The ladies had a field day with the clothes. It was funny to watch because they just couldn’t believe how much in demand used fancy clothing was on the Ebay.
“I’m going to get out of here while we still have some daylight.” There were some finishing touches that the campground needed before tomorrow’s big fundraiser. “I hope the police have cleared the crime scene.”
“Surely they have.” Dottie quipped. “There wasn’t much to do but take out the body.”
“They did give you the bins.” Abby shrugged.
“It just seemed all too easy.” I gnawed on my lip and looked at my new friends. “I mean, he locked himself in my storage shed and killed himself?”
“Honey, you never know the mind of people,” Dottie stood up. “Let’s get back so we can put the finishing touches on the campground before tomorrow.”
We said our goodbyes and made sure they had their duties all laid out so when they got to the campground, they could go ahead and start working.
Dottie and I got into her pickup truck and while she paid attention to the road, I gave Jr. a call.
“I guess you heard,” his voice was somber on the other end of the phone.
“I’m sorry. I found him.” It wasn’t something I probably should’ve told the young man, but he seemed so much older than he really was. “How is your mom?”
“She’s between grieving and relieved. It’s the strangest thing,” he said. “She’s glad she doesn’t have to stay up at night wondering where he is now that she knows. But she’s trying to wrap her head around what he’d done and why, leaving us here alone.”
“How are you?” I asked.
“Dying to get out of this house. I don’t like seeing her this way.” His sadness came through the phone.
“If you do need to get away, I’d love for you to take a look at my video games at the campground in the recreation building. I probably should’ve had all this worked out, but I’m new to all this business stuff.” It was new territory for me and I was kinda liking it.
“That’d be great. I need the drive and to get my mind off things.” He sounded a little better, but I knew deep down he was grief stricken. “My mom went to the scene. Did you see her?”
“No. I let the police do their work and left. I feel so responsible.” I gulped.
“If you feel responsible over my dad, don’t. He was a grown man and he did that to himself.” His words somehow touched my soul. “You’re doing everything you can with what you’ve got to make everything right in the world. Remember that, Mae West.”
Who knew that the best advice during this entire situation would come from a teenage boy?
“I’ll be over later,” was the last thing Jr. said before hanging up.
“I can’t get over how different Happy Trails already looks,” Dottie brought me out of my own thoughts. “The sign turned out real nice.”
She drove the truck underneath the newly painted and hung sign that read HAPPY TRAILS CAMPGROUND at the entrance of the park.
“That’s fantastic.” I turned around and looked out the back window to get another look at from behind. “Thank you for staying,” I read the back.
“Henry and Ty Randal really worked hard on it over the past couple of days.” She pinched a smile. “They wanted to surprise you.”
“That they have.” I turned back around. It wasn’t until I took a long look around the campground until I grasped all the work we really had done.
The mowing, weed eating around all the buildings as well as picking up all the trash really did clean it up. Then the freshly laid sod and the new fountain in the middle of the lake added that campground feeling. The lawn chairs scattered around the water was inviting. Henry was repairing the old dock and Ty was putting in a few of the pedal boats that’d been sitting next to his camper.
He looked up and caught me staring at him. Technically, I wasn’t staring so much at him as the muscles on his shirtless back. The big grin on his face made me think he knew I was staring at him.
I glared back. Only to throw him off.
The office sign had also been hung and the windows to the office looked spic and span.
“Who on earth did all this?” I asked.
“Everyone who lives here chipped in. I sent them all messages that we needed to help out too.” Dottie ceased to amaze me.
By the end of the afternoon, everything on my end was completed. The only thing we had to do in the morning was to get the desserts from the church women, the camp fires going with all the homemade camp food, the kid’s games all set up, and drinks for the Tiki bar, all of which wasn’t on my list of to-dos.
“You’ve got everything you need?” I asked Jr. after he showed up and I took him to the recreation center.
“I’ve got all my tools here.” There was a red ring around his eyes from where it looked like he’d been crying. “Thanks for getting me out of the house. Mom was crying over moving, then she was crying because we’re moving to this apartment in town where I’m going to have to sleep on the couch. Not to mention that I’m not going to the college I want.”
“She’s bringing up all the things that she’s felt and feeling. I understand.” I patted his shoulder. “You just need to give her time.”
“Yeah. That’s what the grief counselor told me.” He shrugged. “I have a customer at the BBQ Joint that has been giving me free therapy for food once a week. It’s been helpful.”
“That’s so great.” I twisted back and forth. “As you can see, I don’t have all the stuff set up yet. Those signs will be hung tomorrow. I will clean up the popcorn machine too. If you want to use that Bourbon barrel for anything, go ahead. If you aren’t doing anything tomorrow, I’d love for you to come and be in charge of the kids who are coming. I’ll pay you.”
“Mae,” He put his hands together. “Thank you. That’s great. We need to money. That’s actually why I’m late. I picked up a late shift this afternoon at the diner. Mom got a part time job at a law firm.”
“That’s great!” I was glad things weren’t looking so bleak. “If we do well tomorrow with sign ups, I wanted to know if you’d be interested in coming to work here this summer for children’s summer camp?” It was what his mother and I had discussed, but I was sincere.
“Done. I can work at the BBQ Joint and here. It’ll be great. Thank you.” He bowed.
“You are very welcome.” The sun had long gone down and the dark had blanketed the campground. “I’m beat. Just lock the door behind you when you leave tonight.”
“Will do.” He nodded. “And thanks again.”
“No problem.” I stepped outside and the quiet hit my chest like a ton of bricks.
The lightening bugs and the moon helped lead the way back to my camper, but the dark was something eerie.
“Mae?” the voice came from the darkness, making me jump around.
“Ty,” I gasped and held my hand to my chest. “You scared me.”
“Well, with everything going on, I could see why you’d be a bit jumpy.” He laughed.
“Yeah.” I swallowed back my heart that had jumped up into my throat from being scared half to death. “I’m just not used to all of this.” I glanced up and looked into the sky.
“You’re the city girl that’s always been in the city. I’m a country boy who moved to the city for a chef job.” He took a seat right on the ground. “Sit.”
“There?” I questioned.
“Mae West, the ground is the best place to be to look up.” He patted the ground before he laid back with his hands clasped behind his head, resting them on the ground. “The stars are still over a city.”
I plopped down next to him and laid down, in the same position. The entire dark sky was filled with twinkling stars.
“In the city, the building lights never really let the skyline get completely dark like it is here. When you see if for the first time, there’s nothing like it.” I could feel his staring at me.
“Can you believe that there’s so many galaxies up there?” I asked in a whisper.
“Why are you talking so soft?” he asked and propped himself up on the elbow, staring at me.