Just a Summer Fling

by Cate Cameron

  The lake or the farm? Quiet peace, or—or what? That was the problem. She had no idea.

  And she’d get no sleep until she found out. She turned quickly, heading out of town toward the farm. She needed to know. She needed to see Josh’s face, and let him see hers. It would work. It had to.

  Her conviction carried her all the way to the junction of Josh’s driveway and the road and then abandoned her entirely.

  No, damn it, she wouldn’t chicken out.

  She turned off the main road and headed down the driveway. She realized how late it was when she saw the darkness of the house. No lights on. If Josh was home, he was probably asleep. Did she really want to wake him up with this?

  Yes, she decided. She did. She’d flown across the continent for this man and she wanted to see him, even if it was only to give him the privilege of dumping her in person rather than over the phone.

  She sat in the car for a moment, gathering her courage, then pushed the door open and pulled herself outside. The first breath of the night air reminded her of everything she’d missed about the place, and when she looked up and saw the wide band of stars overhead, she knew she was where she should be.

  But she wasn’t confident enough to pull her overnight bag out of the trunk, she decided. She headed for the stairs empty-handed, then heard a strange snuffling noise from over beside Josh’s truck. She took a curious step in that direction and then froze as something moved in the shadows. Something big.

  A bit more movement. The bulk of it, the shuffling movement—

  It was a bear. A huge damn bear. Ashley’s brain froze. The bear moseyed toward her as if it shared her earlier curiosity and hadn’t been terrified out of it like she had.

  Jesus. What was the rule? Freeze? Play dead? Run away? Be silent? Be loud? She was pretty sure it depended on what kind of bear you were dealing with, but how the hell were you supposed to tell bears apart? The one thing she knew was that the strangled yelp that came from her panicked throat was not on any of the approved response lists.

  The bear was about five feet away from her when there was a squeaking sound from the direction of the cabin. The bear turned its head to stare at the opening door.

  Josh’s voice was calm, but serious. “You don’t see any cubs, do you? Just the one bear?”

  “Just one.” Ashley’s voice was trembling, but at least she managed to form words.

  And Josh still sounded calm. “I’m going to let the dog loose, Ash. When she distracts the bear, you hustle up here, okay?”

  Ashley made a sound that Josh seemed to interpret as agreement.

  Things happened fast after that. Josh said, “Okay, get him,” and a dark blur roared toward them. Daisy was making sounds Ashley had never heard before, a strange mix of barks and growls and near-howling that was almost as frightening as the bear.

  But not quite. Ashley managed to take a couple steps toward the cabin and then Josh was there, stepping between her and the animals, and he was banging two pots together like a low-rent New Year’s celebrant, and Ashley managed to peek around his shoulder to see the bear racing for the forest, Daisy hot on its heels.

  “Daisy!” Josh yelled after her, but he didn’t seem too concerned. “She’s pretty quick,” he said as if he thought Ashley needed to be reminded of it. “She’s chased a lot of bears and she’s never come back hurt.”

  Ashley staggered a few steps to the stairs and sank down onto them, trying to collect herself. “She’s chased a lot of bears?” she managed to ask.

  Josh sat down next to her. “Vermont hazard, remember? They’re good animals, but it’s best for everyone if they stay away from humans. They’re just looking for snacks or entertainment, usually, so a bit of noise is all it takes to get rid of them.”

  “I thought . . . play dead?”

  “For grizzlies, maybe. Or if there’d been cubs. Cubs change everything.”

  Ashley felt freezing cold on every part of her body that wasn’t pressed up against Josh. She leaned in a little harder and he wrapped his arm around her. “You’re okay,” he said softly. “I’m sorry you got scared.”

  “It was a bear, Josh.”

  “Yeah.” He kissed her temple. “There’s people who come up here their whole lives and never see one. You got lucky.”

  She hoped her huff of breath would be considered a laugh; it was the best her still-tight lungs could produce.

  “You’re cold. You want to come inside?”

  She nodded. This wasn’t quite the arrival she’d been planning, but at least she wasn’t being turned away. “What about Daisy?”

  Josh cocked his head and listened, so Ashley did the same. They heard nothing and Josh shrugged. “If she’s not barking anymore she probably figured she got the bear far enough away. She’ll be on her way home now, or else standing guard in the forest. Or maybe finding something disgusting to roll in.”

  Ashley let herself be herded inside and accepted the glass of Scotch Josh poured for her. She’d just taken her first sip when Josh pushed the kitchen door open and Daisy came racing in, full of triumphant energy. Now that the bear was dealt with, she was ready to greet Ashley properly and check Josh out to make sure he was in one piece and just generally celebrate having two of her favorite people in the kitchen. And if there happened to be some treats in that magical white box that kept things cold, she’d be happy to indulge in a few of those, too.

  “Not too much or she’ll puke on the bed,” Josh warned as Ashley scoured the fridge for dog snacks.

  “She saved my life! She gets treats!”

  “Puking isn’t a treat.”

  “You won’t puke, will you?” Ashley asked the dog, and Daisy licked Ashley’s chin in reply. Not the clearest message, maybe, but Ashley figured it was good enough.

  “You look tired,” Josh said when Ashley had given the dog a final cold cut and shut the fridge door. There was something he was trying to say, but he was right, Ashley was tired and she wasn’t sure she was up to breaking through his code. “And you’re still a bit shaky. You shouldn’t drive. Stay here, okay?”

  “Okay,” she said quietly. But she’d been the one to leave, so maybe she should be the one to take a bit of a chance now. “I can use the guest room, if you want. But I’d rather sleep with you.”

  “I’d rather that, too,” he said quietly. The small victory washed over her like a warm wave, and she felt much steadier as he took her hand and led her down the hall.

  Twenty-one

  JOSH WANTED ASHLEY to wake up so she could smile at him, but he also wanted her to stay asleep so he could think about her all snuggled up, warm and safe in his bed. And so he wouldn’t have to hear anything unpleasant she might have to say. The conflicting desires ended up making him vaguely restless, but unable to pick any job to spend his energy on. He wiped half of the kitchen counter, washed a few dishes, made coffee but didn’t pour any for himself, and then heard stirring in the bedroom.

  He snuck toward the door, reluctant to make noise in case Ashley wasn’t actually awake, and heard her sleepy voice say, “How’s your tummy, hero pup? Ready for some more treats?”

  Josh snuck a peek through the crack between the half-open door and the wall and saw Daisy and Ashley both on the bed where he’d left them, with Daisy snuffling into Ashley’s neck for kisses. It was a bit sad that he was jealous of his dog.

  “I think I saw some bacon in the freezer,” Ashley said. She was waking up now and her voice was becoming more dynamic; Daisy’s tail wagged in response. “You think we should fry some of that up?” Now Daisy’s entire back end was wagging. “And then maybe some broccoli!” Ashley suggested in the same tone of voice, and Daisy almost fell off the bed she was so excited. “You don’t speak English, do you, pup? No, no English!”

  Daisy barked, a little yip of excited agreement, and Ashley grinned and swung her legs over the side of the bed.
“Okay. We’ll find good snacks. Lots of vegetables, hardly any meat. Right?”

  Josh couldn’t stay out of the room any longer. “You ready for coffee?” he asked as he stepped into the doorway. “Or do you want to wake up a little more slowly?”

  “Hmm . . .” She stretched languorously, her borrowed shirt riding up in interesting places. “I think coffee would work. But I’ll come out to the kitchen for it.”

  “I can bring it in here if you want.”

  “No. Daisy and I need to start looking for her morning snacks.”

  “She’s already had her breakfast.”

  “Kibble. She says kibble sucks. She says bear-chasing dogs need bacon to keep their strength up.”

  “She’s chased bears before and hasn’t needed bacon.”

  “She felt the lack. Go get the frying pan ready.”

  “I was hoping to watch you for a little longer.”

  Her smile was almost shy. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.” As if there could be any doubt.

  But apparently there was, because she made a face and said, “You didn’t call me. I was away for six days, and you didn’t call me.” She didn’t sound petulant, exactly—just unsure.

  Josh had been hoping to put this conversation off until at least after coffee, if not forever. But if they were going to talk about it, at least he could try to be honest. “I should have called probably. But I was . . . I don’t know exactly. Still trying to figure things out. Waiting to see if you called, or if you were going to come back at all.”

  “I said I was coming back.”

  “You said you were staying the whole summer. You said you weren’t going to hang out with Hollywood people. Said you were taking a vacation.”

  “Things changed!” she protested defensively.

  “Yeah,” he said. “I didn’t mean you lied or anything. Just, like you said, things change sometimes. So you might have planned to come back, but then when you got to L.A., maybe you’d have figured out that you shouldn’t.”

  “Why would I have done that?”

  “I don’t know. I mean, you live there. Your life is there. It’s not that weird to decide to stay at home instead of flying across the country.”

  She nodded slowly. “I guess. Yeah. But, listen, Josh, that honestly never occurred to me. I’m sorry if you weren’t sure, but I knew I was coming back. I knew.”

  He let himself believe her. “Okay. Good.”

  She slid off the bed and padded toward him on bare feet, his shirt falling to the middle of her thighs and then leaving a lot of skin for him to obsess over. “You were mad at me before I left. Is that . . . Are we okay? Is that over?”

  “Yeah.” He saw her waiting for more and tried to find the words. “I wish you hadn’t gotten involved with the business. I appreciate the thought, but I’ve got my pride, Ashley. You know?”

  “I do. I’m sorry. I wanted to help, but I guess I just got caught up in the grand gesture again. I’m learning, though. I promise.” She looked up at him, her eyes wide and sweet. “You’re sure you’re not mad anymore?”

  “I was almost done being mad when I listened to your message,” he said quietly. “And then if there was a tiny little bit left, it dissolved completely when I saw you standing there facing down a damn bear.”

  “I can handle bears,” she said bravely. “But . . . I wish you’d called me. I wanted to call you, but I said I wouldn’t.”

  “Yeah. I’m sorry.”

  “You can make it up to me,” she interrupted with a sly, suggestive smile.

  His body responded to just the hint. “Really?” he asked cautiously.

  “Yup. You can apologize with bacon. Daisy and I want bacon, and maybe eggs and definitely toast. Do you have tomatoes? We might want to make BLTs.”

  He smiled at her, only a little reluctantly. “Daisy doesn’t want tomatoes. But, yeah, I might have one. Enough for you.”

  “I’ll share,” she promised, and she kissed him lightly. “I want coffee and breakfast, and I want a shower, and I want to brush my teeth. And then I want to climb right back into bed with you and you can show me how much you missed me. Sound good?”

  “Yeah. Sounds perfect.” He meant it. He’d missed her, and now she was back. It still wasn’t anything long-term, and he was still going to get his heart smashed down the road, but he knew he needed to enjoy things while he could. “Coffee first. Any chance you want company in the shower?”

  “Daisy likes showers?”

  “You’re not funny.”

  “I’m not joking.” She waited, then grinned. “Now, Daisy and I would like bacon. Please serve us.”

  “You were in L.A. for a little too long, I think.” But he was already moving, heading down the hall toward the kitchen, and when he got there he hauled out his cast iron skillet and the bacon. Ashley was back. She wanted bacon. He was going to give her whatever she wanted.

  * * *

  IT was a good thing Josh had been working so hard while Ashley was away, and a good thing, in a way, that he’d lost half his clients, because once she was back he didn’t seem to want to leave the house. He made it clear that he didn’t want her to have the barbecue and she reluctantly accepted his decision, but it seemed like even just the possibility of rubbing shoulders with a Hollywood star had brought a few more customers back into the fold, even without a payoff.

  He sent Kevin on a few jobs, and spent one afternoon helping him when there was just no safe way for the guy to do the work alone, but otherwise Josh was on vacation. So was Ashley. They rode the horses all over the property and beyond. Josh showed her his favorite places, and she appreciated them just as much as he’d known she would. He cooked for her, a little, until she kissed him and told him to go sit down; she liked cooking, and he obviously didn’t. And they spent a lot of time in bed.

  But they did other things, too. Ashley was interested in the whole town, and she dragged him to one of her pottery lessons, off to Abi’s café for lunch, and when she found out his aunt and uncle owned a garden center she insisted they buy flowers for the cabin. “We can get native plants,” she said. “They’ll look totally natural. Just a little bit flowery!”

  Another day he took her over to go fishing with Mr. Ryerson, nice and early in the morning, and he watched as she charmed the old man with her enthusiasm. She peppered him with questions about bait and techniques and she actually pulled out a notebook and wrote things down when she got something she wasn’t sure she’d remember. And then, when they reached the secret fishing hole that Mr. Ryerson had never even told Josh about, Ashley sat as quietly as a seasoned pro, casting and waiting and then casting again. She was a bit squeamish when she actually caught a nice bass and realized she’d have to touch it to get the hook out of its mouth. But when Mr. Ryerson moved to help her, Josh caught his shoulder. “No, she can do it,” he said gently, and Ashley stared at him for a moment, and then nodded decisively.

  “I can,” she said. “I just . . . run my hand down like this?” She took a deep breath, and then she did it. “And I ease the hook around?” Her face was twisted but her hand was steady, and when she’d unhooked the fish and reluctantly set it back into the water, she’d turned to Josh with a triumphant glow. “I did it. Me! That was me who just did that!”

  “I know. I knew you could.”

  “Yeah,” she agreed. “You did.” She shifted around in the boat, snuggled in a little closer, and Josh wasn’t sure whether to ignore the knowing look from Mr. Ryerson or bask in it.

  They went to Woody’s one night with Kevin and Abi and a couple other people to hear Theo’s band, and Josh just sat back at their table and watched Ashley have fun. He was proud of her and proud of being with her. Not because she was a movie star, but because she was Ashley.

  “You got a long-term plan for this?” Abi asked when Ashley had dragged Kevin out onto the tiny dance
floor. “Ideas of where you’re going down the road?”

  “Nope,” he said, and he took a sip of his beer.

  “You think maybe you should?”

  “You think maybe you should be quiet?” She raised a challenging eyebrow at him and he sighed and extended his hand. “You want to dance?”

  “You hate dancing.”

  “Not as much as I hate talking about this.”

  So she led him out onto the floor and it wasn’t long until they switched partners and Josh realized he didn’t hate dancing all that much, not when he got to do it with Ashley. It helped that Kevin was there, being goofy and distracting for everyone, and it was even kind of fun when Theo started making square-dancing calls from the stage, getting all dancers to swing their partners and do their own versions of whatever do-si-do-ing was.

  Ashley laughed through it all, and Ashley made everything good.

  So they had fun when they went out, but his favorite times were still at home with just the two of them. They rode, and they walked, and they went down to the creek and looked up at the stars. They also talked a lot, and spent most of one rainy afternoon inventing and playing a strange game of what-I’d-do-if-I-ran-the-world, a game so intense that they both started writing down strategies, doing calculations, and even making maps to show the way goods could be redistributed. Ashley’s solutions tended to be more technology based, Josh’s more agrarian, but they were both pretty confident that they’d get all their worlds’ citizens fed and healthy.

  “We may be the biggest nerds in the universe,” Ashley said as she surveyed the bed. It was covered with stacks of paper, a laptop, and a demon dog wearing a paper crown. They’d both agreed that a figurehead monarch, especially a furry one, wouldn’t hurt their political systems.

  “Nerds might be a good choice to run the world,” Josh said. He’d never thought of himself as a nerd before, but he was pretty sure it was the right word for the way he was acting. How else to explain his strange new fascination with climatic projections? Would he be able to stop desertification in time to keep the Sahel productive, or should he be allocating even more resources to dealing with refugees? Of course, he wouldn’t have been so interested in any of it if the issues hadn’t sprung out of a conversation with a beautiful movie star he happened to be in bed with, so possibly he wasn’t a classic nerd.