A Sweet Mess - Jayci Lee Page 0,26

for her stress and exhaustion. Ugh. She still couldn’t believe how close she’d come to losing everything. No, no, no. Go away, ugly thoughts.

With the windows rolled down to let in the crisp wind and the ancient speakers blasting eighties’ rock, Aubrey sang and danced all the way to the mountains. Her spirits were up in the clouds.

Entering the national park felt like coming home. The trees stood tall and proud like they were reaching for the sky. Driving on the well-worn dirt track into the park was smooth and easy, but Aubrey wanted to put her four-wheel drive to the test. She drove on until she found a familiar dirt path and turned into it. The ride took all her attention as her Jeep jumped and tilted on the rough terrain, and she loved it.

“Woo-hoo!”

Freedom tasted so very sweet until her Jeep emitted a wet belch and then a choking, metallic cough. When it started making weird Willy Wonka candy-machine noises, Aubrey had to face the facts. She carefully steered to a stop. Not a second too early, because it putt-puttered and died in the same instant.

“Crap! Crap! Crap!” Aubrey pounded her steering wheel in rhythm with her curses, but the dense redwoods swallowed her screams. With a ponderous sigh, she hopped out and took in her surroundings.

She’d suppressed her apprehension and doubts into a dark, dusty corner of her mind and convinced herself she was looking forward to her three-week adventure. Denial was working out swell until the relic known as her Jeep did the unthinkable. It chose the worst moment to puff its last cloud of smog.

The picture-perfect day mocked her as she stood with her hands on her head. She’d wanted to unwind and take some time to prepare herself for whatever lay ahead. Now she was stranded on the way up to the giant redwoods with no internet access and one flickering bar of phone reception. Her attempts to call Tara proved useless.

It was barely past noon, so she had plenty of sunlight left. She could either hike up or down to search for the nearest ranger station, or she could sit tight and wait for someone to spot her. The latter option wasn’t very sound since she’d driven off the main road, opting to use the dirt trails that led to her favorite camping spot.

Aubrey yelped when her phone rang and scared away some poor birds. Her forehead creased when she saw who was calling.

“Landon?”

“Why haven’t you been answering your phone?”

His low growl made her back stiffen, and a sharp retort formed on her tongue, but then she remembered her predicament. The fight shuffled out of her in a single-file line.

“I picked it up every time it rang, which is, like, this once.” She sighed—a small, forlorn sound in the vast mountains.

“What’s going on?” Landon wasn’t growling anymore, but the edge in his voice still could’ve sliced metal. Fortunately, the reception cut in and out, so she didn’t feel too intimidated. “Your phone has been going straight to voice mail for the last hour. I finally called the brewery, and Tara told me you left a day early. Where are you? Are you okay?”

“It’s hard to say for sure. I’m somewhere in Sequoia National Park.”

The pause lasted several seconds. Aubrey frowned at her screen, but the call hadn’t dropped. Landon saved her from saying hel-lo-oo in the nick of time.

“You drove to Sequoia in your ancient Jeep?” He took care to enunciate each word.

“How do you know about my ancient Jeep?”

“I saw it parked in a designated space for the Sugar Goddess at Comfort Zone. I’m assuming that’s you.” The static made him sound worlds away. Worlds away and frustrated. “And you’re avoiding my question.”

“Yes, I drove my Jeep out here.” Pushing her poor old car up a mountain wasn’t the smartest call, but his tone grated on her nerves. “I decided to take a detour to enjoy a night outdoors. Do you have a problem with that?”

“Yes, since you don’t even know where you are,” he said.

Aubrey chewed her lower lip, annoyed at her outburst. Logic dictated that it wasn’t his fault she was stranded in the wilderness. She considered not telling him about her situation, but being petty wouldn’t help anyone, especially her.

“Calm down, Landon. I know where I am, but I can’t draw a map and mark it with an X.” She hopped into the driver’s seat with her feet sticking out the open door. “I’ve encountered a small problem.”

“What is