Page 108 of Lady and the Camp
Lucas stroked my back with a light touch. “Actually, I’ve got this, if you don’t mind. I think I know what’s up. Family stuff.” He leaned closer to brush his lips across mine. Deep woods mosquito repellent never smelled so desirable.
As Lucas sauntered off, Noah joined our group, a burger in one hand and a wine spritzer in the other. “You two are annoyingly cute,” she said to me. She flicked her gaze at Jillian and Adam. “Same for you. Makes a single girl actually want to give the apps another go.”
I cringed with sympathy. “The dating apps are rough. Don’t you have mutuals back in Chicago who can set you up? Friends of friends to meet up with?”
Noah shrugged. “I’m feeling pretty blah about all of it lately. The job, the city, my existence.”
Jillian gasped. “Noah!”
Noah flitted a hand in the air. “I’mexisting, okay? I’m just blah about it.” She gestured to me with the wine spritzer bottle. “Which means I’m down for your experimental adult retreat center. Whenever that opens.”
Jillian sucked in air. “When, Hudson? When does it launch? Can I come? Ooh—how about we make it a Mavens event!”
I couldn’t help laugh. “You’re getting a little ahead of yourself, but yes, the retreat project is for sure happening. Now that the summer season is over, I’ll be working with the camp to build a customer base for corporate retreats and restorative yoga weekends. The goal is to bring in groups who pay full price so we can subsidize retreats for local non-profits. Lucas is working with a veteran’s group right now as a test case for a hiking and fishing retreat.”
Adam nodded, grinning. “Cool idea. I bet my company crew would love to come up there. As a full price retreat, I mean.”
Jillian beamed at him.
“Lucas will be thrilled, thank you.”
Our time hiking in Colorado had been revelatory for Lucas. He’d loved it. I could sense the energy radiating off of him as we explored small mountain towns and national parks.
Only Lucas couldn’t stop talking about camp. About how much potential the camp property had if he took the concepts he’d been excited about doing in Colorado and plugged them in back home.
Back home.He talked about camp like he belonged there. And after mending his friendship with Brycen, the two of them came up with new ideas to grow the camp, while ensuring they kept their own goals front and center.
Which led Lucas to seek out a Michigan-based outdoor adventure company he could work for in short-term stints. Many of the guided trips would take him to the upper peninsula of Michigan, and would last only a week or two at a time. Neither of us wanted to be nailed to one location at the moment, but we also liked a place to call home. Right now, I had several, and that worked for me.
“So are you officially working for the camp?” Jillian asked me.
“I’m part-time, but there’s a lot of work on the front end. Branding, marketing, and creating customer packages to hit the markets we’re targeting. I’ve still been staying with Marcy and driving up to camp for a day or two at a time. And then I’m freelancing for a travel blog, and slowly shifting my Beauty Butterfly to more wellness and inspirational content. I didn’t want to give up my online identity entirely, but I also don’t want to feel obligated to constantly post new content, you know? It just doesn’t seem to fit who I am now.”
Jillian nodded in agreement. “I spent my twenties in graduate school. I don’t know your influencer life, but I definitely know what it’s like to be fully consumed by one thing for many years only to have that end. It’s weird, but not bad.”
She’d found an amazing job in her neuroscience field, which happened to be within a close range of Adam’s contracting business he’d built from the ground up.
Change was inevitable. Weird but not bad summed it up. At least, it wasn’t bad once embezzlement charges cleared.
Yikes. What a summer.
This moment in time felt transitional, temporary, but in the best way possible. I was spending time with people I cared about, including my parents and siblings. They were incredibly supportive of my move back to Michigan. They didn’t quite understand the retreat aspect of the camp just yet, but that’s why I planned to invite them to a session. To show them.
Lucas returned to the group. “Everything okay?” I asked him.
He gestured across the yard. “See for yourself.”
Marcy and Patrick stood close beneath the large oak shading the backyard, laughing. A snapshot of two long-time friends who clearly trusted each other. Marcy insisted only friendship existed between them. “They’ll be arguing within ten seconds, but for now, they’re sweet.”
“Speaking of sweet.” Lucas held out his hand. A slice of pie waited on a clean paper plate. “Peach pie. A Nonna Russo specialty.”
“Yum!” I took a forkful and relished the sweet gooey goodness. “Your grandmother is an amazing baker. No wonder Marcy was so geeked to get her hands on her recipes.”
Lucas watched me for a beat as I ate. I caught him doing that sometimes, just watching me without commentary. We’d talked about it because he caught me doing the same thing. Sometimes I just looked at Lucas and appreciated who he was and how much I enjoyed being with him.
Now his attention was causing me to blush.
“I promised my nonna I would watch your reaction to her pie,” he said finally. “She was very specific that I report back.”
