Finn didn’t roll his eyes, but he was tempted. Pippa was such an odd addition to the crew. Sweet, bossy, often judgmental, yet was always game for adventure.
Haley claimed one of the smaller boulders with enough room for her and her alone. Yeah, probably a good idea. Her shorts were hidden under his sweatshirt that ended at her mid-thighs, plus she was flushed and sweaty like they’d just spent hours in her bedroom. Or the shower. Or the kitchen. Living room floor. They hadn’t gone upstairs yet, but he was willing to check it out.
Asher dug into his lunch bag, loading up a slice of sourdough with smoked salmon and cheddar. “Aw, Finn, you’re so adorable. Did you leave me a little note wishing me a good day?”
Finn flipped him off and took a swig of his beer. “Hey, you want me to bring food, I’m doing it right. Be sure all those lunch bags and icepacks make it back to me or it’s all over.”
Licking a dribble of chipotle sauce off her finger, Haley said, “I never got notes from my mother in my lunch.”
Grady sneered, “Yeah, that would have been a little too maternal. I wouldn’t have wanted to open it anyway; it would have said something about ‘don’t forget to chew with your mouth closed.’”
Cracking open the IPA Haley had dibs’d, she rolled her eyes. “At least she would have cared enough to write something. Trace’s mom included a note every Monday, including a little doodle to make her laugh.”
Churning in Finn’s gut annihilated his appetite. He held his beer in front of his mouth as a shield, terrified she’d see his reaction. Fighting the weird emotion that rocked him like a damn earthquake, he downed the rest of the beer in one gulp in a pathetic attempt to distance himself.
From his other side, Pippa laughed. “I’d forgotten about that. I miss her already. Did you catch her before she left? You two were thick as thieves.”
Haley nodded. “It was great. Grady tipped her off that I was miserable and coming home and needed a friend. I’d been so nervous to come home after so long. Hearing her voice, remembering what goofballs we’d been was like a door opening, reminding me that I used to be fun.”
The familiar rage, wanting to rip out that asshole Nate’s spine roared in his chest as he imagined how that asshole had torn her down. Throwing off his equilibrium, in a nauseating contrast, was the realization that they shared the same childhood friend, but from vastly different parts of childhood. Shit, he remembered that first day at a new school, how he and Trace had instantly connected because she’d been lonely without her best friend and he was all alone in a new town.
Haley had brought Trace and him together. Now, Trace had brought Haley and him together. He hadn’t even considered that they’d known each other. If he had, he wouldn’t have dreamed that Haley wasthatfriend of Trace’s that he’d heard so many stories about.
He had no doubt that Haley didn’t have a clue. If she did… no, she’d freak. Hadn’t she caught Nate with her friend? And that he’d slept with most of her friends?
Yeah, she’d kill him. But she would absolutely never talk to him again if he lied to her. But what, was he going to say?By the way, Haley, the woman I’m rebounding from is your oldest friend. But I’m sure she won’t mind.
Fuck, that sounded so crass. Didn’t this whole twisted triangle break the rebound rules? But he wasn’t ready to give Haley up. Not yet.
Forcing down the last few bites of his sandwich, he hopped down and tossed his lunch bag into his backpack, then brushed the lingering crumbs from his hands. He leaned against the boulder, blocking out the chipper chatter from the others, trying to figure a way out of the mess he’d made.
After repacking her backpack, Haley was all smiles, her expression relaxed, shoulders back. She strolled to the edge and breathed in the endless air like she had at the beginning of the hike. Sophie stood at her side, linking arms and whispering something. Who knows what. They’d only met a few weeks ago, and they seemed like they’d been friends for years. But that was Haley. Was there anyone that didn’t instantly open up and feel completely at ease, absorbing her smile and warmth?
An ear-piercing snap, like a cluster of firecrackers downslope, echoed in his skull. Asher and Zane stilled, alert, one scanning the horizon and the other the forest behind them.
In a blink, Haley and Sophie disappeared. The edge of the hill collapsed so damn fast.
Pulse pounding so loud he couldn’t hear himself think, Finn sprinted toward the edge.
Teetering as close as he dared, he held his breath and leaned out, desperate, swallowing the sheer panic that threatened to engulf him.
Scanning the debris, he caught sight of her. Maybe ten, fifteen feet below, Haley and Sophie lay sprawled in a pile of rubble where the slope evened out before declining again twenty yards out.
Heart lurching in his chest, he searched for a way to reach her without making it worse. Fuck, if he could dive straight over, he would in a heartbeat, but the flimsy bit of logic left in his brain held him back. Not risking going straight over, or else he send more rocks down on them, he dashed to the left.
Leaping over the ledge, he rode the steep slope foot after foot, sliding and hoping to hell he didn’t cause another landslide. A knife-edged throb tore at his knee, but adrenaline numbed the pain.
Reaching the flat, he barreled over a boulder like a damn pile-on over a fumble, shoving off and launching toward Haley. Asher appeared from the other side.
“Haley, hey, you okay?” Finn dove to her side, assessing the slope carefully as he moved closer. All clear. Whatever was going to come loose had already toppled.
Sitting up, looking shell-shocked, Haley nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay.” Turning sharply as she began to take in what could have happened, her hands reached to steady herself as she turned to look for Sophie.
Sophie sat up, Asher already talking to her and assessing a gash on her thigh. She was as scraped and bruised as Haley. Asher looked calm on the surface, but Finn could see his eyes frantically scanning, terrified.
Haley turned back to Finn, eyes still wide as she took in the crazy pile of rubble that surrounded her. A trickle of blood streamed down from a half inch laceration on her forehead. Ripping off his sleeves, Finn used the scraps of fabric to wipe away the blood before it reached her eye.
As he held pressure over her wound, she looked up at him, her expression muddled with something dark, clashing with her natural humor.
