Page 110 of His Curvy Distraction

He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. “I didn’t think about that. Nothing by the pool?”

“Nope. The pool has changing rooms, but no bathroom facilities.”

“Dammit,” he breathed.

“Exactly. Which means this is over. All this work. All these kids. All for nothing.”

“Natalie,” he said as I walked away.

“Chuck’s guys are going to cut the tree away. We need to give them space. And I need to figure out how I’m going to tell all the families that were planning to send their kids here that it’s not going to happen and they need to find another summer camp. Two months after every registration in the area opened. Dammit!”

“Natalie,” he said again.

“Omar, I can’t right now. I just… I need to figure this out.”

He stopped following me.

I stopped to tell Chuck to go ahead, then went to my SUV. Daisy pulled in just as I was about to get in and leave.

“How bad is it?” Daisy asked.

“Worst-case scenario. Camp is done. Before it even starts, it’s done. I need to get out of here. They’re painting lines, so you need to go, too. Although I don’t know what the hell good lines are going to do when there is no camp, but whatever. I’ll see you later.”

Daisy nodded, not arguing with me as I climbed in my SUV, slammed the door, and drove off.

With only my tears for company.

24

Omar

All I could do was watch her walk away. I dropped everything to go to her, and she didn’t want me there. She was angry at me for something I had no control over.

“She’s broken,” Daisy said, approaching without me noticing. “What are we going to do?”

“She doesn’t want my help. She blamed me for this. Said I told her not to put the camper here and is mad at me for not listening to me.”

Daisy stepped in front of me, blocking my view of Natalie’s SUV disappearing onto the road. “She will get over it. Her world just got rocked, and not in the way you’ve been doing lately.”

I snorted a laugh that made Daisy smile.

“See? It’s not all bad.”

“It is if she can’t open the camp.”

“She can’t open the camp?” the man who appeared to be in charge asked. “Why not? What are the kids going to do?”

I pointed at the demolished camper. “That was the only bathroom out here. Without it, she can’t open.”

“You can’t let that happen. You’re the mayor, right?” the man asked.

I inhaled sharply. He was right. I wasn’t useless. I wasn’t helpless. I might not have a camper in my back pocket, but I could get out there and do something. “Don’t say anything to anyone about the camp not opening. We’re going to figure something out.”

“We are?” Daisy asked.

I turned to her. “We have to. We can’t let something like this stop her. Stop all of this. She’s worked too hard.”

Daisy grinned. “That’s what I’m talking about. What can I do?”

---