“No. Not here. I don’t want them thinking of me here.”
“You’re their father. They need to know you’re all right.”
He sucked in a breath. “Visiting day is bad, Lizzy. Everybody crying. There’s no being together.”
“Their stepmother abandoned them, they don’t know me at all. You’re the one person in their life they know loves them.”
“Fine. But give me a couple of weeks. I’ll write ’em and let ’em know I’m thinking about ’em.”
“Sure. I’ll be in Fool’s Gold a bit longer.” Figuring out what to do with the house would take some time. She had a feeling that neither girl would be especially excited about the thought of moving. Melissa had certainly been clear about that already.
“Thanks, Lizzy,” Roy said, hugging her.
She held on, trying to reconcile the man she hung on to with the brother she had adored. But it was impossible. Too much time, she thought sadly. Too many miles.
“I’ll be in touch,” she promised and walked toward the door that would lead to the outside world, while Roy stepped through the one that took him back to prison.
“SO IT’S A CAMP?” TYLER ASKED. “Mom sends me to a day camp in the summer. I went overnight a couple of times, up in the mountains.”
Ethan glanced at his son, then returned his attention to the road. “This is both,” he explained. “Kids come from all over and they stay for a couple weeks. Local kids can come up daily, if they want. There’s a bus that takes them.”
Liz had dropped off Tyler about an hour ago, hovering by the front door until the kid had reached Ethan’s office. As if she was avoiding him. Who was he kidding—of course she was avoiding him. Why wouldn’t she?
Ethan had planned for Tyler to stay in his office for the morning, maybe head over to the turbine manufacturing facility. But Raoul had called and asked to meet him at the camp and Ethan had figured that was as good a way to spend a morning as any. Maybe going to the camp would be a better distraction. He needed something to stop him from thinking about what he and Liz had done the previous night.
Ethan hadn’t meant for anything to happen. It had been so far off his radar, he hadn’t even thought about coming up with a plan to avoid having sex with Liz. He’d been so damned angry—he still was.
Although he had to admit seeing the letter had shifted things. And being alone with Liz had been better than he’d remembered. She’d always been beautiful and smart and funny. Now she was those things plus she had a maturity that appealed to him. He’d wanted her years ago and he still wanted her, even though being with her meant nothing but trouble.
He turned off the main highway, onto a private road marked by a red sign pointing to “End Zone for Kids.”
“The guy who started the camp used to play football,” Ethan said. “Raoul Moreno. He was a quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys.”
Tyler looked at him, his eyes wide. “I know who he is. Does he ever come to the camp? Do you think I can meet him?”
“Remember I told you I had a meeting with a guy? He’s that guy.”
“Sweet!” Tyler bounced in his seat. “That’s so awesome. I can’t wait to tell my friends.”
“I’ll take a picture with my cell,” Ethan told him. “You can e-mail it to them.”
“All right!” Tyler stared out of the front of the truck. “Are we there yet?”
Ethan laughed, then turned into the mostly empty parking lot. The camp would officially open on Saturday when the first inner-city kids arrived. The day camp for locals began on Monday.
Initially, Ethan had wondered at the wisdom of mixing the overnighters with kids from town. His sister Dakota who ran the camp for Raoul, had explained that it was a good learning experience for both groups. Usually small-town kids and inner-city kids had almost no contact, except possibly during regional and statewide play-offs. Getting them involved with each other now meant expanding their world view before they made up their minds about what the world was like.
Ethan parked between a Ferrari and his sister’s beat-up Jeep. Tyler was out of the truck before the engine was off, jumping impatiently as he waited for Ethan.
“Is that his car? It’s really cool. I like the color.”
They walked into the main building, where there was a big living area and the dining room. The offices were in back.
As they made their way down the hall, Ethan studied the walls, the fit of the windows and looked for anything that needed touch-ups before the camp opened. He’d already walked the property with the job foreman, creating a punch list of things that needed to be finished. From what he could tell, it was all done.
Raoul’s office door stood open. Ethan walked in and found the other man sitting on the corner of his desk, rather than behind it. Josh Golden was there, too. They both looked up when he and Tyler entered.
“Hey, Ethan,” Raoul greeted, standing and holding out his hand. “Thanks for making the drive.”