Family Camp (Daddy Dearest, #1)(24)
Soon it was time to head out. Travis swung his backpack—filled with water bottles—onto his back and took the lead. Joe was the sweep. The trail to Goat Rocks was Travis’s favorite hike near the camp. The first mile was along the shore of the lake, then it cut in, the trail winding steeply up the side of a mountain. It was a steady two-mile climb to reach Goat Rocks and a spectacular overlook. The way back was a little longer but wove gently downhill. The whole hike was over six miles.
The walk along the lake was pleasant with a soft dirt path, dry grasses, hearty green plants, and the blue water lapping noisily to their right. The day was a hot one with a solid blue sky and very little breeze. By the time they turned into the woods, Travis’s T-shirt was damp with sweat, despite it only being nine a.m. He wanted to take it off, as a few of the campers did, but he avoided going bare-chested at camp. It wasn’t worth the stares or the way it emboldened the campers to flirt even more. Fortunately, it was a little cooler once they entered the trees and started to ascend.
Stryker, Jayden, and Aiden had stuck close to Travis along the lake, talking about video games and their favorite food. But they grew quiet as the hike became tougher.
“Do you like to hike?” Travis asked Jayden, who puffed along at his side, determined to keep up.
“I dunno.” Jayden shrugged. “It’s just trees and stuff. Kinda boring.”
Travis scratched his beard. “What I like about it is that you get to see new places. The best places. Places you can’t get to in a car. So it’s kind of like you get a secret pass to things most people never see.”
Jayden looked up at him, his face intrigued but doubtful. “What’s so cool about a bunch of rocks?”
“You’ll see. There’s a cluster of them near a cliff edge, and there’s one on top that looks like a goat standing there. You can climb up and see the camp waaay below. Feels like you’re on top of the world.”
“Like Superman?”
Travis smiled. “Yeah. Like you’re Superman, and you flew up there to look over the paltry Earthlings.”
Jayden gave him a cocky look. “Yeah, but if I was Superman, this hike wouldn’t be so damn hard.”
Travis smiled. He felt a rush of affection for the boy. Jayden was bright and he acted so independent, but Travis could see the insecurity below the surface. He cupped Jayden’s neck in an avuncular way. When he’d been Jayden’s age, he would have been secretly thrilled at the gesture. Or at any sign of affection, really. Just to know you were liked, that you mattered. Jayden looked straight ahead but he grinned, his stride renewed and eager. Stryker skipped closer, coming up close on Travis’s right side, begging for attention. So Travis cupped Stryker’s neck for a moment too. Then he squeezed them both and let go.
“Hope you guys are up for a scramble when we get to Goat Rocks.”
“Are you kidding? Bet we beat you there. Come on, Jayden!” Stryker ran ahead. Jayden and Aiden followed.
“Don’t go so far that I can’t see you,” Travis warned.
“We won’t!” Stryker called back.
Travis turned around, walking backwards up the hill, to assess the group behind him. The line of hikers stretched out along the dirt trail, like a battalion of ants. There were three in the rear who’d fallen well behind and appeared to be struggling. He slowed his pace. Joe was at the tail, playing sweep and he waved at Travis. Travis waved back.
Geo was behind Travis, hanging back a few feet. He met Travis’s gaze and smiled. “This is a pretty trail.”
“It is.” The trail up the mountain had plenty of trees, mostly Ponderosa pines with their tall, narrow shapes and ubiquitous fat pine cones. But it still offered peek-a-boo views of the lake now and then. Warmth spread in Travis’s chest at the idea of sharing his favorite trail with Geo. Which was a nonsensical thought.
He looked down pointedly at Geo’s boots—serious-looking Merrells. “You must hike a lot. Those look like they’ve seen some wear.”
Geo looked down. “Oh, yeah. These things have been all over the place. Sometimes they even go without me. It’s so annoying.”
Travis got a mental image of Geo’s boots off hiking by themselves and he chuckled. “I’ve heard if you wash your feet from time to time, your boots won’t do that.”
Geo gasped in pretend affront. “Oooh, zing! I thought you pitched balls, not shade.”
Yeah, that had been pretty good. Travis felt pleased with himself. “Sorry. I couldn’t resist. So where do you like to hike?”
Geo caught up with him, so Travis turned back around, and they continued side-by-side.
“Um. Yosemite is the closest to me. I go there a ton. Done some of the PCT. Love Joshua Tree, though I don’t get down there often anymore. Mount Shasta. Tahoe area.”
“Me too. I love all those places.”
“That’s one of the perks of being a teacher. Having summers off. I used to go hiking pretty much for two months solid every year. But the past few years I’ve been focused on the whole ‘trying to become a father’ thing.”
Travis looked at Geo curiously. “I didn’t realize it was that hard to foster.”
Geo gave him a you-have-no-idea look. “It really is, but it wasn’t just that. I tried a bunch of stuff. And all of it was expensive. I went to a surrogacy agency that works with gay men. But, funny thing, none of the surrogates picked a single middle-school teacher from Fresno. They all went for the cute, perky couples from Europe instead. Hans and Lars. Or Francois and Louis. Or the ones in Sausalito or San Francisco.”