Evie’s Awakening: Love in Holiday Junction, Book Three

by Franklin, Tami

  Evie’s arms flopped down to her sides. “Of course I own a pair of jeans,” she said. “But I didn’t bring any with me. I hardly thought I’d be going camping on this trip.”

  Gray shrugged, attention back on his phone. “I’m sure it will be fine.”

  Evie sighed heavily and slid her laptop into her bag. “You think they’ll have Wi-Fi at the cabin?”

  “You’re asking me?” he asked dryly. “The closest I’ve ever come to camping is this.” He waved a hand to indicate their surroundings.

  She added her phone charger and tucked in her sunglasses. “I can’t believe you got out of this,” she said.

  “You do your job and I’ll do mine,” he replied. “I need to poke around a bit and find the weak spot in this town’s armor. If you can keep Liam Durant busy, I’ll be free to do that.”

  She walked back into the bathroom to retrieve her toothbrush. “What exactly are you planning?” she called out.

  “I’m not sure yet,” he admitted. “But Durant’s a little too smart for my taste. I’ll feel better with him out of the picture.”

  Evie studied her reflection, smoothing her hair and adding another bobby pin to secure the neat twist. “You sound like a villain in a bad mob movie.”

  “I’ll make ‘em an offer they can’t refuse,” he said, putting on a thick accent.

  “What kind of offer?” she asked as she came out of the bathroom. “Seriously, Gray. You’re not going to—”

  He held up a hand, eyes still on his phone. “Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answer to.”

  Evie pressed her lips together, unsure if she wanted to push the issue. Gray was her father’s right hand man, and by extension, her own. He was known for taking care of problems, but none of the higher ups in the company asked how. Evie knew he wouldn’t do anything illegal—not himself, anyway—but Gray had contacts that operated in the shadows, and she’d long suspected that some problems were solved in ways not entirely on the up and up.

  A knock at the door forestalled her reply and Evie opened it, surprised to find Liam Durant standing in the hall carrying two paper grocery bags. His sandy hair was tousled, a hint of whiskers darkening his jaw, and he wore a pair of faded jeans, thick-soled boots, and a flannel shirt, open at the throat. For some reason, her eye was drawn to that triangle of skin, the edge of a collarbone . . . the light tuft of golden hair barely peeking out.

  “Everything okay?” he asked, and the movement in his throat startled her, making her jump. Her cheeks warmed and she looked away quickly, scrambling for something to say.

  “Am I late?” she asked, glancing back at the clock on her bedside table.

  “No. No, you’re not,” Durant replied. He held out the bags. “Lou asked me to bring these over. She figured you might need them.” He gave her shoes a pointed look. “Apparently, she was right.”

  Evie took one of the bags and peeked inside to find a pair of worn hiking boots and thick socks.

  “Oh, that was so nice of her,” she said, finding a pair of soft jeans, some shirts, and a jacket in the other bag. “I didn’t exactly come prepared.”

  “Well, that’s Lou,” he replied. “Always a step ahead. She put together a pack for you, too. It’s in the car.” Durant glanced past her at Gray, and his jaw tightened. “We should probably get going soon.”

  “Right,” Evie pulled out the jeans and set the bag on the floor. “I’ll change and be right down.”

  Liam nodded and turned without another word to leave the room, closing the door behind him.

  “Kind of the strong but silent type,” Gray said, standing to put on his jacket and tucking his phone in the inside pocket. “I don’t think he likes me much.”

  Evie shot him a look. “You seem really broken up about it.”

  “Yes, well, I’ll try to survive.” He walked past her, kissing her cheek on his way to the door. “Be careful this weekend.”

  “It’s just a camping trip.”

  “I mean about Durant,” he said, pausing in the doorway. “I don’t trust him.”

  Evie dumped the rest of the clothes onto the bed. “Yes, well, I think the feeling is mutual.” When Gray simply stared at her, she huffed. “All right. I’ll be careful. I promise.”

  “Thanks.”

  “And don’t do anything underhanded or illegal while I’m gone,” she joked.

  “I’ll do my best.”

  Gray left and Evie kicked off her shoes and got changed. The clothes fit perfectly except for the boots, which were a little big, but she cinched up the laces and thought they’d be all right. She pulled on a lined flannel shirt and a lightweight jacket, grabbed her bag, and headed downstairs.

  The bag seemed out of place now—pristine black leather juxtaposed against her worn jeans and boots, but she hoisted it over her shoulder and walked out the door, heading to Liam’s Suburban parked in the driveway.

  Sliding into the passenger seat, she tried to ignore the nervous flutter in her stomach. Liam was typing something on his phone and she listened to the clicking sound, her heart pounding in her ears. She couldn’t figure out why Liam Durant made her so uncomfortable. Evie had gone up against plenty of men before—powerful men—and she could stand her ground. So why did he make her feel like that ground was quaking beneath her feet?

  “Ready?” he asked finally, dropping the phone into his shirt pocket.

  “As I’ll ever be,” she replied.

  Durant laughed as he started the car and rolled down the driveway. “You sound like you’re headed to a guillotine, not a weekend camping trip,” he said. “Relax, you’ll do fine. It’s only thirty-six hours. I’m sure you’ll survive without your butler for that long.”

  She ground her teeth in irritation. “I don’t have a butler.”

  “Really? I thought all rich people have butlers.”

  Evie bit back a sarcastic response. She was supposed to win people over, not make enemies, and like it or not, that included Liam Durant.

  As annoying as he might be.

  “So, what’s the plan for the weekend?” she asked. “I have to admit, I’ve never actually been camping—”

  “Really? Never? Color me shocked.”

  She shrugged. “Wasn’t something my family did,” she said. “So all I know is what I’ve seen in the movies.”

  Liam turned right and relaxed, his wrist resting on the steering wheel. “Well, we’ll have about a dozen kids or so, three adults, in addition to us. Mostly it’s a lot of hiking in the woods and eating.”

  Despite herself, Evie smiled. “I think I can handle that.”

  “Oh, and river rafting.”

  Her smile froze. “You’re kidding.”

  “Nope.” His lips quirked.

  “Isn’t that dangerous?”

  “Not as long as you stay out of the water.”

  “Perfect,” Evie muttered.

  “What’s the matter, Ms. Hart?” he asked with a mocking smirk. “You scared?”

  She lifted her chin. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

  “I’m kidding,” he said, laughing. “It’s perfectly safe. We do it all the time and so far, we’ve only lost one person.”

  Evie snorted. “Oh yeah?”

  “Yeah, but he was kind of irritating anyway,” he said with a grin. “Kept asking for his butler.”

  “Funny,” she said. “You could probably make it as a comedian, you know, if the whole lawyer thing doesn’t work out.”

  They fell into silence for a few minutes, then Liam asked her, “Why are you really doing this?”

  Her stomach flipped. “You know why. We’re trying to find a way—”

  “—to work with us and find a compromise, blah blah blah.” He waved a hand. “You’ll forgive me if I don’t believe your intentions are entirely altruistic.”

  She turned to look out the window and gather her composure. “You can believe what you like, I suppose.”

  Durant huffed out a humorless laugh.

  “Well
, what about you?” she asked, shifting in her seat to face him. “Why are you doing this? It was obvious at the meeting you didn’t love the idea.”

  He stared out the windshield, jaw tight. “I work for the town, so I go where I’m told,” he replied. “They want to work with you, so it’s my job to try and make that happen.”

  Evie wasn’t sure what to say to that, so she just looked out the window again and said nothing.

  It was only about a ten minute drive to the campground entrance, and they pulled into a wide, gravel parking area next to a van and a couple cars. A group of children and a few adults—all dressed in khaki uniform shirts and jeans—were waiting for them, packs on their backs and sunglasses on their faces.

  The day was bright, the sun sparkling overhead, and when Evie got out of the car she was overwhelmed by the scent of evergreen and dirt.

  “Hey, everyone. This is Evie,” Liam called out to the group.

  They all waved, the kids bouncing enthusiastically. “Hi, Evie!”

  Evie smiled, and lifted a hand in greeting. They seemed so happy to see her, which was weird, wasn’t it? She noticed there were both girls and boys in the group, and asked Liam. “Sunshine Scouts are co-ed?”

  “Always have been,” he replied. “Guess you could say Holiday Junction was ahead of its time.”

  She slipped on her own sunglasses as she followed Liam to the back of the car. He opened the hatch and handed her a heavy pack with a bedroll tied on top. She almost dropped it, surprised at the weight.

  “You okay there?” he asked, brows shooting up in challenge.

  “Of course I am.” She could do this. People did it all the time, right?

  Evie put on the pack, adjusting the straps until the weight was evenly distributed, and slung her own bag over her shoulder. She stood, legs braced apart, as she tried to get used to the weight so she didn’t fall over backward. She was painfully aware of Liam watching her, certain he was waiting for her to make a fool of herself. She wouldn’t let that happen.

  After corralling all the kids, and giving them brief instructions about staying with the group, they started down a narrow path between the trees. The children shouted and chased each other as the adults tried to maintain a steady pace, two men near the front carrying a cooler between them. It wasn’t long before Evie was sweating. She paused for a moment to slip off her pack and take off her jacket, tying it around her waist.

  “You all right?” Liam called back, waiting for her.

  “Fine,” she said with a wave. “I just need to readjust things a little.” She frowned at her bag. “You have any string?”

  “Why do you need string?” he asked as he joined her.

  “I thought I could tie my bag to my pack, but I need it to be secure. I don’t want to risk dropping my laptop.”

  Liam’s brow furrowed. “You brought your computer?”

  “Well, yeah,” she said. “I figured I could get some work done once we got to the cabins.”

  “Cabins?” Liam looked confused.

  Evie swallowed, suddenly feeling a little silly. “We’re not staying in cabins?”

  He snorted. “Uh, no. No cabins. We’ll be sleeping in tents.”

  “On the ground?” Why couldn’t she stop talking?

  “Unless you want to climb a tree,” he suggested.

  “Ha ha.” She pursed her lips, her cheeks warming. “So, uh, I guess there’s no Wi-Fi then?”

  “No.” He let out a little laugh. “No Wi-Fi. Sorry.” Liam fumbled in his bag and produced a piece of elastic with a metal hook on each end. He wrapped it around her bedroll, then looped it through the handles on her bag before linking the two hooks. “That ought to hold it, at least.”

  “Thanks,” she said quietly. She really felt like an idiot. Cabins and Wi-Fi on a kids’ campout? She should have known better.

  “No problem.” Liam shrugged and walked away, and she wouldn’t have been human if she didn’t admire his tall, broad form as he strode down the sun dappled path. Evie mentally kicked herself. She was here to do a job, not ogle the opposition.

  “Get it together, Hart,” she mumbled to herself as she hitched up her pack and hurried to catch up.

  It took about an hour to reach the campsite, a wide spot to the right of the path with a circle of rocks for a fire pit and a creaky, wooden picnic table. Evie slipped off her pack and swiped sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand.

  One of the leaders clapped his hands. “All right everyone, let’s get camp set up before we do anything else. Then you can explore while we get lunch ready.”

  The kids cheered and started to unload their packs, and Evie looked doubtfully at her own. She had absolutely no idea what she was doing.

  “Need some help?” Liam asked. He wore an innocent expression, but she knew he was testing her.

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “I can handle it. Thank you.”

  “Suit yourself.” He walked away to set up his own tent.

  Evie proceeded to surreptitiously watch the kids, mimicking their actions as they untied their packs, removed their tents and bedrolls, and set up their sleeping areas. Her own tent was orange, slippery nylon with a bunch of little sticks tied together with elastic and tucked into a matching bag. She watched the boys throw the sticks in the air, and they seemed to magically unfold, forming two longer sticks, so she did the same.

  She laid out her tent and started to slide the sticks through little sleeves sewn into the tent. They kept catching, though, the sticks pulling apart at the joints. After about twenty minutes, all the scouts had their tents up and she was still fighting with those stupid sticks. She was sweaty and disheveled, her hair sticking to her face where it had fallen down.

  “Who’s idea was this anyway?” she muttered to herself.

  “Can I help you, Ms. Evie?” A ten or eleven year old girl appeared to her right. She had a bright red ponytail and a scratch on her face, and one of her tennis shoes was untied. Evie glanced at Liam, but he didn’t seem to be paying attention, so she nodded at the girl.

  “Would you mind?” she asked.

  The girl shrugged. Within thirty seconds, she had the crazy sticks straightened out, and within a minute, the tent stood proudly, a little dome of orange to protect Evie against the elements.

  “Thank you,” she said, sitting on a log to catch her breath. “What’s your name?”

  “Joey,” she replied.

  “Thanks, Joey.” Evie held out her hand. The girl shook it, and she tried not to wince at the sweaty palm.

  “No problem,” Joey said. “Mr. Liam said we had to watch out for you.”

  She flicked a glance at Liam in surprise. “He did?”

  “Sure.” She kicked at the dirt. “He said you were from the big city and probably didn’t know much about camping.”

  “Well, he’s right about that,” she admitted.

  “What’s it like there?” Joey asked.

  Evie looked up at the tall evergreens, feeling the breeze ruffling her hair. “It’s a lot different from here, Joey.”

  The little girl shrugged. “I like it here,” she said.

  Evie gave her a small smile. “I can understand that. It’s beautiful.”

  “My mom says Holiday Junction is a little piece of heaven.” Joey rubbed the side of her nose, leaving a little smudge of dirt behind. “I think it might be fun to see other places, but I only want to live here.” A little boy called her name and Joey said, “We’re going to go gather firewood. Do you need anything else?”

  “No, you go ahead,” she replied. “I’m fine.”

  The girl ran off and Evie smiled, watching her go. A motion out of the corner of her eye caught her attention and she was surprised to find Liam staring at her with a curious look on his face. His gaze was focused and intent, and she didn’t know what it meant. Evie felt a twist of nerves in her stomach and her face felt suddenly hot. She looked away quickly, pulling items from her pack and tucking them into her tent.

&
nbsp; When she looked back at Liam, he had his back to her, and for some reason, she felt a little disappointed. Which made no sense at all.

  Evie sighed. She had a feeling this was going to be tougher than she thought, and it had nothing to do with carrying a backpack or putting up a tent.

  Liam Durant was a problem, and Evie wasn’t sure how she was going to deal with it.

  * * *

  Liam didn’t know what to make of Evie Hart. He’d thought he had her pegged as high-maintenance with her pointy-toed shoes, severe suits, and upswept hair, with nary a strand out of place. But seeing her interact with Joey Harper took him a little by surprise. She’d gotten down in the dirt with the girl to set up her tent, and, in fact, hadn’t complained once, despite the fact that her immaculate hair now hung down around her face and the knees of her borrowed jeans were damp and dirty.

  He had to admit, he was surprised.

  She sat next to him at the picnic table, munching on a sandwich and carrot sticks, chatting with the other adults sitting across from them. The kids had found spots on fallen logs around the empty fire pit, chatting animatedly while eating their own lunches. It was breezy, but not cold, the sun streaming through tree branches overhead bathing the area in dappled warmth.

  Liam glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She seemed softer with her dark hair down around her shoulders, her shirt sleeves shoved up to the elbows. He wondered if the bigwigs back at the home office would even recognize her now as she listened politely to Jerome Standish droning on about the importance of life insurance.

  “Jerome, leave the poor woman alone,” his wife, Helene, scolded as she touched his arm. “We’re supposed to be giving her the Holiday Junction experience, not giving her the hard sell.”

  “Oh, I really don’t mind,” Evie said with a smile.

  “See?” Jerome gestured toward Evie while addressing Helene. “She doesn’t mind.”

  “Well, of course she’s going to say she doesn’t mind,” Helene replied. “She’s being polite.”

  Meanwhile, Evie’s cheeks grew pink, her mouth opening and closing, as if she didn’t know what to say.

  “Forget about life insurance,” Sean McKenna said from the other end of the table. “Ms. Hart, if you want to experience HJ, you should come out to the farm and see the reindeer.”