Page 45 of You Know You Wanna

The kid glared at her but ran off in the opposite direction once she set him down. As she watched him go, she slid an arm around little Billy’s shoulders to comfort him and picked Margie back up in the other.

“Bobby is pissed. No doubt he’s going to find something to destroy. I’d better get going, but the charter bus will be here to pick you up at four o’clock to take you to the park’s trailhead. There are only three girls going this time. Laurene and Cassidy, who you know, and Heather. She’s staying at the resort with her parents. Cool kid. She’s already made friends with the other two.”

“A girls only trip?” I asked. “This just keeps getting better and better. We’ll be fine. You go stop Bobby from destroying the toys or himself, and I’ll finish up here.”

She smiled gratefully before hoisting Billy onto her other hip and rushing off in Bobby’s direction. As much as I loved kids, it was days like today that reminded me why I preferred yoga instruction to being a full-time Kids Camp counselor.

Happy to finish the inventory, I picked up the clipboard she’d discarded and went through the list, checking the packs meticulously before I finally went back to my cabin. I never took much along on this trip, so shoving a toothbrush and a change of clothes into a bag wouldn’t take too long.

My sleeping bag and other camping goodies were already wrapped into a pack and the first-aid kit I’d need was with the stuff at the camp. Honestly, the more I thought about it, the happier I was to be getting away on this trip.

With only three girls along, it was bound to be a lot more organized. Sure, it would be louder because Cassidy, for one, never seemed to stop talking, but at least there wouldn’t be any shoving—even playfully—or rushing off to check out any possible snakes. That already made it a whole lot more relaxed and safer than trying to keep track of rowdy boys.

When I walked back into my cabin, however, my gaze fell on my bed and that sting of hurt zapped through me again. In my mind’s eye, I pictured Remington lying across it, smiling when we’d had coffee there together just a few hours ago.

It seemed impossible that so much had changed in such a short amount of time, but it was what it was. Not even the fact that I could still feel him inside me could change what I’d learned in the time since.

Determined not to let it get me down, I deliberately moved my gaze away from the bed and marched to my closet to pack my stuff. Trying to get my mood back up, I hit the power button on my radio on the way to grab my bag, smiling when an upbeat song filled the air.

There we go. I’m going to be alright. It’s all going to be fine. We hooked up once. It’s not the end of the world.

Closing my eyes for a beat, I let the music infuse me, taking hold of my soul. I started swaying my hips and lifted my hands slowly into the air. Dancing was the last thing I felt like doing, but that was exactly when it was most important to just move my body anyway.

I kept doing it as I packed. At one point, I thought I heard a knock at the door, but when I narrowed my eyes to try and hear past the music, the knocking was gone. Or it’d never been there to begin with.

A fact I was happy about. I’d been on the verge of getting too involved with a guest who, as Gracie had said, would leave and break my heart. I knew better now, and I’d rather not see him or anyone else until I’d made my peace with that.

23

REMINGTON

One thing that made Declan a great business partner was that he didn’t need his hand held. Once he was armed with the relevant information and knew where I stood on any particular matter, he was perfectly happy going off on his own and making his decisions for himself.

That was what he was doing now, exploring, investigating the possibilities, and having an objective look at Blue Pines Resort as a possible investment opportunity. He’d already stopped in at the Greens on his way over here, and he was now also on the lookout for things we could do to improve those facilities.

He and I thought very much alike. I was confident that he was going to come to all the same conclusions I had, but he needed to do his thing.

Meanwhile, Laurene was excitedly stuffing all her new gear into her backpack and had told me she’d be fine packing by herself. Apparently, she wanted the practice. She had—correctly—pointed out that she needed to be acquainted with all that gear if she was going to be able to handle herself during the trip.

All of which freed me to do what I needed to do, and what I needed was to talk to Birdie. As soon as I left the suite, I headed directly to her cabin, ignoring Alan at the front desk and making a beeline for the road that ran around the back of the resort.

Her cabin came into view around the bend, all those potted plants and flowers so colorful and cheerful on her porch. I smiled. This woman deserved only the best and that was what I wanted to give her with our investment.

I would need to approach the subject carefully and be very clear about our intentions if I didn’t want to be met with the same resistance I’d received from her boss, but I had a plan. A plan that was foiled when I’d barely started knocking and got interrupted by my phone ringing.

Planning on sending whoever it was to voicemail, I pulled it out of my pocket and then groaned as I saw Jacqueline’s name on the screen. She always has the best timing.

I stepped off Birdie’s porch, slid my thumb across the green bar, and pressed the phone to my ear, hoping that I would actually get to talk to her about the situation with Laurene this time. I’d texted her twice, asking her to call me when she could, and I’d tried calling her, but she hadn’t picked up.

“Jacqueline,” I said when I answered, tipping my head back to let the sunshine wash over me and burn away all my exasperation with this woman.

I needed to keep a level head for this conversation if I had any hope of getting anywhere with her, but it was beyond frustrating that she repeatedly put parties and new friends above our daughter.

“Remi!” she exclaimed into the phone, sounding all light and flirty. I sighed. At least this meant she was happy and getting back to herself, but on the other hand, it was difficult to talk to her about anything other than what she wanted to talk about when she was in a mood like this. “I’m just checking in again. How are you?”

I frowned. “How am I? I’m good, but that’s not really why I asked you to call me back.”

“Call you back?” She laughed lightly. “This isn’t a callback, darling. It’s just a call. What are you up to?”