Page 49

"Is this in the guidebook?"

"It is."

Her eyes sparkled. "Let's do it!"

And there I was acting like she'd just pinned another gold star to my fucking chart. What was with this sudden need for validation? I thought I'd purged it from my being as a child who was never, ever going to get an ounce of it, but apparently it had simply gone dormant until Marley came along.

Now I was sucking it up like water in the desert.

"Right this way." I held the door and then secured it before taking Marley's hand and leading her towards a break in the trees where a path led to the trail.

The first part wasn't too strenuous, so we were able to talk. "Ask me anything. I'm an open book." I kept my pace slow, letting her enjoy the views along the way.

"Anything?"

"Anything."

"What's the real story of how you got nicknamed Huk?"

"Going straight for my secrets?" I teased.

"You're the one that said you're an open book."

"You might not like me after you hear the story. This town has a thing with nicknames. Some stick real hard, like mine. Some don't stick at all."

"Like Scottie?" she guessed.

"A little like Scottie. His real name is Scott. When he was young the older townsfolk thought it was fun to add on to it. Pissed him off so royally that no other nickname ever stuck like that. Everyone finds it endlessly funny to call Travis Pretty Boy, but no one actually calls him that when they aren't trying to annoy him."

"But Huk stuck."

"Hard to pass up an opportunity like Huk Finn. I had a little bit of a wild streak as a kid. My friends and I would disappear into the woods all day and come home covered in mud. My dad is pretty strict. No sense of humor. And the fact that I wasn't a perfectly obedient oldest child irked him. I got lecture after lecture. And of course I did the opposite of what he wanted."

"You rebelled."

The trail zigged and zagged, taking us slowly higher in elevation. "A lot. And with the help of Travis and Digger? We found plenty of ways to piss my dad off." I couldn't see it as a kid, but I'd pushed him too far. But Mack's dad saw it. So did his sister, Sharon. "It was Easter. We were all dressed up for church. Big barbecue afterward. The whole town was there. Karis and I had gone off to find some quiet. There's a creek that runs behind the church. We took off our shoes and waded in. Karis slipped and got soaking wet. By the time I pulled her out we were both drenched. I was muddy. I knew dad was going to lose it, so I figured why not go for broke. We snuck into the church and ate all the Sunday School snacks, got water everywhere, and then tried to clean it up thinking no one would notice."

Marley paused. "Was it bad?" Her voice was soft, wary, like she was preemptively worried about me for something I did years ago.

There she was again,caring.It made me want to kiss her every time because it felt like such a special gift. Maybe I noticed how much she needed a fighter in her corner because of how much I needed someone to give a fuck.

"It could have been. Sharon and Mack's dad found us, hid what they could, and promptly named me Huk, concocting a whole story about how I was an adorable little troublemaker who was just misunderstood. Dad couldn't beat me in front of everyone, especially not after they made me the prize of the picnic. They passed me around like a damn baby. I've been Huk ever since."

She came close enough to touch my arm. "But later?"

I shook my head. "He couldn't touch me for a while. Too many people were involved. But man how he hated me for that. Made me pay for years. Still does sometimes." I shrugged.

"I'm sorry."

I brushed a stray hair back from her face. "My life isn't bad. Just not terribly happy. That's why I've spent my adult years doing this." I waved my other hand at the great outdoors. "I'm happy here." And my father could never touch me again.

His misery was his own to wallow in.

I tipped her chin up. "Karis doesn't know. None of them do. I'd appreciate it if you kept that part secret."

"I will." And I knew without a doubt that she would.

I ran my thumb along her lower lip. "Enough ugly for now. Let me show you something beautiful."