Respite

Chapter 6

When the truck pulled into a national forest and the sound of the highway was replaced with the crunching of gravel I woke up. It was a short drive to a dirt parking lot where two other trucks were parked at the far end. There were four people standing behind the two trucks. The two men were standing and chatting happily while the women swung their legs lazily back and forth while sitting on the bed. They were all in good spirits and smiled brighter when they saw Gray's truck. Gray expertly swung his truck around and backed beside the two trucks and I couldn't help but notice the way his forearm exhibited strong muscles. He didn't catch me looking at him this time.

As soon as we were in park, Gray popped out of the truck and made his way to my side to open the door. Again, he held out a hand for me and I clambered down. It was instantly that the other four people were swarming around us and happily taking turns to hug Gray.

"Alright everyone, this is Logan." Gray gestured towards me. The girls instantly pushed past the boys and gave me a big hug, "Girls be easy with her." He smiled.

"Hi!" Both girls held big smiles and reached out to grab one of my hands. There was an instant sense of welcoming and kindness from the girls and I glanced at Gray with a small smile as if to tell him I would be okay.

The first girl was a tall brunette with deep brown eyes that almost looked black. She had a beautiful and natural tan to her. She looked like a sporty girl with long, toned legs and an easy confidence to her, "I'm Maggie." She smiled brightly. Her teeth were striking against her skin and naturally reddened lips.

"I'm Tori." The second girl was shorter than the me and Maggie. She carried a warmness to her that physically shown through with her warm, strawberry blonde hair and brown eyes. She wore all pink except for bright white tennis shoes. She wasn't who I was expecting to go hiking with, but her eyes showed nothing but genuine excitement.

"I'm Logan. It's great to meet you." I must have said the right thing because, if it was even possible, their smiles brightened more. They continued holding one of my hands and pulled me towards the truck parked in the middle of the three where the three men were chatting casually. Looking at the men I could see a slight familial relationship between the three. They both were tall, broad shouldered, and held a confidence in them that physically shined through.

As soon as Gray saw me, he held out a hand for me. The girls dropped my hand and I eagerly reached out for Gray like a life saver. He pulled me closer to him and wrapped an arm around my shoulder, so I was tucked up into his side, "Darling, these are my cousins. Derek's with Maggie." He nodded to a man who was holding Maggie tightly. His hair was pitch black with big beautiful clear blue eyes. He held a five o'clock shadow and a straight roman nose. He was positively handsome and standing beside Maggie I could understand why they were together. He was shredded, tattooed, and held scars all over his body giving him a dangerous, outdoorsy vibe, "And then this is my youngest cousin, Carter." Carter was the shortest of the three men but built wider than the rest. He had a sandy blonde hair with bright blue eyes that could only be familial in nature to Derek's eyes. Carter smiled brightly at me before pulling Tori into his chest and giving her a big kiss on her neck. She squealed and pushed him off.

"It's so nice to meet you, Logan." Derek mused, "Do you hike a lot?" He nodded towards a trail head in front of the trucks that nearly went straight up in a sixty-degree incline. I gulped at the sight of it and pushed back into Gray just a touch more.

"I haven't in a few years, but my family and I loved hiking and camping. I'm really excited to be out of the city for a while." Not that we were in the thick of the city, but it was the idea of getting away from it all and roughing it in the woods that excited me. Before I had left, my family would take monthly hiking trips to the local mountains. It had always been a time for me to self-reflect as most of my family would split up but meet up for lunch. We were always hiking near falls or rivers which kept the heat down and I always managed to find some soft spot to read or think. My family also did two big camping trips each year where we'd be out in the woods for a week straight. It had been the best part of the year for all of us. I often wondered if they had continued hiking and camping after I had left.