class as an undergrad or a graduate student. Maybe my father would take it as a sign I was starting to loosen up.
“Yeah, it’s a light week. I just need to finish some reading, and I can do it on the drive.”
“Well, that’s great, honey,” he replied, genuine happiness flowing through the phone.
A sticky lump formed in the back of my throat. I hoped every lie I told him actually brought him some sort of peace. If he thought I was finding some joy in my life, what was the harm in that?
“Thanks, Dad. Enjoy your week! I gotta go.”
“Be careful, Charlie.”
I disconnected the call before I blurted out another lie. I knew this trip was anything but cautious.
I typed out a short but professional email to every single professor explaining there was a family emergency, and I would have to be gone for a week. Hitting send, I stood up and checked my pack for missing items.
Quickly, I changed into long hiking pants and a T-shirt before lacing up my boots. My fingers trembled as I tied each knot on my ankle. Technically, we would be driving most of the day, but I assumed we would walk to a campsite for the night once we arrived.
