by Rachel Hanna
“Sure. I’ve got some eggs and bacon. Let me…” he said as he started to stand up.
“No, let me cook it. It’s the least I can do,” she said as she made her way into the kitchen. Aaron followed her. “So, why were you holding Tyler’s hand?” she asked as she took the eggs and bacon from the refrigerator.
“He woke up looking for you around three. He started to cry, so I held his little hand until he fell back to sleep.”
Tessa stopped for a moment, smiled slightly and then broke the first egg over the frying pan.
“What?” he asked leaning against the counter.
“Nothing.”
“No, what?” he pressed with a laugh.
“It’s just that I’m not used to having someone around to take the pressure off during times like this.”
“What about his father?” Aaron asked. Tessa stilled once again, but this time in fear. She knew that her body language was showing far too much about how anxious and terrified she really was, and she wished she could turn that off.
“Can we not talk about this?” she asked as she continued looking down.
“Okay. I’m sorry. It was just…”
“No, I’m sorry, Aaron. I know I’m not the easiest person to get to know.” She turned and looked at him. “It’s not you. I just have to do it this way.”
He looked at her for a moment and then smiled. “Tell ya what. I won’t ask any more personal questions, but you have to promise me that if you want to talk to someone, it will be to me. Deal?”
“Why does it have to be you?” she asked with a giggle.
“Because I know for a fact that you can trust me. The only way I can keep you safe from whatever is scaring you is to make sure I’m the only one you confide in.” His words immediately made her feel better, but also vulnerable.
“Aaron, we’re not your problem. We’re just temporary tenants at your campground. I don’t want you to have to be stressed out about my messed up life, okay?” She wiped her hands on the dish towel and pulled another frying pan from the cabinet next to the stove.
“Tessa, I’m a grown man. I like you and Tyler. You seem like nice people, and I don’t take kindly to bullies. I don’t know what you’re running from, but I believe that you need an ally. Call it intuition. Isn’t it okay for you to have a friend?” he asked. She nodded. “So, do we have a deal?” he asked holding out his hand.
She stared at his hand for a brief moment and then nodded again, shaking his hand. His handshake felt strong and confident, and she wished that she could feel that way. Something inside of her wanted to pull him toward her so she could rest her face against his chest and feel safe for just a few moments.
“So, tell me something. What’s up with that camper you’ve got?” he asked as he pulled up a bar stool.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s a little…”
“Beaten up?” she asked with a sly smile.
“Just a bit.”
“It’s all I could afford at the…” she started before realizing she might say too much.
“Gotcha. Does it have air?”
“No.”
“Tessa! You guys have been living over there without air conditioning all this time?”
“Yes…”
“It’s too hot for that.”
“We’ve been fine, Aaron,” she said rolling her eyes as she flipped the eggs and checked on the bacon sizzling.
“I don’t care. It’s way too hot for you to be over there with Tyler. Y’all barely come out of that thing. How have you managed all this time?”
“When you’ve been through worse, the loss of air conditioning is not a big deal.” Now she’d done it. She was saying too much again.
“What about your dog?”
“Oh crap! Beau! In all the ruckus last night, I forgot to let him out!” she said as she turned off the burners and started for the door.
“Relax. I’ll go let him out. Does he need to be fed?”
“Yes. The food is in the cabinet under the sink. I can do it…”
“No, I don’t mind. Besides, I would end up burning the eggs,” he said with a wink as he quietly walked through the living room and out the front door.
Chapter 4
Aaron made his way across the small yard between his cabin and her camper. As he walked inside, he was taken aback by just how old the camper was. It looked like it'd been created sometime in the 1970s with brown shag carpeting and harvest yellow appliances. His stomach sank. What had this beautiful woman and her son holed up in a tiny, old camper for all these weeks? What in the world were they running from?
Before he had a chance to think much more, the big boxer dog came running from the back of the camper barking at him. He jumped up on Aaron and almost knocked him down.
"Hey, boy!" he said trying to calm the dog down. Aaron had always loved dogs, but this particular one seemed to be a little bit overzealous with his greetings. He dug the dog food out from under the sink and poured it in a bowl along with some fresh water. Then, he clipped the leash that was lying on the kitchen table onto Beau and walked him outside. Once Beau finished his business, he brought the dog back inside and allowed him to eat for a few minutes.
Aaron couldn't help himself. He looked around a little bit to try to get an idea about who this Tessa person was. Nothing in the camper said anything about her former life. However, just seeing what she was living in made him cringe. What had she left behind that was worse than this?
The camper was hot inside even though it was still early morning. There was no way he was going to leave the dog locked up in there all day without air conditioning, and he couldn’t imagine how Tessa and Tyler had done it either. He grabbed the dog food bag and Beau’s now empty bowls and started back across the yard, pulling the energetic canine at the same time.
As he walked into the cabin, Tessa was putting their plates on the breakfast table.
“Beau? Aaron, what are you doing?”
“It’s already too hot over there, Tessa. I couldn’t leave him inside that camper.”
“But, Aaron…”
“Look, I don’t have any cabins free right now. It’s the busy season. So, you guys are moving in here with me.”
“Um, no we’re not. I have to draw the line…” she said.
“Look, I’m drawing a line. I own this campground, and I can’t have dogs or people dying of heat exhaustion on my property.”
“I don’t want to be dependent on anyone. I don’t want to be a burden…”
“You’re not a burden, Tessa. Trust me. I could use the company,” he said smiling as he unclipped Beau and let the dog sniff around the place. Tyler started to rouse on the sofa.
“You want the company of a three year old and an unruly boxer?” she asked with her hands on her hips and a smile on her face. “That’s your dream?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact it is. Just the other day, I was thinking to myself how I would love a toddler and a crazy pooch to help me really break this place in,” he said putting his hands on his hips to mimic her.
“Very funny. I am sure something around here will get broken very soon!”
Aaron walked toward her and put his hands on both of her shoulders. “Don’t worry,” he said. She shuttered immediately at his touch. “Damn it, Tessa, what did he do to you?” he asked softly as he searched her eyes. He wanted to know where this guy was so he could beat him to a bloody pulp.
“Breakfast is getting cold,” she said softly as she looked at her feet. “Tyler, you’re up…” Tessa said when she heard a noise from the sofa. Tyler was sitting up getting a full face licking by Beau. Tessa walked over to him and sat down on the sofa, immediately inspecting his wound.
“Ouch!” Tyler yelped as Tessa touched the lump. “That hurts, Mommy! Where are we?”
Tessa looked up at Aaron who was standing in the kitchen doorway. “Well, we are right next door to our camper, but this nice man has allowed us to stay here overnight so you could g
et some good sleep after your boo boo.” She rubbed his back with her hand as he pet Beau on top of his head.
“Mommy, when can we go back to the beach?” Tyler asked with his bottom lip poked out.
“Honey, I don’t know…”
“Say, Tyler, do you like to build sand castles?” Aaron asked as he walked toward the sofa.
“I love to build sand castles!”
“Well, I am the reigning sand castle champion of January Cove. Do you think you could help me build a masterpiece out there on the beach today?”
Tessa stared at him, and he could tell she was battling within herself as to whether or not she wanted to allow Tyler back on the beach. He wasn’t sure if it was for safety reasons or because she was scared of being found.
“Yes! Yes!” Tyler said jumping up and down. Beau was getting excited right along with him.
“Aaron, I don’t know…” Tessa said as she stood up.
“Tessa, you’re safe with me. I promise.”
“You have no idea,” she said softly.
“Hey, Tyler, why don’t you go eat some breakfast. It’s right there on that red plate,” Aaron said pointing to the table as he and Tessa walked to the other side of the room.
“Listen, this is our life here, okay? You have no idea what could happen if I was found,” she said. It was as much as she’d said during the time he’d known her so far.
“I’ll keep you both safe.”
“What are you? Some kind of FBI agent? Martial arts master? What makes you think you can keep us safe? You don’t even know the situation, Aaron. Trust me when I tell you that we need to stay hidden from view. It has to be that way.”
Aaron ran his hand over his chin, as he always did when he was deep in thought. “Okay, I have a plan.”
“Why don’t I like the sound of that?” she asked.
“My brother Kyle has a great place on the beach. His part of the beach is completely private, and we can have it all to ourselves.”
“But won’t he see us?”
“Yes, but he’s trustworthy too. All the Parker men are,” Aaron said with a wink.
“He won’t know why I’m hiding.”
“Neither do I.”
“But you want to know, and so will he.”
“No, he won’t. I’ll just tell him we want a quiet place to relax for the day. Tessa, no one needs to know if you don’t want them to. Let’s just go and allow Tyler to have some fun. One of these days, you’re going to have to let go and relax. How will you ever live a normal life if you don’t let your guard down at some point?”
“That’s exactly what he wants, Aaron. When I let my guard down, I’m dead.”
* * *
Why had she said that of all things? Dead? Dear God, he wasn’t ever going to let that one go. Time stood still as Aaron stood there looking at her, his mouth gaping open. She couldn’t get a good breath into her lungs.
“Tessa, are you in that much danger?”
She wanted to say no. Say no, say no… “Yes.” Damn it! Why had she said yes?
“You have to let me help you,” he said softly as he watched Tyler feed Beau a piece of bacon in the kitchen. “For his sake, Tessa. Please.”
“This isn’t your problem, Aaron. I can’t drag yet another person into it.”
“Fine. Then I won’t let either of you out of my sight ever again. Not until I know you’re safe.”
“Why do you even care, Aaron? You don’t know me. You could walk away right now and never look back.”
“No, I couldn’t.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m not that kind of man.”
She wanted to hug him for just that one comment. But she couldn’t involve him for the same reason she couldn’t involve her own extended family. There was just too much danger.
“Please listen to me, Aaron. There is danger in this situation, and it’s mine to deal with. I will protect my son just as I always have, but I won’t involve other people. I can’t. The guilt I feel for dragging my son through this is almost more than I can bear. Please don’t make this worse.”
He sighed and looked down. “Have you always been this stubborn?” he asked. Tessa laughed and threw her hands up.
“Some people would probably say so.”
“So what is your long term plan then? To just keep running?”
“If I have to.”
“What kind of life is that for you? For Tyler?”
“I can’t think about that right now.”
“You have to, Tessa. You’re not thinking clearly. You’re reacting out of fear instead of thinking logically. It’s almost like you’re running from a ghost instead of a person. How do you even know he’s looking for you?”
“Trust me, I know. He doesn’t like to lose or be made to look like a fool.”
Aaron was growing frustrated; she could see it in his face.
“See? I’m already ruining your life, Aaron. Twenty four hours ago, you were single and footloose and fancy free…”
“Footloose and fancy free? What era were you born in again?” he asked laughing. She punched him lightly on the arm.
“You shouldn’t have these worries. Your heart was just broken. You need time to heal.”
“Being with you and Tyler has helped me already. It’s given me something to focus on, to look forward to. That kid is a ball of energy, and I need that right now. I need a friend who understands and isn’t a family member.”
“You want me to be your friend?” she asked with her eyes wide.
“Well, it would be nice since I’d like to be your friend.”
“I feel like we should be passing a note in class. Will you be my friend? Check yes or no,” she said.
“So? Are you checking yes or no?”
“Okay, fine. But if we start to put you at risk or become a huge hassle in your life, promise you'll tell me.”
“I promise,” he said and then shook her hand. For a moment, they stood still staring at each other like each one knew a secret but didn't want to say it.
“So… I'm going to go give my brother a call and make sure that they aren’t busy today, and then we’ll pack up and head over to the beach. Sound good?”
“Yes, that's fine. But, I do need to go over and get some things from the camper, sunscreen and such.”
“Okay. Just make sure that you keep your eyes open. Even though I don't know what you're scared of, I know that it requires you to be alert.”
“Aaron, I appreciate everything you've done so far. Honestly, if I hadn’t met you when I did…”
“Let's try not to even think about that, okay?” She nodded and then headed towards the door. Aaron sat down at the kitchen table and dialed Kyle's number. While he was sitting there, he watched Tyler continue to eat his breakfast like he was a grown man. That kid could certainly put away some food!
Kyle answered in his usually cheerful voice. He’d become a totally different person since he found Jenna again. They were madly in love and had created the perfect small family. Aaron expected them to announce their engagement any day now, and he knew that Kyle would want to have a big family with her. He was so jealous yet so happy for his brother.
“Hey man. How's it going?” Aaron asked.
“It's going great. To what do I owe this pleasure?” Kyle said with a chuckle.
“Listen, I was wondering if you guys mind if we used the private beach today?”
“We?”
“Yeah. I've got a new friend here at the campground, and I wanted to bring her and her son over for the day.” Aaron knew that the wheels were already spinning in his brother’s head even though he was trying his best to sound completely nonchalant about the whole thing.
“A new friend, huh?” Kyle said in a teasing tone.
“Don't start. She's just a friend. She's had a rough time lately, and her kid got hurt last night on the beach behind the campground. I don’t want to take her back down to that area since it has some bad memories that are
too fresh. Anyway, we didn't want to be out on a crowded beach with him running around because it's harder to pay attention to him.” Aaron felt bad lying to his brother, but he was pretty impressed with himself for coming up with such a story on short notice.
“Sure, you know you can come over anytime. Jenna and I are going to be gone today. Mom is keeping her daughter so that we can get a little alone time, if you know what I mean.” Aaron laughed at his brother’s obvious joke.
“Thanks. We’ll probably be by in about an hour, and we might stay until sometime after lunch.”
“Sounds good. Enjoy.” Kyle said. The brothers hung up the phone just as Tyler was finishing up his breakfast.
“What's your name?” Tyler asked cocking his head as he drank his orange juice and stared at Aaron.
“My name is Aaron Parker.” Being the youngest, Aaron had never really been around kids much. He was always the baby of the family, and he wasn’t totally sure how to interact with a three year old.
“Do I call you Aaron or do I call you Mr. Parker?” Tyler asked between slurps of his drink. He was pretty astute for three year old, especially one who had seemingly been through a lot.
“You can call me either one you want.”
“My mommy says I need to call old men mister, so I guess I better do that.”
Aaron stifled a laugh. “Yes. We wouldn't want to make mommy mad, would we?” He wondered how old Tyler thought he was. Maybe he needed to look into some wrinkle cream before he hit thirty years old.
“So this is your house?” Tyler asked.
“Yes. I own this whole campground where everybody parks their campers just like your mommy did. Everybody likes to come here and visit me at my campground.”
Tyler stared at him for a moment and then hung his head. “We didn't want to come here, but we had to.”
Aaron sat in stunned silence for just a moment. Was this boy trying to open up to him? He wasn’t sure how much he should ask or say. After all, this wasn’t his kid. It wasn’t his place to intervene when it came to a child.
“You didn't want to come to my campground?”
“No. I wanted to stay at my house. All of my toys are there. But, my daddy did some mean things and we had to run away.”