Page 19 of Summer Camp with the Mountain Man

Shit in kaboodles, that’s Cade’s uncle, the father of my pseudo-fiancé. How many other heavy New York accents could there be at the campground?

“It’s your uncle Bobby. Oh god, don’t look, him and your aunt are skinny dip-”

But it’s too late, Cade’s already lifted his head and is currently taking in the pale moon over the water, and I don’t mean the one in the night sky.

“We should sneak off before they realize we’re here and you’re not their son. Though I think your uncle might wish you were. Come back to the cabin with me. But pay no mind to the My Little Pony bedsheets, I don’t know how those got there. I can’t wait until the reunion is over, Cade, I need you now.”

“Oh thank god.”

He takes my hand and leads me through the waist deep water, using the strip of rocks to shield us from view. Well, my coverup won’t be covering a thing if someone shines a flashlight on us on their way to the facilities.

Cade must read my mind because he leads me into the woods, avoiding the path, seeing by nothing but the light of the moon. The big one in the sky, not the big one on the beach. I wonder if Uncle Bobby thinks about braiding the patches of hair on that thing? Not full-on braids, it’s too sparse for that, but pigtails or something.

The voices from his family’s campsites mean they didn’t retire early for the night. They sound as lively as ever and there’s really no way around. Maybe if we tiptoe and try not to step on any sticks we’ll make it through undetected.

Cade shuffles across the path first, bogged down by waterlogged sandals that make it sound like he’s sloshing through mud puddles.

“Hey, there he is right there. Cade!” one of his cousins shouts, slurring his words slightly, like maybe that wasn’t iced tea in his tumbler after all. “Cade, get over here, Rick wants to… he needs to ask you something important but I can’t remember what it was. Oh, JP too. Have you seen his hot wifey girl around here somewhere? She’s missing.”

It takes Cade a second but he shakes the deer in the headlights look, pulling it together in time. “Rayne? Didn’t she say she had some business calls she needed to take?”

“Oh yeah.” Drunk Cousin has no recollection of that happening, probably because it didn’t, but he goes along with it, and so does everyone else hanging out around the fire. “Rick, hey, I found him. Oh, right, he wants to know if he can work for you building dicks.”

“Building decks?”

“I said dicks,” he laughs, barely able to get the words out. “Building decks. He met some construction crew working on the lake today and something about jobs they could use you on. I don’t know, you’re slurring your words, I think you had too much to drink. Come on, I’ll take you to him.”

Cade turns back to me, hidden in the trees, racking his brain for a way out of this but I’m not seeing any trapdoors. His cousin’s got his arm firmly wrapped around my man’s shoulders, like only a drunk fool can do.

I want to jump out and shame them for only being nice to Cade when they need something, every other time they boo him like I did mentally when his naked aunt and uncle clam-jammed me right before I orgasmed.

As drunk as they are, which they shouldn’t be considering they have a campfire going, if they have some tidbit of information that might keep Cade here permanently, I suppose I can control myself. I should really get to work anyway. Who knows what my parents have screwed up while I’ve been otherwise occupied today.

My pouty face nod clearly confuses him as he glances discreetly in my direction but I think he gets it. As much as I hate it, it’s better if we don’t do this anyway, not until the reunion’s over and George has his inheritance.

Phew, that was close. I almost told a man I’ve known for two days, maybe three, depending how you look at it, that I’m in love with him. Holding my hands over my chest in the shape of a heart probably isn’t helping hide the fact.

The smile on his face might just mean he’s feeling the exact same thing, which would make me the luckiest girl in the world.

NINE

Cade

That certainly wasn’t how I wanted tonight to go.

Maybe I should have taken Rayne up on her offer to paddle out to Cushing Island, that way we could have spent another night together. Continuing what we started would have been magical, but it couldn’t beat spending time with her in any capacity.

As thrilled as I am that Rick wants to drop the Lazy from his name and take George’s spot on the crew, and that he got a series of jobs lined up in the area if we want them, I can’t stop wondering what I missed out on with Rayne tonight.

It’s fine, I know she had work she needed to catch up on, after spending the day with my family, but the what-ifs keep me awake every time an animal rustles through the underbrush outside my tent. What-ifs with her and what can happen if I do stay here in Cedar Spring. What if I give Rick another chance? Or Georgie? Nope, too far, not happening. But Rick, he met a local construction crew, Ashwood I believe, they’re doing some mountaintop ski lodge expansion project and are looking for someone who can put decking in impossible places.

My mind can’t focus on any one thing at a time. I’ve barely given a second thought to the fact someone is on the island at this very moment, I saw the lights in the cabin sparkling faintly through the trees. Is it my family? Do they still own it? Would any of them remember me?

I can’t think about anything long enough to get anywhere, not when my thoughts keep bouncing back to Rayne. I’ve woken up a dozen times since nodding off a couple hours ago and I swear, I’ve been hard every time. Even my subconscious thoughts are all reverting back to her. I can’t say I mind.

Another fitful second of dozing is interrupted by an animal skittering by. The drunken snores of my family are competing with the bullfrogs croaking in the nearby marsh and it’s damn near impossible to sleep through. Someone’s tent is opening, I can hear the zipper. Ten bucks says they whip it out and pee right there rather than walk all the way to the facilities.

“Good, you’re up.”