We walked for two days.
The mountains were unforgiving. Steep slopes. Loose rocks. Cold nights that bit through our jackets. We didn't talk much. There wasn't anything left to say.
Nellie walked ahead with Damon. She'd stopped crying. Now she was just quiet. That scared me more than the tears.
Damon's dog stayed close to her. Like she knew Nellie needed company.
I walked behind them with Cade.
He'd been quiet too. Not the comfortable kind of quiet. The heavy kind. Like he was carrying something he didn't want to share.
I watched him as we walked. The way his jaw was tight. The way his eyes kept scanning the trees. The way his hand stayed on his knife even when there was nothing to fight.
"Cade," I said.
"Yeah?"
"Talk to me."
"About what?"
"Anything. Everything. You've been quiet
