Nobody was dressed for a hike and it took us over an hour to make our way about straight up from the lakeshore to flatter land, grabbing at little trees, clinging to the hillside to pull ourselves along. I was sweating so much and clouds of gnats were all in my eyes and ears. It was the absolute pits. Once we found a narrow trail, we stopped to eat what was supposed to be a romantic lunch for two. The woods were quiet and I wasn’t exactly on speaking terms with little demon sister. Stanton shared our fried chicken with her as I slapped at mosquitoes and tried not to think about the chigger party heading for my crotch. Lea reached her grubby little freckled hand into the basket for a fruit pie. I slapped it right out as she was retrieving it.
‘I only brought one of those, for Stanton and m
