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  Lindsey tapped her can against mine. “To good times.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me about you and Connor?” Okay, I was a little bummed. I’d told her plenty about me since we’d met last summer, including my nightmares. And she was holding back on some critical stuff here.

  “Like I said, I don’t know where it’s going. And who wants to be set up by their parents?”

  “It seems like Brittany is really into Connor.”

  “I think she might be. She’s dealing with some stuff she’s not talking about. You see all the exercising and toning she does, like she wants to be supersherpa or something. And okay, yeah, she did—does—like Connor, but he agrees with our parents, that we’re supposed to be together. We were always friends when we were growing up. I don’t want to hurt him, but I just don’t know if he’s the one, so right now I don’t want to deal with it.” She sipped her beer.

  “How does Connor feel?”

  “Disappointed that I’m not returning the enthusiasm. Like I said, it’s complicated.”

  “I’m here anytime you want to talk.”

  She looked over at me and grinned. “Thanks.” She again tapped her can against mine. “Think I’m going to go mingle with some hot students.”

  As she walked away, as much as I hated to admit it, it was a little reassuring and comforting to know I wasn’t the only one who was screwed up.

  “What’s up?”

  Peering over at Mason, who had suddenly appeared, I smiled. “Not much.” I lifted my can. “Crazy for you guys to be hauling beer.”

  “No kidding. Ethan and Tyler were losing their enthusiasm for the idea.” He looked up. “You know what I love about camping? How vast the sky looks at night. Want to go stargazing? I found a spot away from the trees where we could lie on the grass….” He tipped his head to the side in a questioning gesture.

  I glanced over to where Lucas was talking with Monique. I’d definitely misread last night. Maybe since he was the one in charge, he thought he needed to steer clear of any emotional attachments. Or maybe I was nothing more than someone to look after—the newbie, someone he wasn’t quite sure had what it took to be a sherpa.

  “Sure,” I said. “Why not?”

  Mason and I each grabbed another beer. By the time we reached the spot he was talking about, I had a pleasant buzz going. The grass was cool and slightly damp with dew as I lay down on it.

  “There’s the Big Dipper,” Mason said, pointing upward.

  I pointed as well. “And there’s Cassiopeia.”

  Mason groaned. “You know the constellations.”

  “Well, duh, yeah. It was the first thing my dad taught me when he took me camping.”

  “I was hoping to impress you, but now I have a confession to make. The Big Dipper is the only constellation I’m ever able to pick out. I never can connect the stars to form anything else.”

  I had a feeling that wasn’t a problem Lucas had, that he’d be able to identify more than I could. Why was I even thinking about Lucas now?

  I rolled slightly toward Mason. “Okay, Cassie might be hard, but if you can find the Big Dipper, you ought to be able to make out Draco the Dragon. His tail curves down between the dippers.”

  “Nope.”

  “Follow the line of my finger. Right there.”

  “Nope. Sorry. I’ve never been good at seeing patterns inside pictures.”

  I rolled away from him. “Not important. The best part is the shooting stars anyway.”

  “Somehow I always miss them, too.”

  I laughed. “Mason! That’s insane. We’ll just have to stay out here until you see one.”

  “That could take all night,” he said quietly.

  I rolled my head toward him. I could see that he was watching me. “It definitely will if you’re not looking at the sky.”

  “But you’re more interesting.” He paused. “What made you want to be a sherpa?”

  “I like being in the woods, and this way I’m paid for being in the woods. It’s a win-win.”

  “Since you’re from Dallas, you probably don’t know these other guys very well.”

  Was he trying to set up an us-versus-them tone? It seemed counterproductive to our goal of getting Mason and his group safely to the area they’d identified as where they wanted to camp. On the other hand, maybe he was having doubts about the park employees. Or maybe he was just looking for conversation.

  “I met them last summer,” I assured him. “Lindsey and I have been emailing and calling each other ever since. We’ve become friends. I think because we have so much in common.”

  “Like what?”

  “Our love of the outdoors, mostly. Plus we’re both going to be seniors this year. And no matter where you go to high school, it’s always the same. Cliques. Teachers. Homework. Guys.” I thought again about Lindsey’s situation. We’d talked about guys in general terms, but she’d never mentioned what was going on with her and Connor. I had to admit, I was slightly hurt that she hadn’t confided in me.

  “So you met all the guides last summer?” Mason asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “I guess we’re lucky to have them around,” he said. “I never really considered how dangerous it is to be in the woods. Considering what happened to your parents, aren’t you scared?”

  “No. As strange as it seems, I’ve always felt safe here. As long as you stay alert, you’ll be okay. And the sherpas are paid to be alert. Besides, I’d trust Lucas with my life.” I surprised myself by saying that out loud.

  “Really?”

  “Oh yeah. He’s always so aware of things.”

  “He seemed pretty aware of Monique back there.”

  Not until she parked herself in front of him, I thought unkindly.

  “You like Lucas?” he asked, maybe in response to my silence.

  “I don’t dislike him.”

  “You like me?”

  I had a feeling he was asking something more.

  Before I could answer, the hairs on the back of my neck and my arms prickled. I shot up to a sitting position.

  “What is it?” Mason asked.

  “We’re being watched.”

  He scoffed. “Oh. Probably Lucas. That guy—”

  “No, not Lucas.” I wasn’t sure how I knew it wasn’t him—or perhaps a better way to say it was that I would know if it were him. The way he watched me felt very different. It felt protective. This seemed…threatening.

  “We should probably go.” I got to my feet.

  “Thought we were going to wait until I spotted a shooting star.”

  “We haven’t even been watching the sky. And seriously. I’ve got a bad feeling. We need to get back.”

  “It’s just because we started talking about danger.”

  I started rubbing my arms. “That’s not it. Come on, Mason. Lucas is going to push us again tomorrow. I need to get some sleep.”

  He reluctantly scrambled to his feet. “Okay.”

  I grabbed the beer cans and shoved them into his arms. “They might be lighter, but you guys are still going to have to carry them. We can’t trash the forest.”

  “Guess bringing beer wasn’t such a smart idea after all.” I could see his grin. “Except it gave me some time alone with you.”

  As we headed back to camp I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something watching us, something dangerous. Then I saw it, lost in the shadows of the trees a little ways away. Only its shining gray eyes were visible. A wolf. It poked its head out only a fraction, but it was enough for me to see that it was black. Solid black.

  It was watching us.

  Lucas had said that wolves didn’t attack humans, but I wasn’t so sure.

  “Hey, I saw a wolf like that the night I followed you to the birthday party,” Mason said.

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, I nearly had a heart attack, right on the spot. It just stepped out of the shadows as I was heading back to the cabin.”

  What I was feeling t