Which was fine by me. I hated that shit.
From the bar, I went straight to the camp and into the main lodge. Willa was nowhere to be found. Actually, the entire place was quiet—the campers must be out on an adventure.
I lucked out and found Charlie in the first place I looked: the kitchen.
She was sitting on the table, eating a bowl of trail mix. The faded ball cap I’d given her was on her head. Her knees were dirty and she was swinging her legs back and forth. Her shoulders were turned down and her expression heavy.
It broke my heart to see her sad. Like Thea, she was missing Logan.
“Hey, Chuck.”
Her head whipped up from her bowl, sending her long, brown hair flying to the side. “Uncle Jackson!”
The smile on her beautiful face made my world a brighter place. I rushed for her at the same time she set her bowl aside and hopped off the table, flying across the tiled floor into my arms.
I needed that hug just as much as she did.
I held her tight, hoping to chase some of her sadness away. Over her tiny shoulder, I saw Hazel in the back corner of the kitchen. Willa snuck in from her office door at the back.
I winked at them both, then gave Charlie all of my attention. “Feel like hanging out in your fort for a while?”
“Yeah.” She nodded and stepped out of my embrace. Then she went back for her bowl of snacks, tucking it under her arm and leading me out of the kitchen. “Let’s go.”
I waved to Willa and Hazel, then followed Charlie outside, where we spent the morning exploring the woods. As we collected cool rocks and sticks and brought them into the fort she’d made beneath two evergreens, Charlie told me about her trip to New York. She’d met Logan’s family, her family, and explored the city.
I did my best to lift her dampened spirits. Because she never failed to brighten mine.
Parked in the gravel lot at the camp later that evening, I popped a piece of gum in my mouth as I waited for Willa to take her on our first date. I was rattling with nerves. My thumb was drumming on the steering wheel in a fast beat and I was sweating even though the AC was cranked.
She hadn’t kissed anyone before me. Had she ever dated? I didn’t want to wreck this for her like I’d ruined her first kiss. I didn’t want to wreck any of her firsts, including her first time with a man if she chose that man to be me.
Maybe if I’d had more experience taking a woman to a nice restaurant, I wouldn’t be so worked up. Maybe the pressure wouldn’t feel so overwhelming. But since I didn’t date often, or ever, this was likely to be the blind leading the blind.
I kept drumming as a group of kids came out of the lodge, and right behind them was Willa. She waved good-bye to a counselor and then started up the trail to the parking lot.
My thumb stopped.
She’d changed since I’d been here earlier. Instead of the simple green dress and cream cardigan she’d been in this morning, she was wearing a—what did women call them?—little black dress.
My pulse spiked as I took her in. Her dress was elegant and sleeveless. It showed just enough skin to be sexy. The way it hugged her hips and molded to her perky breasts showed off subtle curves. The skirt rode down her toned legs nearly to her knees. It wasn’t short, but with its tight fit, it would ride up her thighs as she climbed in my truck.
And if the dress weren’t enough to get my blood pumping, her hair would have done the trick. She’d pinned the top back from her face but left long waves to cascade down her back.
I liked knowing that if I made her blush tonight, she wouldn’t be able to hide it from me in her hair. I also liked knowing that when I kissed her tonight, the pink lipstick she was wearing would smudge.
She was almost to the truck so I made a quick adjustment to my dick and swallowed my gum. Then I took a deep breath and whispered, “Don’t fuck this up.”
For some reason, Willa had picked me. She wanted me for her first kiss and her first date. I didn’t want to be a disappointment tonight.
That would come later.
One day, Willa would realize I wasn’t anything special and I couldn’t give her what she needed. I wasn’t a marriage-and-babies kind of guy, but until then, I’d do my best to make this good for her.
Starting with a first date.
As she approached the truck, I leaned over the center console for the door handle. Shit. I should have gotten out. But Willa didn’t seem to care. She just smiled and waved. “Hi.”
“You’re beautiful.”
She blushed and started to step up, but her dress was too tight.
“I can help.” I unbuckled my seat belt, but she stopped me with a hand.
“I’ve got it.” Smiling, she planted a hand on the door and the other in the seat, then hopped. Her hair bounced as she propelled herself into the seat, laughing as she landed. “Whoopsie.” One of her heels had slipped off in the process. She giggled again as she toed it back on and shut the door.
And I watched it all with a slack jaw. Did she have any idea how sexy that was? She was graceful and adorably clumsy all at the same time.
When she looked my way, I came unstuck, leaning over the console to kiss her cheek. “You’re beautiful.”
It was worth repeating.
“Thanks.” Her eyes ran up and down my torso. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
I grinned and leaned back in my seat, rebuckling and putting the truck in reverse. I wasn’t dressed as fancy as she was, but I’d found a darker pair of jeans without frayed hems and a solid-gray button-up shirt. I’d even tucked it in.
“I like your truck,” Willa said as we pulled onto the highway. “It’s very clean. Unlike my car, which is a disaster zone.”
“I’ll clean it for you. I take care of Hazel’s.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that.”
I reached over and lifted her hand from her lap. “I’d like to. Clean vehicles are kind of my thing.”
“Then have at it. I hate cleaning my car.” She flattened her hand into mine, pressing our palms together.
She didn’t thread our fingers together. Instead, she let me hold her hand entirely. I could close mine all the way around hers, holding it tight, and if she wanted to slip free, I had to let her go first.
“How was the rest of your day?” she asked.
“Good. Productive. Cleaned the truck. Cleaned my boat. It was nice to get away from the bar for a change.”
“I bet. Charlie was sure happy to see you this morning.”
“I was happy to see her too. She’ll be back in school soon. I won’t get to see her as much.”
Willa sighed. “Yeah. I always get lonely when school starts in September and the camp closes for the winter.”
“You can come and keep me company. I get lonely at the bar too.”
She looked over and nodded. “I’d like that.”
Lark Cove quieted down substantially in the fall and winter. The bar got a rush of activity during hunting season and we’d see the occasional skier. But it was a different town when the weather turned cold.
“What do you do when there isn’t camp?” I asked.
“Go crazy.” She giggled. “It’s usually busy for a couple of weeks after the last set of campers leave. We have to winterize the buildings and I make sure that all the bills are paid. But after that, I don’t have a lot to do. I go in occasionally to check on things and do any office work, but it only takes five or six hours at most. I’ve been thinking about getting another job.”
“Yeah? Like where?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “I can’t get a year-round job because I need my summers free, so that limits my options. I saw the gas station was looking for a part-time cashier.”
“No.” Fuck no. “You can’t work at the gas station.” The idea of her in a gas station, alone in the dead of night while working the graveyard shift, gave me anxiety pains.
“Huh?” Her face whipped to mine. “Why not?”
“It’s not safe. You’d be a sitting duck for any random creep passing through town.”
“Oh,” she muttered. “Okay. No on the gas station.”
I eyed her, waiting for more, but there was nothing. She just looked out the window, watching as we rolled down the highway.