Bet On Me by Juniper Leigh

Author:Juniper Leigh [Leigh, Juniper]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-01-09T00:00:00+00:00

18

Meg

The next three weeks passed in a blur, the days moving more and more quickly as the weather cooled. The sun rose later in the morning and set earlier each day. Now that Harlow was back in school, things were starting to get back into a rhythm. Meg woke up early to get Harlow ready and on the bus, then got on with the morning chores. Meg’s days were filled with all the things needing done in the fall: wrapping up the garden and prepping it for winter, goat maintenance, blood draws, checking for infrastructure maintenance that needed done before the winter rolled in, and then the occasional hours of freelance debugging work.

And, when time and schedules allowed, a few stolen hours of naked time with Ezra.

He was on duty today, and since NJ was not scheduled to work, the two of them were hiking in a nearby nature preserve. It was something Meg enjoyed and NJ grudgingly agreed to do, not wanting Meg to go alone. And since Wes absolutely refused to come, NJ felt obliged to accompany her. They didn’t get to do it often, maybe once a month when things lined up, and once every two months when the weather was not accommodating. NJ absolutely refused to hike in the rain.

“I hate this.” NJ was huffing from several paces behind her. “Why do I let you drag me into this?”

“Hey,” Meg protested. “Take it back. I didn’t drag you and you know it. You volunteered. Every. Time.” She emphasized the last two words as she reached the crest of a steep trail and waited for her friend to catch up, stepping to the side to give her space while she took in the sight of the valley below and caught her breath.

It was early enough in the day that a fog was still settled in the lower valley, but above it the sky was clear and the sun was bright. It was early September and set to be a hot day, likely one of the last ones before cold weather set in. They didn’t want to be hiking in the heat, so they’d started as early as possible, which wasn’t all that early for NJ. But Meg had to work around NJ’s schedule and Meg wasn’t a morning person unless absolutely necessary.

NJ folded over on herself, hands on her knees as she worked to catch her breath. “Only because I listen to too many true crime podcasts. I can’t tell you how many women get murdered while they’re out hiking on their own.”

Meg huffed out a laugh, taking a sip of water. “I don’t think we need to worry about that.” She was well aware of the dangers facing women on their own. She hadn’t lived alone all this time, with only her young daughter for company, to be oblivious to the risks. “I always carry pepper spray, you know that.”

NJ straightened, grabbing for her water bottle. “Not going to do you much good against a predator with a weapon if they ambush you.

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