Light the Fire (Jackson's Hollow #1)

Chapter 19

Her intro to the wilderness class or whatever the course title was (she could never remember) took place a couple hours after lunch. She had plenty of time to eat by herself since none of her becoming-normal lunch crowd was around and Ryker was weirdly nowhere to be found. Maybe that wasn't weird. Maybe the weird thing was that she expected him to be around, but then again, he was the one who attached himself to her like a barnacle on an old wooden dock.

After eating a tuna salad sandwich and jalapeno chips, she started reading her book for her American literature class. The professor was having everyone read one American classic novel every two weeks, and she had chosen The Color Purple by Alice Walker's for hers. The student center was quiet at the moment, with only a group of middle-aged women in the corner working on some kind of science project. Jo was able to read in peace, which made it easier to focus. She liked reading well enough, but only for short stretches of time. Sitting still in one place for too long made her antsy, which was aggravating when she still had her ankle in a brace.

Luckily she could probably get rid of that soon, like she had gotten rid of her crutches. Ryker had grumbled a bit about that, but she read online from reputed medical sites that actual doctors said it was best to start using the ankle and toughening it up again.

She got to class early, before most of the other students had shown up. It was a lecture hall but a small one that could only fit about fifty people. The instructor, a woman with dark brown hair pulled back in a big bun, introduced herself as Ranger Elizabeth Cawthorne and handed Jo a little pamphlet.

"Your first study packet," Ranger Cawthorne said, "It's got the first set of flora and fauna you'll need to memorize."

"Is poison ivy in here?" Jo asked.

"Actually, yes," Ranger Cawthorne said, "Page five. We'd rather no one wander into a large patch of it on our first hike."

That's what she was thinking. She had always had trouble picking it out herself, but plant identification wasn't exactly her strong suit. That was part of the reason why she had chosen this class, aside from the exercise. Living in the woods meant she needed to actually know about the woods.

She took a seat in the middle and pulled out her laptop. While it booted up, she checked her text messages and replied to a couple friends from Charlotte. No, she hadn't gotten eaten by a bear, and no, she hadn't heard any banjo music in the woods or gotten kidnapped by hillbillies. Honestly, everyone in Jackson's Hollow seemed nice or at least willing to tolerate her outsider presence.

Talking to friends back home did make her feel a little homesick, but then again, most of them had gone off to college or university this fall, too. She'd be feeling this way even if she wasn't tucked away in the mountains.

"Is this seat taken?"

She looked up to see a guy with dark blond hair and a five o'clock shadow gesturing to the seat beside the one she had thrown her book bag into when she sat down. There were more people now; apparently the class had been filling up while she texted.

Jo shrugged. "I'm not saving it."

The guy gave her a warm, lopsided grin and sat down. "So are you a tree hugger or a vegan or a nature enthusiast?"

Jo raised an eyebrow and turned her attention back to her computer. "None of the above."

"I fall into the nature enthusiast category," he said.

"Cool." The guy was definitely attempting to get her to have a conversation with him, but she didn't feel like it. Even though he seemed friendly, she was almost getting a sort of vibe from him, and not a good one.