Page 86 of Vacation Friends

The two of them hadn’t had much time to talk one-on-one.

“It seems like this retreat might be the test of a lot of our relationships, huh?” Adrienne continued.

“Does that mean things aren’t any better between you and Brody?” Maddie had noticed that the two of them hadn’t been affectionate today. But they never were. Not really.

In fact, Adrienne and Brody really acted more like friends than lovers. The couple of times Adrienne had touched Brody, he’d almost seemed to flinch.

The reaction seemed strange. But it wasn’t any of Maddie’s business, she reminded herself.

She glanced up at the rocks and saw Josh descending them, heading back toward the group.

Her stomach clenched at the sight of him. The two of them needed to have a serious talk tonight. This time, Josh wasn’t going to change her mind.

“Okay, everybody!” Nighty clapped his hands as he stood on a boulder near the trail. “It’s time to start back. Do we have everyone in our group?”

He began counting.

“Fowler’s still not back!” Bree called from a few rocks away where she pulled on her shorts.

Maddie glanced up the side of the hill, toward the boulders where Fowler had disappeared five minutes ago. “Josh, did you see where he went?”

“No, I lost sight of him at the top.” He shook his head as he scanned the ridge. “Figured we both wanted privacy.”

“I’ll go check on him,” Brody offered before climbing the slick boulders and appearing as if he did this type of thing every day.

Maddie, on the other hand, had to watch her every step for fear of twisting her ankle. She’d never been much of an athlete, and this hike was proving that.

Brody, however, was one of those naturally agile types who made everything look easy.

They waited for Brody to return with Fowler. But a few seconds later, Brody popped out from behind a rock at the top of the incline.

Alone.

He cupped his hands over his mouth as he shouted to be heard over the waterfall. “I don’t know where he went.”

Bree’s face went pale. “What do you mean?”

“He’s not behind these boulders and trees. I even climbed a little higher to see if he’d found a more suitable place to do his business. He wasn’t there either.”

“That’s weird.” Bree squinted with confusion. “Where could he have gone?”

Maddie glanced at Nighty and saw his face tighten. Their guide clearly didn’t like this update, and Maddie could see why. He was in charge of getting this whole group to and from their destinations safely.

“These mountains aren’t anything to be messed with.” Nighty sounded even more serious than earlier. “That’s why I always tell people to stay on the trail.”

No, he definitely didn’t sound happy.

Brody climbed back down to the group, and after everyone started calling Fowler’s name with no response, things got serious.

“Everybody stay here.” Nighty sounded stern as he glanced at each of them. “I’m going to see if I can find him. Nobody else gets lost. Got it?”

They all murmured their acknowledgement.

Maddie exchanged a look with Adrienne and then Bree and then Brody.

They were all on the same wavelength.

Fowler didn’t seem the type who’d simply go off on his own and not respond to their calls.

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