Chapter 19

Her intro to the wilderness class or whatever the course title was (she could never remember) took place a couple hours after lunch. She had plenty of time to eat by herself since none of her becoming-normal lunch crowd was around and Ryker was weirdly nowhere to be found. Maybe that wasn't weird. Maybe the weird thing was that she expected him to be around, but then again, he was the one who attached himself to her like a barnacle on an old wooden dock.

After eating a tuna salad sandwich and jalapeno chips, she started reading her book for her American literature class. The professor was having everyone read one American classic novel every two weeks, and she had chosen The Color Purple by Alice Walker's for hers. The student center was quiet at the moment, with only a group of middle-aged women in the corner working on some kind of science project. Jo was able to read in peace, which made it easier to focus. She liked reading well enough, but only for short stretches of time. Sitting still in one place for too long made her antsy, which was aggravating when she still had her ankle in a brace.

Luckily she could probably get rid of that soon, like she had gotten rid of her crutches. Ryker had grumbled a bit about that, but she read online from reputed medical sites that actual doctors said it was best to start using the ankle and toughening it up again.

She got to class early, before most of the other students had shown up. It was a lecture hall but a small one that could only fit about fifty people. The instructor, a woman with dark brown hair pulled back in a big bun, introduced herself as Ranger Elizabeth Cawthorne and handed Jo a little pamphlet.

"Your first study packet," Ranger Cawthorne said, "It's got the first set of flora and fauna you'll need to memorize."

"Is poison ivy in here?" Jo asked.

"Actually, yes," Ranger Cawthorne said, "Page five. We'd rather no one wander into a large patch of it on our first hike."

That's what she was thinking. She had always had trouble picking it out herself, but plant identification wasn't exactly her strong suit. That was part of the reason why she had chosen this class, aside from the exercise. Living in the woods meant she needed to actually know about the woods.

She took a seat in the middle and pulled out her laptop. While it booted up, she checked her text messages and replied to a couple friends from Charlotte. No, she hadn't gotten eaten by a bear, and no, she hadn't heard any banjo music in the woods or gotten kidnapped by hillbillies. Honestly, everyone in Jackson's Hollow seemed nice or at least willing to tolerate her outsider presence.

Talking to friends back home did make her feel a little homesick, but then again, most of them had gone off to college or university this fall, too. She'd be feeling this way even if she wasn't tucked away in the mountains.

"Is this seat taken?"

She looked up to see a guy with dark blond hair and a five o'clock shadow gesturing to the seat beside the one she had thrown her book bag into when she sat down. There were more people now; apparently the class had been filling up while she texted.

Jo shrugged. "I'm not saving it."

The guy gave her a warm, lopsided grin and sat down. "So are you a tree hugger or a vegan or a nature enthusiast?"

Jo raised an eyebrow and turned her attention back to her computer. "None of the above."

"I fall into the nature enthusiast category," he said.

"Cool." The guy was definitely attempting to get her to have a conversation with him, but she didn't feel like it. Even though he seemed friendly, she was almost getting a sort of vibe from him, and not a good one.

"I'm Hayes Duncan," he said as he riffled through his dark green backpack. "You're Jo Scott, aren't you?"

"Were you looking for me?" This bit was getting a little old, and even in small towns, a new person moving in couldn't be this big of a deal, could it?

"Just wanted to meet the girl who lives in a haunted house," he said, shrugging.

"Trust me, there aren't any ghosts," she said, glancing up from the laptop. His honey brown eyes were sharp and amused, and she felt like he was sizing her up even though he had that big smile on his face.

"Maybe they just haven't come out to play yet," Hayes said, his voice smooth as silk. But it was the very smoothness that made her shiver and not in a pleasurable way. There was something about him that was too...calculated. That was the best way she could think of to describe it.

A shadow fell over her and Hayes, and Jo already knew who it was without turning. So she didn't, simply listening to Ryker as he spoke from the row behind the one she and Hayes were sitting in.

"Duncan." His tone was cold.

"Monroe," Hayes said, inclining his head as he kept the smirk in place. Oh boy, last names. Didn't sound like they were very friendly with each other. Hopefully some West Side Story moment wasn't about to go down.

Jo glanced up at Ryker now, and his gaze briefly flickered her way before focusing back on Hayes. Or Duncan. Whatever he went by. If Jo didn't know better, she would almost think that Ryker had forgotten who she was--he was acting like she was a stranger.

Did something happen between music appreciation and this class? She'd only twisted his ear once in music class to wake him up, that was nothing to get upset about when he'd even mentioned he might need her to keep him awake.

Okay, so she'd also played Kesha's Tik Tok song right next to his ear at the end of class because she thought it'd be funny and she couldn't help herself, but she had apologized after he shot up so fast that he knocked the remainder of his coffee all over his notes. And she'd even offered to send him pictures of hers. Jo could be a very generous person when she wanted to be.

"Didn't think you'd be interested in a beginner wilderness class," Ryker said, crossing his arms as he stared at Duncan with a blank expression, jaw tight. Honestly, he was both a little intimidating and kind of hot like this. Not that Jo would tell him that.

"What can I say? I felt I could learn some valuable things in this class," Duncan said, eyes sliding over to Jo before returning to Ryker. Now what in the hell did he mean by that?

Before Ryker could reply, Duncan placed his hand on Jo's, catching her attention. "Wouldn't you agree, Jo Scott?"

Jo could practically feel the waves of anger coming off of Ryker, even though from what she could tell with her peripheral vision, he hadn't moved a muscle. She had half-expected him to come across the seats based on what she was feeling, but that was ridiculous. Ryker wouldn't do that. There was no need for him to get angry over a simple touch, but there was also no need for this stranger to touch her like this. Jo wasn't comfortable with it, so she slid her hand out from under his, moving it far enough away that it'd be awkward for him to try and reach for her again.

"How about you leave me out of whatever pissing contest this is?" Jo said, deliberately turning and facing forward again, away from the two of them.There was a frozen moment where she supposed the two of them were sizing each other up.

"You came today because you heard I was helping out. You made your point, now you can leave," Ryker said finally.

Out of the corner of her eye, Jo saw Duncan smirking. "Or I can stay. I think this will be entertaining."

"If you stay, you'll be seeing me later, Duncan."

"Look forward to it."

"As do I,' Ryker replied, his voice more growl than speech.

Thankfully, Ranger Cawthorne came by then. "Ryker, you ready to get started?" Jo didn't think Ryker was ready at all, but he reluctantly followed the ranger to the front of the auditorium. Jo watched him, noticing the tension in his back. He clearly wasn't happy about this Duncan guy, and with the vibe Jo had been getting from him even before Ryker showed up, she was really starting to wish he'd picked a different seat. Or that she had. Why did trouble always seem to find her?

"You dating him?"

Now it was Jo's turn to give him a cold look. "Not that it's any of your business, but no." At least, she didn't think she was. Did painting and pizza tonight count? Did the car rides count? But he'd never specifically called anything a date. And she wasn't planning on dating anyone any time soon. So they definitely weren't dating. And it really, really wasn't this guy's business.

Duncan almost seemed disappointed with her answer for a moment, but then the smirk was back on his face.

"Want to go on a date then?"

Jo noticed Ryker looking intently at the two of them from across the auditorium, almost as if he could hear them, even though that was impossible. Or was he looking at Duncan? Probably still Duncan, plotting his murder for whatever reason.

"I'm not looking to date," Jo said firmly, still keeping her eyes straight forward. She didn't seem to be able to pull them away from Ryker, who was now reviewing something with the ranger.

She wasn't lying, she really wasn't.

She wasn't looking to date.

Although if a certain hazel-eyed...

Nope.

Not even going there.

Not gonna happen.

Dammit.

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A/N: Next chapter will be posted this Sunday, Jan. 31st. :) Thank you to everyone who is reading along!