Lori’s heart fluttered like a hummingbird’s wings when Chase’s arm slipped around her waist and they somehow ended up plastered against each other. Home. It’s like coming home.
Only you don’t live there anymore!
Jerking away from him before she could make a fool of herself and lift her face for his kiss—his kiss? Holy moly. Had he been about to kiss her?—Lori said, “Whoa. Sorry about that. Clumsy of me. I’ll … um … see you … um … not tomorrow. Probably not tomorrow. The day after.”
She would need a day to recover from this.
“G’night.” She fled. Ran like a Heisman trophy running back heading for the end zone. The screen door banged behind her before he’d taken two steps.
His voice, soft and a little gruff, floated in from the porch. “Good night, Glitterbug.”
Like any woman in similar circumstances, she went straight for the freezer and the Rocky Mountain Road. She went to bed that night feeling just a little sick to her stomach.
She slept fitfully and awoke the following morning to a bluebird summer sky and an appointment book filled to overflowing—of which she was glad. She didn’t need to obsess about last night’s interlude on the porch swing. Or the moment when it ended.
She woke up telling herself that Chase was her friend. That she shouldn’t worry about a momentary reaction. Muscle memory. That’s all it had been, right?
“Right.”
And the temperature would crack the century mark on New Year’s Day in Eternity Springs, too.
Lori did her best to put the events of last evening behind her as she went about her work the next morning, but off and on throughout the day, thoughts of Chase itched like a bug bite. She tried to distract herself with an inner debate over which of Eternity Springs’s canine residents she should take to the Rocking L and in what order. She decided to start with small and stylish—Sage Rafferty’s Snowdrop—and she made arrangements to pick up the bichon frise from Sage’s art gallery, Vistas, at lunchtime the following day.
With that decision behind her and the potential lineup settled, her thoughts kept straying back to Chase. Her distraction must have been obvious, too, because that evening when she joined the Callahan clan on the patio at Murphy’s Pub for a live music performance by a Callahan family friend, a singer/songwriter named Shaky Wells, she noticed that Brick kept giving her narrow-eyed looks.
She did her best to ignore him and have fun. The Texas-based contingent of the Callahan family had begun arriving for their annual summertime visit to Eternity Springs earlier in the week, and Lori appreciated the opportunity to catch up on family news. She liked Nic’s in-laws very much, having gotten to know them well while visiting their ranch during her undergrad years at Texas A&M. While they waited for the entertainment to begin, Brick’s aunts caught her up on recent events in Brazos Bend. At intermission, his father managed to quiz her subtly about his son’s life in Eternity Springs.
“I think he’s very happy,” she told Mark Callahan. “He speaks often about how much he likes the challenge of building something from the ground up. I think once word gets around about Stardance, he’ll be wildly successful.”
“But do you think—”
“Enough, Dad,” Brick interrupted as he moved up behind Lori. “Lori came here tonight to enjoy the music, not to be interrogated. Here.” He pulled out her chair. “Let me rescue you. I want to introduce you to Shaky.”
He cut her away from the herd as smoothly as a working cowboy.
“You shouldn’t have said that to your dad,” she scolded. “That was no interrogation. You should hear my dad. For a man who had no experience parenting me until I was in college, he can fire off nosy questions like nobody’s business.”
“It was just an excuse. My family has monopolized you and I wanted to get you off by myself,” he said, once he had her cornered by the side gate. “So what has you wound tighter than a corkscrew tonight?”
“I’m not wound tight.”
“Yeah. Right. And my grandfather’s favorite meal isn’t chicken-fried steak with cream gravy and fried okra.”
“Oh, wow. Cream gravy and fried okra. Sometimes I really miss Texas.”
“Branch still eats it twice a week.”
“He must have wheedled the location of the Fountain of Youth out of Celeste. My mom swears our resident angel knows where it is, and your grandfather seems to get younger every time I see him rather than vice versa.”
Brick wouldn’t be distracted. “Enough about Branch. Back to you. What has you so twitchy?
“I’m not twitchy.”
“I’ve heard rumors in town. It’s Timberlake, isn’t it? Is he giving you trouble?”
That depends on your definition of “trouble.” She scowled at him over the top of her pint of beer. “Why would you think that?”
“Word around town is that his woman flew the coop. The wedding is off again. For good this time.”
“They’ve broken their engagement, but I don’t know that I’d put money on it being permanent.”
“Speculation is that the two of you might take up where you left off. He’s been seen in town—on your front porch.”
Lori closed her eyes and groaned. Welcome to Eternity Springs—where everybody knows your business before you do. It was the very worst part of small-town living. “Where did you hear that?”
“Well, let’s see.” He dragged his hand down his cheek. “I heard it when I bought a box of nails at the lumberyard. Got a whiff of it when I put gas in my truck at the Fill-U-Up. Margaret Rhodes about wore me out about it when I dropped off a sackful of donations for the library book sale.”
I’m so toast. “It’s a blessing that my parents are on vacation.”
“When are they due back?”
“A week from Saturday.”
“So you’ve got a little time to come up with a story for them. On the other hand, as your friend and the person who listened during a certain late-night drunken sobfest on a recent trip to Durango, I want an answer now. What the hell are you doing, Murphy?”
She tossed back a sip of beer as if it were a shot of rotgut whisky. “I thought you were going to introduce me to the singer.”
“I will. Later.” He pushed open the gate and ushered her outside. “I didn’t spend three hours letting you cry on my shoulder to ignore this.”
“I didn’t cry on your shoulder.”
“Trust me. After the second bottle of wine, you absolutely did.”
She scowled at him. “Whatever.”
Brick slung his arm around her shoulders and led her around to the side of the building and down the street to the garden area outside of the Catholic church and the park bench that offered a nice view of Sinner’s Prayer Pass. “Allow me to quote you. ‘It’s all my father’s fault. If he hadn’t run off, then I would have trusted that Chase would wait.’ Now, I’m not exactly sure what all of that was supposed to mean—your sloshed little self wasn’t making tons of sense—but I can connect the obvious dots. You’re vulnerable to him and I know your history, so I’m concerned for you. I care about you.”
“I care about you too, Brick, and I appreciate your concern. But you don’t need to worry because here’s the bottom line. Chase is my friend. He’s in a bad place right now, and I won’t let our past stop me from being the friend he needs, but I would have to be an idiot to let myself fall for him again.”
“Why’s that?”
“Well, gee. I don’t know.” Sarcasm dripped from her voice. “Maybe I don’t like the idea of being rebound girl?”
Brick shook his head. “You’re not. The TV chick was the rebound girl. Hasn’t he been with her since the two of you broke up? Technically, you’d be the bounce-back girl. You’re the one who got away.”
Lana had said that to her one time, too. Lori didn’t believe it then, and she didn’t believe it today.
“So what’s the problem?” Brick continued. “Are you scared off because Timberlake has gone crackers?”
“He hasn’t gone crackers!” Lori was quick to defend him. “He’s mourning his friends and recovering from a horrible experience and he’s probably dealing with some depression and maybe even post-traumatic stress. If he comes and sits on my porch swing, it’s just because he finds some comfort there.”
“I’ll just bet he does.”
“Come on, Brick. It’s totally innocent.”
“I think the lady doth protest too much. Therefore, I intend to nurse my broken heart with another beer. You want one?”
“Oh, stop it, Brick. You’re not in love with me.”
The teasing light in his eyes faded, and a new note of sincerity cued Lori to the fact that he spoke the truth. “No, I think it could have gone that way, but I knew better than to let myself fall. I didn’t want to be rebound guy any more than you want to be rebound girl. Been there, done that. It sucks.”
Brick had told Lori enough about his relationship history to know that he’d had his heart stomped by a woman before moving to Eternity Springs.
“At any rate, I haven’t been in a rush. I figured it didn’t hurt to wait around and see what happened with you. I thought once Timberlake actually settled, you might have been ready to move on and we might have a chance.”
Lori placed her hand atop his and gave it a squeeze. “I appreciate the thought, Brick, but despite what you like to tell yourself, my confusion about Chase hasn’t been the only thing keeping us apart.”
“Oh?”
“You pay lip service to moving on, my friend, but this is a pot/kettle situation. You’re still in love with your ex.”
Now it was his turn to scowl. He glanced over his shoulder as if to make sure that his family hadn’t overheard. “You’re one to talk.”
“No, I love him, but I’m not in love with him. I’m not ‘involved’ with him.”
“Yet.”
“No ‘yet’ about it. Maybe I could take that fall, but I’d be stupid to let it happen. I’m his friend and friendship is all it can be.”
“Why?”
“Because the problem that broke us up before hasn’t gone away. I have roots. Chase has wings. They might be a bit beat-up and broken right now, but as soon as he heals, he’ll fly away. That’s what he does.”
Brick studied her for a long moment. “Seems to me that you’re jumping the gun. So the guy wanted to see the world. He’s done that. Maybe he’s ready to settle down now. It happens, you know. Hell, he’s camped out in a yurt and from what I hear, he’s not inclined to leave it.”
“He will. He always does.”
“Maybe not this time.”
“Yes, well, I’m not ready to roll that particular pair of dice.” She’d survived being in love with Chase Timberlake once. She wasn’t at all certain she could do it a second time. “So, your third degree is almost reaching Cam Murphy status. Let’s go back to the patio, shall we? I still want to meet the songwriter.”
Brick held her gaze a long moment, then nodded. They returned to Murphy’s, but just before they reached the gate, she added, “Thank you for caring, Brick. And maybe you’ll listen to one piece of advice I have? If that slipknot you tied hitching your reins to your past is actually a square knot, sometimes the only way to get on down the road is to take a second run at the knot.”
“Lori Murphy, I think you’ve been spending too much time with Celeste Blessing. And I’ll see your advice and raise you. Real honest-to-God second chances don’t come along often in life. Don’t squander yours just because you’re afraid.”
“Now who has been spending too much time with Celeste.” Lori went up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek, then followed him onto the patio where he introduced her to Shaky Wells. It was the last they spoke about anybody’s past that evening.
Late the following morning, Lori picked up Snowdrop from the Raffertys’ and made the trip up to the Rocking L summer camp on Murphy Mountain.
Snowdrop was a hit with the children. Sage had dressed the dog in a fairy princess outfit and Nicholas did just fine with her. “Who can be afraid of a dog wearing fairy wings,” he explained.
Time passed and Lori’s days stayed full. She adjusted her work hours—opening early and staying late—to give herself time for an extra long lunch. One of the perks about being her own boss, she told her mother.
“Is it … smart … for you to spend so much time up at the Rocking L while you are getting your practice established in Eternity Springs?” her mother asked. “Someone else could take dogs up to visit that poor little boy.”
Lori recognized the question as not-so-subtle mother-speak that really asked, “Do you know what you’re letting yourself in for where Chase is concerned?”
As much as Sarah Murphy had wanted Chase and Lori to tie the knot once upon a time, she now harbored serious doubts that they should take up where they’d left off. She’d shared that viewpoint with Lori shortly after news of the broken engagement reached her ears. Lana’s words and actions toward Chase had made a positive impression on the Timberlake family friends following Chase’s return to Eternity Springs. Sarah wasn’t certain that this wedding postponement was permanent, and after having witnessed her daughter’s meltdown when Chase was missing, she feared that Lori would end up brokenhearted—again.
“I’m careful not to overextend myself, Mom,” she’d replied. “This session of summer camp will be over before we know it, Nicholas will go home, and I won’t have a reason to return to the Rocking L.” Daughter-speak for “I’m protecting my heart, Mom. Don’t worry.”
Her words mollified her mother somewhat. It didn’t help that Chase continued to come down out of the mountains more evenings than not to spend an hour or so on her porch swing. Lori knew tongues were wagging all over town, but she didn’t care. Chase seemed more at peace each time she saw him. If spending time on her front porch helped his heart to heal, that’s all that mattered.
And if she got a bit of a hormonal buzz every time she saw him interact with the Tadpoles or heard the creak of the porch swing then, well, that was her problem, wasn’t it? Chase certainly didn’t seem to be bothered by a similar reaction. In fact, so totally … companionable … was he that she began to understand that she must have misread the almost-kiss the night he brought ice cream.
Obviously, Chase thought of her as a friend. So much for Brick’s talk of second chances. Lori told herself that it was only natural for her to long for a time when the evening would have ended with a kiss between them. That was an old, familiar pattern. A comfortable pattern. That’s all. They weren’t the same two people who’d met at the Trading Post and carried on a secret affair in their early twenties. He was a friend. Just a friend. Period. She was glad that Chase didn’t have romance on the mind.
She almost believed it.
* * *
Chase dreamed of fireworks.
The thundering boom as a rocket launches. A high-pitched whistle rises, fading to a whir as the glittering trail of sparks climbs higher and higher. Anticipation builds. Tension grows. The pinprick of light has now all but disappeared.
Yearning …
The sky explodes. A dazzling starburst of colors burn brilliant and beautiful. Spears of red and orange and gold and silver slice across the midnight sky.
Ahhhhh.
In the heavens, beams soften and slowly begin to fall. A waterfall of color, luminescent and glowing. Now green.
Green, Lori’s eyes.
Chase lifted his head from his pillow. He blinked once. Twice. Well, sonofabitch. Damned if he didn’t have a morning hard-on. A serious morning hard-on.
Huh. Well. That was a good thing, wasn’t it? His libido had been nonexistent for weeks now. Hell, it had been months. He hadn’t had sex since the Valentine’s Day vacation—and, he hadn’t missed it. Sad comment, there, on how the state of his relationship with Lana had been even before the whole Markhor Pass question surfaced. The fact that he’d had a sex dream about fireworks was a little weird, but not completely beyond understanding. Today was the Fourth of July and this was the day that Lana had chosen as their rescheduled wedding day.
However, Chase didn’t even want to begin to speculate about why the dream had ended with Lori’s green eyes. At least, not before he’d taken a cold shower.
He rolled from his bed and began his day—without touching the hot water spigot. Either one of them.
Chase pulled into the parking lot at the Rocking L a full hour before his usual arrival time because today was Family Day. Hearing the sound of a motorcycle approaching, Chase turned to see Celeste drive up on her Gold Wing. He slowed his step while she guided the bike toward her parking spot near the camp’s main entrance and waited while Captain darted forward to receive his pets and scratches and coos and cuddles.
“Happy Fourth of July,” she said when she finally lifted her attention away from his dog.
“Happy Fourth of July, Celeste. I’m surprised to see you here today. Don’t you have a full day of activities at Angel’s Rest?”
“We do. But the nature walks I do here are such a lovely part of my week that I didn’t want to skip it. These children take hold of my heart and don’t let go. Don’t you agree?”
“I can’t argue with you.”
Celeste reached out and touched Chase’s arm. “One of the lessons spending time with these little ones teaches me is that a brush with tragedy can affect us in two different ways. Either we can lose hope and descend into the darkness, or we can use the challenge to find our inner strength and make our way into the light. The easier path is to sink. The struggle to strength is a lesson these children live and display day after day.”
The struggle to strength.
Her words stayed with Chase as he entered the camp where staff and campers scurried about like ants making final preparations before visitors descended. It was, he thought, a rather profound thought in a handful of words.
“My swimmers tell me that you tell the best stories on your nature walks, Celeste. I’ve been tempted to tag along on them myself.”
“You are welcome anytime, Chase.”
“Thank you. I might just do that. Though I’m not sure I could keep up with you. Lori says that you are the Energizer bunny of Eternity Springs.”
Celeste laughed. “That Lori. She’s one to talk. I’m amazed at all she manages. Is she bringing a dog to camp today?”
“No. Not with all the events on today’s agenda. We have lots to accomplish before it’s time to load up the buses for the trip down to Hummingbird Lake.”
“I think it’s lovely that the Callahans have invited our campers to their holiday picnic.”
“They are good people. And, they have the best fireworks viewing spot on the lake.”
Saying the word “fireworks” took Chase’s mind in a direction it shouldn’t have gone. He had no business walking around a children’s camp with a boner. What happened next didn’t help his situation one bit.
He and Celeste walked into the admin building to find Lori already there, visiting with Alisha and Shaun and wearing a formfitting, sleeveless sundress in flag red.
“You look like a million bucks,” he told her.
She dipped her head, accepting the compliment, and showed him a smile as bright as the summer sunshine. “Thank you. I’m giving a presentation to guests about tourist activities and places of interest in the area to visit. I was feeling especially patriotic when I opened my closet this morning. It’s nice to wave the flag from time to time.”
She definitely managed that. Only instead of the Stars and Stripes of the good old U.S. of A., Chase’s thoughts went to the bullrings of Seville. He wanted to snort and paw the ground and charge the red flag in front of him.
Yep, the old sex drive had definitely come roaring back.
Except, maybe it wasn’t just testosterone finding its way back into his blood. Maybe it was Lori.
It’s always been Lori.
“So, are you ready for the watermelon scramble?” she asked.
The question distracted Chase, and he pulled his gaze away from her shapely bare legs. He was not looking forward to that part of the day. “No, I’m not. Whoever decided that it’d be a good idea to grease up a watermelon with Vaseline and throw it in a swimming pool for kids to wrestle over, anyway?”
“It’s a Callahan family tradition,” Celeste said. “I’m looking forward to it. It’s so much fun to watch.”
“Unless you’re the person responsible for swimmers’ safety,” Chase grumbled. “Or the one dealing with bruises and busted lips after it’s over.” To the camp directors, he added, “The legal liability makes me shudder. Are you sure you want to keep it on the schedule?”
“The Davenports suggested it,” Alisha replied. “That and the money scramble.”
“Don’t fret, Chase.” Celeste patted his arm. “Kids need to be kids. A little roughhousing doesn’t hurt as long as it’s at the proper time and in the proper place. Besides, these children here have already faced trial by fire of one sort or another. Our campers aren’t snowflakes.”
No, they weren’t, and it was one of the reasons Chase enjoyed his time here at the Rocking L so much. He’d always respected grit. These kids had grit and then some.
“Relax, Chase,” Lori said, her green eyes glowing with amusement. “As I recall, you love watermelon. Play your cards right and you’ll be able to bum a slice or two from the winners. I was the courier for the prizes this morning. Picked up two huge ones and a smallish-sized one they’d set aside for us at the Trading Post. They look gorgeous.”
“Three? We have to do it three times?”
“Three different age groups.”
“Great. Just great.” But the spark in Lori’s eyes was so damned appealing that he couldn’t help but smile in return.
The morning passed swiftly. At the Rocking L, the “family” part of Family Day meant that every camper had someone special there just for him. Not all visitors were blood related. In fact, seven of the campers had visitors whom they’d never even met, but whom they’d listed as “family” choices. These visitors included professional athletes, an actress, teachers, and even two members of a popular boy band.
Jack Davenport had connections like nobody’s business.
The watermelon scramble went off with only a couple of bruises and a few scrapes, and without any eye gouges. The kids had an amazing amount of fun. His little Tadpoles didn’t participate in that activity, but when it came time for the money scramble—bags and bags and bags of coins—to be thrown into the pool for the kids to dive for, Trevor and Nicholas stood at the ready.
But first, Ava and Chase had prepared a surprise for her parents.
Rows of white folding chairs had been lined up around the pool and visitors invited to sit. Children sat cross-legged on the pool deck, faces and hands red and sticky with juice from their watermelon prizes. Lori stood across the pool from Ava and her parents, a camera at the ready.
Chase met Ava’s gaze and arched a questioning brow. The little minx grinned and attempted to wink, though she did it with both eyes.
Chase smothered a grin and stepped forward. “Before we begin our final aquatic event today, I want to thank you for coming. The kids have been excited and looking forward to sharing this day with you. The Rocking L is a great program, a fabulous place, and I’m so glad I’ve had the opportunity to be part of it. We should all have a chance to go to summer camp. Believe me when I say that it’s good for the heart. Everyone’s heart.”
“And watermelon is good for the tummy, too!” Trevor shouted out.
The crowd laughed. Chase sighed and shook his head, then continued. “Now, since we do lessons here at the pool, one of my students and I decided we’d give a demonstration. Ava, want to join me?”
“Yes, please, Mr. Chase.” The little girl sat tall, smiled up at her mom and dad, then rose and walked regally to stand at his side.
“Wonderful. So, everyone, if we can have your attention, my assistant and I will show you how this next event is going to work.”
At the base of the lifeguard stand, Chase picked up a canvas bag and one of the dozen pails that the Davenports had delivered earlier that day.
“I’ve always loved a good treasure hunt,” he began, stealing a glance toward Lori as he spoke, the memory of their treasure hunt anniversary date a quick flash through his mind. “Ava, please explain to our guests how this one will work.”
Like the hostess on a daytime TV game show, the little girl gestured toward the pool with a flourish. “Imagine please that our beautiful blue swimming pool is the deep blue sea. A gallon gets in a pirate fight and sinks.”
“Galleon,” Chase corrected, stifling a grin.
She clapped her cheeks with her hands. “Galleon. I always mess that up.”
After the visitors’ laughter died down, she continued. “Treasure spills across the ocean floor.”
She waved a hand toward Chase who reached into the pail, removed a handful of silver coins, and tossed them into the pool at about the four-foot depth marker. “And, our treasure hunters will take their booty bags—” She held out her hand toward Chase. He passed over a small mesh pouch from the canvas bag. “And dive to collect their treasure.”
Then Chase’s little fearful Tadpole took her bag, held her nose, and jumped into the water.
Her parents audibly gasped and rose instinctively to their feet. After a few seconds underwater, Ava’s head popped from the water followed by her hand. She held a gleaming silver dollar high for everyone to see. “Ta-da!” she called, and a wide grin split her face.
Her mother started to cry. Her father grinned even bigger than Ava.
Satisfaction flowed though Chase like a river. And as he met Lori’s warm and approving gaze, so did another emotion he’d never thought to experience again—joy.