Page 36 of Issued

My stomach twists. If only I’d known how much my life would change since then.

My phone vibrates, and I pull it from the pocket of my cargo pants. Jim’s name flashes across the screen, and my heart skips a beat as I slow my pace. This isn’t the time or the place to talk about last night, nor do I want him finding out about where I am. I’ve had enough of people making judgements about my participation in search and rescue. Hell, Jim would probably make fun of me just like my stepmother used to, especially considering what he does for a living. My finger hovers over the red ‘ignore’ button.

“You alright back there, Taya?”

I look up to Inara who is about one hundred meters ahead of me. The closer we get to the summit, the more protective she seems to be. It’s a relief to know she’ll be reliable on a callout, but right now, all I want is for her to go away.

She turns to face me and puts her hands on her hips, breathing heavily. “Hurry up, I want to ask you about Jim. You’re avoiding it.”

Hell yeah, I’m avoiding it. I’d rather talk to Jim than talk about him to Inara.

I lift my phone, waving it in a universal sign as the phone rings. “I’m going to hang back a bit and take this call.”

She nods with annoyance and continues on, giving me some much-needed space and privacy, but slow enough to maintain visual contact.

I bite the bullet and tap the green button. “Hello?” I don’t hear anything. Maybe he butt-dialed me. “Jim? You there?”

“Yeah, sorry. I, um, I don’t mean to interrupt, but I can’t find a USB drive I need.” He sounds irritated, and I can just imagine him ripping his hair out that his thumb drive wasn’t in the exact place he had left it.

I smile, even though he can’t see it. “It’s okay. Where’d you leave it?”

“I thought it was in my bag. I need it to finish a report. Wanted to call and check if you’d seen it, before I took a trip home to look.” There’s shuffling on the line as if he’s lifting every piece of paper known to man to search under them.

“Will you stop making so much noise?”

The rustling stills, and Jim sighs.

Inara looks back at me before she turns left behind a tree. She waves at me, and I wave back with a groan.

“What’s wrong, Taya?” His tone is concerned. “What got you so scared at the party?”

Crap.

Think Taya, think.

I shake my head, hoping to jar some explanation, aka, a lie, which might be hiding in my brain. “I just... it was what Captain Redding said. I’d forgotten about you being forced into the program. And I’ve been trying to make this marriage work. Kind of reminded me it’s only temporary.”

Not exactly a lie, but fuck, I kinda hit below the belt with that one.

The line is silent for a minute. A very long minute. When Jim continues not to speak, I do. “I’m sorry you can’t find your thumb drive. I didn’t see anything when I grabbed my keys.”

Jim’s breath comes in heavy. “I—hope I didn’t do anything to make you leave.”

“Can we talk about it later?”

“Sure. I just... it’s your home, too, and I wanted to make sure you knew I’d never do anything to chase you out.”

Your home.He had definitely just said that. Do I say thank you? Did he really mean to say that? I want to speak, but the words won’t come out.

“See you when you get home.”

Home.He did it again.

“See you soon.” I disconnect the call and tuck my phone back into my pocket. I brush some burs from my pants and hitch my pack higher on my shoulder before hurrying to catch up to the group.

Near the summit, everyone mills around the team leader, Patrick. When I reach the group, Inara slings a companionable arm across my shoulders. “We’re working in pairs today. So, what do you say, partner? Ready to take our relationship to the next level?”

I flutter my lashes and lower my voice to match her whispers. “I thought you’d never ask.”

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