“This looks good, Emily,” said Spencer. “I’ve always wanted to do this one.”
“This will be much better for Mom. She doesn’t need to go on a seven-hour hike.”
Anne rolled her eyes at Gherring, but he nodded. “I agree. I don’t want her to do anything so strenuous. So we’re all in agreement? And as for supplies, we won’t need so many since we’re doing this hike. We’ll never be more than an hour from the car, and there will be plenty of people on this trail if we have an unforeseen problem.”
“Let’s go.” Emily led the way out the door.
Spencer hung back. “Thanks, Mr. Gherring. You’re really good with women.”
“Sometimes I get lucky. I’ve screwed up plenty of times.”
“That’s the truth,” agreed Anne.
Emily paced outside the apartment building as she waited for the others to emerge. She realized she hadn’t thought this whole thing through. She’d suggested they go on this alternative hike, but that meant they wouldn’t be going over in a group. With only the four of them, would it be like a double date? And she was still worried about her mom’s health. Steven had readily agreed her mother shouldn’t strain herself. Yet she’d done extensive research on ulcers and found no evidence physical exertion was harmful. Maybe he was simply being overprotective, but she still thought they might be hiding something.
Spencer came out with his phone to his ear. “Hi, Becca. Yeah, I know I said I was coming on the hike. But I’m with some friends who weren’t prepared for a seven-hour hike. Yeah. Yeah, we decided to do Silverman Lake Loop instead. Uhmm, I don’t know. Who’s ‘we’? Just you and Candace? Remind me—who’s Candace? Oh yeah, I remember. Well, I guess you guys could come with us, but I don’t know if there’s room in the car for two more.”
“Hey Spencer, my car will hold six if we get cozy.” Steven pointed to a shiny black SUV, parked and waiting on the street.
“Uhmm, okay. There’s enough room. I guess you could come. But I heard you were one of the ones who pushed for the long hike. Oh... Oh... Well, sure. I guess we can pick you up on the way. We’re leaving right now. Fine. See you in a few.”
“So, it looks like we’re taking Becca and Candace along. I hope you really don’t mind,” he said to Steven and Anne, with a sidelong glance at Emily.
“Of course we don’t mind. Why should we mind? We were planning to go with a huge group before.” Her mom climbed into the car.
“Well… I think they heard I was bringing Mr. Gherring, and maybe that’s why they decided to leave the big group and go with us. They might be weird around you. You know what I mean?”
“I really don’t think it’ll be a problem. The star status wears off pretty quickly in these situations.” Steven leaned inside to fasten Anne’s seatbelt, kissing her cheek.
“I’m gonna make sure your shirt stays on around those girls. And you’ll have to keep your eyes on the trail.” Anne poked his arm with her finger to emphasize her words.
He lifted her hand and pressed his lips to her fingers. “I only have eyes for you.”
“Get a room,” Emily teased. “So who’s going with us now?”
“Becca and Candace are two of the girls from the hiking club.”
Two extra people would prevent their outing from becoming a date. So why did this information annoy her?
Emily tried to like the two girls who joined them in the car. She tried for about two minutes before she gave up. She sat in the middle of the back seat next to Spencer. Becca sat beside her, but barely paid her any attention. Instead she leaned forward and across Emily’s legs while talking to Spencer. She seemed to feel the need to reach over and touch his leg with every sentence. And she spoke a lot of sentences. Leaning over also provided a startling view of her generous cleavage. For his part, Spencer did a remarkable job of not staring at the displayed goods. Maybe they bored him, since he was such a player—he’d probably seen plenty in the past. Emily glanced down at her own meager endowment. She certainly didn’t have anything that could compete, not that she wanted to compete in that way. Since she and Spencer were only friends, there was no reason to worry about whether he was attracted to her assets. Right? And he’d insisted he wasn’t interested in dating anyone right now. But evidently Becca hadn’t heard that… she was certainly sending an open invitation.
She might have liked Candace better since her shirt wasn’t so revealing. But she was so ridiculously perfect she looked like a model headed to a fashion shoot. Her long blond highlighted hair was pulled back in a fancy French braid. Her face was flawless under meticulous make-up. Her skin was tanned and smooth. Emily felt her white skin glowed in comparison, and as usual, she wore no makeup at all. In contrast, Candace looked chic and sophisticated. She was even more annoyed Candace was friendly and outgoing. She chatted easily with her mom and Steven when she wasn’t giving her attention to Spencer in the back seat. Both girls managed to completely ignore her existence—at least, that was how it felt to Emily.
Arriving at the trailhead parking lot, Emily’s cell vibrated.
“Hey, Charlie.” Emily moved away from the group to speak more privately.
“Hey, Sister. Are you hiking yet?”
“We’re fixin’ to start.”
“I’m sooooo jealous you and Mom are having fun without me. I wish I could be hiking with y’all instead of leading this group of thirteen and fourteen-year-olds on this rafting trip.”
“Well, I wish I was there with you.”
“What’s wrong, Sister?”
“We’d decided to
