Page 6 of His Curvy Distraction

I nodded. She was right. I was told so many times by parents how much their kids loved camp last summer. So much so that they were already trying to sign up for this summer, months before registration was open.

But if I had five acres of space, I could take on three or four times as many kids. I could offer so much more. And I could hire more teenagers to help out and run things.

It was a dream. As long as it was in the budget.

It would be. It had to be. It was for the kids. There was no way even a scrooge like Mayor Knight would say no to something for the kids of MacKellar Cove.

My best friend and roommate, Daisy Lincoln, was just as excited as I was about the campground. We spent the entire weekend dreaming about things we could do to the property.

“Ooh, look at this,” Daisy said, turning her computer toward me. She looked up the site online and was pulling up satellite pictures and old photographs of the place. “The pool is nice.”

I nodded, staring at the screen. The old pictures of Mountain View Campground were stunning. It was a campground, sure, but it was beautiful. Wide open spaces with lots of room for activities. Volleyball and basketball. The pool was ideal.

I just wondered what it looked like now. “It was great.”

Daisy laughed. “Oh, just wait. It’ll be amazing.”

“You can’t possibly think that. Why would someone give this place away if it was in amazing condition? Amelia said it’s in rough shape. I’m sure it’s horrible.”

“And if it is, we’ll fix it up. We’ll make it perfect.”

“There’s no such thing as perfect,” I told her.

Daisy waved her hand, always dismissing my pessimistic attitude. I wasn’t sure why we worked, but she adopted me as her best friend the day we moved into our college dorm. Daisy was happy and bright and optimistic about everything. She dated constantly and was the happiest person I knew.

As opposed to me, where I was anxious, tense, and expected the worst in every situation. Daisy made me believe not everyone was bad, but it was not a lesson I had an easy time learning.

One I still wasn’t sure I learned when it came to men.

“When is your meeting with the mayor?” Daisy asked, bringing the one man I had the hardest time with to the front of my mind.

“Tuesday. Amelia said he was coming up with a budget, and we needed to see what we could do after that.”

“So, come up with a plan. Figure out what you can do, what you want to do. The pool is a must. It’ll be amazing for the kids. And you need to have clear space for the activities. The basketball and volleyball courts will be great. And parking for employees and parents. Ooh, what about a tennis court or a soccer field? I mean, with five acres, you could do just about anything. A huge sheltered area would be great to get the kids out of the sun, too. Picnic tables and a grill, so you can do lunch for the campers once a week or something. There are so many things you could do.”

I nodded, imagining all of it. It would be amazing. I couldn’t wait to get out there and see what the place looked like and jump in and make it exactly what I wanted.

“I might not be able to do all of it, but it would be amazing. Eventually.”

“Of course. Eventually.” Daisy flipped through more pictures and dreamed with me until my phone dinged with a message. “Is that him?”

My cheeks warmed with her teasing tone. I’d been talking to a guy online. I never thought I’d be one for online dating, but it gave me a chance to slow down and gather my thoughts before I replied.

Not that it led to an instant connection. I’d met a few of the guys I spoke to online and it did not work out, but the latest match made me feel like I wasn’t such an oddity.

I grabbed my phone from the coffee table and smiled.

“What did he say?” Daisy asked. She was happy for me, even though there was nothing to be happy about. We were talking, not engaged.

I read the message and shook my head. “He asked what my favorite time of day is.”

“He has a weird way of flirting,” Daisy said, scrunching her nose. She was cute, blonde and curvy and always smiling and laughing. She drew the attention of men wherever we went.

“We’re getting to know each other.”

“As long as you like him, that’s what matters.”

I got up from the couch so I could talk to him without feeling like Daisy was hovering. “I’m going to go talk to him.”

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