“Whatever it is, you should do it more often,” Aubrey suggested.
“So, I was thinking,” Hannah said, “about Zoey and Dylan. We all know they’ve been banging.”
Elle choked on her coffee and had to focus on not having the hot liquid fly out her nostrils.
“What’s your point?” she asked when she had recovered.
“Well, I don’t think Scar wants to join in the fun.” This time coffee did come out of Elle’s nose, causing her eyes to burn.
“Jesus.” Elle coughed to clear her sinuses.
“Sorry.” Hannah chuckled. “Warning: I’m not done, so maybe hold off on the coffee.”
“Thanks for the warning.” She set the mug down and picked up her napkin to wipe her eyes.
“Anyway, I’m sure Dylan’s brothers feel the same.” She tilted her head. “Well, maybe. But I’m not willing to let Zoey have all three brothers.”
Elle was thankful she’d had the warning and had kept her coffee in the cup for that statement.
“Your point?” Aubrey asked.
“I was thinking, so far, we’ve only had one booking on the schedule for Bear-Foot Bungalow. Why not let them have it, at least for a while?”
Scar jumped in. “That’s a great idea.”
She’d been thinking about their predicament since talking to Hannah about it earlier. Not once had she thought about the new cabin, though. It was a great idea.
“We can move the booking to another cabin. I checked with Julie before I came in here; she’s tentatively moved it,” Hannah told Scar, then turned to her. “What do you think?”
“I think it’s a great idea.” She should have thought of it herself.
“I think he’s the one,” Scar added.
“I second that,” Aubrey said.
“Ditto,” Hannah said with a smile.
“Jesus,” she said again. “You mean, the one, the one? As in . . .” They all looked around the table.
Hadn’t she been thinking the same thing about Liam earlier that morning? Hell, what did it mean when two of the Wildflowers fell for brothers? Then she remembered the way Zoey looked at Dylan and nodded. “Agreed. I’ll get it from its hiding spot.” She smiled, remembering the small ring they had all purchased together that first summer.
“Do you think it’s still there?” Aubrey asked.
“I’ll find out soon enough.” She added the hunt to her mental list.
“You have a lot on your plate. Every day, actually. It’s been a stress on you, running this place—a stress on all of us,” Hannah said.
Scar reached for her cup of coffee and added, “Hey, speak for yourself—I’m having a blast.”
“Having two days off every now and then really helps, but I was thinking about a longer-term schedule for us,” Aubrey said. “Like a real vacation-type thing.”
“Who needs a vacation when we live in paradise?” Elle smiled. “Besides, what would I do on a vacation without you guys?”
“Aww,” the three of them said at the same time.
“Get laid,” Aubrey added after.
Hannah chuckled. “We could all use getting laid.”
“Ladies.” Owen walked up to the table and set a large plate of food down next to Hannah, who was turning a bright shade of pink. “Morning,” he said as if he hadn’t just heard Hannah’s last comment, which Elle was positive he had.
“Morning,” Elle replied, trying not to give into the silent giggles consuming Scar and Aubrey. She glanced around to see if Liam was nearby.
“He’s helping Aiden with something,” Owen said to her. “But he’ll be along shortly.”
“Um, who will?” She picked up her cup and tried to act like Owen hadn’t been talking to her, but the entire table.
“Liam. What were the four of you talking about?” He started eating, since the table had grown quiet.
Scar answered, “Your brother and our sister.”
“Oh?” Owen shifted to look across the table at her.
“Yes, we think they should have their own cabin,” Aubrey said, her chin raised as if ready to be challenged.
“Cool,” Owen said between bites.
“That’s it?” Hannah asked.
“What did you expect?” He chuckled. “Dylan is his own man. He’s been on his own since he was eighteen. He may be my little brother, but I’m not his keeper.”
“Then it’s settled.” Aubrey slapped her palm on the table.
“I’ll go make sure Julie changes the schedule.” Scar jumped up from the table and cleared her tray just as Liam arrived and took her spot next to Elle.
“Morning.” He smiled at everyone. “What’s everyone so happy about?”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
He listened over breakfast as the ladies came up with a plan to tell Dylan and Zoey about the cabin that afternoon, together.
Then Elle surprised him by asking him to go on a hike through the woods. She claimed she was retrieving something of importance but wouldn’t tell him what. As they made their way off the trails, he realized that he hadn’t been to that part of the woods before. Most of what they were walking through was swampland, and he had just stuck to the clearings and dry land, thinking his father would be in one of the cabins, not out in the middle of the wetlands. The rains last night had left almost an inch of standing water in most places around them.
“Now I know why you brought me along,” he said as his shoes sank into the mud. “Just in case you get stuck out here, you didn’t want to die alone.”
“Ha, ha.” She rolled her eyes at him. “I need you to hoist me up.” She stopped at the base of a giant magnolia tree.
“It must be two hundred years old.” He looked up with an admiring glance at the massive tree.
“Close.” She waved him over. “I’ll need you to help me up to that branch.” She motioned to a limb almost ten feet up.
“No way.” He shook his head “You’re not going up there.”
“I’ve done it before.” She put her hands on her hips.
“When?” he asked, not believing her.
“When I was eleven. I stood on Zoey’s shoulders, since we were the tallest, so I could put what I needed up there. There’s a small hole, from a dead limb . . .” She craned her neck. “There, I can still see it. Come on.”
“Why in hell would you put anything in a hole in a tree?” he asked, moving over to her, since she was trying to jump up and grab the bottom limb herself. He figured if he didn’t help her, she’d find another way to scurry up the thick trunk.
He placed his hands on her waist and lifted her easily enough. She surprised him by putting her foot on his knee, then climbing his body like a spider monkey until her feet stood on his shoulders. He held still as she moved above him, holding on to her ankles to steady her. When her feet suddenly disappeared from his shoulders, he jerked around, expecting to catch her falling body. Instead, he looked up and witnessed her expertly hanging from a thick limb as if she was a gymnast. He watched her swing several times back and forth until she lay across the limb, then rotate her body until she sat on it.
“Good job, princess. Just one question. How do you expect to get down from there?” He stepped back with a grin.
She frowned and looked around. “You can catch me.” To his horror, she started climbing the tree.
When she disappeared through the thick green leaves, he called out to her.
“How high did you need to go?”
“I’ve got it,” she called out. “I’m coming down.”
“Go slow.” His heart stilled until he could see her making her way back carefully to the lowest branch.
She sat once again on the limb, her feet swinging, and flipped around until she was hanging from the branch again.
“I’m going to drop like a cheerleader would. Open your arms wide, and I should fall right into them.”
“Got it.” He stood under her and held his arms out, and she dropped easily into them.
When she wa
s there in his arms, smiling up at him, he laid a soft kiss on her nose.
“Ballet, gymnastics, tree climbing, and a princess.” He chuckled. “Is there anything you can’t do?”
“You do not want to hear me sing.” She laughed, then tugged free a small ring box and held it out.
“This is what you risked your life for?” he asked as she opened the box.
A small unicorn ring sat inside. Its bright silver shone in the light, and its multicolored mane wrapped around its body.
“We all bought this together. That first year,” she murmured. “We fought over it and decided to hide it here.” She glanced up at him. “Whichever one of us was lucky enough to fall in love—real love—first won the ring.”
His heart skipped as he looked into her blue eyes, and for a heartbeat, he wondered what life would be like with Elle. Perfect was the word that instantly popped into his mind.
“It’s for Zoey,” Elle said and smiled up at him, and he swallowed hard. “We took a vote. We’ll give it to her tonight.”
He remained silent as they trudged back through the swamp to the main part of the camp. His mind raced with the possibilities of a future with Elle and, worse, a future without her.
Zoey and Dylan returned to camp shortly after they returned from their hike. Liam made his way to the workshop and started on the swings. He tried to keep his mind and body busy so he wouldn’t be focused on Elle.
His phone buzzed less than an hour later.
“Yo,” he answered on the second ring.
“Dylan’s been shot,” Owen almost screamed.
“What?” He nearly dropped the phone in shock.
“Well, not shot. Attacked somehow. I don’t know what the hell is going on, but I’m almost there to pick you up. I guess they’re up at the main building already. Hell, I don’t know what happened, only that someone tried to kill him.”
The golf cart stopped just outside the shop; he heard Owen honk the horn.
Liam didn’t even lock up the building; instead he rushed outside and jumped on the cart. Owen took off for the main building, the tires on the cart spitting up gravel and dirt as they went.
“Why are we always the last to find out this shit?” Owen grumbled as he drove as fast as the golf cart would go.
“Shit,” Liam responded. “Do you think it was Ryan?”
“Hell,” Owen said after a moment, and Liam could see that his brother hadn’t thought of it. “Shit.”
“Yeah.” This time his heartbeat was going as fast as the golf cart’s wheels.
The cart came to a skidding stop at the front door of the main building, and they both jumped out.
When they rushed in the front doors, their brother was coming down the stairs with a silly smile on his face.
They met him on the second-floor landing.
“What the hell?” Owen jerked to a stop, almost causing Liam to plow into him. “You’re not shot. Not even a scratch.” Owen’s eyes ran over Dylan.
“Thanks to Zoey,” Dylan replied, his smile slipping slightly.
“Ryan?” Liam asked. Dylan nodded. “How is Zoey?”
“Okay. She’s resting. A few scratches from knocking Ryan into the bushes. But she’s okay.” Dylan ran his hand through his hair, and Liam could see the concern. “I love her,” he blurted out.
“Duh.” Owen slapped Dylan on the back. “Congrats, bro.”
“What happened?” Liam asked.
“I’ll tell you as I pack.” Dylan walked toward their door.
“You’re leaving?” Liam asked, suddenly concerned.
“No, I’m moving in with Zoey,” Dylan said, a large smile on his face as his eyes sparkled with happiness. “Besides, I was tired of your snoring.”
“Right.” He laughed.
“What happened?” Owen asked once they were in their room as Dylan tossed his things into his duffel bag.
Dylan quickly filled him in on how Ryan had shown up at the zip line hut with a gun and had told him that their father had promised her things, things such as money and fame, then disappeared on her, so she had hunted the brothers down to get what she deserved.
“So, Ryan and Dad?” Owen asked.
Thinking about it, it totally made sense. Ryan was their father’s type in every way. Young, manipulative, and desperate for attention and money. Everything Elle wasn’t. “From the sounds of it, Dad was pretty intimate with her,” Dylan said, packing the last of his things.
“Yeah, I can see that. She’s more Dad’s type than Elle ever was,” Liam said, wondering if their dad and her mother had ever hooked up. Then he realized he didn’t want to know and shook the thought from his mind.
“The gun was pointed at my chest, and then . . .” Dylan stilled and sat on the edge of the bed as he ran his hands over his face as if everything had just hit him. “Zoey, she just flew at her. Why would she put herself in danger for me? She, she, knocked the both of them into the bushes.” He looked up and smiled slightly. “It was the most amazing thing I’d ever seen, and the scariest.”
“Hellcat.” Owen slapped Dylan on the shoulders. “Are you sure this is the one?”
Dylan chuckled. “Hell, yeah.” He zipped his bag. “I’m going to sell my condo. We’re going to build a place here. Well, somewhere near here. Close enough that we can continue working here, but far enough away that . . . you know.”
“In Bear-Foot Bungalow?” Liam asked.
“Yes.” Dylan smiled. “Until our place is done, we’ll be staying there.” He glanced around the room. “At least now the two of you will have more room.”
“I’m heading home soon,” Owen surprised them by saying.
“What?” Dylan frowned. “Why?”
“Dad’s not here,” Owen said. “Nor is his money. I’ll stick around until I’m one hundred percent sure of it, but . . . there’s no reason for me to stick around longer than that.”
“But . . .” Dylan glanced around once more.
“This isn’t a joke. I have a business to run. If the board will let me in, that is. Until we find Dad, or he waltzes back in from wherever the hell he has been, I may be our family’s only hope.”
“I’m staying,” Liam said. “Elle may not know where he is, but I still think Dad contacted her for a reason. Until we know what that reason is, I’m staying put. Besides, this place beats sitting around my condo, waiting for something to happen.”
“Suit yourself.” Owen shifted. “I may stick around for another week or so, until the board of directors’ deadline; then I’m heading back to do damage control.”
“Thanks for that.” Dylan nodded to Owen. “We’ve never really told you how much we appreciate you being there for us and in the forefront of the business.”
“You two had other things. I’ve only ever had Paradise Investments in my future.” Owen sighed. “Besides, it’s what I’m good at.”
“Whatever you decide, you don’t have to fall into line with Dad’s wishes,” Dylan observed.
Owen fell silent for a moment. “I’m going to head back out. I left a bunch of people stranded on the beach when I heard what happened.” He stopped. “Next time it would be great to hear from you that you’d had a gun pointed at you. Instead of hearing a rumor that you’d been shot.”
Dylan’s face turned a little pale. “Shit, that’s what you were told?”
“Yeah, scared the hell out of us,” Liam agreed.
“Sorry,” Dylan said to them both.
Liam watched as Dylan loaded his stuff onto a cart and headed out to his new place. Standing on the lawn and looking around the camp, he thought about returning home himself.
He was thankful he’d decided to stick around. A warm breeze blew past him from the beach, and the salt air hit him just as the sounds of people happily enjoying themselves did. He loved the dynamics of the camp, and he enjoyed working with his hands and helping others create things they would treasure, and he realized he not only didn’t want to leave, but he never wanted to leave. Fo
r the first time in his life, he felt like he’d found somewhere he belonged.
He walked back to the woodshop. He finished working on the first bench and cleaned up for the night. He had blisters and a few slivers of wood lodged in his hands, not to mention that his back ached from being hunched over the equipment, but he was probably the happiest he’d been in years.
He could feel the night cooling as he made his way toward the pool area. They’d probably have more rain in the middle of the night. He figured it was one of the perks of living by the ocean.
He wasn’t on duty at the bar that evening, so instead he pulled out a cool beer, peeled off his shirt, toed off his shoes, and slipped into the water to cool off.
“Does your boss know you’re taking a break?”
The female voice had him glancing over. He couldn’t remember the woman’s name, but he remembered she’d been there with her same-sex partner. He must have imagined the flirting tone he’d heard, since he knew that most women who swung one way didn’t usually swing both.
He smiled. “What my boss doesn’t know . . .” He tipped the beer and took a deep sip.
The woman moved closer, her hands going to his shoulders, and he tensed instantly.
“I’m sure there’s more you do that your boss doesn’t need to know about.”
“Sorry,” he said. “I’m spoken for.”
“And, on the job,” Elle said from directly behind him.
“Busted,” he said with a smile as the woman sighed and moved away.
Turning around, he glanced up at Elle. “Thanks for that.”
Elle moved to sit on the edge of the pool, then slipped off her shoes and dunked her feet into the water. “Ahh.” She sighed and rolled her shoulders.
“Hard day?” he asked, taking her feet in his hands and rubbing them. She groaned again, and visions of her underneath him flashed quickly, and he felt himself growing hard by just hearing those sexy sounds of hers.
“Not as hard as yours.” Her glance darted to where the woman was putting her moves on someone else.
“It’s not easy being this hot,” he joked, enjoying the way Elle chuckled. “We lucked out today.” His hands continued to move over her arches, releasing the knots he felt there.
Summer Heat Page 17
