I scanned the rest of the buildings as I walked down the side of the lodge. Six small log cabins were scattered beneath the trees. Inside were kids’ bunks, some for boys and some for girls. I imagined they got a little chilly at night since there wasn’t much to keep out the cold, but I bet none of the kids cared when they were bundled up tight in a sleeping bag.
A couple of boys came running out of the shower and bathroom building situated between two of the bunkhouses. They came hurrying past me on their way to a large firepit built in the middle of a clearing. Past it, lake water sparkled in the sun. A couple boats were out today. As soon as Thea was back from her vacation, I was taking a couple days off work and my boat would be out there too.
My eyes tracked the kids as they hurried to take their seats on the log benches surrounding the firepit. There wasn’t a fire—I assumed the counselors saved those for nighttime. I bet they let the kids roast marshmallows all week. I bet those kids had a blast from sunrise to sunset.
Would they let a thirty-one-year-old bartender come to camp? I’d missed all this kind of stuff as a kid.
From the entrance to the lodge, a whole other group of kids ran outside. Eleven or twelve, they looked old enough to spend a week away from their parents, but not old enough to get summer jobs.
I hit the double doors to the lodge and was about to step inside when a swish of blond hair caught my eye. From behind one of the small cabins, Willa walked toward the firepit with a group of girls.
They were giggling about something. One of the girls tugged on Willa’s arm, pulling her down to whisper something in her ear. Whatever she said, Willa stood straight and began laughing with a wide and heart-stopping smile.
My hand came to my chest, rubbing at the sternum. She was so damn beautiful it felt like my chest was going to cave in.
I’d known Willa for years. I’d seen her face. Yet still, I’d missed her.
How had I missed her?
“You weren’t paying attention.”
My head whipped around as Hazel stepped through the lodge’s doors and to my side.
“I didn’t mean to say that out loud,” I said.
Hazel laughed, her voice rough and hoarse from a thousand too many cigarettes. “You’re back.”
I shrugged. “I was up early. Thought I’d come over and say hello.”
Willa reached the pit and stood in the middle with all the kids situated around her. She was in jeans again, like she had been the other night at the bar. They molded to her firm ass and trim legs, accentuating every curve. The cuffs were rolled up at her ankles, just above her sandals. And she was wearing a red Flathead Summer Camp tee.
Hazel was right. I hadn’t been paying attention. I just hoped that it wasn’t too late because I saw Willa now and wouldn’t be looking away.
“How are you doing?” I asked Hazel as we stood and watched Willa with the kids.
“Good. It’s quiet at home. Too quiet. I was thinking of coming down to the bar tonight to bother you.”
I smiled and threw an arm around her shoulders. “That’d be great.”
She leaned into my side, her arm going behind my back. Her frame was bonier now than I remembered as a kid. She’d gotten frailer these past few years. I’d been happy when she’d decided to stop working at the bar, but I wished she’d slow down even more.
There was no telling her that. Hazel Rhodes did what Hazel Rhodes wanted. Period.
“Have you heard from Thea and Charlie?” I asked.
She nodded. “They called me this morning.”
“Are they having fun?”
“I don’t think so.”
I grinned. “Good.”
Selfish as it was, I didn’t want Thea and Charlie to be having a blast in New York. I wanted them to come home, though I was sure Logan would try and convince them to stay. He’d be a fool not to try, and Logan was no idiot.
“Don’t worry.” Hazel squeezed my hip. “They’ll come home.”
“I hope so.”
I couldn’t imagine them not being here and living with Hazel. As she got older, I worried about her alone in that cottage. But if Thea did stay in New York, I’d make sure Hazel was cared for.
“Are you here to check on me? Or to talk to Willa?” Hazel asked, cutting right to the chase.
I chuckled. “Both?”
She laughed too. “I’m glad you’re finally seeing what’s been in front of you all these years.”
“Me too.”
Maybe it wasn’t that I hadn’t been paying attention. Maybe it was the lonely ache in my chest I hadn’t felt for years making me realize I wanted something more.
“But Jackson?”
I looked down. “Yeah?”
“Don’t you break that girl’s heart. If you think there’s even a chance you’ll hurt her, you walk away.”
Did she really have no faith in me?
“I’m not going to break her heart,” I snapped. “But I appreciate you thinking so highly of me that I’d go into this without thinking it through.”
“Watch your attitude.” She gave me the scowl she’d invented just for me. “I’m just making sure you know what you’re doing.”
“I do.” I sighed. “I know she’s something special.”
“Then I’ll say no more.”
My eyes went back to the firepit, where Willa was reading from a clipboard. She had the kids’ undivided attention as she spoke. They smiled up at her from their benches with complete adoration.
“She’s good with them,” I told Hazel.
“One of the best. She should have been a teacher like her dad. She’s got the patience and a way of explaining things to kids that just clicks.”
“I wish I would have had a teacher like that.”
I couldn’t remember a single one of my teachers’ names because none of them had been memorable. The person who’d coached me through algebra and geography and made sure I graduated was Hazel.
“But I had you.” I hugged Hazel tighter. “You made sure I didn’t flunk. And that I knew exactly where Lark Cove, Montana, was on a map.”
She laughed. “Brainwashing. I had to make sure either you or Thea came out here to keep me company. I lucked out and got you both.”
“We’re the lucky ones.” I planted a kiss on the top of her hair.
The stress of those last few years mixing drinks and managing a small-town bar had turned her once-brown hair to a silvery white. Though she blamed the color on me instead of the long nights. I also got credit for the deep worry lines on her tanned and leathery skin. The puckering around her mouth was thanks to Virginia Slims.
Despite it all, she was still a beautiful woman. To me, she always would be, inside and out.
“Don’t waste your sweet on me,” Hazel said. “Save it for Willa.” She swung an arm toward the firepit, then used her hand on my back to shove me forward.
I shot her a grin and walked toward the pit.
The kids were all huddled in groups of three, each team inspecting a sheet of paper as Willa watched on.
“Ready. Set. Go!” Willa called and the kids went dashing in all different directions.
Willa smiled, then steered one group of kids in the opposite direction. When she turned to watch them leave, she spotted me coming her way. Her face flushed, her cheeks not quite as red as her shirt. She tugged at her hem with one hand and held her clipboard against her chest with the other.
She was undoubtedly shy, but Willa had a fire inside her too. She’d given me a glimpse of her spirit these past few nights and damn if it wasn’t sexy as hell.
I waved as I approached. “Hey.”
“Hi.” Her eyes raked down my green shirt to my jeans. Then she blushed deeper, her gaze darting to her clipboard.
Oh, yeah. She just checked me out.
Maybe my note had actually worked.
I stopped in front of her and leaned in close, dragging in a long breath of her hair. She smelled so delicious, like coconut and vanilla. Her head lifted up and I dropped my eyes to her clipboard, pretending she hadn’t just busted me for sniffing her hair.
“Is that a scavenger hunt?” I pointed to the checklist on her clipboard.
She nodded. “Yeah. Good old-fashioned camp fun.”
“Hmm. Let me see.” I took the clipboard from her arm. “Pine cone. Green leaf. Wildflower. Feather.” I read the rest of the list without narrating, then handed it back. “Cool. What do the winners get?”
“Um, bragging rights around the campfire? We do a new list every day to give the kids options if they don’t want to do the nature hike or go fishing.”