“Behave.”
“We wouldn't do anything you wouldn't do," Lincoln quipped from the back. I could hear the laughter in his voice. He was totally baiting his brother.
Tyler shook his head and pointed at him. “That's what I'm afraid of.” His eyes met mine as the other two chuckled, and he slid his hands behind my neck to lift my head so he had my complete attention.
“And you,” he said as he raised his eyebrows in mock sternness. “Be good too.”
I rolled my eyes. “When am I ever not?”
He brought my forehead to his lips for a kiss before sweeping them down towards my ear. “Be good,” he whispered huskily, goosebumps prickled my body.
“Sure.” Warm hands left me as he stepped back and tapped the hood.
“Alright, you guys, let's head out!” He started to walk towards his Jeep pointing to Raina's SUV and the silver truck before giving the signal to move out.
Kayden turned to smile at me as he started the engine. “Ready?”
“Yes,” I said, grinning back.
“Of course, she is,” Lincoln said as he pulled himself to the front, using Kayden’s and my headrests as leverage. “Look at her. She can barely contain her excitement," he jested.
An hour later.....
“How big are the tents that we're going to sleep in?” I asked no one in particular, and they groaned. I understood why. I'd been at it nonstop, asking a zillion questions about camping. A girl had to know things! I couldn't just go into this blind. I had already asked them if there were any bears, and when they said yes, I proceeded to ask what I should do if I encountered one.
Back away slowly or play dead. In my mind’s eye, I just saw me pushing Kayden in front of me as a sacrifice. Sure, I'd miss him, but I swear I would make my life meaningful by continuing ‘The Uncle Denny's’ tradition. It seemed fair to me. I shook my head and then went on to asking about any other animals that might be around. We had only been driving for an hour, and I think I had worn them already.
Maybe at the next stop, I could jump into Tyler's jeep and rail him with more.
Chapter 15
They told me that none of them had ever been to the chosen campsite before but had heard good things. Apparently, there was a trail that we could take the four wheelers on. The trail was a good twenty miles long and led to a waterfall and swimming hole.
At around eleven a.m., we stopped at a gas station to fill up the vehicles, as well as the four wheelers and extra gas cans. Bathroom breaks were a must, because nature did not normally provide bathrooms out in the wilderness, something I hadn't covered with my game of questions.
I jumped out of the truck as Raina, Wendy and I flocked together and headed away from the pumps. “I can't believe how hot it was to see Kane go all ‘Alpha’ back there," Wendy teased, making me chuckle as I saw a blush spread across Raina’s cheeks.
“It was hot,” she responded.
“Did you get your hand holding in?” I teased her. She gave me a little push.
“What about you, Miss Hauled Off By My Brothers! What was that all about?”
“Yeah, I'm not even sure which one she's with. They all seem to be possessive of you," Wendy chimed in, curious as to what my status was with each of them.
I kept quiet as I reached for the door to the gas station, taking those few extra minutes to think about how I was going to answer their questions. I honestly didn't know what was going on with the brothers. The girls were right, and even Lincoln had mentioned something about them all having some sort of feelings towards me. It made me feel naively confused, but I didn't mind it either. The three of them had kind of grown on me, and my shield was slowly falling.
I answered their question honestly, shrugging as we made our way to the back of the building towards the restrooms. “I have no idea what's going on. You'll have to ask them.”
When we finished up, Raina and Wendy decided to search for snacks while I headed outside. I didn't want to spend any money. It was all that I had, and I wanted to hold on to it.
I could see the guys were now filling up the gas cans. Kane was the first one to notice me and waved, Tyler followed his line of sight and called me over. I smiled and started that way, but paused when my phone that never rings, rang. I pulled it out of my pocket, not recognizing the number and answered.
“Hello?”
“Hello. My name is Trisha Evens. I'm calling on behalf of Denton County Courts. Is either Tom or Sarah Brady available?”
My heart sped up. Someone from our home town? “How did you get this number?”
“This number was listed as a contact on the paperwork provided for Miss Faith Daniels. We tried the other lines but couldn't get through.”
I moved away from everyone, heading to the side of the building for privacy where I paused glancing at the side wall where some chewed gum was stuck to it.
I cleared my throat, my mind racing. “No. I'm not with them right now.”
“Could you let them know that Denton City Courts are trying to get ahold of them?”
“Um, sure.”
“Thank you.”
I hung up, worried about what could be wrong but quickly pushed aside when I glanced up and saw Kayden coming around the corner. He looked worried as he made his way towards me.
“Hey, are you ok?”
I shrugged, unsure what to say. He stepped in so close that I had to lean back against the wall. He put his hands up on either side of me, so close.
“What was the phone call about?” His blue eyes searched mine.
I huffed as I turned away from his stare. “Do you always watch me?”
“Yes.” Not denying it. “Are you going to answer me?”
I turned back and wrinkled my nose at him. “No.” He looked towards the front towards the vehicles for a second.
“So, you're not going to cry?”
I shook my head.
“Good.” Then he bent down and kissed me. I was pressed against the wall as his body pressed into mine. His lips were demanding as his hands came up to hold my head, tilting it up for better access. He nipped my bottom lip, sucking on it a moment later.
When we both had had our fill of each other, he moved back. My breath was erratic, my heart raced, and Kayden looked to be in the same state with his eyes bright and hot.
My mind was blank, and I blurted out the first thing that came to me. “Gum.”
His face scrunched up in confusion. “Huh?”
I pulled my head away from the wall and felt the resistance. My wide eyes met shocked ones. “I think there's gum in my hair.”
Kayden quickly pulled my head to his chest to inspect my hair.
“Ah, crap,” he exclaimed, trying to tug the gum out of my hair.
My heart began to race. This was the time to panic. I didn't want to cut my hair!
“Is it bad, Kayden? Can you fix it?” I asked into his chest.
“I think we need my sister for this.”
***
One travel sized shampoo, one small bottle of baby oil and, lastly, a jar of peanut butter were all sacrificed before Raina finally managed to get the wretched gum out. When asked how it had gotten there in the first place, both Kayden and I stayed silent.
It was almost lunch time when we arrived at the campground.
We pulled onto this rocky dirt road and drove down amongst the trees. Everywhere I looked a fire pit and tents were set up. I was worried that we wouldn't find an open spot, and I wondered if they had possibly reserved one. Could you reserve campsites?
I asked, and Lincoln said that they hadn't. That all of the sites were just first come, first serve.
We drove around, finally finding a cul-de-sac with open sites available. With relief, I glanced around. It was almost hidden, a secret place that had been waiting for us to find it. There was a small concrete pad just like the others where we could park, and I started bouncing around as we finally pulled in.
I started to wonder how we were going to set an
ything up—there were trees everywhere and there seemed to be no room, but then I looked over and saw a little clearing close to the fire pit, realizing that it would be the perfect spot.
The guys got right to work on setting up the tent while Raina and Wendy showed me how to blow up an air mattress by using the cigarette lighter in the car to hook up a pump. When that was done, we set them aside and unloaded chairs to set up around the fire pit as well as the camping stove.
While I helped Wendy make lunch for everyone, Raina set up the air mattresses in our tent along with the sheets and blankets for them. The guys grabbed sandwiches as we unloaded our stuff and set up their beds as well. While our tent was situated under some trees, the boys’ tent was out in the open.
I looked up into the sky to see brilliant blue, but off to the right I glimpsed a few dark clouds.
“Did anyone check the weather?” I asked as I finished putting the food away.
“Yeah, we're good. There's a tropical storm off the coast, but it's not headed this way," Wendy informed me. “Come on. Let's get our bags and put them in the tents.”
I found my bag in the back of the truck, along with my pillow and blanket. Inside the tent, I saw three twin size air mattresses side by side, all of them made up with blankets and pillows. None which looked like mine. I turned to Raina. “Which one's mine?”
“That one.” She pointed to the far right one that had a blue striped pillow and a gray comforter with green sheets.
It looked like a mix of styles just thrown together. Like someone couldn't decide what style they liked, so they added a little bit of everything. Oh well, I mused, it was camping after all. Maybe this was the McGuire’s extra camping stuff. A mixture of the old and new.
I set my bag down beside it and flopped onto my mattress, turning over to pull the striped pillow into the curve of my neck. Then I smelled it. A masculine scent. I pulled back and leaned in to smell again. Yep, definitely a musky masculine scent. It smelled like...my head popped up. Like Tyler!
I moved to the gray blanket and breathed it in. Kayden's. The sheets. Lincoln's. I must have looked crazy sniffing everything, but I turned to Raina, who was smirking.
“I knew it wouldn't take you long to figure it out. You're too smart not to.”
“These are your brothers,” I stated.
“Uh-huh. Not sure why they volunteered their things for you to use, but they did.”
I groaned, getting up. I knew why. I picked up my blanket and pillow and put the rest of the stuff on the bed before making my way out to where the 4-wheelers had been unloaded.
I walked up to Lincoln, who was grabbing a drink from the cooler. “Are we riding the 20-mile trail today?”
“Yep. Come over here, and let me show you how to work one of these.” He was a good teacher, emphasizing safety as I jumped at the chance to handle one of the big bikes.
After a run around the campsite with one of the quads, everyone else packed their saddle bags and secured the campsite so we could head out.
“Make sure to shift," Kayden reminded me. I just grinned as I gunned my quad to slide right past him. I glanced over to Tyler, who was laughing at me. I didn't mind, though. I was confident with the machine beneath me and having a blast.
We all rode in a line, leaving enough space in between each other to really take in the curves and grab some air on the bumps in the trail. Green trees surrounded us as dirt flew up and cold air swirled around me. The trail was full of hills, twists and turns, and I took them with ease. I wore sunglasses to keep dirt from getting into my eyes.
I felt free. Alive. I never wanted the feeling to end. It was peaceful out here. The sun hid behind the clouds that were rolling through, only peeking out every so often.
I was coming up to another curve in the trail when I heard the surprised scream of Raina, who had just disappeared around the bend. It was not long until I realized why. There was a small drop ahead. I only had seconds before deciding that it was best to gun the throttle rather than slow down. Moments later, my stomach flipped as I went airborne, landing as my pulse beat in my ears and adrenaline raced through me.
It was a short second later that I found Tyler, Kane, and Raina waiting in the middle of the road. Raina was off and it seemed, getting a...pat down? I slowed down and stopped just in time to be hauled off the quad and checked over by Tyler. Ah, so that's what Kane was doing.
I brushed Tyler’s hands aside and moved in to hug him. “Holy cow, Tyler!” I exclaimed, jumping. “That was awesome! I can't wait to drive back and do it again.”
“Maybe we'll find a different way back," he worried.
When I pulled back, he looked relieved and by this time, the others had showed up.
“Are they ok?” Peter called out.
“Yes!” Raina said, sounding annoyed.
We got back on the bikes and continued on.
The next sight was a waterfall flowing into a crystal pool below. This was going to be fun.
Chapter 16
We all parked the quads by the shoreline, everybody stripping off. As powerful, burly muscles were exposed along with male boxers, I couldn't help but stare.
I stripped down to my own lovely plum purple boy shorts and bra, and it didn't go unnoticed.
As I blatantly stared at them, they blatantly stared back, because, honestly, you can't see muscles like that and not stare. Not only had I seen Tyler in all his glory before but seeing him now just made me think back and remember how his eyes had caught mine. How I had stupidly blushed, but this time I could ogle him because he was doing the same to me, as were the other two McGuire brothers.
Wendy, Raina and I shared conspiring grins as we all ran towards the shoreline and jumped in before the boys.
“Hey!” one of them called out, “wait for us!” It wasn’t long before they joined us.
This was fun. This is what teenagers did. Hang out, go camping, just live carefree. It had been a long time since I felt this free, and it scared me a little.
We all swam around before deciding to 'chicken fight,' which was kind of hard on the rocky bottom, but the stones were smooth so it wasn't that much of a problem.
“Anyone up for a race?” Peter called out as he treaded water.
“Ok!” came from Wendy.
“Sure!” I called out.
“See ‘ya on the other side!” Kane yelled as he shot off towards the other shoreline before any of us had a chance to get ahead.
We all swam to the other side, giggling, laughing and splashing the whole way.
Let me tell you, those guys, they cheat. They all wrestled, pulled each other back, pushed each other around, none of them getting anywhere.
No one won the race but in the end we didn’t care.
I joined in and climbed onto Kayden's back, and he tossed me into the air as Wendy and Raina were getting the same treatment.
After a while, we calmed down, and I started to float on my back, just relaxing, and you know what happens when you relax, the questions start coming.
“So what is it with you three you?” Wendy asked, blatant curiosity in her voice.
“Ah...” I heard Tyler not too far in the distance, “What do you mean?”
“You know what she means,” Raina hedged.
“Come on, guys. Leave them alone," Kane defended us. “You know how it is.”
“Actually, we don't," Raina said, confused, as Peter spoke up.
“Yeah, you do. You know how it is, to feel that way about a person...To lov-”
“Guys, guys!” Lincoln butted in. “We can talk for ourselves.”
Tyler just grunted. “Time to eat.”
I opened my eyes and looked up at the sky. I wasn't going to say anything, even though I knew that I was the topic. There was enough conversation flowing that I didn't need to.
The clouds that had been chasing the sun all day now loomed over us. They were gray, dark and angry. I guessed that the tropical storm had changed its course and was now coming toward
s us.
We all got out as Wendy pulled out the food for us to eat. We sat down on the rocks eating our sandwiches and chips whilst drinking Gatorade.
I finished my food, but eyed the last individual bag of chips lying on a rock in the middle of our circle. I looked up to find Peter eyeing them as well. I reached over to snag it before he could but wasn't quick enough.
“Hey!”
Peter pointed to me with a chip in hand, “You snooze,—”
“I know, I know, ” I told him, putting my hands up in surrender as I took a big dramatic sigh, “You lose.”
He grinned. “You got it.”
I just shook my head. They were going to ingrain that into my memory before this trip was out.
“Hey, Daniels,” Lincoln called out to me.
I turned to him, seeing his eyes twinkle. “Yeah?”
“What do people say about camping?”
“Huh?”
He repeated his question.
I shrugged, giving him a confused look. “I don't know... bring a flashlight?”
“Nope. It's In-Tents.”
“In tents? In-Tents. Ah! Intense!”
I grinned at him as I tossed my empty Gatorade bottle at him. “Only with you.”
"Hey, watch it!”
Everyone chuckled until I felt the first of many raindrops.
“Time to go!” Wendy called out. “We don't want to get stuck in a downpour!”
We gathered up our stuff and put our clothes back on, ready to ride. Going back was rough as the wind and rain tore into us. We were soaked in a matter of minutes, and the trail became muddy and slick. I thought about Wendy's words earlier. Not coming our way, huh? We were freaking in the eye of it! At least, that's what it felt like. We all drove close together so we wouldn't lose one another with Peter's big ride leading us.
When we got back to camp, my attention went immediately to the guys tent. It had collapsed and was now a puddle of mud. What were we going to do?
Peter was right. Camping was intense... and wet, muddy and cold.
We all seemed to just sit there and look at our drowned camp site. Our tent was still standing, but that wouldn't be the case if we didn't act soon enough.
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