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ChapterThirty-Six
SPENCER
“I got three,” Miles says.
“I’ve got none.” Caden frowns. “Mine just sink.”
Troy jumps in with, “I got five.”
Of course he has the most.
The four of us are down at the lake, squatting on rocks, skipping stones. The sun has started its descent, cooling the air, sky headed toward dusk. Each tossed rock ripples the water, spreading in rings, reflecting the light. I’m feeling pretty good, all things considered—minus the fact that Troy is at it again.
But he’s not going after Clem this time. He’s angling for Tess. My jaw clenches. Yeah.
Not gonna happen.
At least I got him away from her before he could work more of his charm. As much as I’d like to think Tess is too smart to be sucked in, I’m not willing to take that risk. Yes, she turned him down when he asked her out for dinner. But that could’ve been because she had to work tonight.
Either way, the guys will be taking off soon.
Is it worth confronting Troy before they go? I figure probably not. The truth is, at this point, Tess isn’t mine to claim, as much as I may wish she were. But until I come clean to her about my feelings—and clarify hers too—all I’ve got is a suspicion.
IthinkTess might want what I want. That she might actually want me. But it’s a suspicion mixed with hope. A dangerous thing.
I’m living on the edge.
Standing to stretch, I glance back toward the ranch. Sounds like the barbecue’s in full swing now, but I assume no one’s missing me. I brought the guys out here because it’s off-limits to campers without a lifeguard on duty, and before they left, I wanted to catch up without interruption.
But it looks like we’ve been discovered.
Lucy and Fix are trudging toward us with Mrs. Dodd and her … boyfriend. Their trek is slow due to the cowboy boots. So I head over to help before someone stumbles and breaks a hip.
As I approach, Lucy smiles. She’s as beautiful as ever. But I feel nothing. Not even a stir. My crush on her was merely an appetizer before the main course. And okay, yes, I’m comparing women to food. I’m not so great with metaphors. What Iamis a straightforward man, who’s been beating around the bush with Tess for too long.
“Careful, young lady,” I say to Mrs. Dodd. Then I offer her my arm.
“Oh, Spencer!” She grasps me by the elbow and beams. “We havesuchthrilling news!”
Lucy grins. “Go ahead. Tell him, Grams.”
“I’ve written a fascinating autobiography of my life,” Mrs. Dodd gushes. “And I’d like to offer one hundred copies of it to the library!”
“Oh. Wow.” I glance at Fix, who’s busy masking a smile.Thisis why they came out here? “One hundred is a lot of copies, Mrs. Dodd.”
“I’ll absorb the cost, of course,” she says. “In exchange for selecting the location of my volumes.”
I swallow a guffaw. “That’s notexactlyhow the library works.”
Fix drops his hand. “That’s also not the news we were planning to share, Grams.”
“Brooke’s in labor,” Lucy blurts out, unleashing her excitement. “Mac just rushed her to the hospital. Tess went with them. Jill and Owen took Daisy home to wait.”
I blink. “Tess left camp?”
“That’s why we came to find you,” Fix says. “Mrs. Lockhart sent us. For the record, she offered to stay in Tess’s place. She called it her ‘civic duty’.” Fix putscivic dutyin air quotes, and his mouth slips sideways again. “Then she said—over her bullhorn, by the way—that she’s willing to sleep in the girls’ cabin tonight, while you stay with the boys, if that’s what it takes to fulfill her role as mayor.”
“Whoa.”
