Page 8 of Trail to Trouble
Hunter watched as she inspected the toilet. Looking for spiders and other creepy, crawly critters, he presumed. Eventually, she ducked behind the privacy wall, resurfacing moments later, she trudged back up the path.
“Now, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Hunter asked as he took the roll of toilet tissue from her and held out the container of hand sanitizer to her.
Judging from the scowl she wore, she either didn’t appreciate his teasing tone, or using the pit toilet. He imagined, if by choice, she’d opt to bathe in the bottle of sanitizer, so he squirted a dime-sized amount onto her palm, saving enough for the rest of the trip.
The clear night sky moved in. The moon and stars glowed brightly, and between the sky and the roaring fire, the campsite was well lit.
Alyssa and Bianca sat on the bench opposite the fire pit from him. He watched Hannah as her eyes shifted from the spot next to him on his bench to other options for her to sit. Those choices being the ground or a large rock immediately to the left of his bench. She chose the rock. That rock couldn’t be comfortable, not in the least bit.
“I don’t bite,” he teased, then he patted the spot next to him.
“I’m fine here,” Hannah replied without so much as a glance in his direction.
Hmm.He didn’t recall having said anything to make her angry.
“Okay, but if you change your mind...”
“I said I’m good,” she snapped.
Yikes.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Bianca’s scolding glance directed at Hannah.
Alyssa cleared her throat. “She’s just...”
“Stop! Why can’t you guys just leave it alone? I don’t need you to make excuses for me,” Hannah barked.
Alyssa’s gaze landed on the ground.
What the hell? What set her off?
The group silenced, and everyone stared at the fire.
After a few beats, Hannah rose to her feet. “I’m sorry I snapped at you guys. I’m going to turn in.”
The apologetic tone she used implied she meant it, and the fact that she’d made no eye contact with him or any of her friends let him know she was embarrassed.
She slipped into her tent, taking the tension in the air with her.
Hunter chatted casually with Bianca and Alyssa about everything and anything, ranging from their childhoods to college, and the career paths they planned to explore now that they’d graduated. Bianca hadn’t worried about getting a job yet because she and her mom planned to travel internationally for a couple of months when she returned home from this trip. Looking like she came from old money, that didn’t surprise him. The woman would probably marry from a list of her father’s well-to-do suitors for his daughter, and Bianca’s days would be spent at charity luncheons. But hey, charities were needed. She’d probably never work a day in her life.
Alyssa would soon be off to her parents’ furniture gallery to help her mother in the interior design department. She seemed truly excited about it.
Hannah, what would she do? Earlier, Alyssa had spoken for her friend, mentioning that she’d earned a degree in marketing that she could do a lot with. But where would it take her?
Alyssa tapped the screen of her cell phone. “Nothing. No reception,” she said with a complete look of disappointment on her face.
“Yeah, I’m not surprised. It’s spotty. You should have been informed in the paperwork when you booked the trip.”
She nodded. “I remember reading that. It’s just...well, I’d hoped for the best.”
At least the woman admitted she’d read it in the paperwork. Many did not and threw little hissy fits when their phones didn’t work.
She set her phone on her lap and stared into the fire for a moment, as if mesmerized, then looked up. “It’s so peaceful here.”
“The U.P. is heaven on earth.”
“Have you been doing this a while?” she asked.
