Page 5 of No One But You
As I made my way into the trees and along the trail, I chatted to my invisible audience and paused every now and then to point out a bird or something pretty that I thought they might appreciate.My followers—statistically 80% women in their twenties and thirties—were all about the aesthetics.
The climb became steeper, and, as I’d expected, I began to huff and puff my way up the trail.
God, I was grateful that I could edit out any long breaks to catch my breath—not to mention the worst of my gasping.I was fit, but the hills around here were no joke.
An hour in, I reached a spot where a small, almost invisible track split off the main trail, heading toward a rundown hut that was occasionally used by park rangers.It would make a nice detour and a good pit stop to sit down for a couple of minutes and eat one of my bliss balls.
I paused at the intersection of the tracks and maneuvered my phone to show the camera.“Usually, I’d warn you not to go off-track, but there are a couple of cases where it’s okay to venture off the marked path: if you have a good map, a guide who knows the area, or if you’ve been there before.I’ve taken this side path before, so I’m familiar with the terrain.”
The side trail was more overgrown, with branches infringing on the walking space.There were shoeprints in the dirt, so clearly someone had come this way recently, but the park rangers can’t have been in the area for a while or the trail would have been clearer.
A fantail, orpiwakawaka, swooped down in front of me, and I waited for it to land on a branch, then moved closer.It was adorable, with its tiny brightly colored body and the fanlike white-and-black tail feathers.The bird stared back at me for a moment, then flapped its wings and darted off to another tree.
I continued along the trail, grimacing when I walked face-first into a single strand of spider’s web.Swiping it off my face, I was just grateful it hadn’t been larger.Perhaps someone else had been through earlier and cleared out the bigger webs.
The hut appeared through the trees, hardly more than three meters long and perhaps four meters across.The timber had obviously been painted red at some point, but now it had mostly worn off, and the corrugated iron roof was rusted.
There was only one small window near the door, and the step up to the entrance sagged in the middle.I shook my head.Someone needed to fix this place up.It was an accident waiting to happen.
As I got closer, there was a scuffle inside.
I frowned, curious.Perhaps I’d been right, and someone had come this way, and they were still inside.
I moved my selfie stick aside as I reached the doorway and opened my mouth to call out a greeting.
But then I stopped, the words dying on my lips.
The floorboards had been torn up, and a man with a shovel was standing in the center of the hut, his knees bent as he scooped dirt and tossed it aside.
My heart skipped.Oh shit.These must be the vandals Connor had talked about.
I backed up but squeaked in surprise as my heel caught on a root and I tripped.My arms windmilled, and I dropped the selfie stick, my stomach rolling sickeningly as my phone hit the ground hard.
I managed to right myself and knelt to pick up my phone, but as I did, the man caught my eyes.
I froze.What the hell was I supposed to do now?
FOUR
Reason #11 why Max Braddock is husband material:
He’s qualified to professionally kiss all of your boo-boos better.
BAILEY
Well, he’d seen me now.It wasn’t as if I had the option to flee without him noticing me now.And really, he was in the process of destroying a hut that was already mostly broken, but that didn’t mean his actions were okay.Some people probably loved this spot, and here he was, desecrating it.
Drawing in a deep breath, I stepped forward.“What are you doing?”
The man swore and glanced sideways.“You were supposed to be acting as a lookout, fuckface.”
Yikes.He wasn’t alone.Perhaps I ought to get out of here.
“Vandalism isn’t okay,” I said sternly because my mouth was moving more quickly than my brain this afternoon.
These people might not mean me any harm, but I doubted that vandals were generally nice guys, and I was all alone out here.
“Shut up,” the guy snapped, then swiped his hair back off his forehead.“Fuck.Any bright ideas?”
