Page 111 of Heart So Hollow

“Obviously, me either. My only experience with hunting was this one time I was shot with a paintball gun,” I mock, which makes him nearly spit out his water.

I glance back at Valerie, her discomfort showing for a split second before she quickly conceals it with a smile.

I turn to him and reach for his glass of water, “How long will you be gone?”

“Probably four days, like last time,” he shrugs, “I’ll work a half day tomorrow and we’ll get out there mid-afternoon.” Then he grabs the hem of his shirt and tugs it loose from his waistband, “I’m going to go change. Are you OK with T-bones for dinner? You’re not going to puke if you smell grilled meat or some shit, right?”

“No,” I sigh, pressing my lips together, “I’m not going to puke if I smell grilled meat or some shit.”

“Hey,” he turns over his shoulder to Valerie as he heads across the living room, “it was nice meeting you. And thanks again for helping Brett out with the car situation.”

“No problem!” she waves after him, “Nice meeting you too!”

I slowly lean over her shoulder as she watches him go. “Don’t let his eyes fool you,” I whisper in her ear, making her startle.

“W-what?” she turns to me, eyes wide.

I nod in his direction, “I saw the way you looked at them. Everyone does.”

Valerie quickly shakes her head, “Oh, no…I wasn’t…” she stammers, her cheeks already flushed with embarrassment.

“Don’t sweat it,” I intone, “I was tricked by them at first, too.” I rest my elbows on the granite and lean in, lowering my voice, “If he looks at you hard enough, he’ll find out all your secrets.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Brett

One Year Ago

“You’re gonna get stuck!” Jay shouts through the trees.

Hildy either doesn’t hear him or chooses to ignore him as she breaks away from the other two quads. I cling to her waist as she rumbles down the hill through the brush, praying she doesn’t hit another bump and toss me off into the ravine.

“That’s why you have a winch!” she yells as she heads straight for the creek.

I’ve never been on a four-wheeler in my life, and for some reason, Hildy decided that today she needed to change that. I’m having a blast, but I’ve noticed something about Hildy. She’s a pillar of safety in any other situation, but when she gets out in the woods with just the four of us, she catches a wild hair and there’s no telling what she’ll do. Headlines start flashing through my mind about quad accidents, head injuries, and having to be air lifted out of the woods.

I glance over my shoulder at the other two quads buzzing along the top of the ravine. Bowen is leading Jay and watches us over his shoulder until they disappear from view. I suck in a breath when I see how fast the current is as we approach the bank.

It rained for three days straight and the water level is much higher than the last time I was out here with them. Instead of clear and nearly stagnant, the creek is a muddy rush carrying broken branches downstream. I can’t even see the usual flat rocks that create a convenient path over the water. But none of this seems to concern Hildy. If anything, it makes her gun the engine harder and take aim.

Frankly, I just don’t want to die. Especially during Jay’s birthday celebration.

Hildy hits the bank, spraying muddy water onto our legs as she plows over the rocks into the water. She maneuvers over the hidden terrain, the water steadily rising until it covers the wheels and reaches our knees. I shriek as the cold water shocks my skin and starts soaking into the hem of my shorts. Suddenly, the quad lurches and one tire drops, lodging us at a crooked angle. Hildy screams as a splash of water hits us and I think we’re about to go over. But we don’t.

Instead, we’re stuck—like Jay warned—in the middle of the creek. Hildy revs the engine and rocks the quad back and forth, trying to dislodge us from whatever lies beneath. But it’s no use, she throws her head back and lets out an obscenity-laden groan. She knows what’s coming once Jay and Bowen arrive on the other side of the creek, and I surmise she’d rather stay stuck in the rushing water than hear about how he warned her not to drive through it. But I’m more worried about the current that’s much stronger than anyone realized.

“Can you swim?” Hildy glances over her shoulder at me.

“Shouldn’t you have asked me that before you ran us into the middle of the creek?” I laugh.

Hildy rolls her eyes with a crooked smile, “Oops.”

The water runs up over the edge of the seat, soaking us from the waist down. At least it’s not strong enough to knock us off the quad entirely.

“Shit,” Hildy mutters when she catches sight of Jay and Bowen rolling down the hill in front of us.

When they come to a halt at the edge of the water, Jay lets out a whoop of laughter. Bowen pulls up behind him, grinning from ear to ear.

---