Page 19 of Carson

I nod but give his hand a squeeze. “I am really tired though, aren’t you?”

My question triggers a yawn from him. It makes me giggle.

“Okay, so maybe I could use a little sleep,” he admits, sighing lightly as I release his hand.

“A quick nap and then supper?” I point behind me. “I’ll have hot dogs and a fire if you and your brother care to join me.”

“I’ll bring the marshmallows,” he says, jogging away from me before I have a chance to change my mind.

“Eight?” I yell.

He takes the steps two at a time up to his cabin, giving me a thumbs up. When he disappears inside, happiness bubbles through me, and a little laugh of disbelief slips out. What did I just do?

I place my hand against the side of my ride, sucking in a deep breath. It’s okay. It’s fine. I can entertain someone for supper. I mean, it’s only hot dogs.

Instead of sleeping, I set up my camp. I even put up the tent over the opening of my van door. It’s my patio. I don’t use it often, only when I have plans of staying awhile.

My eyes slowly roam down to the stream longingly. I glance at my watch. I’ve got a little time to explore.

I grab my walking stick and head down the well-worn path to the water.

It must be nice to have this place all to themselves. If I lived here, I would be down here all day. I place my river bucket into the water so I can see all the rocks below.

Heaven. I’m in heaven.

Chapter Nine

Cole

My brother paces back and forth. “Do you think she ran away?”

I wave my hand over the van still parked behind our cabin.

He looks at his phone. “Why didn’t I get her number?”

A rude snort escapes me, surprising us both.

He stops dead in his tracks. “What was that?”

“Nothing.” I sit forward. “She obviously hasn’t left. Why would she set all this up and then run? She didn’t even have her camp set up like this back in Cheyenne. She’s obviously planning to stay a while.”

He forgets all about the sound I made. I’d like to say it didn’t mean anything, but it did. For some reason, I want to hurt his feelings. I wanted to say that he never gets the girl’s number because he’s too chicken to ask for it.

I guess he’s never had to, because I’ve always rushed to do it for him.

Anyway, I’m just being stupid. I should be helping him, not making fun of him when he fails. This is the first time I haven’t jumped in to save him.

Suddenly Luna bursts from the trees, hurrying toward us. “Oh, Carson, I’m so sorry. I completely lost track of time,” she says, setting the bucket she was carrying on the ground beside her. She takes his hand in hers and gives him the biggest set of puppy dog eyes I’ve ever seen. I turn away from them. “This is my first time having guests, and my gosh …” She presses a hand to her chest, clearly distressed. “That was just so rude of me.”

“I wasn’t worried,” he lies.

That’s new.

His eyes meet mine. “Cole and I were just relaxing.” He takes her hand and walks over to start a fire. “I like what you’ve done with the place.”

They both squat by the pit, each glancing over their shoulder to look at the twinkling lights strung around the tent I’m sitting under.

“I thought it would give me a little more light out here at night,” she tells him, turning back to watch him stack the wood.