Page 60 of Fragile Heart

We’ve arranged the tents around the perimeter, nestled up against the copse of trees a few hundred feet from the lake’s shore. Emily and Beau are setting up a couple large picnic tables while the Bennett pack is moving around them with surprising efficiency, unpacking everything that isn’t related to sleep in the span of a few minutes.

Caleb sighs again and walks off. It’s no surprise he’s heading for her tent. He eases the stake out of Melissa’s hand and works on setting the remaining pieces of their rain guard. Camden comes running back into the center of the tents, the girl no longer with him.

He scans the area. When his eyes land on me, he runs over.

“Daddy! Daddy, can we go find rocks?” He wraps his arm around my legs. “Rose said she knows how to make them bounce on the water. I want to make them bounce!”

I pull him into my arms and kiss his cheek as I walk toward the tables.

“Cam wants to go work on skipping rocks,” I offer.

It’s not something I ever figured out, so outsourcing is necessary.

Emily grins. “Give us a couple more minutes, and I’ll take you down and teach you.”

Faedra and Brielle walk down the trail where the cars are parked another hundred feet away. The girl that had been playing with Camden walks with them, a small bag on hershoulders. Faedra stops at our central hub on her way to one of three small backpacking tents her pack has set up. Brielle doesn’t stop, though, ducking around the group and heading toward her tent.

A taste of her lavender scent hits me.

I swallow down the unholy need to mark her, to cover her in my scent until Caleb’s cinnamon is only a distant memory on her skin. Holyfuckinghell. With a grunt, I force myself to focus on Faedra.

“Hudson and Beau both have coolers in their trucks,” she says to the group at large, though her eyes are on her bonded Alpha. “Jude wants to leave the food mostly up there when we’re gone and at night.”

Logan nods and kisses her, a quick kiss that’s so intimate a knife twists in my chest.

“Sounds good, Red. Sounds like Camden and Emily are heading down to the lake once the dust settles.” He crouches in front of the girl, her blue eyes the same shade as his. “You want to go down too, sweetie?”

She nods and starts to take off the backpack—which is about the time I realize it’s a legitimate framed backpack designed for intensive camping. When Emily mentioned the pack camped, I hadn’t expected quite this level. Logan stops her and eases it back onto her shoulders.

“Go set your pack down at the tent, and then we’ll go,” he says.

Melissa calls from where she’s helping Caleb set up the vestibule of her tent. “Are we going to the lake? Are we swimming or just helping the kids play?”

Carter and the other little girl walk back from the cars, their own packs on their shoulders. She holds his hand and skips beside him, a carefree grin lighting her face. She gasps and then squeals.

“Dad! Dad, can I go swimming?” she asks, loud enough that we all can hear her, too. “Please?”

She turns the word into multiple syllables.

Carter raises an eyebrow and looks toward Logan, who shrugs. Carter offers a smile to his daughter.

“Sure, darling. Let’s get our packs put away and get you into one of your swimsuits.”

Camden pushes away from me, and I let him down. He rushes across the campsite.

“Bri! Bri! Are you going to swim, too?” he asks, loud enough that the few people still up by the vehicles can probably hear him, too. “Or can you bounce rocks like Aunt Emily?”

Brielle exits from her tent, flipping her hair over her shoulder. A small bruise sits just under her ear. My stomach clenches.

“I think I’ll stay on the shore with you. I’m not very good at skipping rocks, though. It’s not something I ever managed to figure out.”

Camden grabs her hand, and she doesn’t discourage the touch. She smiles as Caleb comes up to them both even as her cheeks flush. Melissa joins them as they start toward us.

Beau stands back from the second table, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“About an hour or so until lunch,” he says. “Someone should probably stay back to prep for it. Kids are going to be hungry if they’re swimming.”

“I can,” I offer before anyone else can say anything. Staying back here means keeping maximum distance between me and Brielle. “I’ll send a text to Caleb when it’s ready.”

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