Colton

by Lori Wilde

  “I didn’t want to take a chance that you’d go back to your original plan,” he said, “if you didn’t get pregnant right away.”

  She looked up at him, her eyes showing more tiredness than could be attributed to their busy day.

  Colton reached over and took her hand in his. “I need you, April.” He’d spooked her. She tried to pull away from him, but he wouldn’t let her. “At the campground. There’s no way I could hire someone to do all that you do.”

  Although she seemed somewhat appeased by his answer, she most definitely was not pleased. And if he’d had any doubt about that, the rolled-up blanket in the middle of the bed that night let him know exactly what she thought of his trickery.

  8

  April paced up and down the length of the sandy beach surrounding the Cozy Acres lake. Many of the children had been working on their sandcastles for an hour or more, and each sought to win the prize of a beach bucket full of candy for his or her creation. As the sole judge in this competition, she was being bombarded by children urging her to look at their masterpieces.

  School had let out for the summer a couple of days ago, and April was grateful for the heightened workload as she launched into her role as campground activities director. Staying busy helped keep her from thinking about being married. Really married.

  She hadn’t been able to stay angry with Colton, which made matters worse. If only she’d been able to remain rip-roaring mad at him, this whole situation would be easier to deal with. But, instead, she’d found this time with Colton he most fun of her life. It was a pleasure to wake up and see the face of her best friend first thing every morning. And it was refreshing to have someone share the lonely evenings with her.

  Although she’d originally declined to make love with Colton because she hadn’t wanted to mess up their impending divorce by consummating the union, it was now more a matter of shyness. Her inhibitions had been loosened on their wedding night, thanks to the postnuptial champagne toasts, but since then she’d worried about the consummation of their vows until she felt frozen stiff. All these years she’d shared everything with him … her hopes, sorrows, joys, and special occasions. But she’d never shared her body with him, and suddenly her best friend seemed like a stranger.

  “Miss April.” A small hand tugged at the hem of her shirt. April looked down to see six-year-old Rachel’s enormous blue eyes staring up at her. “David said he’s going to crash my castle with a wrecking ball.”

  April glanced in the direction the girl pointed just in time to see the middle child of the three siblings roll an overinflated beach ball all-too-innocently toward his younger brother. She strolled over to David and knelt to his eye level.

  “You know,” she said gently. “If I were you, I’d be helping Rachel with her sandcastle. Because, if she wins, she just might share the prize with you.”

  He shrugged in apparent unconcern. “I can get candy of my own.”

  It seemed as though the impending payoff of watching his sister’s sandcastle crumble was more enticing than the iffy possibility of sharing her winnings.

  But the youngest of the Morgan children thought differently. Jason jumped up from sitting on the beach, his trunks weighted with sand, and ran to Rachel. “I’ll help you,” he said, suddenly full of enthusiasm for the project.

  Fearing the structure wouldn’t be standing much longer, April took a long look and committed it to memory, then snapped a picture with her cell phone. Just in case.

  A while later, Rachel’s castle still intact, April awarded the prizes. The bucket of candy went to an older girl who’d made a three-tiered design. Seeing the crestfallen look on Rachel’s face, April gave her and Jason each a coupon for a free candy bar at the camp store. And then she gave suckers as consolation prizes to all the rest who entered.

  “Softy,” Steven said beside her.

  She turned and handed her young employee one of the remaining suckers. “When you own the campground,” she said smugly, “you can make whatever rules you want.”

  Steven pocketed the sucker for later. April supposed it wasn’t considered “cool” for a sixteen-year-old to eat a lollipop in public.

  A scream split the air and was followed immediately by giggles of delight. Fearing that someone might be hurt, she sought the source of the noise. Mr. Morgan got up from his folding lounge chair and walked toward his three children. He didn’t seem to be in a hurry, so it must not have been anything serious, she surmised. And then she saw Rachel’s sandcastle.

  David stood triumphantly over the misshapen structure, an empty plastic pail in his hand. Water dripped from the container, and it was plain to see that he’d “melted” the sandcastle. A tear-faced Rachel sobbed the story to her father while pointing between her creation and her brother. Little Jason patted his big sister on the arm.

  Oddly enough, the scene made April think of her misbegotten marriage to Colton. Like the sandcastle, their union was only meant for show. It would soon dissolve, and as Rachel and Jason had discovered, the arrival of a third party would bring an end to what they’d put together. In April and Colton’s case, that third party would also be a child.

  And for reasons she couldn’t understand, it saddened her.

  She didn’t know what magic words he’d spoken, but for now, Mr. Morgan had brought peace to his clan. Rachel moved to a spot farther away from the water and began building a new castle, this time joining forces with the girl who’d won the candy.

  April supposed that someday she, too, would build a new relationship with someone else. Such a shame, she thought, because she rather liked that first sandcastle.

  “You got any iodine?” Steven asked.

  “Sure,” she said, still shaken by her musings. “Did you cut yourself?”

  He shook his head. “Clyde caught it on the arm when Rocky didn’t want to go back into the pet carrier.” Steven paused a moment while April took in the implication. “It’s time, April.”

  Leaving the children to their parents’ care, April walked with Steven back to the camp store. She’d been putting this off. From the start, she’d intended to return Rocky to the wild. She just hadn’t thought it would be so soon. And she was having a hard time letting go.

  Steven nudged her with his elbow. “He’ll be okay,” he assured her. “You did a good job of teaching him to find nuts and stuff.”

  He opened the camp store door for her to go inside first. Steven was right. Rocky shouldn’t have much trouble finding food. She had taken the leashed squirrel on numerous excursions out to the woods where she’d shown him how to find acorns. And Steven had been grossed out when she allowed Rocky to climb the lower branches of the catalpa tree to scavenge for caterpillars.

  Clyde sat behind the counter, glaring at the blue plastic pet carrier positioned at the far end of it. Both of his arms, from the bottom of his short sleeves to the backs of his hands, showed angry red scratches. “Your squirrel is going squirrelly.”

  April got the first aid kit from the storage closet and set it down beside Clyde, then she began cleaning the wounds. “Did he bite you?”

  “Nah.” Clyde winced once as she tended one of the deeper scratches. “Nipped my finger, but he didn’t break the skin.”

  She smiled in relief. She didn’t think there was any risk of rabies, but bite wounds could easily become infected. By the time she finished dabbing Clyde’s arms with the red iodine, he looked like he’d been in a fight with a she-bear. And lost.

  Walking to the end of the counter, she picked up the pet carrier. The battle with Clyde must have tired Rocky out, for he now lay curled in a ball on his bed of towels.

  “Can I go with you?” Steven asked.

  April nodded, and Steven took the carrier from her.

  “Hey, wait a minute,” Clyde called as they were leaving. He pulled out a bag from behind the counter. “Here’s a going-away present for the rat.”

  A bag of unsalted peanuts in the shell. Clyde’s own personal stash. She flashed him
a smile as she accepted the offering on Rocky’s behalf. Clyde was not a man to hold grudges.

  “Where are we taking him?” Steven asked once they were outside.

  “Back to that oak tree where I first found him.”

  He nodded his approval. “That’s far enough away from the campers that he won’t be bothering them for food.”

  They were crossing the open field where just three weeks ago they’d played softball at her family reunion. Colton climbed down from where he’d been tightening bolts on the swing set and called out a greeting.

  Steven set the carrier down and ran over to tell him what they were doing. Colton packed his tools in the small pickup truck he drove around the campground, and April felt a sense of relief when he joined them.

  He knelt in front of Rocky and stuck a finger in the cage door to scratch the animal’s shoulder. “So, you’re moving into your own place, huh? Be careful,” he warned. “It’s a jungle out there.”

  As he stood, he pushed the cowboy hat back and rubbed his forehead. “I think Rocky’ll be fine,” he announced. Then, to Steven, he added, “But I’m not too sure about his m-o-t-h-e-r,” spelling out the last word.

  “His mother will do just fine,” April assured them both. But, although she wouldn’t admit it to the males who accompanied her, she was reluctant to turn Rocky loose in the wild. What if he got in a fight with a bigger, older squirrel? What if he fell from the tree? She tried to slow her breathing as they walked along the horse trail toward Rocky’s birthplace. The animal was certain to pick up on her feelings, and it wouldn’t do for her to make him nervous about his reentry into the wild.

  They reached the oak tree much too quickly, and April stalled by giving him a peanut. When Rocky was done with the treat, she took him out of his confinement and held him close to her chest while Colton unhooked the harness. She took her time stroking her furry little friend, knowing this might be the last time she’d ever see him. April’s vision blurred slightly, and her eyes filled with hot tears.

  Steven reached over and patted the little fellow’s head. “Let me give you a word of advice,” he told the animal. “Stay out of Killer Bea’s pecan tree. That woman’s nothing but trouble.”

  April didn’t have the energy to chastise Steven again for his disrespect. She’d have a talk with him later, when she wasn’t so at odds with her emotions.

  Colton placed a couple of peanuts where the lower limb of the tree jutted from its trunk. “Why don’t you set him here until he gets his bearings?” he suggested.

  Rocky was starting to squirm in her arms, so she really couldn’t prolong the goodbye. With a heavy heart, she lifted him to the branch. The little ingrate ignored the peanuts and promptly scooted up to a higher perch in the tree.

  “Lucky guy,” said Steven.

  Surprised by the comment, April turned toward him.

  He shrugged, still watching Rocky. “He’s got his freedom.”

  If April’s heart hadn’t already been on the verge of breaking, it was in shards now.

  “Oh, Steven,” she said, placing a comforting arm around the boy’s lanky shoulders. She’d grown very fond of the boy in these short months, and though she would miss him terribly when he finished his stint at the youth facility, she wanted him to make a place for himself. And she feared that his run-ins with Mrs. Turner were only hurting his chance for a successful transition back into society.

  Steven was clearly uncomfortable with April’s gushing. With another shrug of his shoulders, he pulled away from her.

  “I’ve gotta go finish mowing.” With a quick salute to the squirrel, he was gone.

  She didn’t have time to fret about Steven before she saw something plummet from the tree to her feet. Her heart gave a lurch.

  “Relax,” said Colton, moving to stand beside her. “It’s only a twig with some dead leaves on it.”

  They stood side by side, peering up into the branches of the tree. The squirrel had moved even higher and hidden himself behind the large green leaves. At least he knew not to make himself an open target to hawks and such.

  “I can’t help it,” April confessed. “I’m going to worry about him, no matter what.”

  Colton turned his attention away from the tree and focused his brown eyes on April. “We’ve raised him the best we know how. The rest is up to him.”

  “But what if he has trouble adapting to the wild? What if he can’t find enough food?”

  Her husband tossed the remainder of the peanuts around the base of the tree. “If he needs us, we’ll be here for him.”

  “What if he’s lonely and misses us?”

  Shoving the empty bag into his pocket, he put his arm around her shoulders, much as she’d tried to do with Steven to offer some measure of comfort. But April didn’t resist the gesture. She leaned against him, grateful for the bit of strength he was able to convey to her through his mere touch.

  “He’ll find a female,” Colton said, his voice soft and sure.

  April felt her lower lip go out in a childish pout. “They probably won’t even invite us to the wedding.”

  “As long as they love each other, that’s all that matters.” He was talking about the squirrel, April knew, but his message seemed much more intimate.

  “Suppose she’s not good enough for him?” she asked petulantly. It was ridiculous, her talking about a squirrel as if he were her son going off to make his mark in the world, but she couldn’t help herself. She was taking this very personally.

  Colton squeezed her shoulder, and she was aware that his body had tensed.

  “Am I good enough for you, April?”

  What an odd question. She looked up at Colton, wondering what had prompted such a query. “You’re my best friend, Buddy. Always have been, always will be.”

  And she was determined to keep that promise, no matter what. Her statement was a reminder to hurry and settle her awkwardness with him so she could get pregnant and let them both get on with their old, comfortable relationship of being “just friends.”

  “That’s not what I’m talking about,” he persisted. His words carried an extra weight of meaning.

  April felt herself blush. “Oh, you mean—” He must have been referring to his suitability as the father of her child. There was no question about that. “Well, of course,” she began with hesitation. “You’re smart. You have a great personality. Physically, you’re in great shape.”

  They were all traits that she wanted her child to inherit.

  Colton gnashed his teeth. Using the excuse of searching for Rocky, he stepped away from April and peered up into the leaves. If she thought he was that wonderful, then why wouldn’t she let him make love to her? Better yet, why wouldn’t she let him love her?

  He’d hoped that, by her playing the role of his wife, it would show her how much she’d been missing by ruling him out as a love interest. Unfortunately, he felt like he was just as far away from winning her over as he’d always been.

  Colton unfisted his hands and shoved them into his back pockets. He’d wasted too many of his single years waiting for her to realize they were meant to be together. And he didn’t intend to waste their married time together, waiting for her to realize she loved him, too.

  He felt the muscles in his neck and shoulders relax as he contemplated the fact that she did love him. She might not admit it at this point—or worse, she might say she loved him as a best friend—but she did, indeed, love him. He was sure of that. And he was sure that, if she would only allow herself to see it, she also loved him as a wife loves a husband.

  Perhaps what he needed to do was show her what he already knew. Let her see for herself that this pretense of mere friendship was a bigger sham than their make-believe marriage had been.

  He bent and picked up the empty pet carrier. “It’s time to say goodbye to Rocky. He can’t get on with his new life until he leaves the old one behind.”

  It was also time to say goodbye to their old ways of relating to each other. In
their case, it was more a matter of not being able to leave the old life behind until they got on with the new.

  That decided, he would have to lead her into their new life. Colton smiled with anticipation. This could turn out to be quite satisfying.

  For both of them.

  A few minutes later, Deputy Alexander Dugg leaned against the door of the truck Colton had been driving earlier. April took a step back, away from the man.

  “You’re trespassing, Dugg,” Colton said without preamble. “I want you off my property. Now.”

  “I don’t think so.” The deputy slapped a thick pad against the palm of his hand. “I’m here on official duty.”

  To Dugg’s obvious chagrin, Colton did not appear impressed. “My, my, aren’t you just full of duty?”

  The double entendre was not lost on the smaller man. April watched in amazement as Dugg turned a crimson red that had nothing to do with the hot June sun.

  “It’s only Friday afternoon,” Colton continued. “Aren’t you a little early getting started with your weekend cop job?”

  April elbowed him, hoping he’d get the hint and not goad the little man into a showdown.

  “Laugh if you want, but come next election I’m going to be your new sheriff.” Dugg sounded like a little boy on a playground, trying to defend his turn in line at the sliding board. He must have noticed it, too, for he tried to project more authority into his next statement. “I understand that you two have been harboring a wild animal as a pet. Without a permit.”

  She wondered what the penalty would be for this infraction of the law. Hopefully, it wouldn’t mean another trip to jail.

  Colton opened his arms wide, as if he weren’t aware that the pet crate was still in his possession. “I don’t have a wild animal,” he told the deputy. He turned ever so innocently toward April. “Do you have a wild animal?”

  Following his lead, she shrugged and lifted her palms upward. The red leash dangled from her right hand. “I don’t have a wild animal.”