She whacked my chest with the back of her hand. “He’s cute,” she said defensively before sighing like someone in la-la land. “But Ryker is cuter and funny and strong and smart…”
I had to stop listening to her. My best friend was moving on. Noted. As beautiful as she was, with her strawberry-blond hair, electric-blue eyes, and outgoing nature, when she set her sights on a guy, it was a done deal. Josie didn’t have to play games or be played. She let a guy know when she liked him, and it was up to them to return the sentiment or not. By the way Ryker continued to sneak glances back at Josie, it seemed he was playing right into her hands.
“C’mon, let’s check out this lake,” she said. She grabbed my arm and carted me forward with a jump in her step, down the hill to where the blue water sat calmly, teasing us to jump in.
We took selfies and group pics to celebrate our first leg of our journey until we eventually went off in our own directions to set up tents and to scour our surroundings.
Josie picked our tent spot, which was conveniently placed near Ryker’s. After shoveling all my gear into the small space, I walked back out to the water to take it all in. Never had I seen water so blue or felt that kind of peace among nature. It was the best natural high I would ever experience, and it didn’t cost a penny.
“In all my time hiking around these parts, I don’t think any view has come close to the ones this lake brings.”
I hadn’t even heard Ridge approach. “Well,” I said, trying to find my voice. “You were always looking for your purpose. I guess you found it here.”
When I turned to look at him, his expression didn’t give me much. His eyes were set forward and his features were still hard all over, like nothing would break him. I’d always found Ridge something of a mystery, but I’d enjoyed unlocking layers of him as time went on. I fooled myself into thinking that he’d opened up to me and we’d become friends, and maybe we could one day be more. When he’d left, the reality of our time together hit hard, because I knew so much of what I felt came from fantasies of an alternate reality.
I paused, holding an internal debate on whether or not I should ask my real question. Then it just slipped out. “You could have gone anywhere. Why here? Why Ouray?”
I didn’t know what to expect in his response. Ridge was the master of speaking through his silence, so I almost imagined that would be his approach. I didn’t expect total and complete honesty.
“People don’t question who I am or why I’m here.”
His words struck a chord. Back in Telluride, all anyone had done when he first arrived was question his very existence. He was hated without being known, ignored while still being seen, and seen but not understood. No one even tried.
“Here, I’m not the farmer’s son or the Ute boy. My skin color isn’t questioned, and my history isn’t examined with a fine-tooth comb. I’m just me. And I get to live here. Blanketed by all this.” He waved his hand, gesturing to the sky.
I nodded, hating that it was so hard to hate him. He was too good, too pure, and too innocent. And the life he’d left behind hadn’t been fair to him. Still, I had bitterness in my heart at the fact that he’d left me behind.
“I’m happy here.”
His voice still managed to hit me like the softest breeze, enveloping me in its power and sinking deep into my pores to where I knew it would never leave me, even after it had faded away.
“Good.” Staring forward again, I nodded as I ran the bottom of my shoe along the pebbles. “Then I’m happy for you.” I hated how my heart cried out with my words. My chest felt heavy in a loss that felt as close to death as I’d ever felt. Why? Why has Ridge always had the power to hurt me in the deepest of ways without ever trying at all?
Maybe that week signified the end of all that and I could move on. I made a silent vow that I would do just that—move on and truly be happy for Ridge and for whatever the future held for him. I twisted my nose at a familiar scent wafting over from the campground. One glance behind me told me exactly where it was coming from. Four of the campers were passing a joint around a rock pit, with a fire growing between them.
“I thought we weren’t allowed to build fires out here.”
Ridge blew out a breath and shook his head. “We aren’t. Doesn’t mean everyone follows the rules.” He stretched his neck to get a better view of the boys. “Guess that’s my cue to do my job and be the bad guy.”
I laughed as he walked away. “You could never be the bad guy, Ridge. Not even if you tried.”
I’d thought I’d spoken quietly enough that he was already out of earshot, but when his body tensed for a millisecond too long, I knew he’d heard me. Then he kept walking.
The rest of the afternoon passed by slowly. Josie had dipped one toe into the lake and decided against her threat to skinny dip. Instead, we warmed ourselves by our propane stove, heated some quesadillas, and killed time asking Trip all about college, like what it was like to live in New York, how he liked his classes at Columbia, and whether he missed high school. His responses, though predictable, only made me ache for my own after-high-school adventure.
“What are you planning to do after graduation, Camila?”
I was so deep into dreaming about my future that I almost missed Trip’s question. When I looked up to answer, I noticed that we weren’t alone. Raven and Ridge were sharing a log not too far away, and Ridge was looking at me, waiting, like he cared to know about my future.
“I’m moving to California.” I shrugged and leaned back, propping my body up with my palms. “My getting a degree is important to Papa. My getting out of Telluride to do it is important to my mama. They’ve drilled it into me since I was little, and it just kind of stuck. But I’m excited to get out of town for a bit, scope out the Napa vineyards, and learn more about the business end of things.”
Raven narrowed her eyes at me. “Really? I would think all the schooling you need is right there in your backyard. Why leave?”
I took her question as a challenge, but I didn’t know why. Perhaps it was because her shoulder was brushing against Ridge’s. Or maybe it was because her father had always felt somewhat like a threat to my future at the farm. I didn’t want to tell her that while Thomas Bradshaw was a huge advocate of me going off to school, he was also one of my biggest motivations to get out of Telluride. Because I truly believed there was more to the life we’d all been living for so long.
My papa was old-fashioned, stuck in his ways, and stubborn as all hell, which worked for him, for his way of life, and for how he wanted to run things. But the fact that he wasn’t the face of his own business had always been troublesome to me. And he wouldn’t last long putting in all that labor.
When the keys to the palace got handed to me, I wanted to have a plan for a new future, one that could evolve with the times. Climate change, for instance, was something my papa dismissed almost as if it would all magically work out if we were greeted with an early winter or tested with the quickly intensifying heat. I wanted to bring back preventative solutions for anything that could threaten what I loved most in the world.
“My parents have always wanted me to have a good education first before I finally take over the vineyard.” A smile lifted my cheeks. “Besides, I’ll be in California. What’s not to love? Beaches, cute guys, movie stars. It sounds like a dream.” Excitement must have been lighting up my face. “It won’t hurt to get away for a bit and experience new cultures.”