Page 11 of Wild About the Mountain Guide
“That really was a great story,” I tell her. “Where’d you come up with it?”
“Professional secret,” she says with a wink. “Actually, I just combined a bunch of classic urban legend elements. Missing hikers, voices in the woods… Throw them together with good timing and atmosphere, and people’s imaginations do the rest.”
“You’re good at this.”
“At scaring people?”
“At storytelling. And other things. You’ve surprised me today, Thriller Girl.”
“How so?”
I should probably keep this professional, stick to guide-appropriate compliments about her hiking skills, but something about the stars above us and the mountain air makes me more honest than usual.
“I expected you to struggle more. To complain. But you adapted and figured things out. Even when you were scared.”
“I was terrified,” she admits. “I’m still terrified, actually. But also…” She looks up at the stars. “I’m starting to understand why people do this. Something about being out here makes everything out there seem smaller. Less important.”
“Yeah. That’s exactly why I love this so much too.”
“Can I ask you something?” she asks, poking at the dying embers with a stick.
“Shoot.”
“Do you ever get lonely up here? I mean, it’s beautiful, but it’s so isolated.”
“Actually, I prefer the solitude most of the time. In town, there’s always someone who needs something, always noise and other complications. Out here, there’s only pureness and wilderness. No pretense, no small talk, no one expecting you to be anything other than what you are.” I glance at her across the flames. “What about you? Writing’s pretty solitary too.”
She nods. “I used to think I preferred it that way. Keep my head down and keep to myself.”
“Used to think?”
“This week is making me reconsider a lot of things, even though we’ve only just started. Actually, you should put that in the brochure.Life-changing from the first day.” She laughs, and a jolt zips through me like I touched a live wire.
Peyton yawns, covering her mouth with her hand. “Sorry. I should probably get some sleep.”
“An entire day outside tends to be exhausting.”
“You’re not tired?”
“I am, but I’ll be keeping watch for now.”
“Really?”
“Standard procedure. Someone needs to keep an eye out until the fire’s completely out. The last thing we need is a forest fire, right?”
She stands and brushes off her pants. “Well, if you see any button-eyed hikers, scream and we’ll all come and help you, okay?”
“Deal.”
She heads toward her tent, then turns back. “Good night, Knox. I had a great first day, and it’s all thanks to you.”
Peyton disappears into her tent, leaving me alone with the dying fire and the realization that this week might be more complicated than I thought. Because the truth is, I didn’t look forward to this week’s retreat at all, but now, I can’t think of any place I’d rather be.
It’s all because of Peyton.
And that’s a problem I wasn’t expecting.
Chapter Five
