“Yeah, but getting better.” She still didn’t offer to tell him what was wrong, so he didn’t ask.
“Help me understand men, Rick.”
The sadness in her voice clutched at his heart. “We’re very basic creatures actually,” he answered. “Feed our egos and our stomachs, and our hearts are in your hands.”
“Well, I’m not a very good cook, so maybe that’s where I went wrong.”
He wasn’t sure what happened, but he reasoned it had to do with another woman. He’d noticed that men, as a rule, wouldn’t leave one without another to go to. “Not that this is an excuse or anything, but sometimes guys leave their favorite dish just to try something new. Later, they figure out they still crave that favorite dish.”
“And sometimes the new dish suits their palate perfectly.”
“Then it was meant to be,” he answered softly.
She nodded and her breath stuttered.
“Want to talk about it?”
She shook her head with a sigh. “I’ve thought about it to death. Time to let it go.”
They sat mutely for a few minutes, avoiding eye contact.
Rick broke the silence. “Any words of wisdom for me? Any deep insights into the feminine psyche?”
“Summer’s an interesting person.” She didn’t hesitate on the name, so she knew whose psyche interested him. “She comes across as a free spirit, but she’s really a worrier about some things, especially her dad.”
Rick thought about the few times he’d been around Herschel Delaney. “He seems to be doing okay. I mean, he needs to lose some weight and get more exercise, but for a man his age, he’s not that bad.”
“Did you know Summer blames herself for his heart problems? She thinks she worried him too much in the past, so she’s determined to keep him worry free now. That’s why this place has such a hold on her. I didn’t realize how deep it was until a few minutes ago. She’s obsessed with getting her parents out from under the debt.”
Put that way, her recent actions didn’t seem so selfish...didn’t seem selfish at all. The conclusions he’d jumped to and the things he’d said to her gnawed at his insides even harder than before. Big chunks of regret landed with a thud in his stomach.
“She loves her parents...and she loves you,” Tara said.
The statement jolted Rick. The few looks he’d received from Summer the past couple of days had been anything but looks of love. “Your woman’s intuition may be a little outta whack right now.”
Tara turned to look at him squarely. “You’re not that clueless, are you?”
“Well.” He rubbed a hand down his face. “I never thought so until now. Does she say she loves me?” His breathing held as he waited for her reply.
“Yeah, and it’s tearing her up that you accused her of being selfish. She wants to prove she can run the place so her mom and dad will quit worrying. She really was doing what she thought was in their best interest.”
He picked up a pebble and hurled it as far as his arm could throw. “What an ass I’ve been. I need to apologize. But that’s not going to take care of her parents’ debt problem.”
“Sorry. I can’t help you there. Financial planning’s not my forte. Maybe that magic wand you earned can go poof and fix everything.” Tara gave a heavy sigh and stood to leave, brushing the sand from her feet and legs. “I’m getting chilly. Think I’ll call it a night.”
“Try to get some sleep.” Rick watched her go up the hill until she disappeared from sight. Poor kid. It was obvious she was hurting.
And, much as he hated to admit it, so was he—because he’d hurt Summer. Damn it all! He had to fix this. He wanted her in his arms...in his bed. Not just for the night. Forever. She brought a special magic to his life.
He pulled the chain hanging around his neck out of his T-shirt and fingered the star. His eyes fell on his dog tags, reminding him of the flashback that afternoon. That had never happened before...during the day. Were they getting worse? He shivered in the cool night air. He’d have to find a way to stop them.
He stood and stretched, dreading sleep and what it might bring, wishing he had Summer’s soothing warmth to share the night.
Seeing the camp and her parents’ retirement lost...needing to prove herself to them...fearing the decline in her dad’s health—those were Summer’s nightmares. What could he do to stop them?
His phone beeped when he walked into the cabin. He picked it up from the table, wishing for a text from Summer.
It was his mom. He’d missed her call, but she’d still be up. He pressed the button.
“Hi, sweetheart.” She answered after the first ring.
“Hey, Mom. Did you need me?”
“I wanted to see if you ever tried the costume on and if it fit okay?”
Rick chuckled. “It fits fine. Neil said I need to get a wide, flashy belt and tell my story in an Elvis Presley voice. Thank you. Thank you very much.” He tried an Elvis impersonation.
“Or maybe not.” His mom laughed. “But I’m sure you’ll look very handsome. Summer will love it.” She picked up on his pause immediately. “Everything okay with you and Summer?”
“I wouldn’t exactly say everything’s okay.” He blew out his breath. “What would be the opposite of everything’s okay?”
“Oh, Rick.” In his mind’s eye, he could see her leaning back, getting comfortable in her desk chair. “Things were going so well between you two. What happened?”
Rick gave her a brief rundown, leaving out the more intimate details, but focusing on his biggest mistake. “So I can apologize, but I want to do more than that.”
“Well, we know that selling the camp is a possibility. That would get rid of the debt, and ease Summer’s worries as well as theirs.”
Rick shook his head, then realized his mom couldn’t see him. “If there’s any chance of the property becoming a subdivision, she’ll completely freak out. I mean, she’d let it happen if it meant getting her parents out of debt, but it would break her heart.”
“And I agree with her. That would be a shame. But the place has just received some terrific coverage as a camp. If you could find that quick buyer who would offer a good profit and tie it to Summer’s promotional campaign, she could feel good about what she’s done and rest easy about her parents’ retirement.” Mom was on a roll now. Rick listened to her ideas with a growing interest. “Surely there’s a buyer out there who’d want to keep it as a camp. You’ve got contacts in the state government. Don’t you know somebody?”
Rick’s heart lurched. He did know somebody! “Riley Gibson,” he answered. “The state director of Parks and Recreation. He’s a friend. State money’s tight, but this place would be a great investment, and there would be no worry of subdivision development. Mom, you’re a genius!”
“Look how smart you are. It took your dad forty years to figure that out.”
“I’ll call Herschel first thing tomorrow and run the idea by him.”
“And you’ll apologize to Summer. That’s an order.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Rick answered.
“And you’ll quit worrying about Sid. The department has your personnel records from when you were a ranger, and those are going to mean more than that silly old coot’s grumbling.”
How come talking to Mom always made things better? “Yes, ma’am,” he said again, noticing how the weight had lifted from his chest.
“Good boy. Now get some sleep.”
“Love you, Mom.”
“Love you, too, bedbug.” She hung up.
Rick shook his head at the endearment. He and Dunk had brought bedbugs home from basketball camp one summer—their moms hadn’t found the real critters quite so endearing. He brushed his fingers over the tattoo and gave it a pat.
Then, grabbing the granite star, he pumped it in his hand. There might be a little magic left in the thing, after all.
* * *
SUMMER’S HEART NEARLY JUMPED out of her chest. Had the answer really been that easy all the time?
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“From the mouths of babes,” she whispered to herself.
Returning to the bunkhouse after the talk with Tara, she’d met M&M coming out of the bathroom, apparently too keyed up over the events of the day to go to sleep.
The child, still clutching her wand, had given Summer yet another hug. “I wish I could live here with you.”
Maybe it was the wand or the magic behind it, but that phrase had started the wheels spinning.
For the past hour, Summer had been exploring the possibilities of leasing the camp from her parents...with an option to buy.
If she moved into Ginny and Charlie’s apartment and lived there full-time, her mom and dad would have rent income coming in every month. Insurance might even go down if the camp were occupied.
That thought spurred her ideas in a different direction.
What if she moved Fairy Princess Parties here? She would have the facilities for full-day parties...sleepovers? She could drive the bus. For an additional charge, picking the kids up and taking them home could be arranged.
And what about renting the facilities out for seasonal retreats? Her parents had never wanted to be tied down by the camp, but leasing it and living here opened up a world of possibilities. Churches? Businesses? Writers? Paducah had a huge population of artists in the Lowertown district! And Sunny Daze was central enough to pull from other surrounding towns rather than just Paducah.
Her breathing came so fast hyperventilation seemed likely. She stretched out in the bed to concentrate on calming down, but being there turned her thoughts to Rick.
She’d been looking forward to the end of this camp session when they’d have a week of downtime together, but now it was going to be a grueling week of awkwardness and longing. She’d never in her whole life felt so miserable.
She fended off the suffocating sadness by grabbing the pad off the bedside table and making notes of her ideas for the camp—anything to keep her mind from being idle. Her mom and dad would be here Saturday to say goodbye to the kids. When they arrived, she wanted a plan laid out to show them how serious she was about this endeavor.
The pen flew across the page as ideas poured from her pretty heart, keeping thoughts of Rick, and the part of her heart that ached for him, at bay.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
RICK CAUGHT SUMMER IN A POSE that had been all too rare the past couple of days. She was smiling. A real smile rather than one of those fake things she’d been producing, and he wondered if perhaps she’d spoken with her parents. On closer study, though, he recognized the wary edge around her eyes, the tightness around her lips, which told him she probably didn’t know yet about his calls that morning.
His first inclination was to ask Charlie for a few minutes alone with her so he could apologize and make his big announcement in private. In his imagination, he was already picturing her reaction to the news that Riley Gibson was indeed interested in purchasing the camp as a future state facility. He was so interested, in fact, he was driving down from Frankfort today to meet Herschel and Agnes for a tour in approximately—Rick checked his watch—forty-nine minutes.
It wasn’t a done deal by any means. The meeting had come together without a hitch, however, so he couldn’t help believing that was a good omen.
But it wasn’t his place to tell her. The news should come from her parents. When she heard it, Summer would understand he’d used what power he had to make her dream of saving the camp and her parents’ retirement come true, and that realization along with his genuine apology would coax her back into his arms...where she should’ve been all along. Or, at least, that was the plan. He flexed his fingers, his arms already reacting to the mental stimulus.
When her stance shifted and her smile landed on him, he hoped it wasn’t accidental. But his heart, which had been riding high in his chest all day, sank a bit as he watched her cheerful expression waver and fade when he moved in her direction.
An itch to be near her propelled him forward nonetheless. Whether she knew it or not, reconciliation was only a few hours away. Probably some of his longest hours since Afghanistan. But being near her would help the time go faster.
“You seem in a better mood today. Not anxious to get rid of the kids, are you?”
Her answering smile encouraged him. “Never entered my mind.” She chose a plate of ants-on-a-log over the apple wedge and cheddar cheese combo snack. “Did you and Neil finish your project?”
“Yep.” His arm brushed against her as he reached for a plate of apples. She made a quick sidestep away. Yesterday, the movement would’ve caused an expletive to rise in his throat. Today, he put his hope in Tara’s theory. If Summer loved him, touching before they’d made up would cause the fire to burn too hot. It certainly fueled an instant heat in him. “We need to keep the kids away from the fire pit area until after dark, though. If they see the monofilament line, it’ll spoil the whole effect.”
While Summer studied the raisins on her celery as if they were the most interesting things on earth, he studied her. She couldn’t touch him...couldn’t be near him...couldn’t even make eye contact with him without being miserable? Hell-pee-roo. Tara was right!
Summer loved him.
Joy rolled out of him in a louder-than-warranted chuckle, which did draw a questioning glance. “Um, I was just thinking about how surprised the kids are going to be when the fireball comes swooshing out of the sky.” And how surprised you’re going to be when your parents arrive with the news.
She chewed her lip for a couple of seconds. “If Neil doesn’t catch the tree on fire in the process.”
The pleasant breeze had enticed everyone to snack outside under the trees, so Rick took advantage of the private dining hall, keeping his voice low. “All this talk of combustion reminds me of the first time we made love.”
“Don’t, Rick.” She stopped at the door and looked at him then. The longing in her voice and her eyes confirmed his suspicions and stretched his patience to the limit, but he reached above her head to push the door open, allowing her hurried escape. Agnes and Herschel couldn’t get here too soon.
As Rick and Summer joined the group, the mail truck arrived. Charlie shuffled across the parking lot to meet it, returning with a stack of letters, a plastic Walmart bag and a grin that spread from ear to ear.
He continued grinning as he called out the recipients’ names on the letters, passing them out one by one until he was left with only the bag, which he held up for everyone to see. “And this,” he announced, “is fan mail for Howard Gerard, Jr.”
The boy’s eyes widened in delight. “Wow!” Howie grabbed the bag and rummaged through his mail as the other kids swarmed around him. He proudly showed off several small packages, then dove in again, surfacing with a clutch of letters in his hand.
“Open thomething!” Willard’s request was seconded all around.
Howie made quick work of tearing into one of the packages. As he tilted it to one end, a letter and a carefully folded and taped mass of tissue paper fell out into his hand. He ripped it open, exposing two arrowheads fashioned from pieces of flint.
He unfolded the letter and read aloud. “'Dear Howie, my parents read me the article about your mammoth molar. I like looking for old stuff, too. These are two arrowheads I found in one of the fields on our farm. If you would like to come visit me sometime, we could go look for stuff together. It would be fun. Write me back. Love, Brandy Sherwood.’”
Reggie’s nose crinkled in a sneer. “Ew, a girl?” He glanced around the group, drumming up support. “Howie’s got a girlfriend. Howie’s got a girlfriend.”
“Shut up!” Howie, his face blazing with humiliation, shoved the letter, arrowheads and all, back into the sack, pulling it tight against his chest.
A couple of others picked up Reggie’s chant, and Rick thought he best put an end to the ribbing before things got out of hand. He spoke loud enough to be heard over the ruckus. “Howie’s got a fan, not a girlfriend. Big difference.”
“So, Ms. Summ
er.” Carlos’s mischievous grin passed from Summer to Rick and back. “Are you a fan of Mr. Rick or a girlfriend?”
Summer choked on her bite of celery, her face soon matching Howie’s in hue.
“Well, we’ve got more exciting things than girlfriends and boyfriends to think about,” Charlie said as he stood and held up his hands, drawing everyone’s attention. “Finish up those snacks and get on back to the bunkhouses to get ready for our last big adventure. We leave for the zip lines in less than an hour.”
A shout of excitement went up as the kids scurried to throw away their paper plates.
Rick watched the girls pull Summer and Tara into a jog, and he couldn’t keep from thinking how wrong Charlie was. Having Summer as a girlfriend was more exciting than zip lines any day.
He imagined her back in his bed tonight...the things they would do to each other.
Much more exciting...and he wouldn’t let them zip along too fast, either.
* * *
SUMMER WAS TOO...SOMETHING...to stay still. She meandered in and out among the buildings, waiting for everyone else. Or anyone else.
She dialed Kate’s number. No answer, so she let it go to voice mail. “Just wanted to see how yesterday’s party went. We’re going zip-lining, so I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” She slid the phone back in her pocket and picked up her nervous pace.
She couldn’t name her emotion exactly. It was a conglomeration of too many things, pulling her from different angles, stretching her too thin and exposing raw nerves.
That it was the last day with these kids stung like a hornet. She would miss them and their cute ways...even Carlos and his mouth.
The possibility her parents might not be enthusiastic about her plan pricked at her, but she couldn’t come up with a good reason for them not to be. Her fiercest foe who might screw things up was herself, or rather her former self. The flighty ne’er-do-well who’d never before taken much of anything seriously. Well, this time she had the beginning stages of a five-year plan to show them that she’d changed.
But if all that wasn’t enough to fray her composure, Rick was flirting again, and the longing for him had come back with a vengeance. Her heart and her body had thrown up their hands in surrender—only her brain held out. He still hadn’t apologized for believing the worst about her, but was he coming around? She could hope. Maybe the week between sessions would give them time to work things out. Maybe they could even go out to dinner or on a real date.
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