Chris nodded. "Do you like it here?"

"Very much. I jog Elk Meadow every morning. I've been to Ridge Trail and now Lake Trail," she said. "It's been very relaxing."

On impulse and quite without thinking, Chris heard herself speak.

"I'm off tomorrow and Monday. I was thinking of hiking into the backcountry and camping out. I would love company."

Jessie put her elbows on the table and cradled her chin.

"That sounds like fun. Are you sure you're up to babysitting a city girl out there?"

"I may be wrong, but you hardly look like a city girl. I've seen you out there, remember. Fly fishing?"

Jessie shrugged. "Anyone can take lessons." Then she leaned closer. "Maybe I was trying to impress you."

"And you certainly did." As their eyes held, Chris felt herself drifting into dangerous territory. If it were a game of seduction they were about to play, Chris would most definitely lose. Even now, she felt herself sinking deeper into the dark depths of Jessie's eyes.

It was with difficulty that she pulled away. One deep breath and a sip of wine later, Chris was able to again focus. "So, camping? You up fork?"

Jessie visibly relaxed, leaning back in her chair and twirling her wineglass slowly between her fingers. Chris relaxed, too and moved far enough away from the table to rest her ankle across one knee.

"I don't have a backpack or sleeping bag," Jessie said.

"I have a small pack you can borrow. And a sleeping bag, I'm sure I can round one up."

"In the morning? Early?"

"Well, not at the crack of dawn, but we should be on the trails by nine o'clock. The place I'm thinking of is about a six-hour hike. That'll give us time to set up camp and explore around a bit before dark."

Jessie smiled, excitement showing in her dark eyes. "Sounds like fun. Where should I meet you?"

"I'll pick you up and we'll go to the trailhead from here. I'll bring the food. Nothing fancy, though. Freeze-dried."


Chris left before ten, after they had finished the wine but before they opened another bottle. It had been a pleasant evening, Chris admitted. And the prospect of a camping trip excited her. She fished between the seats and found her cell phone, quickly punching out Bobby's number at the lodge.

"Are you asleep?"

"McKenna? No. What's wrong?"

Chris laughed. Bobby was always on duty. "Nothing. I need a favor," she said.

"Oh? Need me to cover for you tomorrow?"

"I'm off tomorrow," she said.

"I didn't think you took your days off, McKenna. Roger says you're there practically every day."

"Maybe I haven't had anything else to do before. Now, I need a sleeping bag."

"Now?"

"First thing in the morning."

"Why?"

"Why do you think? I sleep in."

"You have one."

Chris sighed. She should have called Matt. She would be off the phone by now. "Maybe I'm taking a friend with me," she offered.

"Really? Who?"

"Jesus Christ, Bobby! Can I borrow the goddamned sleeping bag or not?"

"Okay, okay. Come by in the morning."

"Thank you."

She tossed the phone back between the seats. She would be lost up here without Bobby, but sometimes he could be a pain in the ass.


Jessie opened another bottle of wine anyway. She pulled on a sweatshirt and sat out on the deck, her eyes going immediately to the sky. The owls were no longer calling and it was very quiet, not even a hint of a breeze to stir the trees. The days were still warm but as the calendar marched through September, the nights warned of the winter to come. Jessie was almost sorry she wouldn't be here. She could envision nights by the fire while the snow fell outside.

She glanced to the trees, wondering if Chris had made it home. Jessie liked her. Liked her a lot. For the first time in many many years, she actually felt like she was forming a friendship with someone and she wasn't exactly sure how to proceed. Chris wasn't someone to be played with, that was for sure. Unfortunately, Jessie had made a career out of playing with people's feelings. She was very good at it. But Chris... she was different. If Jessie were the spiritual type, she would think that there was a reason for Chris's presence in her life. She had never let anyone in before, but she had a sudden urge to cleanse herself by pouring out all the sordid details of her life. And not to someone who was paid to listen to her. What would it be like to talk to a friend? I tell a friend about past hurts? To share the joy of her childhood? And the devastation of her father's death?

But she sighed. Not exactly a great start on a friendship, using an alias. And Chris knew Roger Hamilton. Now that was a name from the past. Had he been here all these years? If anyone were to recognize her, it would be Mr. Hamilton. Now she would definitely avoid the ranger station. The last thing she wanted was a stroll down memory lane with Roger Hamilton.


Chapter Thirteen

It was nearly ten by the time they signed in at the trailhead. Picking up the sleeping bag had taken longer than expected. Bobby had been full of questions and not in the least bit concerned with the time. Then, on impulse, Chris had stopped at Ellen's to pick up a freeze-dried dinner for Jessie. The meatless ones she had at her cabin weren't exactly her favorites anyway, so Chris thought it would be rude to subject a meat eater to them.

They headed up the mountain, taking the South Rim Trail. Jessie had packed lightly and the one change of clothes, jacket, and few toiletries easily fit into the small pack Chris had brought for her. They were dressed identically in shorts and T-shirts, both of their sweatshirts having been shed shortly after making the first steep hill on the trail.

Jessie was in excellent shape and kept pace with Chris almost effortlessly. She occasionally asked Chris the names of certain trees and shrubs, but mostly they talked of other hiking trips they had been on. Jessie admitted that she had not been in the woods since high school.

Chris raised her eyebrows questioningly.

"I'm thirty-three," Jessie said with a grin. "You?"

"The same." Hadn't Annie told her Jessie's birthday was in the fall? "When's your birthday?"

Jessie's lips twitched, then she finally grinned. "Soon."

"Soon?" Chris nodded. "In other words, none of my business?"

Jessie shrugged. She couldn't remember the last time she had actually acknowledged her birthday. It was a time her father had always made special for her. There was never a birthday cake from her mother, but her father would somehow produce one, throwing an impromptu party at the ranger station, balloons and all. October 10. It never failed to come around, but she wished she could forget. She had such happy memories of her childhood. Why was she always so sad when she thought of them?

"Hey."

"Hmm?"

"Okay?" Chris asked.

Jessie shrugged again. "Just thinking."

Chris nodded but said nothing. It would do no good for her to bring anything up now. Instead, she hiked on, leaving Jessie alone with her thoughts. Annie would absolutely kill her if she ever found out Jessie was here and Chris had kept it from her.

At twelve-thirty, they were getting close to timberline and the rim of the mountain. The views had changed dramatically. No longer were the spruce and pines blocking the surrounding mountain range. Now the terrain turned rugged. Large outcroppings of rocks littered the mountainside and Chris chose a flat one to sit. Jessie laid her pack next to Chris's and stretched her back before sitting on an adjacent rock.

"Lunch?"

"I'm starving," Jessie said. She took a deep breath, finally letting her eyes settle on the view. "God," she whispered. "It's beautiful."

Chris smiled and nodded. "Sure is." Then she pointed to her right. "There's a trail off of the South Rim that goes up a little higher and hits the ridge of the next mountain. You can see Lake Tahoe from there."

Jessie nodded, remembering. Her father had taken her up there once. It was a difficult hike for her at the time, but the view had been worth it.

Chris watched a range of emotions cross Jessie's face but said nothing. She still had no idea why Jessie was back in Sierra City, but maybe this little camping trip would make her open up some.

After their light lunch of cheese, crackers, and an apple, they hiked another three miles before Chris left the trail and followed a stream down a canyon a short ways.

"As a backpacker, you're never supposed to get off the trail," Chris said with a grin.

"But you know a spot?"

"A little flat area beside the stream, just before it cascades over the mountain as a waterfall. Great views from there."

Jessie nodded. She knew the exact spot. Another little secret that her father had shared with her.

"How did you find it?" she finally asked.

Chris shrugged and stopped, balancing on a boulder in the middle of the stream.

"I like to hike along the streams, hop rocks, get my feet wet," she said and laughed as she nearly fell in. "I love the sound of water," she added. "I just found it by accident, really."

"Tell anyone?"

"Are you kidding? Just you."

"Good."

Their eyes locked for a moment, both breaking into slow smiles. Then Jessie  followed  Chris  along the rocks,  laughing  good-naturedly when she slipped and dunked one boot into the cold water up to her ankle.

They were silent as they followed the stream and before long, Chris loosened her pack and laid it away from the rocks in dry spruce needles. She motioned for Jessie to follow. They walked on, the roar of the falls making its presence known.