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Chapter Thirteen
Joyelle
“Where the hell have you two been?” Lizzy snapped at us when we returned to the camp. “And why don’t either of you have a shirt?”
We had come down a different way off the mountain and couldn’t locate our shirts which had been the first to be taken off. We thought he had the spot, but they weren’t anywhere to be found. Richard said it was possible another hiker picked them up thinking they might have been left behind as trash.
“We got hot and took them off,” I said. That was a logical answer as far as I was concerned. Lizzy felt otherwise.
Crossing her arms, she turned to Clark and said, “Are you buying that bull?”
Clark shrugged and replied, “It does get hot on a long climb.”
Lizzy said, “If it was hot, I would think Joyelle would still have her hair up in a bun, instead of down around her shoulders.”
I knew exactly how to stop this. “Maybe if you had joined us on the hike, you wouldn’t need to be asking so many questions now.”
Lizzy opened her mouth to continue but huffed instead. “Well, you had us worried.”
Richard looked at Clark who only shrugged.
“Do you know what helps to stop worry?” I asked.
Lizzy said, “I’m afraid to ask.”
You should be.
“Making dinner. We’re starving.”
Lizzy said, “We’re not. We just ate.”
“You did?” Richard said, sounding surprised.
“Yup. While you were out doing who knows what in the woods, Clark took me into town to do some shopping and then out to eat. God, I had the best stuffed sea scallops. Who would think they would be good this far from the ocean?” Lizzy said. “We would’ve brought you some back, but you two probably foraged for food and ate berries and dandelions to maintain your energy.”
Lizzy wasn’t going to let me off the hook until she got all the details about my missing shirt. Thankfully she seemed content on holding off until we were alone.
“I’m glad you two had a good time,” I said.
Clark chuckled. “Do I look like I enjoy shopping?”
Lizzy shot him a warning look. “I told you that you didn’t have to come with me. Unlike Joyelle, I’m capable of going out and returning in the same shape.”
“Since you don’t know how to drive the Jeep, how did you expect to get there?” Clark asked.
Lizzy said, “Why would anyone get a vehicle that doesn’t have an automatic transmission?”
“Several reasons,” I said. “One, they’re fun to drive, and another, no one knows how to drive them anymore so they’re harder to steal,” I said, half joking. “And that includes for a shopping adventure.”
“If you keep it up, you’re not getting any of the pizza we brought back for you guys,” she warned.
“Pizza?” Richard and I said in unison.
Lizzy snickered and said to Clark, “I guess I should’ve mentioned that first, but this was so much more fun.”
I was famished and in no mood to appreciate Lizzy’s sense of humor. But I was too tired to argue. Instead I waved the white flag and said, “Thank you.”
As we sat by the fire and ate, I asked, “Did you find any mementoes to take back with you?” Clark laughed and Lizzy elbowed him in the ribs.
