Chapter 37

CHAPTER

THIRTY-SEVEN

NOW, BENCHMARK SUNNY DAYS RETREAT, DAY 5

Today's excursion was a kayaking trip down the river, followed by a hike through the jungle, ending at a waterfall with a swimming hole beneath it.

Maddie and Josh had already signed up to participate in the excursion before all the near-death experiences had started happening. Maddie had decided to go anyway, to not cower in fear. However, she would need to be careful.

Especially after someone had sent her that mugshot.

Seeing it had freaked her out. What if someone else saw it?

In order to ensure that didn't happen, she'd torn it into hundreds of small pieces. Then she'd flushed it down the toilet. She couldn't risk anyone seeing it in her room.

Josh had met her outside this morning and had agreed they could both be civil enough to stick to their plans. Josh had tried to talk about more, but Maddie had shushed him. Now, a cool tension rippled between them.

At the river, they'd met their guide, Nightmarcher—but they could call him Nighty. The man, in his late thirties, was muscular but stout and stoically serious.

The trip up the river in the kayak had been quiet. Other people had been around them in their own kayaks, and Maddie made sure to stay close so Josh wouldn't force her into a tense conversation.

Her shoulder still hurt from her fall off the balcony. Kayaking had been uncomfortable, to say the least.

Memories of her mugshot distracted her from her pain, however.

How had someone found out about her past? She'd done everything in her power to hide what had happened. She'd been desperate to conceal it.

That one event had changed everything about her life.

If people knew that aspect about her past, no one would ever want to hire her. To be associated with her. At least not people of reputable character.

Those reasons were why Maddie had worked so hard to become a different person.

Now everything was threatened.

Not even Josh knew her secret, and Maddie never intended on sharing it with him.

But it might be too late. Now someone here at this retreat knew the truth. They could tell Josh.

Maddie knew she should tell him before someone else did. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. She was too upset with him and the way he was treating her—as well as others—lately.

After kayaking, they hiked through jungle grasses and over large river rocks as they headed toward an unnamed "secret" waterfall. There were so many waterfalls on Kauai that she had to wonder if most of them had names or not.

The good news was that Adrienne and Brody as well as Bree and Fowler were on this trip. Their presence made the whole thing so much more bearable. None of them made her feel like she was being scrutinized or under a microscope. The instant bond she felt with them was refreshing, something she hadn't experienced in a long time.

Darla, Tom, and Nico were also on the excursion. Another group from the company had been scheduled to leave an hour later, so they'd most likely run into that crowd at some point also.

Maddie vowed to keep her distance from Brody from here forward. She was attracted to the man and had to put some space between them. Brody was with Adrienne. Maddie was officially with Josh.

Her feelings were inappropriate, yet every time she was around the man, her attraction seemed to grow. She'd always dreamed about marrying someone strong and protective yet laid-back. She'd given up thinking that person existed. And Josh had seemed like the total package at first. She'd been swept away. But now she realized he wasn't the person for her.

She glanced in front of her now at Adrienne and Brody as they hiked. She still remembered Adrienne's statement about Brody. About how he was like Danny.

Maddie wasn't sure why the thought bothered her so much. But it still did.

The two images didn't merge in her mind. Because of that, she didn't know exactly what to think.

She supposed whatever was happening between Adrienne and Brody wasn't any of her business. Every relationship had problems. The two people involved eventually had to figure out whether or not working through those problems and staying together was worth the effort.

As far as Maddie and Josh . . . the two of them shouldn't be together. She'd known that for a while. But confirmations kept coming, validating her feelings on the matter.

Even though she'd promised Josh to wait until after the retreat to broach the subject of their future again, Maddie didn't know if that was possible. The tension between them kept growing at an alarming speed.

Maddie focused on the uneven path as their guide led them up a seven-foot ledge. They used roots and rocks as leverage to climb up it. Then they walked over more slippery rocks, through two more creeks, and finally reached a waterfall that plunged from a hundred twenty feet above.

She stood in awe as she watched the power of the cascading water.

Beside her, Adrienne squealed and pulled off her tank top, revealing a bikini beneath. "Who's ready to go for a swim?"

Before anyone could answer, Adrienne threw her shirt onto one of the large boulders and dove into the water, still wearing her jean shorts. Most of the rest of the group followed.

"Maddie, can we talk?"

She turned to see Josh beside her.

He wanted to talk? Now?

She swung her head back and forth before muttering, "I'm not ready."

Before Josh could try to change her mind, she hopped to another rock.

She looked up in time to see Brody climb from the water, his gaze on them. No doubt he'd noticed her cool interaction with Josh.

Maddie averted her gaze, determined not to care what Brody thought, determined not to become hyperaware of the handsome man. The one who was off-limits. The one who was unlike anyone else she'd ever met.

Instead, she scanned everything around her, looking for any signs of danger. She couldn't afford to let down her guard.

Nothing is going to happen here , Maddie reminded herself.

This was a waterfall swim. It was fairly safe, as long as people followed the rules. That was what Nighty had said.

Maddie prayed that was true as she stripped to her bathing suit and waded into the cool, refreshing water.

But based on everything that had happened so far on this retreat, trouble was following them. Why should it end now?

As the gang continued to hang out at the waterfall, some of the tension faded from Maddie. She sat on an oversized rock trying to dry off before the hike back.

Josh wasn't acting as stuck-up as usual. Maybe he actually felt bad about everything that had happened. Maybe he regretted letting Logan go into his room—though he still claimed the reason was legitimate.

Maddie had thought about it. If Josh wasn't in the room and Logan was there, then she supposed it was no harm, no foul. Yet she still felt irritated.

It was like the two of them were a little too comfortable with each other.

Really, however, it boiled down to the fact she didn't trust him.

At least the woman wasn't on the trip with them this time. Maddie was surprised she hadn't somehow arranged to be here also.

Maddie had tried to relax and let down her guard. Something about the waterfall pounding on her shoulders and head had relaxed her.

After they'd enjoyed the swimming hole for about an hour, Nighty clapped to get the group's attention. "Five minutes until we head back! Start grabbing your things. If you need to go to the restroom, now is the time. Climb this ridge. If you can't see us, we most likely can't see you. Note I used the words most likely ."

Everyone chuckled.

As they all dried off and put their clothes on, Fowler and Josh disappeared up the boulders to the "restrooms."

Adrienne stepped closer, still towel drying her hair. She lowered her voice as she asked, "You doing okay today?"

"I'm fine," Maddie insisted. "Thank you for asking."

The two of them hadn't had much time to talk one-on-one.

"It seems like this retreat might be the test of a lot of our relationships, huh?" Adrienne continued.

"Does that mean things aren't any better between you and Brody?" Maddie had noticed that the two of them hadn't been affectionate today. But they never were. Not really.

In fact, Adrienne and Brody really acted more like friends than lovers. The couple of times Adrienne had touched Brody, he'd almost seemed to flinch.

The reaction seemed strange. But it wasn't any of Maddie's business, she reminded herself.

She glanced up at the rocks and saw Josh descending them, heading back toward the group.

Her stomach clenched at the sight of him. The two of them needed to have a serious talk tonight. This time, Josh wasn't going to change her mind.

"Okay, everybody!" Nighty clapped his hands as he stood on a boulder near the trail. "It's time to start back. Do we have everyone in our group?"

He began counting.

"Fowler's still not back!" Bree called from a few rocks away where she pulled on her shorts.

Maddie glanced up the side of the hill, toward the boulders where Fowler had disappeared five minutes ago. "Josh, did you see where he went?"

"No, I lost sight of him at the top." He shook his head as he scanned the ridge. "Figured we both wanted privacy."

"I'll go check on him," Brody offered before climbing the slick boulders and appearing as if he did this type of thing every day.

Maddie, on the other hand, had to watch her every step for fear of twisting her ankle. She'd never been much of an athlete, and this hike was proving that.

Brody, however, was one of those naturally agile types who made everything look easy.

They waited for Brody to return with Fowler. But a few seconds later, Brody popped out from behind a rock at the top of the incline.

Alone.

He cupped his hands over his mouth as he shouted to be heard over the waterfall. "I don't know where he went."

Bree's face went pale. "What do you mean?"

"He's not behind these boulders and trees. I even climbed a little higher to see if he'd found a more suitable place to do his business. He wasn't there either."

"That's weird." Bree squinted with confusion. "Where could he have gone?"

Maddie glanced at Nighty and saw his face tighten. Their guide clearly didn't like this update, and Maddie could see why. He was in charge of getting this whole group to and from their destinations safely.

"These mountains aren't anything to be messed with." Nighty sounded even more serious than earlier. "That's why I always tell people to stay on the trail."

No, he definitely didn't sound happy.

Brody climbed back down to the group, and after everyone started calling Fowler's name with no response, things got serious.

"Everybody stay here." Nighty sounded stern as he glanced at each of them. "I'm going to see if I can find him. Nobody else gets lost. Got it?"

They all murmured their acknowledgement.

Maddie exchanged a look with Adrienne and then Bree and then Brody.

They were all on the same wavelength.

Fowler didn't seem the type who'd simply go off on his own and not respond to their calls.

What if something had happened to him?