“So do I,” Ashlyn yelled. “That don’t mean I like you any better, either, but us Piney Wood girls have to stick together.”
“Amen!” The five girls in his van all did fist pumps.
Elijah got behind the wheel and closed the door.
“Do we get demerits for standing up for each other?” Tiffany asked.
“Are we still going to have ice cream?” Quinley asked.
“Nobody gets demerits tonight, and I appreciate you girls obeying when I told you to get in the van. I know it wasn’t easy to keep from hitting those smart alecks, but you did good, and yes, there will be ice cream when we get back to camp.”
Chapter Eighteen
All the girls filed into the dining hall with their heads held high. Jayden wasn’t sure what would happen next. The girls had almost gotten into a fistfight with those snotty little brats from town, and she wasn’t sure what their punishment would be. Truth be told, she wanted to give them a medal for holding back and only throwing barbs at those girls. They took their seats at their usual tables and waited in total silence—all eyes on Elijah.
“Tonight, you can sit wherever you please while you have your Fourth of July treat, and I’m going to be first in line this time. To those of you who weren’t riding with me and Novalene, there will be no demerits given, and I’m proud of you for obeying me when I told you to,” Elijah said.
Elijah joined Jayden in the kitchen. “I’ll help dip up the ice cream. What do you think, partner? Did our girls do pretty good?”
“I’m proud of them, but if I’d been in Keelan’s shoes, I might have decked that girl and took my punishment,” Jayden whispered.
“Did you feel like knocking Skyler on her butt when she was here?” he asked.
“No, I felt guilty for not handing over my checkbook and credit cards to her, but then that’s the way I’ve always felt when I denied her anything,” she answered.
“You shouldn’t have felt that way, ever. Skyler must have been able to manipulate you from the time you were a little girl.” He removed the lids from both freezers of ice cream and set them on the counter.
“Oh, yeah, she could, but I wasn’t the only one. When she wanted something, she would keep it up until Mama and Daddy or Grandpa let her have her way. Believe me, living with her when she wasn’t happy was awful,” Jayden said.
“What do you want us to do?” Novalene asked.
“There’s a pan of brownies over there on the cabinet. Would you cut them into squares? Diana, would you get the watermelon basket out of the refrigerator, and please take that bowl of strawberries over to one of the tables. I thought we would let the girls help themselves to the fruit. Elijah is going to help me serve ice cream,” she said.
“Watermelon basket?” Diana questioned as she headed toward the refrigerator. “Well, I’ll be danged. You cut the watermelon in the shape of a basket and made little balls so they’d be easier to eat. You really should stay here, Jayden. You’re good at what you do.”
“I hear you,” Elijah agreed.
“No comment.” Jayden dipped up the first bowl of ice cream.
“I’m still betting I leave here with a bottle of bourbon,” Novalene whispered.
“Still no comment,” Jayden said.
The girls started out sitting with the others from their own cabin, but as they went back and forth to get more watermelon or another brownie, they wound up pushing chairs around until they were all gathered around one little table for four.
“Progress for sure,” Novalene said as she finished off a second bowl of ice cream.
“It might not last long.” Diana went back for another helping of watermelon.
“Probably not, but it sure is nice tonight,” Jayden told them. “I never thought I’d see Keelan take up for anyone.”
“Me either,” Elijah said. “That ruckus back there seemed to be just what they needed to unite and have each other’s backs.”
“I’m remembering that old song about sisters,” Novalene said. “Seems like the lyrics asked for the Lord to help the mister who came between me and my sister. We could change that to ‘Lord help the smart-ass who comes between me and my campmate.’ It don’t rhyme worth crap, but that’s what tonight brings to my mind.”
“They are all like siblings. Fighting among themselves until someone else tries to step in, and then it’s ‘Katy, bar the door,’” Diana agreed.
“I wonder where that saying came from,” Elijah commented. “I’ve heard it all my life but have no idea where it originated.”
“Me either,” Novalene added.
“Who knows, but it sure means trouble is coming these days,” Diana said.
“Yep, it sure does,” Elijah agreed.
Tiffany walked past and heard what they were saying. “Maybe we should’ve told that smart aleck girl that we were about to bar the door with her inside the barn with all of us. If that bunch ever messes up and lands here, will you send me a message and tell me, Elijah?”
“That might be against privacy laws,” he answered.
“Well, rats!” Tiffany yawned. “Is it all right if I go grab a quick shower and go to bed? It’s been a long day.”
“That’s fine.” Jayden nodded. “I need to do a little cleanup, and then I’ll be along.”
“I’ll help get the ice-cream freezers washed and put away.” Elijah stood up and started toward the kitchen.
“We can help, too,” Diana offered.
“Y’all go on and be sure everyone gets showers in the right order, and we’ll do this,” Elijah said. “It won’t take fifteen minutes.”
“Bourbon is looking better all the time,” Novalene teased as she passed by Jayden.
“Yes, it is. I’m going to enjoy every drop,” Jayden shot back at her.
“What was that about bourbon?” Elijah asked when they were alone in the dining hall.
“Just a little bet that Novalene and I have going,” Jayden answered, then changed the subject. “I thought we’d have lots left over, but there’s not even a pint in each freezer.”
“Fighting off bitches is tough work.” Elijah laughed out loud.
“Evidently so.” Jayden took the freezer from him and dried it. “How many fights did you get into when you were their age?”
“I’m a lover, not a fighter.” He handed her the second freezer. “Truthfully, though, my best friend in high school was a little short guy that wouldn’t have weighed a buck twenty soaking wet and with rocks in his pockets. Trouble was, he had that short guys’ syndrome and couldn’t keep his mouth closed. I used to tell him that the hardest lesson he’d ever learn was when to shut his trap.”
“So, you had to step in and take up for him when his motorcycle mouth got ahead of his tricycle butt, right?” Jayden asked.
“Something like that.” He handed her a dasher to dry. “How about you? Ever get into a fight?”
“Couple in elementary school when I had enough of being called names, being bullied about my height, and being told that my sister got all the beauty and brains and I got beat with the ugly stick. I was always the tallest and, most of the time, the biggest kid in my class,” she explained. “After I put the bullies on the ground, they didn’t mess with me anymore. Believe me, I know exactly how hard it was for all our girls to walk away from that fight tonight.”
“How did it make you feel when you fought with the bullies?” he asked.
“Glad that they stopped tormenting me, but a little sad that I had stooped to their level,” she answered.
“Yep, me too.” He dried his hands on a towel and hung it over the edge of the sink. “But when a person gets pushed so far, they can’t take any more. Those kids shouldn’t have bullied you like that. Skyler doesn’t have near the beauty or brains that you do. Ready to turn off the lights?”
“I don’t know. Is the party over?” she joked.
Elijah held out his hand as he started singing the old Willie Nelson song “The Party’s Over.” Jayden took a s
tep forward and put her hand in his. He pulled her close and two-stepped around the kitchen with her as he sang the lyrics.
Even though his broad chest was hard as a rock, she could feel the thump of his heartbeat through his shirt. She wondered if he could tell that hers was doing double time. Did he realize that being so close to him caused a breathlessness in her that had nothing to do with dancing around the kitchen floor? He twirled her when the lyrics said something about tomorrow starting the same old thing again and then held her even closer when he brought her back.
“Do you know every word to this song?” she asked.
“Yep, it’s one of Henry’s favorites. He and Mary have danced around in this kitchen to it many times through the years,” he answered, and then continued to sing the next verse.
“So, you came here to see them before you took this job?” she asked.
“I tried to spend a week or two with them every year when I could get away,” he answered, and then he pulled his phone out of his hip pocket, touched the screen, and laid the phone on the buffet counter.
She recognized George Jones’s voice right away as he sang “Tennessee Whiskey.”
“I don’t know this one as well, and I like Chris Stapleton’s version, but this one is what I heard first. It’s going to be our song.” He took her in his arms again and did a slow country waltz around the floor.
“We have a song?” she asked as she paid close attention to the words. She was more than a little startled at the idea. In the few relationships that she’d had, they’d never had a song. This was beginning to sound serious and it hadn’t even started.
“We do now, and we’re doing our debut dance to it,” he answered. “Those kids who bullied you when you were young should see the strong, smart, amazing woman you’ve become,” he whispered in her ear.
This was some serious flirting, and Jayden loved every minute of it. She hadn’t danced in years, and his warm breath, so close to the tender spot on her neck, sent warm shivers up and down her spine.
When the music ended, Elijah tipped up her chin with his fist and looked deeply into her eyes. She barely had time to moisten her lips before his eyes closed and his mouth found hers in a steaming hot kiss that came close to fogging the kitchen window. When it ended, she leaned into him for another one, but he took a step back. She had to fight gravity to keep from falling right into his arms. Thank goodness he chose that moment to reach out and give her a tight hug.
“Thank you for closing out the day with me, but it’s probably really time to turn out the lights now,” he murmured, “even though I’d rather dance until dawn with you.” He slipped an arm around her shoulders and they walked side by side all the way to the Daydream Cabin.
When they reached the porch, he dropped his arm and said, “Good night, Jayden.”
“Good night,” she called after him as he disappeared into the dark.
It was just a dance and a kiss. She eased down into one of the chairs on the porch to catch her breath before she went inside to gather up her things to go take a cool shower. A shuffling noise came from inside the cabin. The lights were out but the girls were definitely still awake, most likely peeking out the window to spy on her and Elijah. She gave them time to get back into their bedroom and pretend to be asleep before she went inside and got her shower kit, a clean pair of underpants, and a nightshirt.
“Nosy little snots,” she muttered all the way to the bathhouse. “I could really give them something to gossip about if I stayed in Elijah’s cabin tonight.” What am I thinking? That wouldn’t be the right example to set for the girls, and I need to make up my mind about the future before I go getting into something that could break my heart.
Elijah’s eyes popped wide open on Sunday morning five minutes before the alarm sounded. He rolled over to find the other side of the bed was empty. That meant he’d only been dreaming about Jayden spending the night with him. With a heavy sigh, he kicked the covers away, turned off the alarm on his phone, and headed to the bathroom for a wake-me-up shower.
His hair was still a little damp when he stuck his cap on his head. He’d hoped to see Jayden on the way across the yard, but the lights in the dining hall told him that she was already out there. The siren sounded just as he reached his normal morning spot for exercises, and the girls poured out of the cabins, most of them in a hard run so they wouldn’t be late. The kids had come a long way in the five weeks they’d been at Piney Wood. That meant he and the small staff were doing their jobs. The little boosts of happiness that success with the girls brought him had been chipping away at the pain that losing his fellow airmen had left in his heart.
If they’d been recruits in the air force, their trainer would have been busting his buttons, bragging to the other drill sergeants about his team. He gave Jayden a lot of the credit for the progress. Though brand new, she was tougher than nails, and still had a soft heart. He wished that he had counselors just like her for every session at the camp.
“Okay, ladies, you know the drill. We’ll start with stretching exercises, then go into jumping rope for five minutes,” he told them that morning.
“Mornin’, Elijah,” Novalene called out as she made her way across the yard.
He waved and kept leading the girls in their morning routine. “Well, dammit!” he muttered under his breath. He’d meant to tell Jayden that they had two ladies coming that afternoon to interview for the cook’s job. The dancing and kissing must’ve scrambled his brain because he’d forgotten all about it until that moment. He made a mental note to tell her right after breakfast.
His phone rang just as the girls finished up the last of their exercises and started to walk toward the new post he’d set up a mile and a half out toward the mountain. In another three weeks, they would be ready to hike out to the base of the mountain, each carrying a backpack full of what they’d need to camp out for the night.
“Hello,” he answered the call as he brought up the rear of the line.
“How’re things going?” Henry asked.
“Better than average,” Elijah answered. “It’s good to hear your voice. How’re you and Mary doing?”
“Loving this place more and more. Joe’s doing a little better, but the doctor says it won’t be long, and that it’s because we’re here that he hasn’t given up and passed away before now. He and I sit on the screened porch most of the day and talk about the old days,” Henry answered. “I called to tell you that Joe has signed over his property to me and Mary, and we’ve canceled our cruises. We like it so well here that we’re just going to stick close to home. We’ve even found a church, and everyone has taken us in and treats us like family. Folks have even been bringing food by a few times a week, stuff they remember Joe liking,” Henry said.
“That’s great,” Elijah said, “but I’d hoped y’all would find a place a little closer to Alpine.”
“That’s what we had in mind, but we’re happy here, and besides, you need the space to run Piney Wood by yourself. If we were very close by, I wouldn’t be able to keep away from the place, and Mary would always have an itch to be back in the kitchen. How’re things working with Jayden doing the cooking? Did you convince her to stay on?” Henry asked.
“Nope, but I’m trying.” Thoughts of dancing with her threw an extra beat in his heart. “She’s going to help me interview a couple of prospective cooks this afternoon.”
“Are you being smart about that?” Henry chuckled.
“I hope so,” Elijah replied. “I like her a lot, Uncle Henry.”
“I knew that before we left,” Henry said.
“How?” Elijah asked.
“It was all in the way you looked at her from that first day,” Henry said. “Don’t fight against the best thing that’s happened to you in a long time. The hospice nurse is leaving, so I should be getting out to the porch. Mary sends her love.”
“Give her a hug for me,” Elijah said.
“I sure will,” Henry told him.
Elijah f
elt more than a little bit lost at the idea of Henry and Mary being so far away, but Henry was probably right. If they lived close, they’d both be in and out of Piney Wood, and that wouldn’t be a retirement at all.
How are you going to feel when Jayden leaves, too? Mary’s voice rang clear in his head. If you want her to stay, you’ve got to make her see that her place is right there.
“Yes, ma’am,” he sighed.
“You talkin’ to me?” Tiffany asked. “And why are we getting a new cook? Are you firing Jayden? Does she know about this?”
“It’s not nice to eavesdrop on conversations.” Elijah lengthened his stride to get away from the girl.
She just stepped up her pace and kept in step with him. “Please don’t fire Jayden. We like her a lot, and the meals here are five-star restaurant quality. You don’t know how lucky you are to have her.”
“Who’s firing Jayden?” Keelan lingered until they caught up to her. “Are you crazy? Out of your freakin’ mind?”
“You should be droppin’ down on your knees and beggin’ her to never leave,” Bailey told him and then cupped her hands over her mouth and yelled. “Hey, all y’all up ahead of us. Elijah is firing Jayden. We’re all going to starve or end up eating boxed macaroni and cheese and peanut butter sandwiches for the next three weeks.”
Elijah stopped in his tracks and held up his fist as a sign for them to stop. “I’m not firing Jayden.” He raised his voice so everyone could hear him. “As a matter of fact, I’ve offered her the job permanently and she turned me down. I would love for her to stay on here at Piney Wood and help me run the place. If any of you have any pull, then you could help me out here.”
“Do you like her?” Tiffany asked.
“A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell,” he answered. No way was he discussing his love life with eight drama queens.
Love life! He stopped in his tracks. Was he falling in love with Jayden?
“Well, girls, I vote that we band together and see what we can do about this,” Keelan said.
The Daydream Cabin Page 24
