Page 1 of Crushing on the Mountain Men

Chapter one

Kailee

“I’mgettingmarried!”

My oldest friend Tina was exclaiming this off of an overlook from the mountain trail we’d been hiking for four hours.

I’d been excited to have the bachelorette party on the mountain, but the reality of stumbling along as my group got more drunk, and our guide seemed to get more lost, was less than fun.

At least Tina seemed to still be enjoying herself. I couldn’t help but smile at her excitement.

I was less excited about her wedding. Her fiance’s mom and her own mother had gone quite crazy with the planning. Her fiancé Edgar was a sweetheart, and very laid back, but when I’d seen him over the past few weeks, even he seemed stressed about the event.

I hitched my pack up higher on my back. Mine was likely heavier than the others’, but I’d brought along my medical kit out of habit. I was an EMT studying to be a paramedic, and honestly, some of the truly stupid accidents and injuries I’d seen from victims so far in my work on the ambulance made me want to have my pack on me, ready to go.

“Which way?” Tina asked the guide.

Andre, our tour guide, seemed to get confused. He was stumbling now, and I hoped we would find a place to rest and get our bearings soon. At least we were enjoying the scenery.

***

“Andre, I think we may have gone this way before.” I’d been monitoring the sun, and was pretty sure it used to be on my left. Now it was on the right.

He nodded. “Yes. I’m finding a suitable camping spot.”

I looked around the path, surrounded by trees. I pulled up the GPS on my phone. No signal here, though I’d had a bit of one at the outcrop, since I took some pictures and texted them to Edgar.

A little nature goes a long way. I was ready to set up a tent, get some food, and rest.

Andre stumbled, and his hand went to his forehead.

“Are you okay?” I was running through scenarios in my head, and none of them were good.

He nodded. “I’m good, I’m good. The clearing is up ahead and we will set up camp.”

“Finally!” Tess, one of the bride’s college friends, flopped right down on the grass as we found the clearing minutes later, her eyes closed.

It was tempting to join her, but I felt uneasy about all of this. Very few on this group were sober now, and I wasn’t convinced that our guide was okay and actually knew where we were.

“Hey.” Pam, Tina’s cousin, was next to me. “You feeling like this is off, too?”

I nodded. Pam and I had always gotten along, though her family lived in another state when we were younger. I only saw her at family gatherings, though Tina told me she moved to the area recently.

“My fiancé, Bascomb, is part of a local rescue group, and had me bring one of his SAT phones. I laughed and told him it was a joy hike and some gal time around the fire.”

“I brought my med kit.”

She nodded at me. “So you and I are the caretakers here. What is the deal with Andre?”

Andre nearly tipped over while touching his lighter to the firepit.

“I’m not sure, but we should keep an eye on him.”For all his unsteadiness, Andre got the fire started, and soon some of the group were toasting hot dogs.

Hot dogs were not what I’d expected, though I suppose campfire food after a hike might require limited options. I’d brought along peanut butter and crackers, as I didn’t know what to expect. When Tina told me about this outing, I’d looked up the tour company and hadn’t been impressed.

It looked like a local WordPress, which would have been ok except it hadn’t been updated in 2 years. Why did I think going up the mountains with this group would be okay?

“My women!” Tina was pretty drunk as she put an arm around me and Pam. “I love this time with you guys before I take the plunge.”

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