Page 70 of How You See Me
Chapter 15
Josie
What are we doing today?”
I ask Hayes, my pencil sweeping across the sketchpad in my lap.
As we approach Memphis, traffic thickens around us. It’s chaotic and noisy, but inside the van, the quiet is louder.
“Not sure. Want to research things to do in Memphis?”
“You’re joking?”
His gaze flicks my way, one brow arched. “You know me better than that by now.”
That makes me smile. “Wehaveto do something Elvis-related.”
“We don’thaveto do anything. And I’m putting my foot down on Graceland.”
I can’t help the chuckle that squirts out. Hayes rarely flat-out refuses anything. He’ll push back, but his tone isnever serious, marking the topic as negotiable. Not this time.
“Why not?” I ask, a little sad Elvis willnotbe entering the building with us on this trip.
“It’s cliché.”
“And Dollywood isn’t?”
“You were too excited about that one.”
“What if I’m that excited about Graceland.”
“You’re not,” he deadpans. “I can tell.”
I frown at him. “So, you think you know my cues after three days?”
“Some of them.”
Hearing that shouldn’t make my stomach somersault, yet it’s an Olympic gymnast at the moment. Sometimes, I forget this isn’tourtrip. When he takes care of me or lets me have my way, I have to remind myself that I’m getting the royal treatment because he’s loyal to my brother, not to me. But good Graceland, he makes it easy to wish he was.
I sneak a glance at him, and my pencil keeps moving, sketching without thought. I draw his face, the confident tilt of his head, the bulk in his shoulders. Just for fun, I add a few imaginative embellishments to the sketch, better telling the story of how I see him. He reminds me of every romance novel hero I’ve ever read wrapped into one, and it’s getting harder and harder not to read into the flutters he sets into motion.
“What are you drawing?”
“Nothing.” I point quickly at a billboard to distract him. “How about a hike?”
He follows my line of sight to an advertisement for waterfall adventure walks. “Much better.”
???
The first wooded trailhead isn’t far from the diner where we pick up a map and food for a picnic.
I take a hundred pictures before we reach the little waterfall at the end. It’s cute, but not as grand as the view on the way there.
We eat lunch, then try another nearby trail.
About a mile in, the path converges with a wide creek, its water dancing over smooth stones, catching the sunlight in brilliant sparkles. The waterfall crashes ahead, tall and powerful, pouring down from a rocky ledge. The deep sound of the water fills the air and my chest right along with it.
At the bottom, a quiet little pond shimmers, reflecting the surrounding trees. Wildflowers and dandelions bloom all around, growing in every crevice like they don’t care about order or rules. It’s a beautiful chaos that makes perfect sense to me.
