A Class Act by Pamela Burford

Author:Pamela Burford
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2011-05-26T16:00:00+00:00

10

“YOU LOOK LIKE you could use this.” Dena handed her water bottle to Andrea and watched her drink thirstily.

Their group of fifteen had been hiking in the forest for about an hour. Andrea had started out at the front of the pack with Dena and Gabe, but had dropped farther and farther back until she now trailed behind even Frank. Dena had actually felt sorry for her, shuffling along with a surly expression on her red, sweat-sheened face.

Andrea’s once crisp black sleeveless blouse and oatmeal-colored linen walking shorts were now limp and wrinkled. Her back was bent under the weight of the designer leather backpack she’d insisted on bringing. No doubt she’d packed every imaginable kind of survival gear in preparation for their nature walk—everything except the one thing she really could have used: water. Dena herself had made do with a fanny pack for her wallet, lipstick and a jumbo-size Nestlé’s Crunch bar, plus her insulated water bottle on a shoulder strap.

“It’s this top I’m wearing,” Andrea said as she handed back the bottle. ”Black absorbs heat. I should’ve worn something lighter.”

Dena didn’t bother to correct her. Andrea’s suffering had nothing to do with the color of her clothing and everything to do with her complete lack of physical conditioning. The only thing that kept her so skinny, as far as Dena could tell, was obsessive dieting bordering on an eating disorder. It certainly wasn’t exercise.

Andrea blotted her face with a tissue. “Aren’t we ever going to rest?”

“I’ll walk with you,” Dena offered, even though she’d have preferred being up front with Gabe and the Washingtons.

Their former classmates Daryl Washington and his wife, Vanessa, had gone on to veterinary school. The two now shared both a large-animal veterinary practice and a profound love of nature, which made them the logical guides on this hike. They pointed out the different types of trees and other vegetation, including mountain laurel, soapbush and arrow-wood. They identified birds by their calls and had been quick to spy a fox darting through the undergrowth.

“Here,” Dena said, “give me the backpack.”

Andrea didn’t hesitate. Dena slipped her arms through the straps and hefted the pack onto her own shoulders. It weighed at least forty pounds. Laughing, she said, “The woods are full of rocks. You don’t have to bring them with you.”

“Very funny,” Andrea griped. “It doesn’t hurt to be prepared for emergencies.”

Brilliant sunshine arrowed through the canopy of leaves, creating a living pattern of light and shadow on the hilly terrain. A brown rabbit leaped over a fallen tree studded with feathery white fungi, and disappeared into a cluster of swamp maples, beyond which Dena glimpsed the twinkle of sunlight on a small pond. Nearby a woodpecker did its jackhammer imitation. Every inhalation brought the myriad scents of living things sprouting and growing and returning to the earth in an unbroken cycle.

Andrea appeared oblivious to it all, her sullen gaze fixed on the path directly in front of her.

Dena saw Gabe, up ahead with the Washingtons, turn and scan the procession of hikers behind him before homing in on her and Andrea.

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