“It really is. Is this your first time being up here?” I ask.

“No, we came up when I was doing the retreat.”

Oh right, she was in the first group. I always seem to forget that.

“Did you camp like we are?”

She shakes her head. “Nope, we had tents. I did pass out with my pants down because I saw a snake though.”

I laugh. “No way.”

“Yep, no wonder Rhett picked me.”

I grin. “I think it was probably more than that.”

She smiles. “You and Enzo seem to be cozy. Everyone knows about your little trip on the kayak. Linda has a big mouth.”

I roll my eyes. “Someone needs to take her out on the kayak and give that attitude a good adjustment.”

Lei chuckles. “You’re right about that. So ... is there something going on there?”

I shrug. “We’re having a bit of fun, I guess. It can’t be any more than that.”

“Are you sure he sees it like that? He spent the whole night at the hospital with you ...”

“Yeah, he did, but mostly I think that was for insurance reasons. Didn’t want to leave a customer alone in case something happened.”

Lei gives me a side eye. “Trust me, it wasn’t that.”

She’s probably right. My face was so unattractive there is no way someone would have been there unless they wanted to be —I would have given them nightmares. My face still isn’t quite right, but thankfully I woke up the day after I was in hospital and it had gone right down. I still have some swelling around my eyes, and my face is itchy, but it’s mostly okay.

“Well, he has promised me a good time up here.”

Lei’s eyes widen. “Oh, girl, you need to take that.”

I laugh. “Trust me, I will be. I’m not shy when it comes to knowing what I want.”

She wiggles her brows. “I can’t wait to hear how it goes for you.”

We talk for another half an hour so and then we take our fish back to the camp where the fire is raging and Rhett is instructing some of the girls how to cook their fish. The faces coming from that conversation are noteworthy. They’re all mostly horrified. I can’t say I’m not, but I’m not going to show it. Luckily, I love fish.

“Want to go for a walk?” Enzo asks, approaching me when I put our fish down in the pile they’re currently preparing.

I turn and glance at him. “A walk?”

He nods.

“Sure.”

I wash my hands in the stream and then Enzo and I start walking away from the camp. The farther we get, the more beautiful it becomes. It’s such a peaceful part of the world and up here, it’s as if nothing could ever touch you. Like you’re away from all the horrors of the world. I breathe in the fresh air, tipping my head back every now and then to breathe it in.

“Look,” Enzo says, pointing.

I stop and see a group of deer drinking from the stream, their faces ducked in the water. There is a little baby one bouncing around by its mother, and my heart immediately swells. “Oh,” I say happily. “Oh wow.”

“Good eating, those deer,” Enzo murmurs.

I shove him. “Do not even. Look at them, they’re so happy. Why would you ever want to take that away from them?”

“If you were starving, you’d reconsider.”

“Well, lucky for us we aren’t.”

We watch the deer for a few more minutes before continuing our walk. For a little while we just walk in silence and it’s weirdly comforting. Eventually, Enzo speaks. “Tell me something about yourself, that you don’t tell many people.”

“I’m an asshole.”

He chuckles. “Already knew that. No seriously.”

I inhale, and then murmur, “My sister died when I was younger. It was the most horrific day of my life, and I spent a lot of years in therapy because of it.”

He stops walking, turning towards me. “I’m sorry, June.”

I give him a weak smile.

“What was her name?”

“Aspen,” I say, remembering my sister’s face as if she was here just yesterday. I think about her all the time, but the memories don’t haunt me the way that they used to, I guess years do that to you, or therapy. Now, I can think of her and smile, instead of scream remembering what I saw that day.

“That’s a pretty name. Were you close?”

I nod. “Yeah, she was a pain in my ass, but god, she made me laugh. She was too young to die in the way she did, and I lived with a lot of guilt for so many years because of it.”

“What happened?” he asks. “But if you’re not comfortable, you don’t have to say another word.”

I respect that.

But I don’t mind telling him.

“We were in the kitchen and she was taunting me. She used to sing that Dune Buggy song, but she’d change it to June Buggy, and I was telling her to stop and she was dancing around singing it. She just went about her business, as she always does, and she skipped outside, happily singing. She didn’t see the drunk driver coming down the street, of course she didn’t, she was just a kid. He swerved, and he hit her. She was killed instantly.”

Tags: Bella Jewel Walker Hills Romance
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