The Target Read Free Page B

moderate trails but then again, moderate was damn close to difficult. She shook her head. If they ended up going slower because of Sandra, so be it. But she would not push. And if it took them a few days longer, all the better. Who was she to complain about a few more days in the mountains?
    That sense of unease returned and she tried to shake it off. She normally trusted her intuition but she couldn’t simply call off this trip because something was nagging at her. Resting her backpack against a boulder, she walked off into the woods, listening to the birds that called. She glanced into the trees, trying to spot one of the mountain chickadees that were darting between the two pines.
    She shoved her hands in the pockets of her jeans and absently kicked at a rock with her boot, wondering at the apprehension she felt. Surely, once they were out on the trail, the peacefulness she normally felt would settle in. Surely. If not—
    “It’ll be a hell of a long trip,” she murmured.
    She was pulled from her thoughts by the sounds of vans approaching and she walked back to the trail, waiting. Soon, familiar voices filled the air and she smiled. They were so looking forward to this trip. Even Sandra. Ten long weeks. They had hashed over their lives until each of them knew the others’ stories by heart. But they were done. Now, two weeks of solitude, away from family and friends, TV and radio. Two weeks to absorb nature at its best. And two weeks of not talking about their past lives. As she’d told them yesterday, they were done with it. It was in the past and it was time to embark on a new life. They would leave these mountains new women with new confidences, unafraid to face their futures. The New You.
    “Ms. Michaels? Sara?”
    “Over here,” she called. She walked to her backpack and waited. Soon, all ten women appeared, each carrying nearly identical backpacks. The anticipation on their faces practically made her laugh. She wondered if any of them knew how much they’d changed in ten short weeks. Self-confidence showed on almost every face. The eagerness with which they approached the last two weeks of their group sessions was reward enough for Sara, but looking at them now, all standing tall and proud, ready to face the world—and this two-week trek up the mountain—made all those long nights and weeks worthwhile.
    Abby was the first in line, as usual. A young mother, she had suffered constantly at the hands of her abusive husband, only escaping when he had finally put both her and her two-year-old in the hospital. She had been beaten but her spirit did not break.
    Next to her stood Lou Ann, an attractive grad student in her thirties who had been on the verge of alcoholism when she’d joined the program. Then Megan and Ashley, the youngest two of the group, both slightly overweight and lonely—they’d blossomed the most. Their energy inspired most of the others during the hardest sessions. Behind them stood the others, all looking at Sara with expectant faces. The biggest smile came from Sandra, standing at her usual spot at the back of the line.
    “What are we waiting for, Sarge?” Sandra asked. “Daylight’s wasting. Let’s start this trek you’ve been talking about.”
    Sara laughed. “You’re right. Okay, everyone filled up water bottles, yes?”
    “Yes,” they answered.
    “And we’ve got meals to last a month?”
    “Yes.”
    “Nobody forgot a sleeping bag?”
    “No.”
    “Okay then. I checked with the weather service this morning. You’ll be happy to know that there is no chance of an early season snowstorm, so we won’t have that to worry about.”
    “Then let’s hit the trail!”
    Sara laughed, her earlier unease fading at the exuberance of the ten women around her. She grabbed her backpack and slipped it over her shoulders, starting out on the trail at an even pace, listening to the chatter behind her with a satisfied smile. This moment made all the hard work worthwhile. They’d cried