Total pages in book: 196
Estimated words: 186555 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 933(@200wpm)___ 746(@250wpm)___ 622(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 186555 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 933(@200wpm)___ 746(@250wpm)___ 622(@300wpm)
“Hey,” I greeted, leaning my head back against the headrest and sensing the unease pool in my stomach again.
“Aurora,” Clara answered. “Where are you?”
“I’m at the trailhead,” I confirmed, eyeing the very blue skies. “Where you at?”
She cursed.
“What happened?”
“I’ve been trying to call you, but it wasn’t going through. My car won’t start. I called my brother, but he’s still not here yet.” She cursed again. “You know what? Let me call the tow truck service and—”
I didn’t want her to spend money on a tow truck service. She’d been stressing enough about money when she thought I wasn’t looking or paying attention, but at-home care for her dad ate up a massive chunk of the store’s earnings.
Plus, we both also knew this was my last chance to do this hike this year, more than likely. October was knocking on the door. The drought had kept the summer warm and the start of fall warmer than normal, but Mother Nature was getting bored. The temperatures were going to start dropping soon and snow was going to start being a real thing in higher elevations. If I didn’t do it now, it’d be eight months before I could even think about doing this again. Maybe next week would still be fine, but it was a hard maybe.
“No, don’t do that,” I told her, trying to figure out what to say. “Wait for your brother. The drive here was rough anyway.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, the washboard”—that was crazy horizontal ruts that resembled a washboard on the road—“is unreal.” I paused and tried to think; it would easily be three hours before she got here, if she was even able to. By that point, it’d be late morning and we’d be cutting it too close to dark. And that damn drive back….
I wasn’t scared to do the hike alone. I worried more about other people than I did encountering animals. Plus, I was more prepared this time. I could handle it.
“I’m sorry. Damn it. I can’t believe this happened.”
“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. I hope your brother gets there soon and it’s not anything serious.”
“Me too.” She paused and said something away from the phone before coming back. “I’ll do it with you next week.”
I knew what I was going to do. I had to. This was why I’d come.
I had to do it for Mom. And for me. To know I could.
It was just a hike—a hard one, sure, but plenty of people did difficult ones. I wasn’t camping. And there were two cars parked here.
“It’s okay. I know you were just going to do it to keep me company, and I’m already here.”
I heard the caution in her tone. “Aurora—”
“The weather is good. The drive was shit. I’m early enough to knock this out in about seven hours. There are two cars here. I’m in peak condition to get this shit done. I might as well get it over with, Clara. I’ll be okay.”
“It’s a difficult hike.”
“And you told me that you have a friend that runs it by himself,” I reminded her. “I’ll be fine. I’ll be out of here while I still have hours of sunshine left. I got this.”
There was a pause. “Are you sure? I’m sorry. I feel bad I’m always bailing on you.”
“Don’t feel bad. It’s okay. You’ve got a life and so many responsibilities, Clara. I get it, I swear. And I’ve done other ones by myself. Start doing some jumping jacks or something so we can do an eleven-mile one-way hike next year.”
“Eleven miles one way?” She made a sound that sounded almost like a laugh but mostly like she thought I was fucking nuts.
“Yeah, suck it up. I can do this. You know where I’m at; I’ll be fine. I’m not doing what my mom did and doing a different hike without telling anyone. I’ll leave my phone on; the battery is fully charged. I’ve got my whistle and my pepper spray. I’m good.”
Clara made another hesitating sound. “You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
She sighed deeply, still hesitating.
“Don’t feel bad. But also don’t laugh at me if I can’t walk tomorrow, deal?”
“I wouldn’t laugh at you….”
I knew she wouldn’t. “I’ll text you if I get service and when I’m done, all right?”
“Will you tell Rhodes too?”
That made me smile. “He already knows.”
“All right then. I’m sorry, Aurora. I promise I didn’t know this was going to happen.”
“Stop apologizing. It’s okay.”
She groaned. “Okay. I’m sorry. I feel like a piece of shit.”
I paused. “You should.” We both laughed. “I’m kidding! Let me call him real quick and then get started.”
She wished me good luck, and we hung up right after that. I waited a second and then called Rhodes. It rang and rang, and after a moment, his voice mail picked up.
I left him a quick message. “Hi. I’m at the trailhead. Clara’s having car trouble and won’t be able to make it for at least another three hours, so I’m going to do the hike alone after all. There are two cars parked in the lot. Their license plates are…” I peeked at them and rolled off the letters and numbers. “The skies are bright blue. The road was really sketchy, but I got it done. I’m going to do this as fast as I can but still try and pace myself because I know the way out might kill me. I’ll see you later. Have a good day at work and good luck with those poaching assholes. Bye!”