Page 43 of Reckless

“Teenage girls not getting to hang out with their friends,” he chuckles. “Bet that was fun.”

“They spread it out. We didn’t disappear for the full break. But when we went away, we always came to places like this. Mostly in the US.”

“You ever go overseas?”

“Yeah, sometimes. Dad is from Hungary, so we’ve been there a few times, and some places in Europe. He loves the States, and it's his dream to have explored all of them.”

“Has he done it yet?”

“He’s on forty-two so far. They have a vacation booked to Alaska in a few months.”

“That’s crazy. But cool.” He looks off into the distance and drinks down half of a bottle of water. “I went to Hungary once, a tour stop in Budapest. From what I saw, it was an impressive place. Amazing architecture.”

He sounds melancholic. He’s already said he’s traveled to tons of places, but never really seen them.

“Yeah, Budapest is a great city. Dad is from a city called Pécs. It’s near to the Croatian border. We’ve only been twice to visit some of his distant relatives. He’s lived in the US since he was thirteen, so he thinks of this as his home. He doesn’t even have an accent.”

“What about you? How many states have you done?”

“I’m not sure. In the high twenties? What about you?”

“Most of them. Alaska is one we haven’t done.” He stands up and steps carefully down over some rocks. “Until last week, I hadn’t been to Montana.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Not sure what’s up with that. We should add it on the next tour.”

This is the first time he’s talked about his work with the band in a while. Thinking about where they’re going on tour is a big thing.

“I envy you,” he says after a moment of silence.

“You envy me?” I ask in surprise.

“Yeah, you had a great childhood. Few people would do what you do. Your parents instilled that need in you to not stand still. Mine always encouraged me to follow my dreams. They support the music career too, but mom doesn’t understand the lifestyle. She gets pissed off a lot when she reads some of the news stories.”

“That’s gotta be embarrassing.” I cringe at him.

“Most of it's exaggerated, but yeah.” He ducks his head and runs a hand through his hair. We haven’t replaced the hat. “There have been some things you never want your mom to hear about.”

“I can imagine.”

“Can you?” he cocks his head. He’s about to say something else when he glances over my shoulder and his eyes go wide. “Krista. Look.”

Jude steps over and grabs my hand, then turns me by putting his hands on my shoulders. His body is pressed right up behind me. He moved so fast I can barely think about what he’s doing, before he’s pointing over my shoulder. I follow his finger to a pair of bison a few hundred feet away, where there is more of a level field area. They’re grazing, paying no attention to us or each other.

“Oh shit,” I whisper.

Jude puts his hand back on my shoulder and squeezes lightly. “Have you ever seen anything like this?”

I shake my head.

“They’re fucking huge,” Jude remarks.

One of his hands drops to my waist. It feels like his skin is scorching against me, right through the fabric of my shirt. I’m not sure if he’s going for more innuendo given his body is close behind mine, but there is awe in his tone.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t want to draw their attention.”

“Will they attack?” he asks.

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