You need to watch her.
He hadn’t realized how critical he’d sounded until now.Vanessa had helped him twice in a row.She’d rescued him from a debilitating panic attack last night and agonizing muscle cramps this afternoon.Instead of showing his gratitude, he’d repaid her kindness with insults.He owed her an apology.
Cursing under his breath, he headed toward the campground.Maybe she was there.Maybe she wasn’t.
He entered through the open gate and wandered around until he spotted Jackson Nava’s truck parked alongside Vanessa’s SUV.He wavered for a moment, because he hadn’t expected to encounter her brother.A glance beyond the vehicles revealed a family gathering around a campfire ring.Vanessa was sitting in a beach chair with her daughter on her lap.
This was going to be awkward, wasn’t it?Paul continued forward, regardless.He’d come over here to apologize and he wasn’t leaving until he tried.Paul Murphy might be a jerk, but he wasn’t a coward.
When he made his presence known, Emily’s face lit up in delight.She lifted her doll and waved its cloth arm at him.Paul waved back.Jackson nodded a greeting.Vanessa didn’t acknowledge him.
“Good evening,” he said with a formal nod.
Emily scrambled down from her mother’s lap and ran toward him.“We’re having s’mores,” she said in a bright tone and grabbed his finger.She led him toward the picnic table, where the ingredients were on display.“First you cook the mar-mellows.”
Paul didn’t think a response was required, and he couldn’t match her excitement.He allowed himself to be tugged toward the fire.Emily’s doll had fallen to the ground.She let go of his hand to pick it up.
“Penelope ate a lemon at dinner,” she said, giggling.“Then her face went backwards.”
Paul glanced at Vanessa, who showed no reaction to this announcement.His silly story must have captured Emily’s imagination.He had to admit, the kid was adorable.
“Did you come to have s’mores with us?”Emily asked.
“I don’t eat s’mores,” Paul said.“Where I’m from, we make no-mores.”
“No-mores?”
Paul gave a serious nod.“It’s two slices of lemon with a mushroom in the middle.”
Emily wrinkled her nose in distaste.Then she giggled again, and the sound warmed him down to the bone.Vanessa rose from her camp chair.She was wearing a summer dress that clung to her curves, and her hair had been piled in a silky mass atop her head.She looked even better than usual.She was staggeringly beautiful.
“Let’s go get changed,” Vanessa said to Emily.“We’re too fancy for camping.”
Emily didn’t argue as her mother directed her toward the tent.They ducked inside and she zipped the flap closed.
Paul turned to Jackson, who had gotten up from his chair.He offered Paul a beer from the nearby cooler.Paul accepted the hospitality.They stood by the fire in a charged silence.He wondered what Vanessa had told her brother about him, if anything.Paul sized up the other man.Jackson wore regular clothes, not a police uniform.His relaxed stance and easy smile no longer fooled Paul.
“I’m staying with them tonight,” Jackson said.“We’re packing up and leaving tomorrow.”
Paul drank his beer and said nothing.He felt no relief at the prospect of finally getting rid of them.He doubted that Jackson meant to ease his mind on the matter, either.It was more of a warning that Vanessa would have a protector around, so Paul had better watch his step.After a few minutes, she emerged from the tent in a T-shirt and leggings, with gray tennis shoes.Emily wore a similar outfit.
Vanessa seemed annoyed to find Paul loitering at her campsite, which was ironic, because she loitered outside his cabin whenever she pleased.“Do you want something, or are you just here to glower?”
He ignored her sarcasm.“I came to apologize.”
“For what?”
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to explain in private.”
Emily looked back and forth between them, unable to decipher the mood.“Mommy says it’s not nice to call someone a sour-face.”
Paul arched a brow.“She would know.”
“Sit with Uncle Jack,” Vanessa said to Emily.“Roast marshmallows.”
“Okay, Mommy.”
They strolled along the path together, until their voices couldn’t be overheard.Then Vanessa turned to him with her arms crossed over her chest and her mouth pursed with displeasure.She smelled like honey and sunshine, along with a hint of citrus.His pulse leapt with excitement at the thought of kissing her again, which was stupid.He was in for a tongue-lashing, but not the kind he liked.
