I stared at him for a few heartbeats before. “What?”
He looked up, raising a brow. “Wow, are you that blind? I thought you were supposed to be good at that sort of thing.”
I stared at him again and then huffed. “Pretend I’m human and that I’m not infallible and all-knowing. And just as importantly, pretend for a moment that just because you see something, it doesn’t automatically mean it exists.”
His lips thinned. “All I’m saying is, he gives off the signals of an awkward closet case and follows you around like a puppy dog whenever you spend time with him. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but it definitely seems like the kid is gay, or at least bi, and he wants you to show him the way.”
“Now there’s a horrifying thought; I’ve known him since he was a kid.”
“That doesn’t matter much to a love-struck teenager.”
“Clearly.”
He looked up. “So, you have noticed?”
“Not what I meant,” I said and shifted the topic slightly. “Do you think it’s a problem?”
“Dunno, do you?”
“Would you tell his dad?”
“Now, to that…I don’t know, because I don’t know his dad like that. You’re the one who could make that call best, don’t you think?”
“Clearly not, because if you’re right, that means I completely missed the signs.”
“Like you said, we’re all human and we miss things,” he said with a shrug. “But I wouldn’t worry about it. I don’t think the kid is going to jump you on your little camping trip, especially not with…Mr. Shepherd there.”
“Probably not,” I said, because he’d already tried. “Behave yourself while I’m gone.”
“I’ll behave how I behave whether you’re here or not,” he said dryly. “You aren’t the deciding factor.”
“Love you too,” I said as I waved and walked toward the courtyard. It was a warm and sunny open area, just outside the resort, and extended into the forest around the mountains. It was a distance from the mountain cliffs, but there were trails not too far off that would be perfect. Marc and I had mapped out the area the second year when we’d had the idea for that sort of trip for the guests, and at the beginning of every summer season we sent someone out to make sure our information was up to date.
“Hey,” I said brightly as I approached Marc and Jude, as they stood talking. Jude met my eyes, then looked away, while Marc’s eyes felt like they were going to burrow into my skull before he gave me a quiet smile. “Ready?”
“We are,” Marc said with a snort. “Just waiting on you. Are you ready?”
Now, wasn’t that the million-dollar question?
“Sure,” I lied. “Let’s go.”
MARC
I poked the fire,squinting between the logs where the flames were growing. Now they were catching the smaller twigs and sticks we’d used as kindling. It was probably a good thing we weren’t trying to truly ‘rough it’ because I’d struggled for almost fifteen minutes to get this much of a fire going, and that was with a lighter. It would have been dawn by the time I even got the tiniest flame if I’d been forced to use a flint and steel.
“Oh, hey, you managed it,” Jude said as he crouched beside me. “I thought we were going to have cold ravioli or use a Sterno.”
I straightened and stared at him. “I…Sterno? There were…the whole time?”
My son blinked at me. “I thought you were just trying to do it the old-fashioned way.”
“The old-fashioned way would be some metal and a rock, or a stick and a whole lot of rubbing,” Reggie told him as he stared at the fabric that was meant to be our tent. Though from the looks of it, he and I might be sleeping under the stars tonight. I watched as he stretched, looked at the ground, then grunted, only to straighten up immediately, giving me a pointed look when I snorted at him.
Before I could be confused by why he was being so sharp with me, Jude whispered. “Did he pull something?”
I glanced at him. “What?”
He nodded toward Reggie. “He’s been…kind of stiff and, I don’t know, walking a little funny? It’s like he pulled a muscle or something.”
