Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 120230 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 601(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120230 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 601(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
Kaea was talking to Ash about a possible hike.
Grace moaned from beside them. “I’ll pass on that,” she said. “My idea of a vacation involves reading a good book and maybe going for a leisurely walk.”
“But you climb!” Kaea protested.
“Not this week,” Grace said with cheerful stubbornness. “This week, I’m planning to do my best impression of a happy potato. Downtime before we rev up for the next climb.”
Kaea looked across to where Aaron sprawled in an armchair across from Grace. “How about you?”
“I was hoping to take over the kitchen and make one of the recipes I saw in Clara Shepherd’s book.”
“Seriously?” Kaea threw up his arms, his white T-shirt stretching over his shoulders and his feet bare below the dark red and black plaid of pajama bottoms I was certain he’d only bought to wear outside the bedroom. “No one wants to hike with us?”
“I’ll come,” Darcie said from over by the fireplace. “And Nix was saying he wanted to see more of the area, too, weren’t you?”
“Yeah.” Phoenix looked over at Vansi. “You keen, sweetheart?”
Vansi’s smile was faint. “I think I’ll relax with Grace, maybe check out the orchard that Ash was telling us about.”
Phoenix’s eyebrows drew together. We all knew that Vansi was an avid hiker—she and Kaea had always been the first to suggest a tramp through one of the many tracks around the country. The persuasive tag team of Vansi and Kaea was the reason we’d ended up on camping holidays more often than not.
“Hell no, V, you have to come.” Kaea pointed toward the hallway entrance into the lounge. “I found this old map on a wall in what Ash tells me might’ve been a study way back when, and the outlook from the top of the hike is going to be sick. I need my partner in hiking crime up there.”
Vansi’s leg tensed against mine before she smiled widely at our friend. “You’ve twisted my arm. What time are we leaving?” Rising, she moved to join the hiking group. I noticed that she positioned herself beside Kaea, with Phoenix on the other side of the small circle.
What the hell?
The sofa compressed next to me, Grace plopping down beside me on the couch. “You not a hiker? Only, no one asked you to join.”
“They all know I’m itching to take photos of the estate.” While I could handle a short hike even in my current physical condition, it was far from my favorite leisure activity. “I was thinking that since it’ll be me, you, and Aaron here, we could do that engagement shoot.”
If a person could bounce while sitting still, Grace did it right that moment. “Oh, I’m sure Aaron will be okay with that. If not, I’ll work my wiles on him.” A winsome and openly mischievous smile that made me laugh. “I’m guessing it won’t take too long? He’ll have plenty of time in the kitchen, right?”
“Two hours sound okay?” I tapped my fork lightly on my plate. “And you know, we could do a couple of cute shots in the kitchen, too. Him feeding you a treat he’s baked up, for example. I could come in and grab those shots later in the day, after he’s done the cooking.”
Glowing with excitement, Grace bounced off to tell Aaron my suggestion. She stood on tiptoe by the fire with him, her hands animated.
Cute, the woman was cute. But, crucially, not annoying with it.
As everyone chatted among themselves, I couldn’t help but wonder if I knew my friends at all. I was keeping a huge secret of my own. What were the rest of them hiding? Because the undercurrents in this room? They ran as deep and dangerous as the glacier-fed creek we’d crossed to enter the estate.
Was Vansi right? Did Darcie crave male attention? Had Bea?
Right this moment, Darcie leaned against Ash, who had his arm around her waist. But when he glanced down at her while she wasn’t paying attention, his expression was . . . flat.
As if the love and emotion had been the mask and this was the truth.
Then there was Phoenix. He had that inscrutable “surgeon” look on his face, the one that made me feel that despite our shared experiences, I no longer knew him. Vansi, too, was acting nothing like the friend with whom I’d been tight since we were eleven. She sat on the arm of Kaea’s armchair, her smile huge as she ignored her husband.
Enough, Luna.
I hadn’t joined this reunion to worry about my friends’ marriage issues. If Vansi wanted to talk to me, she’d find me. If all she’d wanted was to vent, and I’d made a misstep by offering advice, then I’d make it up to her. It was always better to let her cool down before attempting to patch things up.
Looking away from the others, I mentally planned my own day. Grace and Aaron’s photo shoot. Photos of the estate while it was all but empty. Then, late afternoon, I’d sit down to decode the messages Clara Shepherd had hidden in her recipe book.