Edge of Eighteen: A Slow Burn Summer Camp Love Story

by Melinda Hazen

“Really?” I glanced at Devin, and he nodded.

  “Do you have any siblings?” Rebekah asked me next.

  “I have a younger brother who’s also adopted. He’s had serious problems with drug abuse that my parents have had to deal with. But he shows no interest in finding his birth parents.”

  She nodded. “I see.”

  “Does Jocelyn like sports?” I asked, switching subjects.

  “She plays soccer. What about you?”

  “I played high school volleyball.”

  She smiled warmly. “Now for the big question. How did you two meet?”

  ***

  By late afternoon, Devin and I were back at my apartment and looking up things to watch on Netflix. I felt overwhelmed and tired from the day. Being in his presence was relaxing.

  And there was something pressing I needed to share with him but was waiting for the right moment. I wasn’t sure how he was going to take my news. It had been an emotional day for him, too. He’d ended up telling Rebekah his story. And she’d cried and embraced him afterward.

  “Do you want to find Brian?” Devin asked, interrupting my thoughts.

  “Yeah, I think so. What about you?”

  “Hmm?” He sounded a million miles away.

  I waited for Devin to glance my way. When he did, I repeated my question. “What about finding your dad? Do you want to?”

  “Oh, I don’t know.”

  “You came with me to meet my mom—and it was easier because you were with me. And I’m offering to do the same for you and go with you to meet your dad. To Florida. If you want to.”

  Devin didn’t look at me but seemed to be considering my suggestion. Finally, he said, “If I decide to go, then yes, I’d like you to go with me.” He looked at me. “Good enough for now?”

  I nodded. “Yeah.” I swallowed loudly. “I need to show you something.”

  His crystal blue eyes stared into mine. “Sure.”

  After excusing myself, I practically ran to my room, then returned with my computer. Holding it against my chest, I sat back down beside him. He was waiting for me to explain.

  “Please don’t be upset with me. But I did some investigative work for you.” I opened my computer and put my password in.

  “Like what? You didn’t find my dad, did you?”

  I didn’t look at him but responded, “No. This is even better.”

  “Okay…” He waited for me to show him.

  When I loaded the page I wanted, I handed my computer to him. First, I showed him a baby picture. When he didn’t react, I found another photo. This time, the girl looked to be four years old. Devin looked at the photo of the little girl, then back at me for an explanation.

  “Who is this?”

  “Look at her eyes… Do you see the resemblance?”

  He looked back at the screen. “To you?”

  “No,” I said. “She has your eyes exactly. Devin, I’d like you to meet your daughter, Harper.”

  I couldn’t hold back a massive grin. I wasn’t sure if it was more exciting to find Harper’s photo or to see Devin’s reaction. When he looked at me, his eyebrows furrowed.

  He immediately looked back at the photo, then back at me for answers. “What? How? This is my daughter? Are you sure?”

  “Uh-huh.” I nodded to confirm it. “From all the paperwork you gave me I was able to find her adoptive mom’s Facebook page. It’s filled with albums of Harper.”

  “But how did you find her adoptive mom?” He looked at me again for answers.

  “I found Madeline on Facebook. She doesn’t have her profile set to private. I’m guessing so she can be found by Harper or anyone else who might be looking for her. And the adoption was open. That means she had your daughter’s name. It was written on your paperwork, and I saw it.”

  “But how did you narrow it down to this specific family?”

  “Madelyn named one of her albums ‘Harper Trettin.’ So, I did a search of people with that last name in the area. And sure enough, this woman on Facebook has the same girl in her albums. These are your daughter’s adoptive parents.” I tapped on another tab so Devin could see the couple.

  He clicked around on the photos for a bit. I didn’t interrupt but let him take it all in. It was sweet to watch him care so much to see what his daughter looked like.

  Devin eventually closed the computer and set it on the coffee table. He took my hand, and we smiled at each other.

  “This has been a crazy day. I mean, you met your mom, and I’m looking at photos of my daughter, Harper.” He sighed heavily. “Thank you. You have no idea what this means to me—that you cared this much to do this for me. You really are a beautiful girl.”

  “Devin, of all people, you should know what this moment means to me.”

  He nodded with a smile, then reached for my phone. Figuring he was going to look at the photos he’d taken of Rebekah and me today, I happily gave it to him.

  Devin hit the camera app. “I know you really wanted a photo of me from camp to prove I existed. Instead,” he leaned in and spoke softly, “you can have one of us.” He put his arm around my me and held the phone up.

  He smiled warmly at me before pushing the button. Our faces stared back at us while the timer counted down. And at the last second, right before the camera took the photo, Devin turned his face from the camera and kissed my cheek.

  Author’s Note

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you for reading my novel, Edge of Eighteen. I loved developing the slow burn love story between Devin and Dahlia. I was falling in love with them at the same time they were with each other. Hearing your thoughts and reactions would be truly appreciated. The best way to comment is through a review on Amazon. I’m also active on Goodreads, and a review or rating there is helpful as well.

  And of course, please do recommend the book to anyone you know who might be interested.

  With gratitude,

  Melinda Hazen

  My other book, A Brush With Fame, is available on Amazon.

  What if by chance you met a famous person? And he wanted you…

  Acknowledgments

  The inspiration for this story came from all my wonderful memories attending and volunteering at summer camp.

  If I could go back in time to one period from my childhood, it would be the summer before turning fifteen. It was that summer that I developed a crush on Keith, a twenty-year-old counselor who went out of his way to make me feel special. It was that week at camp that I stopped feeling like I was in the shadow of my best friend and was unanimously selected, during a counselor staff meeting, to be the camp queen.

  On the last day of camp, while saying goodbye, Keith handed me his name tag to keep, along with a slip of paper with his address and phone number. He told me if I ever needed a friend, he’d be there. We wrote for five years and had three visits. By the time I turned nineteen, we had one more visit and officially began dating. At that point, I was allowed to kiss him. We are still friends to this day.

  My cabin’s counselor from that summer and I also kept in touch. She and I worked four summers together as counselors at the same camp. We sometimes carpooled, and she’d listened to me give details about Keith. And a couple of years later, I listened to her talk about him—they were dating. Then he married her! I attended their wedding. The moral of the story: You can find the love of your life at camp.

  When I began brainstorming ideas for a new novel, I thought how much fun it would be to write a love story that takes place in a summer camp setting. And what if the counselor and camper could potentially be together because the camper was almost eighteen? Camp was only six days long when I attended, but I wanted an entire summer for Dahlia’s and Devin’s love story to unfold. They needed time to fall in love.

  Thank you to all the adoptees and birth parents I’ve gotten to know over the years from support groups and online forums. Your voices have been heard and have an impact. I’m an advocate for adoptees to get their original birth certific
ates. I’m looking forward to the day when I can hold that document in my hands, too.

  I wasn’t much older than Dahlia when I searched and found my birth family. Until I found my birth family, I’d never experienced having a sister. I ended up with three. My one sister, Jackie, reads my books and provides pertinent feedback and suggestions for revisions. She reread this book more than once to help. If I hadn’t found her all those years back, I would’ve lost out on someone so helpful to me in my writing journey.

  My cover artist, Melody A. Pond, did a fabulous job on the cover. We extensively talked over what it needed to look like.

  I want to thank my very good friend, Lisa, who has known me since fourth grade. We reconnected through Facebook years ago, and I never realized how much we had in common. She took the time to read both my books. I’d asked her to read an early revision of Edge of Eighteen and provide feedback. She’s been a good source to me because she reads a lot of romance. Her feedback was very valuable.

  I would also like to thank Sheera for taking the time to attentively read the book while looking for anything confusing. I’m honored she would do this for me, because romance isn’t her typical genre. I’m trying to get her hooked!

  And I’d like to acknowledge Jude, who has been a wonderful support to all of us adoptees over the years and who always calls me “my dear.”

  A special thanks goes out to my wonderful partner. Thank you for waiting all these years to be with me. He’s read and heard every word in my books, over and over. I couldn’t have done it without him. Not only does he support this endeavor, but he spends hours rereading my books, fixing anything that needs it, and helping with all the business aspects. I’ve never felt such love and dedication from another person who wanted to see me fulfill my dreams. It’s not always easy to love this adoptee.

  And thank you to all those who encouraged me along the way by telling me I have a story to tell.

  About the Author

  I was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona. I’ve worked all my life with children of all ages and have a B.S. in family studies with an emphasis in child development. Makeup, clothes, photography, genealogy, and Betsey Johnson accessories are just a few of my many interests.

  Working on my novels has been in my spare time—often late into the night. I enjoy writing romance because I can create the couple I want and fix the problems in their lives that I might not be able to fix in my own. My tag line: I write books that I want to read.

  My mornings always begin with a homemade iced latte made with my espresso machine. The rest of my day is either spent substitute teaching, chauffeuring my son to soccer practice (and away state games on the weekends) and pretty much all over town, or binge-watching Netflix and reality shows with the love of my life. Disneyland will forever be my favorite place on Earth.

  For information on me and my books visit:

  MelindaHazen.com