Page 14 of Lady and the Camp
“It’s the only free cabin.”
I ventured forward. Maybe just the outside looked like a murder hut. I peeked inside. Nope. Straight from a thrasher flick. Was that astained mattress?
Static sounded accompanied by a woman’s voice. “Lucas? Where are you?”
The guy plucked a two-way radio from his belt. “I’m at the cabin.”
“I’mat the cabin. She’s bunking with me. Over.”
I could swear the guy held back a grin. “Simple mistake. Over.” He shut the door without looking at me and walked ahead, still carrying my suitcase. “Let’s go.”
I breathed in relief. At least I wasn’t a tired plot from a horror movie. My actual life felt horrific enough.
I followed Luke—Lucas—to where the trail had split, joining the main dirt path again toward several brightly colored cabins. They looked a bit worn, but at least the yellows and greens were identifiable, happy colors.
A tall woman with wild straw-yellow curls wearing a polo shirt with the camp’s name and logo walked out from a smaller cabin with a covered porch. “Hiya. You must be the new hire. I’m Maggie.”
I smiled my friendliest smile. “Nice to meet you. Hudson.”
I’d briefly considered a fake name to embrace the full lay-low life, but lying on a job application that required a background check to work with children seemed a step in the wrong direction. I’d earn a lecture with Agent Mulder for a stunt like that.
Maggie jacked Lucas in the side. He winced. “Ow! What’s that for?”
“Lucas Russo, you played a dirty trick on Hudson taking her out to that run-down shack.”
So ithadbeen a trick.
He shrugged one shoulder. “It’s the only cabin open. How did I know you two were sharing?”
I hadn’t known I’d be sharing a cabin either, but I also knew basically nothing about the job. Twila and I mainly talked shoes, facial fillers (she had some hot takes), and the latest season ofCelebrity Houseboat: Escapades, which I hated to admit I watched, but I totally watched.
Okay, focus. Maggie had called him by his full name, Lucas Russo. Marcy’s last name was Russo. Because they were cousins. So, why did Lucas act so confused about me? “You’re Marcy’s cousin,” I stated. “You should have known I was coming.”
His cheeks colored. “I had things to do and let Twila handle everything.”
He muttered something about mistakes and maybe coffee makers, but that didn’t make any sense.
Huh. So maybe he didn’t know my real reason for being here or any of the sordid details.
Which was great, actually. The fewer people who knew about my situation, the better. Marcy said she’d covered what she needed on the phone, so that must have been with Twila. I wasn’t sure what that had entailed. I’d been devouring another chunk of Marcy’s homemade bread and internally spiraling about an internet-less future when she’d made the call.
Twila never questioned why I wanted to live on the grounds. She’d only asked if I’d want her to bring in coffee from town in the mornings. Me and Twila would get along just great.
“Well then, let’s get you settled.” Maggie opened the door and gestured for me to follow.
The small front room featured a floral couch I swore was a duplicate to one currently in my grandmother’s basement, along with odds and ends lamps, tables, and an old desk with one of those wooden roller covers domed over it. Window unit air conditioner. Beyond it was the bedroom, and I spied a bathroom—indoor plumbing! Along the left, a counter with a microwave and hot plate. A minifridge on the floor with a healthy plant on top.
Sparse, but cozy. Very cozy for two.
Marcy had gone to bat for me so I wouldn’t make this weird. “Thanks. This looks great.”
A grunt sounded by the door. Lucas, smoldering in a very rugged outdoorsman way, gave me a disparaging look only rivaled by judgey teen girls on the internet. “Sure thing. Make yourselfcomfortable.”
He sauntered off like some kind of scorned cowboy, letting the screen door slap shut.
“Well that was…interesting,” I stated. Fascinating, truly. Who knew hot, grumpy men worked at children’s camps? I sure didn’t.
Maggie rolled her eyes. “He issodifficult sometimes. But he’s been through a thing or two this year. We all have. Okay, come on. Let me show you around.”
