Page 14 of Pictures in Blue
Where did she come from? Why is she looking at hiking boots? Does she hike? Or is this some touristy thing she’s going to try for the first time?
A chuckle pierces the air and brings my gaze to Sky who appeared next to me when I clearly wasn’t paying attention.Shit.By the look of her smirk, she caught me staring.
“Yah know,” she whispers. “You know the trailsreallywell around here.”
“No.”
That fucking word again.
“Don’t even think about it,” I warn her.
“Oh, I won’t,” she says slyly. No longer a scared fox hiding in its hole, but a clever one, a predator hunting down its prey. “Butyouwill.”
Without another word, she makes her way around the racks with a pair of hiking boots in her hands. She goes to Avery’s side who is pretending to look over the boots like she didn’t overhear our entire conversation. As the silence stretches, Avery looks up and meets my eye.
I catch a glimpse of blue before she quickly looks away, fiddling with the camera strap slung over her shoulder, twisting the fabric in between her fingers.
When Sky reaches Avery, I turn around and leave the store, bells jingling above me. I’ll try again next week.
Maybe she will listen next time,I tell myself even though I know it’s a lie.
CHAPTER FIVE
AVERY
Hudson’s heavy footsteps retreat to the door while I keep my eyes firmly on the camera in my hands. His and Sky’s conversation hangs in the air around us, like fog on a fall morning. Wispy, eerie, a warning of things to come.
“Okay, here is a style I think could work for you,” Sky says, holding the boots she went to grab with two fingers at her side. “Doing some hiking while you’re here, Avery?”
Does everyone know who I am already? I didn’t tell her my name when I came in earlier.
“Sorry,” she backtracks after seeing the comprehension spread on my face... “You’ll learn quickly that Fran and Cordie are the best way to get news out around here. They live for this sort of stuff.”
“This sort of stuff?” I ask.
“You. New people. City people coming to a small mountain town to escape the busy, miserable sounds of yelling and honking.”
“Oh?”
“A mountain escape. A getaway to change your life. Right?”
“Am I that obvious?”
“Eh, not really. I just read people really well.” She raises her eyebrows like she’s waiting for me to confirm that I blew into town to climb into her supposed brother’s bed.
“Uh, n-no,” I stammer. “I came here for the quiet. Hiking, self-discovery, all that cliche stuff you find in romance novels.”
“Ah. You’re one of those. Got it,” she says with a wink that I decide to ignore.
“Hiking trails. What are the best ones around? And what are the best boots?”
“Well, like I said before, these aren’t going to be good for you right now,” she responds, pulling the boots I picked up out of my hands and replacing them with the ones she grabbed.
“It’s supposed to rain a lot this week and these aren’t the greatest when it comes to traction.” She sets them on the shelf with a softclunk.“They are the cheapest though, so if you’re looking at it that way, then theyareyour best bet. But,” she pauses to look through the shelves like she’s making sure everything is in its rightful place. “If you are looking for quality boots that’ll last a long time, those are what you want.” She waves a finger to the boots she brought over.
“They might be a bit uncomfortable for your first hike or two, so I’d recommend taking shorter hikes at first to break them in.”
I hold the tan shoes to inspect them. They look like the typical hiking boot with thick laces and an even thicker sole for more support. The box advertises the waterproof and breathable material they are made out of, and there’s not much more I could ask for. “I’ll take them.”
