Free Wild by Alex Mallory

there wasn’t one. They both knew it.
    â€œAre you hot for him or something?”
    Dara exploded. Whatever struggle she’d been having burned right away. Josh immediately realized his mistake, but it was too late to take it back.
    â€œThat’s the best you can come up with?” she demanded. “There’s some guy living in the middle of nowhere in clothes from the 1800s, fishing with a spear, disappearing and reappearing anywhere he wants to, whenever he wants to, and the only reason you can come up with that I’m interested is that I might want to do him?”
    â€œWell, why not?” he shot back.
    â€œBecause it’s ridiculous!” Dara dragged wet hands through her hair. Twisting it into a ponytail, she shook her head. She was done arguing, so the argument was over. That was just like her, too. Grabbing her walking stick, she started for the trees. With a glance down, she informed him, “Your boots are still untied.”
    Furious, Josh stalked after her, still untied. Sometimes she could be a pain. Sometimes he didn’t get her, or the stuff that made her tick. But he loved her. He loved her stupid, crooked toes and the sound of her laughter. He loved the way her head fit right under his chin when he hugged her. The way she smelled. The weird emails she sent when she couldn’t sleep. He loved all those things about her.
    So he said nothing. He watched the curve of her shoulders and the sway of her hips, and said nothing.

Eight
    D ara clung to her walking stick. Planting it a step ahead, she used it to haul herself up the hill that led back to their camp.
    It was a subtle slope. Just enough to make her muscles burn with exertion, and her breath come hard and fast. Josh was two steps back, pretending he wasn’t winded. The fight at the falls lingered, and the return was a struggle. They were tired, tempers frayed, and both of them were hungry.
    Dara tried to make a mental list of the food they had left. Dried and reconstituted and canned, ugh. Her thoughts drifted to mashed potatoes, hot bread and butter, meat loaf. Heavy things that tasted like home.
    She almost laughed at herself. It’s not like they were stuck in the woods. And it wouldn’t kill her to have thin pancakes and stew. It was easier to concentrate on that than the reality: it might kill her relationship to spend much more time alone with Josh.
    The awkward quiet between them had its own flavor, sour and dry, like ash on the tongue. Nothing could wash that away, so Dara thought about sausages, scrambled eggs, and French toast instead.
    Grabbing a fallen tree for balance, Dara crinkled her nose when she touched something slick.
    There, among the brush, was a half-eaten stick of butter.
    Her amusement died. It wasn’t possible. They’d locked up the food since the raccoons had helped themselves last time. The cooler was up a tree. Everything had bungee cords wrapped around it. And yet, none of that mattered, obviously. Heart sinking, she stopped. Shouldering back into Josh, she pointed out the butter.
    â€œThey got into the food again,” she said, dismayed. She still had plans. There were pictures she needed to take of things. Of people .
    â€œA motel room wouldn’t be so bad.”
    â€œI’m not ready to go, Josh.”
    â€œYou don’t have to flip out on me.”
    Annoyed, Dara plunged ahead. She wasn’t flipping out, she was worried about leaving. She hadn’t raised her voice or whined. She’d pointed out the obvious. Without food, they’d have to leave. Despite that, she wasn’t ready to go.
    As she rolled the possibilities over in her head, her stomach churned. If they were going to leave, it had to be soon. It was dangerous to hike through the dark. Animals. Obstacles. Even with the topo maps and a compass, the forest felt bigger at night. Wilder. The GPS gave out completely after dark, like it knew better.
    They took a few more steps, and a