Page 24 of Puck Love
“I tried to, but you were dead to the world. And now we got an issue,” he grunted, turning to fling the pillow he’d absconded with in my direction.
“What is it?”
“Well, we—” Trinsky narrowed his eyes and pointed at me. “Where’s your shirt?”
My face flushed with insta-mortification as I glanced at my chest. “Huh? I, um…got too warm in the middle of the night.”
He scoffed. “You jerked one out.”
“I did not.” I lied through my teeth.
“Ri-ght,” Trinsky drawled in a teasing tone that made me want to deck him. “Whatever you say. But if you?—”
“Just shut up and tell me what’s going on.” I riffled through my backpack for a change of clothes.
“David and his son got sick. Vinnie had them picked up along with their gear twenty minutes ago.”
I froze. “Twenty minutes ago?”
“Yeah, the kid was eating breakfast, went green, and yakked up his bacon and eggs in a bush.”
“Gross.”
“You’re lucky you missed it. His dad made an appearance a minute later, looking like Casper the ghost. That whole family has the stomach flu. If they got me sick, I’m gonna be pissed,” he groused without heat. “I waited for their ride with Denny’s group, but the others started hiking already. We have three hours to get to the next stop. Move your ass, so we don’t fall too far behind.”
I shot to my feet and stabbed his chest with my forefinger. “Youshould have woken me up sooner.”
Trinsky glowered. “Well, I didn’t know you were such a heavy sleeper. And what the fuck ever. I handled it. You’re welcome. Now it’s you, me, and the video dude until we catch up with the others to reconfigure the teams, so let’s do this.”
One Mississippi, two Mississippi…
I got dressed in record time and brushed my teeth with bottled water. I needed a shower, stat, but the best I could hope for was a swim in the lake somewhere along the hike. I put on extra deodorant, grabbed my gear, and met Denny and Trinsky near the trailhead.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to keep you waiting.” I aimed my apology at Denny and Ray, neither of whom seemed bothered by the delay.
Denny shrugged and handed me a small carafe of coffee and a banana. “No worries. Since you’ve lost most of your group, you guys might as well join us. The kids are ready to get moving. Can you drink that while you go?”
“Sure, but what about our tents? Are we supposed to disassemble them or?—”
“No, Vinnie’s got someone coming to take them all down and put them up at the next location,” Trinsky said, rubbing his palms and motioning for us to follow him. “So let’s quit dawdling like a bunch of old farts and get the show on the road.”
One Mississippi, two Mississippi…
Denny snickered. “You should see your face. C’mon, he’s not that bad.”
“Heisthat bad,” I retorted.
“Hmm. I’d be more concerned about the videographer. He’s not much of an outdoorsman.” We watched Ray hobble after Trinsky, wincing in unison when he tripped over his shoelaces.
“At least he’s wearing sneakers today.”
“True.” Denny adjusted his ball cap thoughtfully. “Well, one day and one night to go. You can do this, Milligan.”
I hoped so.
Sleeping in and missing the abrupt exodus of two more campers hadn’t made for a great start to the day, but a little coffee and a break from Trinsky improved my mood immediately. I loved hiking, and I’d been camping in the Four Forest area my whole life. I knew these woods well.
The trail between Pinecrest and Wood Hollow was the flattest portion, and most of it hugged the lakeside—ideal for swim breaks on warm summer days. We’d completed thatportion yesterday and were about to embark on the Wood Hollow-Elmwood crest trail.