Chapter 14

He smiled at me cunningly, letting an eyebrow arch upwards. “Watching me, sweetie?”

I blushed at the sudden nickname, not sure what it implied. “No.”

“How do you know?”

“I just know.”

He nodded his head carefully, looking a bit uneasy about my confession. “There was sunlight, so I was safe.”

“I already know you are scared of the dark.”

“You would be too, if you knew what was out there.”

I dropped the spoon into my coffee cup. “And what is out there?”

He smirked at me, an evil one at that. “Things you only want to see in your nightmares.”

“You don’t know my nightmares.”

“Stay here long enough …”

“What?”

“Let’s just say, there is a reason I am the only one able to survive out here alone,” he darkly replied, and then covered up anything else he wanted to add by stuffing a piece of ham into his mouth.

Less than an hour later we were hiking through the forestry. Damian was taking the lead, almost behaving like a tour guide as he shared interesting information about the wildlife that lived throughout Blackthorn Campground. There was a passion to his voice, an energy that was felt with every gesture and look. He had become a changed man, as if the beauties of nature had stirred something deep inside him.

Damian’s steps were light and confident as he walked up the dusty brown trail. I trailed close behind him, enjoying the deep sonorous sound to his voice and the cool autumn breeze that gently blew against my face. I felt on overwhelming sense of peace here, and by the happy glow of Damian’s face, I knew he shared a similar feeling.

“In my past life I was an accountant,” he explained, “but life took a new turn and I wound up here.”

We were trailing over a smooth pathway, a sharp contrast to the one we would eventually find in the woods. “But I like this job,” he admitted. “It is peaceful here … quiet.”

“Lonely though.”

“At times,” he confessed. “Sometimes I think I’m going to go mad,” he laughed as he rested his hand over his gun strap. “But I think its natural considering the circumstances.”

I unzipped my outer jacket, aware of how overheated I was becoming because of the harshness of the sun. Damian’s eyes followed my movements, and soon he did the same to his black coat. “Give me a sec,” I begged of him, stopping in my tracks to pull down his borrowed backpack to stuff my fluffy toque and scarf inside of it. “I’m overdressed.”

“It was cooler earlier,” he noted, as his eyes watched a chipmunk that scuttled across the narrow pathway. “It will get hotter by noon.”

“Oh.”

“I tend to take naps during that time.”

“Such luxury.”

“I have trouble sleeping at night,” he admitted with a lost look about him. “It’s the nightmares,” Damian lightly teased, before he undid his scarf and handed it to me. “Do me a favour and stick this in the bag as well.”

“Sure.”

“Thanks.” He bent down and pulled out his reusable water bottle from the side pouch of the bag and took a deep mouthful. “We can fill this up by the river.”

“Is it safe?”

“Perfectly safe,” he assured me, before handing me the bottle. “Try it?”

“You took it from the river?”

“No, I want you to compare the two,” he explained. “Taste the difference.”

I took a sip, and then another one since Damian was keenly watching me. A small shrug of his shoulders was his sole answer before I handed the water back to him.

“You’re beautiful,” he said out of the blue.

“Thanks?” I said with pure confusion, wondering where this all came from.

“Yeah.” He rose to his feet, and then let out a long exhale as he looked down the far distant path. “We should keep moving.”

“I’m not tired,” I assured him, after I pulled the backpack over my shoulders. “Let’s go.”

***

By the time we climbed up the first set of hills I was exhausted and pulled on Damian’s sleeve to get him to stop. “I can’t.”

“Tired?”

“Let me take a breather.”

He smiled at me kindly, and then motioned for me to turn around to pull something out of the backpack. A small hand sewn blanket of red and white was unearthed from the bottom of the bag and he laid it out neatly on a rough patch of grass. Damian took a seat first, letting his eyes hover over the tops of the trees. “Not much of a view here.”

“I know you wanted to take me to the falls.”

“You aren’t used to this,” he surmised. “But this is my life.” He closed his eyes to breathe in the air, letting the cold autumn breeze tousle through his dark curly hair. The stubble along his jawline was darker this morning; shaving was completely off the table as of now, not unless I had something to say about it. Damian looked divinely peaceful, so I decided to hold my tongue and reach for our shared water bottle instead. “Focus.”

“On what?”

“Everything,” he breathed once he opened his eyes. “On this moment.”

I looked around in a taunting manner, knowing he would not like it one bit.

“Really take it in,” he entreated.

“You’re a hippie, Damian.”

“I’m not a hippie.”

“Take it in,” I repeated with a naughty grin. “What am I supposed to take in?”

“The scent of the earth,” he told me as he pointed at the wild grass in front of our shoes. “The distant sound of the waterfall. The eagle that flies through the sky.” He noticed my amused grin, and simply glared at me. “Or be like everyone else and not enjoy it.”

“You belong out here,” I told him. “In the wilderness.”

“It is not like I have a choice,” he admitted to himself, “but I make the most of it.”

I kissed the side of his cheek unexpectedly, but moved back once I sensed he wanted something more. “Why did you kiss me that way in your kitchen earlier?”

“I don’t understand.”

“It was different from all the other ones before.”

“I told you why … I know what I want.”

“Yeah, but …” He batted his eyes at me curiously, uncertain where our conversation was going.

“What are you trying to tell me?”

“It was different,” was the only thing I could stammer out. “You were different.”

“If you don’t want me to kiss you then—”

“That’s not what I am trying to say,” I interjected. “I feel like there are different sides to you and I am trying to figure it out. You were meek when I first met you, no, frigid … cold.” He lowered his gaze as if I wounded him. “And as the evening drew on you became more confident, and now … I don’t know what to make of you.”