I parked my Jeep in the gravel lot and followed the trail toward the line of yurts that were set up against an old wooden fence overlooking a large ranch. It was already dark out, but beyond the open field, I could just make out the stacked skylines of the mountain. The stars shone brighter than anything I’d ever seen in my life.
“You looking for your friends?”
I jumped and whipped my head toward the deep voice. He was just a shadow, sitting there in his black jacket, until he stepped into the dim lighting from a nearby lamppost. Silver glittered in his long dark hair, and age lines ran across his forehead. He wasn’t tall, by any means, but his build made up for it. He smiled when he caught a look at my startled expression.
“Name’s Jason Lachey. You’re in my camp.”
I hadn’t even realized how much tension had been building in me until it all came out in a whoosh I hoped he didn’t hear. “Oh, I’m Camila. My friends and I are taking a guided hike.”
“Well, I appreciate your business.” He pointed at the skyline I’d just been staring at. “You’ve got the best view in all of Colorado this week. I hope you enjoy it.”
I smiled back at him. “I’m sure I will.”
Jason nodded in the direction I’d started walking. “Camp’s down that way. Your friends are at the fire.”
Eager to find them, I slung my backpack around my shoulders and gave a final wave. “Great. Thank you.” I made my way to the tent site. About halfway down the row, I spotted the yurt I would be sharing with Josie for the night. She had gotten there earlier in the afternoon with Trip and Raven, since I’d been tied up at the vineyard all day. The cloth doors were tied open, and it looked like my best friend had already made herself right at home.
Josie’s backpack was lying on the side of the bed she’d already claimed, and a bottle of stolen Bell Family Vineyard vintage red wine sat open at her bedside with a note for me to pour myself a glass and stay awhile. I laughed and tossed my backpack onto my bed, and then did as she asked.
The crackle of the fire and my friends’ laughter made finding them easy.
“Finally!” Trip’s voice boomed from across the campfire as I approached. “The straggler has arrived.”
Laughing, I curtsied while sneaking my middle finger up, a gesture directed at the bane of my existence. My peers chuckled at my boldness, and even from a distance, I could see the broad smile that had popped onto his face.
Trip had graduated from Telluride High School the previous year, but he never stopped being an overprotective older brother to Raven when he was home from Columbia University. I still saw him every now and then when he stopped by to help Papa and Thomas distribute wine to all the restaurants, grocery stores, and resorts around town.
I plopped onto a log as I greeted my friends and hugged Josie. My insides danced at the thought of the days to come—campfires, camping in the woods, and a challenging hike through the melting white and green mountains. Hiking and camping in the wilderness were things I’d been craving for as long as Ridge had made the suggestion, which was before he had vanished without a trace, running a tractor over my already-shattered heart.
The spring break trip was meant to be a rite of passage for my friends and me—a shared adventure we would remember forever—and I couldn’t wait for it to begin.
“It’s like a reunion.” Trip’s deep voice forced my eyes onto his. A translucent flame from the fire waved between us. I didn’t miss the significance. Fire had always danced between us and not in a good way. I’d seen Trip’s future long before he knew what was happening. His father always brought him by the vineyard, even before he’d gone off to college, and taught him the ropes, molding him into the future of everything Thomas Bradshaw had grown to be at Bell Family Vineyard. So far, his plan was panning out just right.
I laughed. “A reunion? For whom? I just saw everyone else on Friday. You’re the one that can’t stay away from high schoolers.”
Trip glared at me. His red cup was filled to the brim with what I assumed was beer. “That’s not what I’m talking about.”
Something in Trip’s tone chilled me to my core. Then he nodded in the direction of the fire. A man in a dark-blue hoodie and black jeans had just poked a long stick into the flames. I could only see the man’s build, thanks to the silhouette created by the fire, but it was enough to make my heart squeeze tight.
At the same moment I realized who the man was, he turned his head slowly and locked his gaze directly on me. My entire body, inside and out, froze. The fire blazing between us was of no help. I was shocked to the root. Hard and cold on the outside but a pile of messed-up emotions on the inside, I didn’t know how to thaw a single ligament in order to save myself.
19
Camila
Ridge Cross had left Telluride a year and a half ago, without even saying goodbye. It had taken weeks for me to realize that the whispered rumors through the school halls were true. I didn’t want to believe them. Harold Cross’s boy was gone, leaving the mean old farmer alone once again.
I had given up hope that he would come home and had stopped trying to search for him in all the places I knew he wasn’t. He’d broken every important piece of me that had existed before him, and I swore I would never forgive him for it.
My eyes flicked over the man standing in front of the fire, and I wondered if he was just a mirage. I didn’t know whether I was happy or mad about seeing him again. The dull knocking on the hollow shell of my ribcage could mean either.
He wore a badge on his jacket with Camp Lachey’s branding, which confirmed several important facts. He had moved away and gotten a new job. But he hadn’t gone far.
Ouray was nearly an hour from Telluride, only a quick winding drive around the mountains. He could have easily come home to say hello or said goodbye in the first place. Instead, he remained gone, apparently with zero intention of seeing me again.
My chest felt heavier with each compounding thought. I’d never allowed myself to feel upset because I’d refused to believe that Ridge had chosen to leave after how that night ended. But as I looked at him, the truth was a slap in the face. Clearly, he’d chose his fate and shunned me in the process.
“What are you doing here?” My tone was meant to be uncaring, but the moment the harsh words touched the crisp air, I wanted to take them back. I missed my friend—my comfort and my shelter—but anger was all I could express.
Everyone around us besides Josie wouldn’t bat an eyelash at my tone. My peers would assume that my feelings for Ridge mirrored Papa’s and that I had forgotten him as soon as he’d left town. But I hadn’t forgotten. I wouldn’t. And I was slightly colder for it.
Ridge didn’t respond. Instead, he turned back to the flames and poked at it with the stick. That was it. Not even a hello. After all the time we had spent together, sneaking around and hiking up to our personal heaven, he had nothing to say to me. My heart, which he’d already stomped on and left buried in the cornfields that fall evening, felt like it was finally breaking.
Josie nudged my side to get my attention. “Ridge will be our hiking guide.” She stared wide-eyed at me and seemed just as surprised as I had been. “I tried to warn you,” she whispered. “But your phone was off.”