by Cora Seton
Rachel sobbed and buried her face in Henry’s shoulder. Henry put an arm around her.
“That means I’m going to keep my promises. I’m going to stand by you. Right here at Base Camp. Where both of us belong. Maybe we lost this battle, but we haven’t lost the war—not by a long shot. I made a commitment to the other men here. I have to stay. I’m asking you to stay, too. With me. What do you say?”
A tear slid down her cheek. “I want that more than anything. But this is all my fault—”
“No, it’s not. It’s mine,” Melissa said, stepping forward. She was pale, her expression so careworn Harris thought she looked a decade older than the spoiled girl from the photo Sam had shown him on her phone just weeks ago. “I’m the one who brought Kenny along, and I’m the one who should have stopped him, but I didn’t. I thought it was all a game. That’s what life has always seemed like to me. It’s been like this big candy bowl and I’ve always gotten to choose exactly what I wanted.” She turned to Sam. “I guess I got used to you being the one to fill the bowl and take care of everything else. I thought somehow I deserved the life I had, and you deserved the one you had. When you left, everything changed. I didn’t like that, and I wanted it to go back to normal. I wanted you back on the bus. That was pretty selfish of me.”
“You weren’t the only one who was selfish,” Henry said. “We all owe you an apology for that, Sam,” her father said. “We were so wrapped up in her own careers we never thought that there was something else you might’ve rather been doing.”
“I should’ve spoken up sooner about what I wanted,” Sam told him. “I guess I didn’t really know, either, until the first time Boone showed me the gardens. Then I knew exactly what I wanted to do.”
“I think we all needed to be shaken up to see what was real,” Rachel said. “We’re all the better for it.”
“I know I am.” Curtis elbowed forward through the crowd to face them, Daisy at his heels. Harris was glad to see the dog unharmed. “I feel like this is my fault, too. And I have to say—hell, I don’t think I’ve ever been as ashamed of myself as I am now. I was so determined not to be made a fool of again, that I made a fool of myself.” He scanned the crowd and suddenly shouted, “These two have been married since the day Samantha appeared on the show. They belong together. Everything else you’ve seen on television was fake. Just made up to entertain you. I’ve never met two people more in love and I won’t be part of keeping them apart anymore. Samantha, Harris, you have my blessing. Be happy together.” He turned to stride away, but in a flash Renata was after him. Her hair loose was from its normal updo, her clothes were smeared with dirt and her shirttail was undone from her trademark pencil skirt, but her disheveled appearance didn’t slow her down.
“Wait! Stop right there. When were you made a fool of before?” she shouted, chasing him as best she could in her high heels.
Curtis stopped and his shoulders slumped. He turned. “Really? You want to exploit me, too? Now? After all this?” He waved a hand to encompass the devastation around them.
“Of course I do, and you knew that when you signed up, so stop playing coy. When were you made a fool of before?”
“Two years ago,” Curtis said finally, and Harris felt more sorry for the man than he’d ever thought possible. Curtis was throwing himself under the bus to take the heat off him and Samantha. The viewers wouldn’t like it when they learned he and Sam were already married—and the show had covered it up. Curtis was giving Renata something new to use to distract the audience. “I was left at the altar by the love of my life. In front of all my friends, and the men I served with. In front of my family. Everyone in my hometown knows about it. Guess your team of spies isn’t as good as you think it is, Renata.”
“Oh, God,” Samantha whispered to Harris. “No wonder he was furious I married you instead of him.”
Harris took her hand. “He was the one who didn’t want to marry a stranger,” he reminded her. “He’s playing it up for Renata’s sake. For our sake. But he knew what he was doing when he got drunk and played the field the night of Clay and Nora’s wedding. He deliberately didn’t come to get you at the airport the next day. He’s only got himself to blame for what happened.”
Samantha nodded. “It still sucks. I hope he finds the woman who’s meant for him.”
“Yeah. Me, too.” He turned her to face him. “But you didn’t give me your answer. Will you stay?”
Tears shining in her eyes, she nodded again. “Of course. If the others want me.”
“Of course they want you. Come on, let’s get you up to the manor. We need to update the women. Looks like things are under control here.” He tugged on Sam’s hand and, after scanning the crowd, who now circled around Curtis and Renata, she followed him. Her parents and sister were talking earnestly to Boone. Harris hoped they were discussing ways to make amends for the damage they’d done. He’d talk to them later and let them know exactly what he expected from them as his future in-laws. They weren’t going to push Samantha around anymore. They’d have him to answer to from here on in.
Harris seemed so sure the others would agree that she could stay, but Sam wasn’t sure at all. She’d unleashed this disaster on Base Camp; she could hardly blame anyone who wanted her to leave. By the time they reached the top of the hill, she was as anxious as she’d been when Harris had left her in the bunkhouse, but before they reached the manor, Clay overtook them.
“I need to see Nora and let her know we’re all okay. Thank God the women stayed up here. I was afraid they’d come running down and get caught up in the mob, but Curtis told me they barricaded the doors when they saw the riot start. He already let them know the coast was clear when he came to get Daisy back.”
Clay hurried ahead, racing up the back steps to the manor and pounding on the door. “Nora? Nora—it’s me.”
The back door swung open and Nora dashed outside, followed by the rest of the women and their guests. In their Regency gowns they made a colorful crowd, but their faces were somber.
“We heard a gunshot,” Nora cried. “Is everyone really all right?”
Samantha hadn’t even considered how that must have affected Nora. The woman had been shot herself only weeks ago. Now violence had come to Base Camp a second time—and it was Sam’s fault.
Harris didn’t let her shrink away. “Everyone’s fine,” he said loudly. “Only Samantha, here, had a close call. She was in the greenhouse when the protestors set it on fire. She nearly didn’t make it out.”
All eyes turned to her and Sam cringed, wishing Harris hadn’t said anything. “My dress got caught. I couldn’t pull free—”
Nora reached her before she could finish, and pulled her into a rough embrace. The others surrounded her. Their questions all came at once.
“Are you hurt?” “Have you seen a doctor?” “Who set the fire?” “How did you get away?”
“I’m okay. Just bruised,” she said when Nora let her go. “I don’t know who set the fire, but Harris saved me. That was the shot you heard; he tore the fabric with a bullet.” She lifted the ragged hem of her dress to show them. “It’s my fault. You all know that, don’t you? All of this is my fault. I shouldn’t have come—”
“Nonsense,” Riley said sternly, just as she had earlier. “You weren’t one of the protestors; you’ve been busting your ass in that greenhouse day in and day out. It’s all Boone talks about. He was saying he thought he could expand with your help since you do so much.”
“But it’s my parents—”
“Uh-oh—are we supposed to be responsible for what our parents do now? Because if we are, I’m in trouble,” Avery said. She smiled to show she was joking. “Samantha, that crowd was so big no one could have stopped it.”
“She’s right,” Harris said. “Some of those people came to make trouble and they made it. That won’t stop us from cleaning it up again. Samantha’s family and some of their fans have volunteered to stay and put things back to right.”
Sama
ntha braced herself for a wave of scorn from the other women. Instead, Avery nodded. “That will make things a lot better. They’ll get all kinds of publicity and Base Camp will get more viewers. More people will learn about sustainability.”
“Why aren’t you all mad at me?” Samantha burst out. “Look at everything’s that happened since I’ve been here.”
“Well,” Savannah said after a pause. “You’re not boring.”
The others nodded in agreement.
“We’d better get back to our guests,” Riley said. “Will you come, too, Samantha, and tell them all first-hand what happened? That may go some way to smoothing over their bumpy stay here.”
“Yes, of course. And—if any of them wants one after what happened, I’ll make sure they get autographed photos from the band,” Samantha said.
“They’ll get one better than that,” Jericho said, arriving out of breath. “Deader Than Ever are going to do a benefit concert for Base Camp. Your guests will get backstage passes if they can stay an extra couple of days.”
“We’ll give them free lodging, too, if they decide to stay. See, it’s all going to turn out just fine,” Win said. “Besides, Harris loves you, and you love him. That’s what Base Camp is really all about—learning what’s real. Finding true happiness. You two epitomize that.”
“Do you… really want me to stay?”
“Yes!” Savannah said.
“Absolutely,” Riley chimed in.
“You’re one of us now, no getting away from that,” Nora told her.
“It’s decided. You’ll stay—and marry Harris all over again. I want to be a bridesmaid!” Avery chimed in.
Sam turned to Harris. “Do you really want to marry me again?” She could hardly believe she was getting a second chance.
“Are you sure you want to marry me? You know what you’re signing on for now.”
“Of course I do.”
“Then it’s settled.”
Chapter Fifteen
‡
The following day, Harris approached the building site immediately after breakfast. He hadn’t worked on the tiny house in days, not since he and Curtis had fought. In the clear morning light, Base Camp didn’t look as bad as it had the night before. The danger and violence was over, and it was time to rebuild. Everyone seemed eager to get to work.
After a long discussion with Renata and Boone the previous evening, Harris knew it was time to finish the tiny house, too. Renata had agreed to air a modified version of the events of the previous day, which showed the building tension, the riot and its aftermath, but not Curtis’s shouted explanation that Harris and Sam were already wed.
Instead, the next episode would include the part in which Curtis said Harris and Samantha were meant to be together, and would also make much of Curtis’s admission he had been left at the altar once before as an explanation for his behavior. Harris figured Deader Than Ever’s benefit concert footage would probably eat up most of the episode, anyway. The women’s guests had put off their flight home, with the B&B covering the cost of changing their plane tickets. Maud and James were hosting an impromptu ball in the meantime, with all the men of Base Camp slated to dress up and join in. Once it was clear the danger was over, the women’s guests had relaxed and even volunteered to help with the cleanup effort.
With his wedding set for August twentieth, they had several weeks to get Base Camp back in order, and it had occurred to Harris this next tiny house would be his. That being the case, he needed to help build it.
He hoped Curtis understood.
He was only beginning to understand how wrong he’d been when he’d thought protecting those he loved meant he had to stay aloof. If Curtis hadn’t helped him get close enough to the greenhouse and hadn’t handed him that pistol, Sam would be dead right now. On his own, he was only one man, and he couldn’t be everywhere at once. Luckily for him, at Base Camp he didn’t have to. Every man here was a Navy SEAL—they’d all had experience on the lonely end of the roof.
And now they’d each chosen the other end. They were a true community. They would work together, protect each other, fight off hordes of protestors if need be.
Together.
He couldn’t say how much that meant to him. Which meant he needed to put things right between him and Curtis before he could do anything else.
When he arrived, he found Curtis hard at work on finishing touches inside. He was amazed how far he and Clay had gotten in the last few days. Daisy perked up and came to see him, sniffed his hand, gave a doggy sigh and returned to Curtis’s side.
“Morning,” Harris said, leaning against the door frame.
“Morning,” Curtis answered. “Something I can do for you?” He was wary but not belligerent, and Harris relaxed a little.
“More like I’m here to see if there’s something I can do for you. I think… this house will be mine and Samantha’s.” He braced himself for an explosion. He couldn’t blame Curtis if that was the way he reacted.
Curtis looked down, and his shoulders sagged. He nodded. “Guess so. Guess you want to help finish it, then.”
“Yeah, I’d like that.”
“You know what? I’d like that, too.” Curtis held out a hand, and after a moment Harris shook it. “We used to do good work together—before I started acting like an ass. I’d like to know I helped build the house you and Samantha will make a life in. I’m rooting for you guys. Really.”
“That’s good to hear. Thank you for your help during the riot. I don’t think I’d have made it in time to save Sam without you.”
“Of course.” Curtis rubbed his chin with the back of his hand. “That riot made a lot of things crystal clear to me in a very short period of time. Like how I wasn’t going to change Sam’s mind, and how I didn’t even know if I wanted to. After all that talking we did, I didn’t know her very well at the end of it. Guess I was too busy trying to convince her to like me to listen to what she had to say.”
“You’re not pissed at me anymore, then?”
“Nah,” Curtis said. “But when it’s finally my turn, and my bride arrives at Base Camp, I’d appreciate it if you kept as far away from her as possible.”
Harris laughed. “You got a deal.”
“Good. Now let’s get to work.”
Harris cocked his head and studied Daisy, who was keeping mighty close to Curtis’s feet. “How do you do that?” he asked.
“Do what?”
“Keep that dog so loyal? Daisy was supposed to be Sam’s. I gotta admit, when she stopped giving me the time of day and wouldn’t leave your side, I was worried it was an omen.” He inspected the work that had been done since he was last in the house, but when Curtis didn’t answer, he looked over to find the husky man looking sheepish.
“That’s exactly how I wanted you to feel,” Curtis admitted. “So I’ve been feeding Daisy steak from my secret stash. Kai’s a terrific cook, don’t get me wrong—but I love steak—and bacon. Kai doesn’t serve it enough for my taste.” He scratched the back of his neck. “Lucky for me, he’s been willing to keep my secret in exchange for me doing some of his dishes. That first day Sam arrived and you brought Daisy, she sniffed my hand and smelled the bacon I’d cooked on the sly. That’s why she kept licking me. After that, I made sure she got a lot of extra treats as long as she kept close.”
“You are one sneaky bastard,” Harris told him.
“You got the girl. Don’t I at least deserve the dog?”
“I guess so.” Harris reached down to scratch Daisy’s ears. He’d have to find another canine friend for Sam one of these days.
“I had no idea you had such a green thumb,” Rachel said when Samantha gave her family a tour of the reconstructed greenhouse several days later. They’d all kept busy getting the community back up and running. Luckily, none of the permanent structures had been damaged. After hearing the news about the riot, the lumber company that had provided the scrap wood for the original greenhouse sent over a new load, and everyone had
pitched in to frame it up.
“I never had the chance to try before,” Samantha told her. She had spent several hours this morning repotting a bunch of seedlings donated by one of the local nurseries, and this afternoon a whole crew of them would replant the gardens with the more mature vegetable plants they’d been given. A sporting goods company had donated new tents and sleeping bags. Help had been flowing in from all directions since the first news stories went out about what had happened here, and she was overwhelmed at how quickly they’d been able to rebuild.
Her mother hugged her. “I’ve really missed you, you know,” she said. “The bus isn’t the same without you.”
“Who did you get to take over my job?” Samantha asked her.
“Me,” Melissa said. “Scary, I know. I had no idea how much you did, until I took it on.”
“Don’t tell me—” Samantha said. “You took on the job in order to prove how easy it was, and what a wimp I was to always whine about it.” She laughed when Melissa’s mouth dropped open. “Come on, admit it.”
Melissa was actually blushing. “I guess that sums it up.”
“Well, I’m just glad that everyone’s okay, and that things are going so well for all of us,” Henry said. “We’re all going to miss you, peanut, but we’re glad you found Harris and are making a life for yourself.”
“Even if he’s a Navy SEAL?”
“After that riot? Especially since he’s a Navy SEAL.”
“Heard there was a bit of a scuffle at the ranch,” Egan said when Harris finally made it back to his forge several days later.