Scattered Ashes (4 page)

“That depends on your point of view, doesn’t it?  Personally, I find it hilarious--and if you don't have trouble getting comfortable with that sunburn, I think this might just close the deal.”  He shook his head and  clicked his tongue as if to say, “Shame on you.”

“Great.  Now what do I do?”  She looked down at her legs and felt helpless.  Although they had already started itching, she figured that was just from her over-active imagination telling her they should be itching after being exposed to poison ivy.  It was amazing what the power of suggestion could do.

Jordan nodded to the path.  “I say we keep moving.  I hear water moving somewhere in the distance, and we’ll probably find the river soon enough.  When we get there, you should rinse off your calves and hope that helps.”

She smiled.  “That’s a great idea.  You’re a genius.” 

He shrugged and started walking.  “Whatever you say, Poison Ivy.”

“Thanks.” 

To the left, they spotted a large evergreen and beneath her majestic limbs, several pine cones lay scattered.  Jordan pointed.  “A pine cone is on the list.  Since I don’t see anything green beside the tree, you should be safe enough.”

“I’ll be right back.”  She veered to the left and darted beneath the tree to grab one of the cones, then returned.  “Do you want to put it in your pack?”

“Works for me.”   He slid the straps from his shoulders and removed the pack so he could put the cone inside and zipped it.

As they resumed walking, he consulted the list.  “One down, nine to go.  Keep your eye out for a locust shell.  You do know what they look like, right?”

She nodded.  “I may be a city girl, but I do like the outdoors, smarty.”

“Not surprising.  You do look like you belong here more than the city.”  Jordan risked a glance at her, liking the way strands of her hair kept falling into her face and her constantly reaching to push them aside as though that would keep them out of the way.  “So tell me what you want out of life.” 

She shrugged and looked at the ground.  “Nothing I’m going to admit.  It’ll sound maudlin, and it’s not supposed to.”

“Why not tell and let me be the judge?”  He looked up at the small swatches of the sky that appeared among the outstretched branches.

“Okay--no laughing though.”  She glared at him.

“No laughing, I promise,” he said, nodding.

“I don’t have a clue about most stuff.  The only thing I know is I want to change the world.  I want to make it a better place.”

Jordan understood why she didn’t want to say that.  If anyone else had said it, he would have agreed it was trite and over-used, but something about the way she stared ahead, toward a future she couldn’t see, her full lips parted in a wistfulness he could only imagine, told him she meant it.  She really wanted to make a difference, and she knew that difference might not be easy to achieve but that mattered to her all the same. 

“Aren’t you going to say something?” Nicole asked, looking at him.  He could tell by her expression she expected him to make fun of her.

“What’s wrong with wanting to make a difference?” he finally asked.

She shrugged.  “I don’t know.  Everybody says they want to change the world, to make it better, and maybe they mean it, but it seems like, for the most part, nobody does it, you know?”

“Yeah.  I get that.”  He looked at her and marveled at how different she was from Alyssa, his fiancée.  It wasn’t that Alyssa was bad; she just lacked the blind optimism which seemed so inherent in Nicole, and while Alyssa had many good points, he knew the only way Alyssa would ever change the world would be by changing her expensive clothes.  Of course, this was the first time he’d ever really thought about life in that context.  Always before it had seemed that the bond with Alyssa had been enough.  Then again, until there was a basis for comparison, how could anyone know what was enough?

“So you think I’ll be one of those who makes the plans but never  follows through?”  She looked straight ahead, and Jordan didn’t know why, but he sensed that his opinion mattered to her.  Her lips formed a straight line, and her shoulders suddenly tensed.

“No, I think you’re probably too stubborn to give in, no matter what.  I think you’ll follow through because it matters to you.”

Immediately those lips curved into a warm smile and she flashed those dark green eyes at him.  “Thanks.  It’s always good to hear I’m stubborn.” 

“Glad I could help.”  He shifted his focus back to the list.  “Shall we find a new item of choice?”

“Sure.”  Nicole found herself smiling despite falling off a bridge and having a close encounter with poison ivy.  Strange, really.  How long had it been since she’d felt such happiness bubbling up inside her?  So long it seemed unreal.

She scanned the area waiting for him to tell her an item to watch for when she spotted a large sycamore just off the path.  Squinting, she scrutinized the ground around it was free of greenery, which it was.  Without waiting, she veered toward it.

“Hey, where are you going?”

“To get something.”

Jordan snorted.  “You might watch for poison ivy this time.”

“Got it covered.”  She bent, picked up one of the leaves, and whirled to show it to him.  “How’s this for a sycamore leaf?”

He nodded appreciatively.  “That will do.  Of course, I don’t think we want to put that in my bag.  It'll just get ruined.”

“You’ve got a point,” she agreed.  “I’ll just hold onto it.”

“Good idea.”  He stared at the list for a few seconds and  looked up, cocking his head to the left.  “I think the river is close.  He pointed to where he heard the sound of rushing water.  “Let’s go that way so you can wash off your legs.”

Turning, he cut through the foliage, and she followed.  About twenty feet ahead, they spotted the forest open up a bit as the land dipped into a recess where the river ran free.  Although the water moved quickly, there seemed to be enough shore that Nicole would have plenty of space to wash her legs without falling in.

“Perfect,” she said, suddenly taking the lead.  Although her skin had been itching since she’d tried to go for that first leaf, she’d forced herself to ignore it.  Now the itching was worse, as though it sensed the water was about to wash it away forever.

Jordan followed at a leisurely pace.  “So are you clumsy?”

“Depends on whom you ask,” she retorted, already at the water's edge.  She hurriedly tugged off one shoe, then the other, preparing to just wade in.

“Well, you might not want to go in, then.  The last thing you need is for Harris to be lurking around and fish you out of the river.”

Nicole waved dismissively at him.  “This water isn’t that fast.  I think I’ll be fine.”  She set the leaf by her shoes so she wouldn’t forget it.

Removing his pack, Jordan stepped up and took her by the wrist.  “Okay, so maybe I’m a worry wart.  Just humor me.”

She looked at the way his fingers cinched around her wrist and felt a strange warmth suffuse through her.  “Okay, since you put it that way,” she said, but she could tell her voice was off, distracted.

She stepped toward the water, and even once she'd set her foot down, she found herself grateful Jordan had anchored her upright.  He’d been right to guess the water was moving fast, and had he not been holding her, she probably would have ended up falling in face-first and washing downriver.  She tried not to give away how right he’d been but found herself wobbling at the sudden force of the water, and his grip tightened in response.

“You okay over there?”

“Peachy.”  She bent and began splashing water over her legs below the knees, trying to wash away whatever residue the ivy have left.  More than once, she accidentally got Jordan, and he shook his head.

“Hey, I’m nowhere near your legs, Nicole.”

She shrugged and stood upright.  “Near enough--so sorry about that.”  She stepped from the river, slipped her shoes back on, and retrieved the leaf.  

“You know, I was really dreading this class,” Jordan said, shaking his head.  “To me, it seemed pointless.”

She traced the veins in the leaf.  “Pointless--well, maybe, but the thing is, if you try to amuse yourself, sometimes even the pointless things get better.”

“True,” he agreed.  “Then again, I think part of my surprise about this trip was meeting a friend who makes me feel I can talk about anything.”

A flush dotted Nicole’s cheeks, and she found herself floundering in the sudden silence, unsure what to say.  It appeared some part of her had latched onto him as much as some part of him had latched onto her.  Of course, although she found herself thrilled to have met someone she felt so comfortable with, it was difficult to understand the timing.  Why couldn’t it have happened before he'd been engaged.

“Yeah, it is nice to be able to pretty much talk about anything.”  She would have said more but wasn’t sure what.

He looked at the list.  “Okay.  Why don’t I look for a locust shell while you find some moss?  Sound good?”

She shrugged.  “Yep.  So long as I stay out of the poison ivy, right?”

He smiled.  “Leaflets three.  Let them be.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”  She started off to the left side of the path.  As she walked, she heard his footsteps as well as well as her own and  glanced over her shoulder at his retreating back, watching him walk.  If her best friend Sarah had been there, she’d have been elbowing her and muttering comments about checking out his ass, but something about this went deeper than that.  It felt as if she had known Jordan for so much longer than hours.  She didn’t know why, and considering he was getting married, it probably didn’t matter, but some small voice inside her insisted that even if he were tying the knot next month she shouldn’t completely lose contact with him.  She liked talking to him, and what harm could there be in that?

She was so lost in her thoughts she didn’t watch where she was going.  She found it hard to concentrate on much besides Jordan Carroway.  Of course, he’d probably just think she were stupid for being so fixated.  More than once, she’d thought that herself.

The next step proved to be her Achilles' heel, and it had nothing to do with poison ivy, just one of the smaller areole of a monster cactus, most of which had been well hidden amid the tangles of underbrush, which is why she'd missed it.  Her foot, however, stepped on the plant, and the spines shoved themselves through her shoe and impaled her foot.

Although she'd intended to scream from the excruciating pain, all that came out was a whimpering, hissing sound, and as she jerked her foot away, the spines free of the plant and remained in her.

She stumbled to the ground, and tears filled her eyes as she gasped from the fire blazing at the base of her foot.  Hadn’t her run-in with poison ivy been enough?  For a moment, she just sat there, steeling herself to look at the shoe and prepare for the idea of having to pull out the spines.

“Nicole?”

She heard Jordan calling her name and cringed at the embarrassment.  Normally, she was self-sufficient.  Normally, she knew to stay out of poison ivy.  Normally, she didn’t step on cacti.  There was no way in hell this was a normal day.

“Nicole?” he called louder, and she realized she might as well just fess up to her clumsiness and get it over with.

“Over here,” she responded, still unable to look at her foot, not with the searing pain she couldn’t acclimate herself to.  Who knew a cactus could go through a shoe?

“Over where?”  His voice was closer, but she knew she was still going to have to guide him.

“Keep coming.  You’re on the right track.”

She heard footsteps on the earth and looked up to find Jordan there.  “Umm, Nicole, I don’t see any lichen around here.”