April 1996, Downtown Roseberry
The week after MJ’s break-in at the grocery, she accompanies Lucky in walking through town. Lucky carries a camera and photographs multiple locations shown in Mary Beth’s plat maps and the developer’s ski villa drawings.
“I’m guessing that fed didn’t report you.” Lucky snaps a picture of the grocery.
The gazebo behind it frames a view of open fields and mountains glowing in morning sunlight.
MJ tips her head. “I wonder why?”
“Maybe so he can keep watching you.” His eyes graze her knit top, slouchy Levi’s, and hiking boots.
“Whatever, Nelson Nash!” She laughs then walks ahead on the road.
As they leave the downtown grid, she slings her hair into a ponytail. He smiles over at her, and she returns a smugly happy smile.
But she does realize the fed continues to watch her, in case, for instance, she decides to move a body.
They hike past the ancient cemetery and go as far as the little reservoir above the Kirsch property. He gives her a hand scrambling over a boulder near the top.
“Tired?”
She pants, “As if you could wear me out!”
“Is that a dare?” Click. He takes a picture of the reservoir. She can see he’s fit beneath his own Carhartts.
She catches her breath, gazing at the little lake reflecting Ponderosas. “It’s pretty, huh? Aunt K said she used to picnic up here with her neighbor, David, when they were young.”
“Wonder what else they did,” he murmurs, shooting a few more photos.
She squawks at his audacity, “Lucky! Kara is… prim. She wouldn’t do that. I’d go swimming, though, at least.” She eyes the water, nodding.
“You want to skinny dip?” He lowers the camera, raising eyebrows, mockingly. “It’s far too cold, darling!”
“Get outta here!” MJ pushes his chest, laughing with his laughter.
Since he hasn’t set many boundaries on her touching him, she’s grown familiar with him. And his body. His hand rests loosely on her hip.
Squinting at him, she says, “Is there anywhere warm right now?”
His eyes travel her face. “I might know a place. But it’ll have to wait until after I return from Boise. Memorial Day.”
“Ok, Lucky. I’ll be waiting.” Her insides are Jello as he kisses her lips. Their eyes meet, like, inches from each other.
He straightens, looking proud. “Good. I hope we’ll celebrate.”
“I’d enjoy that.” She presses her lips to his, thinking of what a celebration might look like. “Wait, what are we celebrating?”
He presses her shoulders. “The Land Trust, MJ. They’re upping the ante. Those maps you provided got Mary Beth to settle on a price. She said she’ll sell to the Trust, instead of the developers, if they can raise the funds.”
“Oh, right! That’s what the photos are for. PR?” MJ nods sharply.
“Yes.”
He takes her hand, kisses her knuckles, as they head back down the path. “But I’ll go hiking with you, almost any time you like.”
*
Memorial Day Weekend 1996, Bruneau Sand Dunes
Case in point, he borrows Sarah Nash’s Subaru and drives them out to Bruneau Sand Dunes State Park.
“Warmest place around!” Lucky grins as wind rushes through the window, whipping MJ’s hair as she leans out to smell the air.
They turn off the highway and head into a baren-looking desert. They crest a sage covered slope, and a ginormous sand dune comes into view.
“I had no idea this was here! It’s like having a beach!” She calls over, giddy. But far enough away from home to still require overnight camping, she realizes.
Yet when they planned the trip, he asked her to bring her own tent. She quickly agreed, ‘Of course!’ while downing consternation that he didn’t plan to share yet and that she wasn’t cool enough to own her own gear. But then, she remembered, Angel had owned camping gear that she took to her hippie festivals.
A day or so before the trip, MJ walked over to Red’s. Weeds reclaimed the driveway. MJ could easily remember the dripping red streaks on the door frame, and Red’s out-of-control anger after she broke his fingers slamming the door to escape his approach. But the doorframe was clean, and the door shut.
Angel must have cleaned up, just like she’d said, before the fateful night she vanished with the Lean Mean Red Machine into Blue Lake. MJ’s chest tightened when she recalled how Angel’s belongings turned up, with signs of foul play. The mountains could be rough sometimes, and Angel dealt with a lot of people. Not always good.
MJ’s biggest regret was that she didn’t look hard enough to find her Mom. Or save her from the deadly fate MJ nearly suffered. There was fresh graffiti on the abandoned house. MJ lowered her eyes. Their story of her family shamed her.
In the storage shed ending the driveway, she searched through Angel’s stuff. There were plenty of weird and unusual-smelling things, but Angel’s tent, bag, and kitchen set were missing.
“What?” MJ’s hand came to her chest. She couldn’t imagine anyone taking Angel’s funky smelling sleeping bag, not even from a second-hand store. “Mom!”
Visions flooded MJ of Angel’s missing person’s search. The evidence they found: Angel’s ID, her stained torn clothes, wads of her hair. Later the lab deciphered deer blood mixed in with Angel’s sample, but they’d never determined how much blood she’d lost. There had been a lot of blood, overall, frozen in snow and melted in the dirt. And hunters, possibly including Red (as far as they knew) abounded.
MJ would think more about her mother’s sacrifices later.
She didn’t say a word about Angel’s missing stuff when she returned to Aunt K’s, except, “Do you have a tent I can borrow, Aunt K?”
“Oh, I don’t go anywhere,” Aunt K chuckled, glancing up from her handiwork. She was pulling weeds and seeding carrots. “But I didn’t buy anything for your birthday, dear heart! Let’s go shopping at that new REI store. Would you like that?”
MJ nodded. “Very much so.”
*
At their camp site, Lucky laughs at MJ.
She raises two tent poles into the air. “It’s supposed to be triangle shaped?”
“Hum.” Lucky squeezes in beside her, glancing at the instructions. His hands wrap over hers as he tries crossing the poles like an infinity sign. “How cool! You didn’t buy this new tent just for this… did you?”
“Well...” MJ emphasizes. “Aunt K insisted.”
The camp host waves from a four-wheeler while driving by. MJ waves back. She notices the state employee doesn’t stop at their site. He doesn’t ask for her ID or question why they have two tents. He doesn’t look to see if she’s drinking a beer or ask about their marriage status. It’s nice being anonymous!
“It’s getting dark.” Her stomach rumbles. “Do you cook?”
“Not well,” Lucky squints, leaning over a bin of gear. “But I am good at finding things like lights and bug spray. And starting camp fires.”
“K.” She sets up a small kitchen, also courtesy of Aunt K, and works on barbequing brats and veggies.
It’s late before they eat in camp chairs then clean up. Lucky wants to start early the next day. They decide to wait on lighting the fire and crawl into their own tents.
But MJ lies awake for what seems like forever. Lucky’s so close she can almost feel his body heat, even hear his breathing as he falls asleep.
*
“This is sooo hard!” MJ calls to Lucky who trudges ahead of her. She can’t seem to catch up! “The sand keeps slipping out from under my feet!”
Indeed, the closer she gets to the top, the steeper the dune seems and the more the sand sloughs.
“Why are we doing this? This is impossible!” MJ cries into the blue sky. She’s soaking in sweat.
She takes a break to lie on the sandy slope. Digs in her fingers. The dune is cool under the surface even though the top inch is as hot as the sun overhead. She wonders why she agreed to go hiking or taunt him about not being worn out. Also, she’s glad it’s been weeks since she last smoked.
MJ eyes the hikers at the top shaking her head even though, logically, she believes she must get there are some point! But it feels like she’ll never get there!
“Get your arms into the action!” He calls back.
Soon she’s up, sand up to her knees, punching one arm with one step. She stops thinking and just climbs.
“Oh my goodness!” She gasps and finally(!) flops down next to Lucky who’s grinning at the top. “It’s postcard beautiful up here!” MJ gasps at the natural beauty… once she wipes the sweat out of her eyes.
“Here, darling, drink this.” He pulls a cold Gatorade out of his backpack.
A family hikes in right behind them, traversing the crest of the dune.
The mother, not sweating, looks right at MJ, who doesn’t wear a backpack, then nods to Lucky. “He’s a keeper!”
She blushes as Lucky grins up at the hiking family. The mom crosses behind them carefully, her feet sinking into the other side of the dune, but her little girl casually grasps MJ’s shoulder for balance as she passes.
“Sorry about that!” Dad quips as he pulls up the rear.
“It’s OK. It’s not easy getting up here, is it!” MJ smiles kindly at the little girl who glances back big-eyed.
“Have a good one!” Mom calls.
“That’s sweet,” MJ murmurs to Lucky. Then, “Wait, are they hiking the same trail as us?”
Lucky watches them for a moment, inspecting their gear. “Looks like they’re doing the whole dune.” He smiles at MJ’s incredulity. “The family that plays together stays together.”
“Hum.” She smiles and pulls her hair up off her hot neck. “I can’t believe they’re hiking so far. The sun is intense.”
“Yeah, about that. Did you wear sunblock?” He finishes his drink and puts their garbage in his pack. She shakes her head ‘no.’ He stands. “Me, neither. See you at the bottom!”
Suddenly Lucky is pounding down the dune. Picking up speed. Sand flies up into his floppy hair and sprays behind his heels. She notices how well muscled his calves look in shorts.
“Wait for me!” MJ yells.
MJ starts down, laughing as she gets the hang of controlled falling. The wind picks her hair off her sticky shoulders. The cold sand beneath the surface feels amazing between her toes.
“Weeeee!” She opens her arms like wings. “This is better than being a kid!” She calls.
“Keep going, darling! It just gets better!” He yells back with a fast grin.
They tumble the last several feet, laughing, her arms wrapping into his. They are giggling and panting at the bottom.
MJ exclaims, “This is the most fun I’ve had in, like, forever!”
“I know! Right?” A smile spreads across his face. His teeth gleam.
“Thanks, Lucky. I needed this.” She gives him a serious evaluation.
One blue-eyed look of approval, and he tips his head in toward hers.
“Um,” she murmurs at his kisses. “You taste so good. Even dehydrated.” She adds laughing.
He laughs, leans into her hand on his chest.
“Ah, pardon us!” The same family crosses their path.
MJ moves back from Lucky.
“Beautiful day… For a hike!” The mom says. Her little girl giggles.
“I guess we should head back to camp!” MJ confides in Lucky as the family passes.
She gets up. “Geez, I’m already sore!”
“That’ll happen!” He grabs her hand. “Come on, I’ll show you a shortcut back.”
The ‘shortcut’ is like a mile back to the camp. MJ is very red by the time they return.
“Oh!” She cries peeking into her cleavage as they approach their tents. “I’m sunburned!”
“I’ll find aloe.” He doesn’t inspect himself, but she can see where a line of red starts just below his shorts.
They soon crawl into his tent to commiserate and apply aloe to each other.
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