Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22169 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 111(@200wpm)___ 89(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22169 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 111(@200wpm)___ 89(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
I glare at her with a playful venom.
She goes on and on as she helps me out, just so I can’t hate her for it. “Just think, tomorrow you’re going to be following all the latest fashion trends, listening to only what the Top 40 radio stations tell you to listen to, and caring deeply about celebrity gossip.”
Fox has the big trunk of my merch lifted up, and we head out into the parking lot. He stops by his truck, and pops open the door to put the cloth bag he was carrying with him inside. I take stock of what I’m assuming is his vehicle.
“That’s a bit of a whiplash.”
“Hmm?” He says, shutting and locking the door.
“Your truck is rusty and filthy. Just like every other truck out here.”
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
I gesture at him, all of his fancy clothes and his haircut that looks like it came from some sort of high end boutique.
“A good truck is a good truck. It still runs well and I haven’t even had to maintain it much. It belonged to my grandfather, even.”
“And you haven’t thought of getting a vehicle more suited to your current career and status?”
“My father has tried to pressure me to get a BMV or even a driver, but that sort of thing ain’t for me. If it starts, I’m going to drive it, and I’m going to keep driving it until it doesn’t start anymore.”
“You’re a very unusual man, Fox.”
He looks back at me. “Hearing such a thing from a girl like you? I’m going to take that as a compliment.”
We finish packing everything away in our vehicles, and all that’s left is him and I. I’m leaning against my car, which is just a typical hatchback sedan. It has good mileage while it can still haul things, and that’s all that I really care about. Fox joins me, his hips against my own. Respectable now, but with how quick we’re basically making a date out of it, I had doubts it was going to stay respectable for long.
“So, did you have somewhere you’d like to take a walk to?”
I rub my chin. Dare I show him my little secret? I didn’t really get a lot of good chances to do so. Most of the guys I dated didn’t even care about nature, but something told me Fox was different. He had some Evergreen Valley in his blood, even if it didn’t appear outwardly.
I push myself up off my car and gesture at him to follow me. “Come on. It’s not too far from here.”
“How long is not too far?”
“About a mile, and if you’re really from here, that’s not too far for a walk at all.”
THREE
tabitha
I’d spent a good deal of my life bouncing between Evergreen Valley and its closest city, Smithport. I grew up in the city mainly, but there were constant trips out into the country to visit my grandmother, who was Evergreen Valley born and raised. I grew to love the thick forests that surrounded the area, the cleanliness of the air, just the entire vibe of the much smaller town compared to the endlessly busy life that I had come home to.
As an adult, I still called the city home. I push most of my knick knacks there in its central park on Sundays. It’s not a bad place to live in the grand scheme of things, but knowing about Evergreen Valley has given me so much more perspective. After Grandma passed, I still made trips up here quite often. I took lots of nature walks, hikes, whatever you wanted to call them. I got to know the area around my old Granny’s cabin very intimately, and picked up the many secrets of the forest.
“We’ve been walking for awhile,” Fox says, as I guide him through.
“Don’t complain, all of this will break in your fancy new boots and make you look like you belong in this town.”
He shoots me a playful look. He takes all the teasing in good humor. A thick skin, I like that in a man. So many will just shrivel and explode if you poke their ego just a bit.
I always feel exhilarated to be out here. I have my hiking pack ready to go in my car just for times like this when it all strikes me. It’s usually meant for just me, but we weren’t going very far and I don’t think a man like Fox was going to crumple that quickly.
“And here it is,” I say as I wave him over to my destination.
My eyes widen just like they did the first time when I saw this spot. Fox, standing beside me, is definitely taken aback by the scene himself.
A veritable natural cathedral. The trees created a canopy of shade, little only little bits of sun shining right through, like they’re piercing the clouds right from heaven itself. Thick leaves from the trees rustling gently in the breeze. The lush fragrance of the forest graces my senses as I walk forward, arms spread.