by Karey White
“I’m staying here,” Barbara said. “So anyone who wants to keep me company is welcome.” When no one responded, she added, “But don’t worry about me. I plan to soak my feet and spend the day reading and napping in that hammock right there.” She pointed at the hammock closest to the stream.
Later that morning, Dennis kissed Barbara goodbye after she’d assured him she’d be okay in camp by herself. They were several yards from camp when Barbara called after them. “Maggie, could you show me where the bread is before you go?”
Maggie hurried back to camp and opened one of the coolers. “We made you a lunch when we were packing the others,” she said.
“I know, and I know where it is. I just wanted to encourage you to be brave today.”
Maggie laughed. “Don’t worry. I figured out a plan last night. But it won’t be happening on the hike to Mooney Falls.”
“Don’t put it off too long.”
“I promise it will happen before we leave on Saturday,” Maggie said, and Barbara patted her arm. A knot formed in Maggie’s stomach as she caught up with the rest of the group. She’d just made a promise. Would she be brave enough to keep it?
She had to.
Chapter Ten
They heard Mooney Falls long before they saw it. As they made their way through the tunnel to the steep, rocky descent, the roar grew louder and louder. The view at the end of the tunnel was breathtaking. Water crashed 190 feet to a blue pool beneath it. Travertine deposits on the face of the cliffs looked like red icing dripping down the sides of a cake.
Lucas descended first so he could offer advice and encouragement from the bottom while Maggie gave instructions from the top. Mike and Siena had been at the front of the group, but after Mike went, Siena stepped aside and let Braden go. Every time it was her turn, she stepped aside until she was the last one left at the top with Maggie. They looked down at the line of people slowly and carefully making their way to the bottom.
“I’m sorry. I’m just so afraid of heights.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Maggie said. “I’ve seen a lot of people who are scared. The important thing is to keep your concentration. Just think about the next step, the next foothold. I think it’s easier if you go down facing the wall, too.”
Siena turned around and took a tentative step down. “Good,” Maggie said. “Now hang onto the chain and just look at the next place to put your feet. Move your left foot to that step. Good. Now put your right foot on that next one. You’re doing fine. Don’t forget to breathe.”
Siena had moved down about eight feet, and Maggie was about to join her on the chain when Siena stopped. “I can’t do it.” A few hikers were gathered behind Maggie, waiting their turn.
“Sure you can. Just move your right foot.” Siena lifted her right foot, then put it back where it had been.
“You’ve got it, babe,” Mike yelled from below, but Siena shook her head.
“Maggie, I really don’t think I can do it. My hands are so sweaty, the chain’s going to slip.”
Maggie encouraged her and Siena tried a few more times, but fear had overcome rational thoughts, and Siena couldn’t get her feet to move. “I’m going back to camp with Barbara. I’m sorry I’m such a wuss.” Siena was near tears, and she clung to the chain without moving before Maggie got her calmed down enough to climb back up. “I just can’t do it.”
“Hey, it’s fine. It’s scary. We have a great view of the falls from here. Don’t feel bad.” Siena smiled but looked a little shaken.
“Tell Mike I’m sorry.”
“He’ll understand. We’ll see you this afternoon,” Maggie said. When Siena was gone, Maggie descended the trail.
“Too much for her?” Lucas was waiting by the ladder when Maggie reached the bottom.
She nodded. “It’s not easy for anyone, but when you’re afraid of heights, it’s tough.”
The hours at Mooney Falls flew by. In their meager swimsuits, Jane and Montana demonstrated real skill in their flirting abilities.
“Lucas, would you mind helping me with this?” Jane asked, handing Lucas a tube of sunblock. “This sun is toasting me.”
“You should probably have Montana do that. I put sunscreen on Maggie’s shoulders one time and missed giant patches of skin. She was striped for a week.”
“And my skin peeled in stripes,” Maggie said.
Jane sighed.
“I’ll do it,” Montana said, and Maggie was pretty sure she saw her smirk.
It was almost time to head back to camp. Maggie was sitting on a warm slab of rock, drying off, when Lucas came and sat beside her. “That Dennis is a tough old guy,” he said. Dennis had been enjoying the water as much as the younger hikers and had even jumped off the rocks into the lower pools.
“Barbara said he’s wanted to do this trip for thirty years. I’m glad he’s enjoying it so much.”
“You’ve seemed a little preoccupied. Is everything all right?”
Maggie pulled her knees up and rested her chin on them. If he knew what was on her mind, would he really want to know? “I just have a few things on my mind,” she said.
“Hey.” He rubbed his hand up and down her back a couple of times, and she turned her head toward him. “If something’s wrong, you can tell me.”
Maggie smiled at him and tried to keep her wits about her. His hand felt so nice. “I know. I just might do that.”
“Good.” Lucas moved his hand and leaned back on his elbows, his face toward the sun. “We still on for tonight?”
“I’m planning on it.”
“Is something happening tonight?” Braden asked, dropping down on the rock with them.
“Salmon chowder and biscuits with butter and jam,” Lucas said, and he and Maggie shared a smile.
“That sounds good.”
“It will be. Maggie’s the best.” The silly girl side of Maggie was glad he’d just called her the best. He was probably talking about cooking, but she could hope he meant more than that.
When they got back to camp, the hikers changed, and soon the camp was filled with clothes and suits drying on lines and bodies resting in hammocks, chairs and open tents. Maggie wished she could join them. Mooney Falls days were always tiring— hot sun, hiking and playing in the water were an exhausting combination. Lucas took a cooler and headed out for water. Montana and Jane were too tired to follow him.
Maggie peeled and cut up potatoes then sautéed the onions and celery she’d chopped and bagged before the trip. When Lucas returned, he helped her mix up the biscuits. She cut them and placed the round pieces of dough into a large, greased cast-iron skillet. She put the lid on it and turned the burner down to low.
There were no leftovers after dinner, and it was good that Maggie had made the rice pudding. This was a hungry bunch.
Once dinner was cleaned up, the evening dragged by. Maggie’s nerves made her both excited and terrified to go to Dan’s Ledge. She replayed over and over in her mind the words she’d say to tell Lucas how she felt. Would he feel the same? It felt like her whole future hung in the balance.
“I’m going to make some hot cocoa if anyone would like some,” she said when it was dark.
“I think we’re going to turn in,” Dennis said.
Most of the group departed for their tents. Soon only Lucas, Maggie, Jane, Montana, and Braden were left. Maggie poured hot cocoa into the thermos and set it aside, then put out cups of cocoa for the others.
“I think I’m going to check out, too,” Maggie said. She and Lucas exchanged a look, and he gave a slight nod. When Maggie turned her head, Montana’s eyes were on her. Montana glanced back and forth between Maggie and Lucas, her eyebrows raised.
“G’night all,” Maggie said.
“Sweet dreams, Mags,” Lucas said.
Maggie didn’t change in her tent. She sat on top of her sleeping bag and pulled out her notebook and a flashlight. She wrote a few notes about the events of the day. Then she turned the page and wrote, “Be Brave. You can
do this. Lucas isn’t scary!”
Was she in junior high? She smiled to herself as she scribbled the words, then lay back to wait for the others to go to bed. She could hear their voices talking around the lanterns that served as a makeshift campfire since open fires weren’t allowed.
Maggie hadn’t been listening to the conversation, but suddenly Lucas said something that caught her attention.
“I guess I’m an old-fashioned guy. I prefer to be the one to ask a woman out. I still think men should open doors and pay. I just think it’s more gentlemanly.”
“I was the first one to ask out my last boyfriend.” It was Montana. “We dated for more than a year, and he said we probably would never have gone out if I hadn’t done the asking.”
“I don’t mind if a girl asks me out,” Braden said, “if she’s hot. But most of the time, I’d rather do the asking so I don’t get stuck going out with someone I’m not interested in.”
“That’s such a guy thing to say,” said Jane. “And why should women have to sit around and do nothing, waiting for guys to make a move?”
“I’m not saying they should do nothing. Women are usually up to something if they’re interested,” Lucas said.
“What do you mean?” Jane asked.
“Women have lots of control over whether or not a guy asks her out. They can flirt and drop hints. If a woman drops hints, and I’m interested, I’m much more likely to get up the courage to ask her out. She might even put the idea in my head if it hadn’t been there before.”
“Wouldn’t you rather have a girl just tell you straight up that she’s interested?” Montana asked.
“What kind of hints do you want a woman to drop?” Jane asked.
Maggie rolled her eyes, but leaned closer to the door of her tent, not wanting to miss a word and glad she’d heard what had been said so far.
“Oh, come on, ladies. There are all kinds of ways to drop hints. Some subtle and some not so subtle.”
“You’re not going to give us examples?” Jane asked. She always sounded like she was pouting.
“Absolutely not. Women are clever, and they know how to let a guy know they’re interested without coming right out and saying it. That’s part of the fun of romance— figuring out each other’s clues.”
“This is too old-fashioned for me,” Montana said. “I’d rather just say it like it is and be done with it.”
“Not much romance in that,” Lucas said.
“We’re talking to a guy who’s more interested in romance than we are,” Jane said.
Maggie felt lost. All day she’d been building up her courage to let Lucas know how she felt, only to find out he didn’t want a girl who was forward. If she couldn’t tell him, how could she let him know? He’d said women needed to drop hints, but flirting and dropping hints weren’t high on Maggie’s list of talents. In fact, they probably weren’t on the list at all.
Maggie listened as Lucas detached himself from the conversation to go to his tent. The others talked for a few more minutes, but once Lucas was gone, their enthusiasm died down, and soon they all went to bed. The only sounds she could hear were the breeze stirring the trees, the stream behind the tents, and barking dogs in the distance. Her mind puzzled over her dilemma. What could she do to let Lucas know how she felt? She’d spent the whole day rehearsing a speech that she couldn’t share. She’d needed a new plan, but her mind was a blank.
“Mags, you there?”
Maggie quietly unzipped her tent to see Lucas standing there holding a blanket. She pulled on her hoodie and slipped out, closing the zipper as quietly as possible. She picked up the thermos of hot cocoa where she’d left it by the camp stove, and they quietly walked out of camp and headed south to Dan’s Ledge. They didn’t speak until they were about twenty yards from camp.
“You’ll have to tell me where to go,” Lucas said quietly, sweeping the flashlight back and forth in front of them to guide their way. “I’m not sure I could find this place in the daylight, let alone at night.”
“We take that trail right up there,” Maggie said. She glanced at the sky. “The stars are going to be brilliant.”
They veered off the trail, and Maggie looked back toward camp. A flashlight bounced up and down far back on the trail. They weren’t the only ones out tonight. She turned her attention back to the trail, which was harder to navigate in the dark. The trees were a little thicker here, and protruding rocks were harder to see.
“Ah, I recognize where we are,” Lucas said. “That’s the ledge right up there, isn’t it?” The outcropping jutted out above the trail. The rock was red, but in the moonlight, it looked almost copper with purple shadows.
“And there’s the trail,” Maggie said. About fifteen yards past the outcropping, a steep trail jutted back toward the ledge. She scrambled ahead first, loose rocks shifting with each step until the path opened up and they stood on the rock above the trail. Lucas turned off the flashlight. Now that they were above the trees, the moon and stars provided all the light they needed.
Lucas spread out the blanket, and they sat down. “It looks like we’re not the only ones taking a midnight hike,” he said softly, pointing toward camp. A flashlight, probably the same one Maggie had seen earlier, moved back and forth on the trail. Someone giggled, and Lucas grabbed Maggie’s arm and pulled her back so they were lying flat on the ledge, out of sight. “Shh. I think it’s the girls.”
At first they couldn’t make out what the voices were saying, but as they got closer, they could hear. “I’m sure they turned down this path.” It sounded like Jane.
“I don’t see their light anymore.”
“Let’s go a little farther.” Now they both giggled. “I can’t believe we’re spying on them.
They listened as Jane and Montana continued up the trail. Lucas still held Maggie’s arm, just above the wrist. She wanted to sit up and watch the girls, but she didn’t want to move her arm and remind Lucas that he was touching her, so she held still. “If we were mean, we could give them the fright of their lives,” Lucas said. Maggie turned to look at him; he was grinning mischievously.
“Too bad we have to behave professionally,” she said.
“Yeah. Really too bad. Those two have been driving me nuts.”
“I thought you enjoyed their constant attention.”
Lucas snorted. “Just two more days. I can handle them for two more days.”
“How long do we give them before we act like responsible guides and go get them?” Maggie asked.
Lucas let go of her arm and sat up, craning his neck to follow the trail. “If they’re not back in ten minutes, we’ll go after them. Until then, let’s look at the stars.” He lay back down, his fingers laced behind his head.
They were quiet for a long time, and Maggie hoped Lucas wasn’t thinking about Jane and Montana. Lucas was the one to break the silence. “You’re not thinking of leaving us, are you?”
Maggie caught her breath. Could he read minds? “Why would you say that?” Her voice felt small.
“I just heard you talking to Dan last week, about jobs you’d seen in Mesa and somewhere else. Then you said you had a lot on your mind. Are you thinking of taking a teaching job?”
Maggie sighed. “I’m not sure what I’m thinking.”
“Do Dan and I get a vote?”
“It depends on what you’d vote for,” Maggie said, and Lucas laughed.
“I’d vote for you to stay put. Why do you think I came back after graduate school?” Maggie held her breath. Had he come back for her?
“Why did you come back?” she asked quietly. When he didn’t answer immediately, Maggie wondered if he’d heard her question.
“For you and Dan, of course.”
Maggie sat up, frustrated and disappointed. She suddenly felt like crying. She loved Dan, but she was tired of being lumped together with him. It was silly and immature, but she hadn’t wanted Lucas to include Dan in his reason. She wanted him to be here because of her.
&nbs
p; “How far do you think they’ve gone?” Maggie was horrified that her voice was trembling.
“Maggie?” Lucas put his hand on her back.
“We should go find them,” she said, scrambling to her feet.
Lucas pointed. “Look, that’s probably them.”
Maggie looked up the trail, and sure enough, there was the bouncing flashlight. Lucas reached for her hand and pulled her back down. “We haven’t even had our cocoa yet. Be quiet while they go by so we don’t have to share.”
Maggie let him pull her back down, and they waited as the light got closer. If the girls had looked up, they could have seen them, but their eyes didn’t leave the path.
“Do you think they’re a couple?” Montana asked when they were beneath the ledge.
“No way. She’s not his type.”
“I don’t know. You didn’t see them looking at each other. Like they had a secret and…” Their voices faded off as they went back to camp.
Lucas reached across Maggie for the thermos. “Like they know my type,” he said.
Maggie felt tongue-tied and awkward. Lucas poured cocoa into the cup and handed it to her before he drank directly from the thermos. She took a sip then set it beside her and hugged her knees. The sky was beautiful. How could such a magical night have let her down so completely? Nothing had gone according to plan, and with all that she’d heard, she doubted she’d ever be able to let Lucas know how she felt.
Chapter Eleven
All through breakfast, Maggie felt eyes on her. She ignored Barbara’s raised eyebrows. There was nothing to tell her. Jane and Montana were scrutinizing her, curious about the woman who had walked into camp with Lucas late the night before. They’d been sitting in camp chairs when Maggie and Lucas had come back to camp, and the girls had worn smug looks on their faces. And now Lucas was looking at her with concern. It was all too much. She wanted to leave the eggs to burn and go back to her tent to sleep for a few more hours.
But it was their last day to play. Tomorrow, they’d pack up and leave their supplies for the mules and begin the arduous hike out of the canyon. Today they’d spend the day doing whatever they wanted. Barbara had sworn off shoes, so she was staying in camp to read and nap. Dennis was joining Mike and Siena on a little trip back into Supai Village to arrange for some pottery Siena liked to be shipped home. Dennis was also planning to check on the cost of flying Barbara out by helicopter, but he’d only mentioned that to Lucas and Maggie. No sense getting Barbara’s hopes up if he couldn’t afford the fare. The rest planned to spend the day at Havasupai Falls.