“Are we there yet?” Ben hollered. Sweat dripped from his forehead and collected on the bottom rim of his eyeglasses. He took them off, shook it away and wiped them with the corner of his light blue shirt. Drew lumbered along beside him. He seemed too tired to care anymore that April was far ahead of him. His hair was stuck to the sweat on the sides of his face and was plastered down in the sweat on his brow.
The westward trail had curved and now they were headed south.
“It’s just up ahead,” Mike yelled back.
“That’s what you said the last time I asked,” Ben yelled back.
“I lied!”
Jo’s feet were hot and the top of her head was burning from the noontime sun. Her back was soaking wet where her backpack laid against it. Her stomach rumbled. She was surprised to feel relieved at the distant sound of the river.
Mike stopped and everyone—except Galen—caught up and gathered around him. He examined the map. “Ok, guys—leavin’ the trail.” He stuffed the map back into his pocket and led them into the wild landscape.
The land was flat, overgrown with grass and foxtail, and small flowers that looked like lavender daisies. Bugs scurried away from their boots. Grasshoppers sprang up, taken by surprise. Behind this field, a line of trees rose, aspen and pine mostly, like an orchard barricading the river.
The group tromped behind him through knee-high grasses. Jo let the tips of her fingers glide over bright orange flowers with petals that looked like tiny trumpets. A foxtail was dug into her sock, irritating her ankle, but she didn’t want to take the time to pluck it out.
They headed into the trees. The sound of the river was soothing without the cacophonous and angry volume it had back at the bridge.
“Mike, how are we going to be able to swim in this river?” Lary inquired.
“Like this.” As if he were drawing a curtain on a play, Mike pulled back the low-hanging limb of a pine tree.
Everyone stared and “ahh-ed”.
Jo ducked under a branch. “Wow,” she said under her breath. Her eyes took in the idyllic sight.
Soft, emerald grass spread like a blanket up to the shallow sandy shoreline at the bank of the river. The grassy area was surrounded by brush and trees and large boulders on one side that made the small clearing feel secluded and private. The river made a wide bend where they stood. On the outside of the bend, it was calm and deep, making a large pool of slow-flowing water. The pool was clear, reflecting the blue of the sky on its surface. On the inside of the bend, the water flowed more swiftly. Its rippled surface was speckled with sunlight. For a short stretch, the river was calm and gentle. Farther down, it picked up its furious pace again.
Jo gazed at the tame water. It bubbled and gurgled. She furtively stole looks at Mike, standing tall and masculine. She took a deep breath to cool her desire.
“Mike, this is awesome!” April said.
Everyone else echoed the sentiment.
Mike breathed in victoriously.
Backpacks dropped, hiking boots and socks were yanked off. Jo removed her shoes and rolled her socks off her feet, plucking the nasty little foxtail from the fibers it had burrowed into. She mashed her hot, tired feet into the cool, velvety grass.
They unloaded their various lunches. Jo and Dove sat together on a log jutting out of the pool and rested their feet in the edge of the water.
“Sheesh!” Jo jerked her feet up as soon as they touched the icy liquid.
“Oh, it feels good,” Dove countered, submerging both feet. Laughing, she stamped them up and down, sending globs of water up and onto her friend.
“Hey!” Jo laughed as the cold water splattered her hot skin. It was startling at first touch.
The rest of the group sat together under an aspen tree.
“Ben what are you doing?” Lary asked.
Ben sat leaning back against the tree with a lapful of what appeared to be weeds and grass.
“I’m having a salad,” was his stoic reply.
“Yummy,” Red commented sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
“There are a lot of edible plants out here. Dandelion?” He thrust the yellow flower under Red’s nose and she jerked back in revulsion.
“No! Get that out of my face!” She slapped at his hand.
Jo snickered quietly.
“All right,” Mike got up and stretched. “Who’s ready for a swim?” He picked up his backpack.
“Oh—me!” Red jumped up. Without hesitating, she pulled off her top and unzipped her shorts, letting them fall to her ankles.
“Oh, brother,” Jo mumbled. Along with everyone else, she was audience to the spectacle of Red stripping her clothes off, revealing the dusty-rose colored bikini she had on underneath, and a very voluptuous body holding it up.
“Hard to compete with that,” Dove lamented.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Jo said to her. “Lary couldn’t care less about that.”
Lary had turned his back to Red and was digging his swim trunks out of his backpack.
“I meant you,” Dove whispered.
Jo shook her head. “It’s not going to happen, with or without Red.”
“Come swim with us.”
Jo shook her head vehemently. It was one thing to sit on the bank, resting hot feet in three inches of cold water, but the thought of going down under that water raised her heart rate.
“Come on,” Dove pleaded. “This is your chance to show him your fun side. You know—do something adventurous, like you were talking about.”
Jo peered at her friend and cocked her head, “So you agree that I’m boring.”
“No, that’s not what I meant.”
“It’s Ok, Dove.” Jo giggled and gently shook her friend by the shoulder. “I’m just kidding.” She gazed out across the river at the riffles on the other side. “But it’s kinda true, isn’t it? I’m about as exciting as this log.”
“Jo—”
“Sorry.”
“Go swimming,” Dove implored.
“I can’t. You have fun—and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” She winked at Dove and nudged her with her arm.
Dove patted Jo’s leg and stood up.
“Uh, did anyone notice what happened to Galen?” April asked, looking around.
“Does anyone care?” Jo asked rhetorically, under her breath.
“Right here.” Galen strolled up to the group, swishing a long stick at the grass.
“Oh, good,” Jo muttered.
“Where’ve you been?” April asked him.
He twirled the stick on the end of his fingers and let it roll over the back of his hand. “Just lookin’ around.” He gripped the stick and waved it in a sword-fighting movement.
“Do you stick fight, Galen?” Mike asked him.
“No. Why?”
“Just askin’. You’ve got some basic moves there.”
“Mike’s an excellent stick fighter,” Lary bragged about his friend.
“That’s good to know,” Galen said. “It might come in handy.”
Jo peered at him suspiciously, wondering what he meant.
Red walked over to Galen. “It’s swimmin’ time, hon. Let me help me you off with your shirt.” Her hand reached for the bottom of his T-shirt.
He grabbed her wrist. “I’m good,” he said firmly and released her hand.
Red glared at him, turned and walked away, huffing and mumbling under her breath. Dove and Jo exchanged glances. Jo pinched her lips together to keep in her chuckle.
“Ok,” Mike called out, “girls over there to change—those of you who need to—and boys over here.”
“Guys, I’m not sure we have time for this,” Galen said. He stabbed the ground with the stick.
Everyone stopped in their tracks. Jo’s friends exchanged annoyed expressions and irritation boiled in Red’s eyes. Even April looked rankled.
Mike eyed Galen. “Like I said, the whole purpose of this hike was to get to this place and swim for a while.”
“But it took longer to ge
t here than you thought it would, didn’t it?”
“Well, some of us aren’t used to hiking that much.” Mike didn’t look at anyone specifically, but Jo knew who he meant. Drew dropped his head, but Ben displayed his usual unaffected expression.
“Regardless,” Galen began. “It took longer than expected, so maybe we should head back now.”
“What!” Red practically screeched. “No way! I’m swimming.” Her eyes spewed venom at Galen.
Mike dropped his backpack. His hands went to his hips. His jaw was clenched. “Galen, are you afraid of the dark or something?”
Galen tossed the stick aside and walked swiftly, closing the gap between him and Mike. Mike’s body tensed and his chest swelled. At the sudden confrontation, Jo’s eyes grew wide and anxiousness ballooned in her chest.
“Come on, guys,” Lary stepped between them. “We’re hot and tired. Let’s have some fun. An hour or so can’t hurt, can it? It’s summer. It won’t be dark for a long time.”
Galen looked at the river. His face was tense and his eyes dark. Slowly, his shoulders relaxed. He rubbed the back of his neck.
“Galen, what are you afraid of?” April’s voice was soft.
He pursed his lips and shook his head. “I’m not the one that needs to be afraid of the things in these woods.”
“You mean, the hungry things?” April asked.
Even Red stopped to hear his answer. He turned his head to look at Jo and his eyes locked on hers. She was stunned by their intensity. Her mouth fell open. She pulled her lips back together. Galen dropped his gaze and let out an audible sigh, more like a groan. “Ok…Ok,” he relented. “Sorry. Do your swimmin’ thing.” He mumbled something under his breath and walked back through the grass, disappearing into the trees.
Jo let out the breath she’d been holding.
Mike squatted down on his haunches and opened his backpack. Lary squatted down with him.
“Well,” Lary tried to sooth his friend, “I guess we can’t fault him for being concerned about us.”
Mike huffed. “I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s have some fun.” He pulled his suit out and he, Lary and Drew went upstream to change.
“That was interesting,” Dove said, after the guys had disappeared into the foliage. She was looking at Jo.
Jo scrunched her lips together and hunched her shoulders.
“Why does he keep looking at you like that?”
“I tried to tell you—he’s crazy.”
“No, guys,” April jumped to his defense, “he’s just—”
“Crazy!” Jo insisted. “I haven’t told you guys half the stuff he’s done.”
Dove touched Jo’s forearm. “Jo, just don’t irritate him.”
Jo’s eyes widened. “Me, irritate him? That’s a good one. I’ve done nothing to him. He’s the one doing his best to irritate me!”
“Well, I just meant—”
“I warned you, didn’t I? I told you that something’s wrong with him—and wait ‘til I tell you about—”
“Guys, he’s harmless,” April declared.
“April, he is being a little strange,” Dove told her. “All his weird ‘hunger’ talk and the way he keeps acting towards Jo—”
“Well, Red isn’t exactly being kind to Jo, but I don’t see you gettin’ upset over that.”
“Red’s—”
“Don’t make excuses for her bad behavior.”
“And what about Galen’s behavior?”
“Guys, guys,” Jo broke in. “Stop. I’m Ok, and I can handle both of them. Come on—don’t let them ruin our day.” She grinned, looking back and forth at each girl’s face.
April frowned. “I’m sorry, Dove. That was stupid.”
Dove sighed. “Yeah. Sorry.” She reached for April and the two friends hugged.
After April released Dove she said, “Besides, I think Galen has a crush on Jo.” She grinned mischievously.
Jo hung her head and dropped her shoulders, pushing her breath out loudly. “Guys, why do you keep doing that? Why would you want me to be mixed up with that loon?”
“Well,” April said, “I don’t think he’s a loon.”
“So, the thing about some fanatically hungry creature hovering over the forest eating all the birds doesn’t bother you?”
April’s expression was reflective. “I think he has the gift of discernment, and I think he feels that there might be something dangerous in this forest. It shows he cares about us.”
“It shows he’s insane,” Jo commented.
“Forget about that stuff,” Dove spoke eagerly. “Why do you think he likes Jo?”
Jo glared at Dove.
“Well, she was the only one he didn’t ask about on the way here. It was almost like he already knew all about her—although, I don’t know how he could. And, like you said, he keeps singling her out.”
“If he didn’t want to talk about me, doesn’t that sound more like he doesn’t like me?”
April and Dove were silent.
“But he does keep singling you out,” Dove said.
Jo pursed her lips. She took a deep breath. “Look, guys, I’ve had my share of moments with him—and none of them were pleasant. You guys think he’s looking at me because likes me, but you don’t see the contempt in his eyes.”
April frowned.
“It’s Ok.” Jo grinned and chuckled softly. “I don’t like him either. He’s a pompous arse.”
“Jo,” April said, disapprovingly.
Jo hunched her shoulders. “Well, that’s what I think. Call the spade a spade. Besides, I said ‘arse’. That makes it Ok, right?” She made a puckered little grin with her lips.
“You’re beginning to sound like Red,” Dove teased.
“Ahh! You guys better go before I upchuck my lunch.”
April and Dove giggled and walked towards the bushes.
“April,” Jo called to her.
April stopped and turned.
“You must have talked about me a little.”
“Why?”
“Well,” Jo cocked her head and put her hands on her hips, “he knew about the water. Thanks.”
April’s brow wrinkled. She shook her head. “I never mentioned it, Jo. Honestly. He didn’t hear it from me.”
Jo dropped her arms and chewed softly on the inside of her bottom lip. “Hmm.”
Chapter 13