The windows on my truck were rolled down as I drove through town the next morning, and the fresh air smelled like pine trees and dew. Not much could top this smell, except maybe Willa’s hair. I’d only gotten a hint of it last night, but it was enough to leave me wanting more.
A lot more.
It was cool this early in the day, but by ten o’clock, the summer sunshine would burn off the chill and it would be a hot one. If I didn’t have to work later, it would be the perfect day to take the boat out on the lake or go for a hike in the mountains.
I might not have been born in Montana, but this mountain air called to my blood.
Too bad my mother hadn’t dumped me somewhere like this instead of New York City. I might have had a happy childhood. But I guess things worked out for the best. I’d met Thea and Hazel in the city, which had ultimately led to my move here.
And Lark Cove was where I was staying.
The only reason I’d set foot back in New York was if Thea and Charlie decided to stay there with Logan. They’d only been gone a few days, but damn I missed them. I missed talking about stuff at the bar with Thea. I missed hanging with Charlie in her fort behind their house.
For the first time in years, I felt the loneliness that had been so present during my childhood. Damn, I hope they come back. I wasn’t sure what I’d do without seeing them on a regular basis.
Though I had to admit, chasing Willa this week had been one hell of a distraction.
There wasn’t a cloud to be seen as I rolled down the highway, just the wide-open sky that was a shade lighter than Willa’s eyes.
I stopped by the gas station to top off my gas tank and get a cup of coffee. Considering I walked most places in the summer, I rarely had to get gas this time of year unless I was taking out my boat.
But I took extra care with my truck, never letting it get below a quarter full. I also made sure the silver exterior was washed and waxed regularly. I changed the oil at exactly three thousand miles and detailed the interior every two months.
It was the nicest vehicle I’d ever owned. Actually, it was the nicest vehicle I’d ever been inside. When I’d finally had enough money to pay for a new rig outright, I’d driven my old Chevy up to Kalispell and come home with a big smile and a brand-new truck paid for in full.
After my truck, I saved up for my fishing boat—also brand-new and also paid for in full.
The only debt I had to my name was the mortgage on my house. It wasn’t new, but it was affordable and I’d been making extra payments to ensure that before I turned fifty, I’d be free and clear.
I’d never wanted anything more than a life that was mine and mine alone.
I didn’t want to depend on someone else’s hand-me-downs just so I had clothes to wear. I didn’t want to be at the mercy of the bus or train schedule in order to get to work. I didn’t want anyone to tell me where I had to live or the chores I had to do.
My biggest goal was to be debt-free, and I was damn close to making that happen.
I wasn’t a powerless kid anymore, stuck in a city alone. My life was mine, and it was a damn fine one at that.
I finished up at the gas station and sipped my scalding-hot coffee as I drove down the road toward Willa’s camp. It was a gamble, showing up again this morning, but I was hoping now that she’d read my apology note, she’d finally cut me some slack.
It hadn’t been easy to swallow my pride and write that note. But Willa was worth the hit to my ego and she’d deserved that apology for a long time coming.
I turned left off the highway and onto the winding gravel road that led to the camp. It was nestled underneath a grove of tall evergreens, right on the shoreline of the lake.
Properties like this had been slowly bought and developed in Lark Cove over the last twenty years. I had no idea how much the camp’s land was worth, but I was guessing it was more money than I’d see in my lifetime.
I’d kill for a spot on the lake. I’d cherish a place where I could wake up and drink my coffee overlooking the water. I’d love a house with a dock for my boat so it could be ready and waiting at all times. But a home like that wasn’t in my future. Instead, they were reserved for rich guys like Logan Kendrick.
At least he’d saved Willa’s camp.
The gravel parking lot next to the camp was mostly empty, and just like I’d done the other day, I pulled my silver, half-ton Chevy next to Hazel’s Subaru Outback. I got out and took a look inside, seeing Charlie’s booster seat in the back. It was covered with snack crumbs, which meant it was time for me to take it for an afternoon since I kept Hazel’s rig just as clean as my own.
With my coffee in hand, I followed the footpath down from the parking lot to the campground.
The main lodge was closest to the parking lot and the first building visitors came upon. It was a huge log structure that blended in with the tree trunks. The main part of the building was a dining hall filled with wooden tables and folding chairs. At the back was the kitchen, bathrooms and Willa’s office.
I’d gotten a tour of this whole place a few summers ago, courtesy of Charlie. I’d come out here to say hello to Hazel after she’d started volunteering and Charlie had dragged me all over the place, showing me each of the bunks and the inner workings of the lodge.
Had Willa been there that day of my tour? If she had been, I hadn’t noticed. I’d been a blind asshole. All this time she’d been right there. If not for Thea’s drawing, I may have never opened my eyes.
They were open now.
I found myself searching for her constantly. If I was working, I kept one eye on the door, waiting and hoping she’d come into the bar. And if she didn’t, I’d hurry to close down the bar and hustle the few blocks to her street, wishing her light would still be on.
It had been just days since I’d gone to her house that first night, not even a week, and I’d become completely infatuated.
I liked how gracefully she moved, more like floating than walking. I liked the way her blue eyes were so pure and honest. I liked her shy smile and how she’d tuck her hair behind an ear when she blushed. It made me want to put my hand on her cheek with each flush just to feel its heat.
I liked her.
Willa kept asking me why I was into her, and though I’d done my best to explain it, I still didn’t quite understand it myself.
She was just . . . special.
I wanted to connect with her on more than just a physical level. Maybe I’d get that chance today.
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.”
“So that wasn’t all the kids?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No, just under half. Everyone else is out with the counselors exploring.”
“Ah.” I nodded. “I’d probably be out with them too if I were a kid. Though as an adult, I’d stay behind if that’s where you were.”
“Oh.” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “What, um . . .” Her fingers fiddled with the clip on the board. “What’s up?”
“You read my note?”
She nodded. “I did.”
“Good.” That meant we could move on from the whole me-calling-her-by-the-wrong-name thing and get to the days where she wasn’t slamming doors in my face. “Come to the bar and have dinner with me tonight.”
“Was that an invitation or a command?”
I shrugged. “Does it matter?”
She frowned and I knew immediately that wasn’t the right thing to say. Without a word, she marched toward the building between the bunkhouses marked SHOWERS.
“Hey, wait!” I ran after her, but she was walking fast. “What about dinner?”
She didn’t answer. She just kept on marching all the way to the women’s side, disappearing inside without hesitation.
Well, fuck.
I guess my note hadn’t worked after all.
I debated going inside the showers but didn’t want to terrify a young girl if Willa wasn’t alone. So with a grumble and a kick at the dirt, I went back toward the parking lot.
I didn’t miss Hazel watching from a window in the lodge, laughing her ass off. At least I was entertaining her.
She’d be in for another show soon, because I’d be back again tomorrow.
