Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center

Author:Katherine Center
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781466847699
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

Chapter 11

Beckett woke us at four thirty, and we struck camp in silent darkness. I managed to trip three times—over a tarp wire, a rock, and a broken branch—before the sun even thought about rising.

Putting on our packs to head out, I expected Beckett to take the big guys and Jake ahead to get moving fast and leave the rest of us to follow as best we could. But that’s not what happened.

“Helen,” Beckett said, pointing me toward the front. “Lead the way.”

“What?” Mason turned toward us. “We’ll never get there.”

“She administered care to Hugh. She set up the Sisters for the night. She got herself un-lost and found her way back to us. She is the leader.”

“But she’s the slowest hiker in the group.”

I raised a finger. “I am the third-slowest hiker, actually.”

“Beckett—” Mason started.

But Beckett pointed at him. “Not another word. Hike at the end today. Go to the back.”

I wasn’t sure how I felt about being the leader. I’d already marked Hugh’s location on the map, and they’d certainly get there a lot faster if they sent the big guys ahead, so it seemed like a waste of precious time to prove a slightly unimportant point. It would waste even more time to argue, though, so I stepped to the front of the line and started walking. Windy fell in behind me, and Jake behind her. Beckett hiked at the back to keep an eye on the big guys.

We made great time. The idea of Hugh in mortal peril doubled my speed. Plus, it’s amazing how somebody calling you slow can make you fast. It felt good to move with such focus and purpose. I guess I’d gotten stronger without realizing it. Sometimes things like that sneak up on you.

Nobody talked at first. Unlike other hikes, where everyone sang and talked and made lots of noise, this hike was eerily quiet. My brain kept flipping back to the previous day. When I challenged myself to find three good things, they came to mind in seconds: I’d used my severely limited first-aid training to help Hugh. I’d put my 3-D map-reading skills to real-world use. And I’d had a landmark moment about my relationship with my brother—in fact, my entire life. Not bad for one of my worst days on record.

Of course, my instinct was to look back at the bad things, too. The unpleasantness of being stuck at the back with the Sisters and their gossip. The horror of watching Hugh’s foot collapse into that log and the subsequent panic of not knowing what to do—and not wanting to do the wrong thing. The terror of having it all depend on me. The frustration of realizing that we were literally on the wrong trail and headed the wrong way.

But there was a pleasure to figuring out the trail problem, as well. That felt good, there was no denying it.

What felt less good was this idea of Windy and Jake together. I confess that’s where my mind drifted, unless I consciously steered it away.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.