Page 46 of Last Summer

Nathan opens the door. Fred and Bing, water packs strapped to their backs, bound outside and round the house. Habit tells them the direction they’re headed.

The trail, a slim path that winds through the trees, starts at the edge of Nathan’s property and steadily climbs in elevation. The dogs run ahead, pausing every so often to sniff a rock or tree trunk. They walk for over an hour, Ella behind Nathan, their conversation minimal. The narrow trail makes carrying on a conversation difficult, to Ella’s frustration, since they can’t walk side by side. She tries not to think about how they’re wasting valuable time.

Nathan keeps up a manageable pace, hands gripping the daypack’s shoulder straps. He wears a wool beanie pulled over his ears. Dark hair, longer than the cropped cut he had on TV, curls up from underneath the cap’s edge. He glances at the sky and inhales deeply through his nose. He visibly relaxes with each breath.

“You’re in your element up here.”

“I can’t stand being indoors when the sky’s this blue.”

“Which has me wondering. WhyLuxe Avenue? Isn’tOutsidea more suitable audience for you?”

He glances at her over his shoulder. “Déjà vu.”

“What?”

“You asked the same question last time.”

She steps over a fallen branch, the needles brown and brittle. “Every question I ask will probably be the same. Remember, patience.”

“I know. Trying.” He whistles for the dogs. They’ve put some distance between them, antsy to run and most likely used to Nathan hiking faster. They lope back in their direction.

The sun rises higher, burns brighter. Light reflects off the snow. Ella feels the cool heat on her cheeks. It stings like dry ice.

“Do you have sunscreen?” she asks.

He stops midstride and Ella bumps into his back with a grunt. “Sorry about that.” He grins and she smiles back.

“Sunscreen’s in the small pocket.” He points over his shoulder.

Ella fishes out a sunscreen stick. She rubs it around her face and offers it to Nathan. He drags the wax stick across his brow and down his nose, capping the tube and handing it back to Ella.

“Women made up over sixty percent ofOff the Grid!’s audience,” Nathan comments as Ella zips up the pack.

“Are you expecting to reach the same audience throughLuxe Avenue? What about the men? Thirty-five percent is a large chunk to ignore.”

“I don’t care about the men. Frankly, I couldn’t care less about the female audience.” Nathan resumes walking. “Luxe Avenueis Stephanie’s favorite. She reads it religiously, cover to cover. Always has.”

“You’re hoping your wife reads the article. Why?” Ella asks when another thought occurs to her from her research. Nathan and Stephanie have been separated since before Carson’s death. She jogs to catch up. “Hey, Nathan, when was the last time you spoke with her?”

Nathan stops abruptly. Ella steps off to the side to avoid running into him again and bumps into a tree instead. “Oomph.” She rubs her shoulder.

Nathan points off to the right. “Look.”

She does. Through the trees, the mountainside drops into the wide topaz-blue sky. Above them, jet streams crisscross the flat blue atmosphere like a tic-tac-toe game. All around them, tree bark creaks, expanding in the sun. A bird of prey swoops and dives like a Cirque du Soleil acrobat. “Wow.”

“It’s incredible.” He grins broadly. “Never gets old.”

“I can imagine.”

“The view’s even better where we stop for lunch. That’s what I want to show you. We should be there within the hour.”

“How long have you lived here?”

“I bought the place several years back as a vacation retreat. Moved here permanently when Steph left.” He reaches for a water bottle. “Drink?”

“Yes, thanks.” She drinks some, then Nathan takes his share, sliding the canister back into the pack’s side pocket.

“What were you like as a kid?” she asks when they resume their hike, choosing to wait until later to delve into his reasons for usingLuxe. “Were you always like that guy we see onOff the Grid!?”

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