Summer Nights

by Sanders, Jill

  Elle turned back around. “I don’t know yet, but I’m going to get to the bottom of it. I’ll let you know when I find out. I did get a call from Leo a few months ago. He wanted to meet with me, but, well, I was so busy, I told him if he wanted to talk to me, he’d have to come here.”

  “So did he?” Hannah asked.

  Zoey thought about Dylan’s father’s calendar and held her breath.

  “No,” Elle answered. “Not that I know of. I didn’t really think of it again. We were in the middle of painting all of the cabins. We were all stretched thin, remember?”

  “So . . . where does this leave us?” Zoey asked, relaxing slightly knowing that she could pass on that bit of information to Dylan.

  “I’m not sure,” Elle said. “But I’m going to find out.” She turned to go again. “I’ll fill you in when I find out something,” she called over her shoulder.

  Hannah glanced over at her. “What the heck . . .”

  “Don’t ask me.” Zoey shook her head. “I’m in the dark as much as you are.”

  They sat there listening to the fire crackle for a moment, then heard the couple finish up in the dark. “Let’s go,” Hannah whispered as Zoey cringed. “There isn’t enough Baileys to make me forget that sound.”

  That night Zoey lay in her bed thinking about Dylan as she waited to fall asleep.

  She did another Google search on him and his family, this time adding in the word millionaire. Ryan had been right; his family was more than rich. They were richer than Hannah’s and Aubrey’s families put together.

  Zoey didn’t have anything against rich people. Hell, before her parents’ divorce, she’d been one of them. It was the reason they had attended the camp in the first place. Besides her and her sister, along with Elle and Aubrey, Hannah’s family members were the only ones who still financially stood behind their daughter.

  Not that Hannah talked about her parents much, since she’d claimed they had temporarily cut her off when she’d declined to marry the man they had lined up for her.

  Still, with her trust fund, Hannah had enough money to do what she wanted, when she wanted. Zoey didn’t hold that against her.

  Over the next few days, guests came and went, and the staff was beginning to wonder when the Youngs would be moving on. Zoey knew that they were booked through the end of the month and made a point to check to confirm that they were too booked to allow them to extend their stay.

  She knew that the first six months after opening day, they would find out if they could survive River Camp’s first full-blown season—mentally and financially.

  Hannah and Elle were working overtime, it seemed, to keep up with the activities lately. She had tried to talk to Elle about Dylan’s father, but her friend kept avoiding her and told her that she would explain everything once she knew more. She knew her friend was being elusive about what she knew about Leo Costa. Still, since it appeared at the moment that she didn’t know much, Zoey figured her only option was to be patient until Elle found out something more and shared it with them.

  Zoey, Scarlett, and Aubrey rushed from one side of the campground to the next every day, making sure everything was in place and that the guests were entertained.

  They added a few new activities to the schedules, including hot yoga, evening campfires, and daily fishing trips, all of which happened to be a huge success, especially since most of the women spent their days at the spa or lying around the pool.

  Seeing how most couples acted around one another set her to wondering what it would be like to be married herself. She’d never thought of herself as the marrying type, having seen firsthand the destruction deceit could cause in a relationship. Still, now, as the thought slipped to the surface, Dylan had automatically filled the role of husband in her mind, which scared and excited her at the same time.

  She had a full day of work before the two-day retreat that she was due to spend with Dylan at his place just outside of Destin.

  Since Ryan had been escorted off the premises, things had been quiet. Brent had hired a new server named Lindsey. The woman was, in Zoey’s opinion, a hot mess compared to all the other waitresses but a million times friendlier than Ryan. Which racked up more points than being tidy and organized. With Brent’s help, Lindsey would learn quickly enough.

  There hadn’t been any more bear sightings, and the FWC had informed Carter that both mama and cubs had been successfully tagged and moved to the national park less than a hundred miles away.

  Since she’d canceled lunch with Dylan to spend it with her mother, she was a little stunned to see Reed Cooper, the man who lived across from the campground, stepping off her mother’s porch at the River Cabin.

  “Hi,” she called out, getting his attention.

  His smile grew. “Hi.” He walked over to her.

  “Visiting?” she asked.

  His eyes moved back to the cabin, and then he nodded. “Yes. Kimberly told me you were stopping by for lunch. I didn’t want to interrupt your time together.”

  Her mother insisted that everyone call her by her first name, so the familiarity didn’t shock her much. But the fact that her mother was telling the sexy man whose mansion flanked the camp what her plans for the day were did.

  “Are you enjoying the camp’s grounds?”

  “Yes,” he chuckled. “I’m getting spoiled being around here. There’s so much to do. I’m going to hate being gone for the holidays.”

  “Oh?” she asked, her curiosity piqued.

  “I’ll be flying to England to visit my son and his family. I’m going to miss the warmth.”

  “How long will you be gone?”

  “All of December.” His eyes moved back to the cabin. “I’ll get out of your way—enjoy your lunch.” She watched the man disappear down the pathway.

  If she were twenty years older, she would have chased him down herself. The sexy accent, the body, those silver eyes . . . She sighed when the image of Reed morphed and turned into Dylan.

  Damn, she thought. She was in deep trouble. Sure, she’d enjoyed her time with Dylan, but the fact still weighed heavily on her that he was keeping so many things from her. It wasn’t as if she expected someone whom she’d started a relationship with to tell her all his secrets. Still, the things that he was keeping from her had her questioning if she should keep her distance. Her mind kept playing back to all the trouble her parents had gone through. Would something like that happen to her if she trusted Dylan? If she gave him her heart?

  Then, on the business side of things, at this point, they couldn’t afford to lose the three brothers. They had each filled a role the camp needed, taking on multiple tasks, and were a valued part of making the crazy everyday life around the camp run smoother. She stepped onto the deck and knocked on the door quickly, then opened it when her mother called a greeting.

  She was scrambling around the kitchen, putting together chicken sandwiches and a salad for them.

  “Mom?” She sat down at the small bar area. “Why was Reed Cooper here?”

  “Hmm.” Her mother glanced up as she pulled the chicken from the oven. The look her mother had on her face was the same a child would have after being caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

  “Why was Reed here?” She leaned over the countertop.

  “Oh, he stopped by to give me those.” She nodded at the bundle of flowers on the small table in front of the window.

  “Why is he bringing you flowers?” Zoey moved over and leaned down to sniff them.

  “I don’t know,” her mother said, setting down two plates on the table, then returning to the kitchen for the bowl of fresh salad she’d made. “We had a good time together the other day zip-lining. Then I ran into him on the Frisbee golf course . . .”

  “You Frisbee golf?” she asked, sitting back down.

  “I was trying to. I had Owen, Dylan’s brother, show me the basics.”

  She had steered clear of the Frisbee golf course; that was more her sister’s area of expertise. Sur
e, she liked walking the new course that ran through the campground but had never really gotten into it as a sport. To her, a sport meant you walked away either dirty or sweaty. Frisbee golf did neither.

  “Why didn’t you have Scar take you?” she asked.

  “Oh.” Her mother sat down across from her and waved the question off. “She was busy. Anyway, I bumped into Reed, and he walked me through the basics.”

  “Which, apparently, warranted flowers?” She motioned to the bouquet.

  “I can get flowers.” Her mother narrowed her eyes at her.

  “Yes, you can.” Zoey dished up some salad. “It’s just . . . shocking, I guess.”

  “Why? That a man would find me attractive?”

  “No.” Zoey almost dropped her fork. “Mom, no, of course not. It’s just . . . I didn’t think—”

  “No.” Her mother’s chin rose slightly. “Apparently you didn’t think before you opened your mouth.”

  Zoey sighed. “I’m sorry.”

  Her mother smiled at her. “Let’s not fight. I had a nice time with a man, and he brought me flowers. Nothing more.” She tilted her head. “Now, tell me all about your man.”

  “If your love life is off limits, then so is mine,” Zoey said.

  “Nope, I’m the mother. You’re supposed to do as I say, not as I do.” She chuckled. “Now, spill. What are your plans for your days off?”

  She told her mother that she didn’t know much of what Dylan had planned, other than they were going to stay at his place just outside of Destin. She was excited about spending more time with him and hoped that spending secluded time would answer some of the questions she had. Then her thoughts turned to wondering what kind of place Dylan actually lived in.

  “You seem hesitant about something,” her mother finally said.

  “Mom,” she said, “he comes from money, like Dad did.”

  Her mother was silent for a while. “Not all men are created equal. Your father . . .” she started, then stopped. “Did I ever tell you how we met?”

  “No.” Zoey shook her head after thinking about it.

  “Your grandmother used to take me down to the country club on Saturdays.” She set her fork down and pushed her half-eaten plate aside. “She would force me to dress up in these frilly dresses that I hated, and she would roll my hair in tight ringlets.” Her mother touched her short-cropped silver hair. “I hated having my hair pulled. I still do, which is why I keep it short. Anyway, she would almost parade me in front of the young boys at the club, as if I were a piece of meat.”

  “I didn’t know that.” Zoey frowned at the thought.

  “Anyway, I went along with it because, well, that’s what kids do to please their parents. She always told me, ‘Kimberly, you’re going to marry a rich man. You’ll get out of the dumps we live in and make something of your life.’” Her mother leaned back. “We had a nice home. My father had a respectable job and made enough money to live comfortably. But it was never good enough for my mother.”

  “Where does Dad come in?” she asked, pushing her empty plate aside.

  “He was there, at the club. I used to sneak away from my mother and head out to the edge of the woods to smoke.”

  Zoey cringed. “You smoked?”

  “Not cigarettes.” Her mother winked. “Jean was there one day, leaning against a tree. So handsome, dressed in his tight jeans and a leather jacket. A true rebel. I fell for him instantly. Before I even knew him.”

  “I bet Gran loved that,” she said sarcastically.

  “She did, and the first time she caught us kissing under that same tree, she demanded he make an honest woman out of me.”

  “She didn’t! For kissing?” Zoey was shocked.

  “She did. She marched us right up to his father, who happened to be part owner in the club, and demanded that his son marry me.” Her mother sighed, and her eyes grew sad. “We were married that fall.”

  “Did you love him?” Zoey asked.

  “I didn’t have time to know one way or the other. Things were forced on me.” She reached across the table and took her hand. “Take your time; get to know your man before jumping in. But I’ll caution you: when you do know it, don’t take too long to tell him or to show how you feel.”

  “Mom?” She frowned. “Have you ever been in love?”

  Instead of answering, she changed the subject and asked about how things were going with Zoey’s father’s lawyer.

  The lawyer was keeping her up to date on liquidating all of her father’s assets, and since her father had been squeezed out of the business, his stock options were being valued and sold off. Of course, the lawyer had suggested she hold on to them, but Zoey and Scarlett had agreed they were done with R&R Enterprises. Besides, the money that was flooding into the joint checking account was going to help settle their mother and them both further. They had even talked about building cabins of their own on the campground so that they could have a little more privacy.

  When she’d moved into the apartment on the third floor of the main building, she’d never imagined she’d want to bring a man back up to her place. Now, however, she was looking forward to spending a few nights in Dylan’s arms again.

  She left her mother’s place and walked toward her next appointment at the tennis courts to teach pickleball to a group of guests. As she went along, she thought about Dylan—the man had filled most of her thoughts since he’d shown up that first day with his brothers. She loved being with him and around him. No man had ever made her feel as much as she felt when she was with Dylan.

  She knew that there was something deeper than just physical attraction happening between them. It had grown into something much bigger than she could have ever imagined. And the more she thought about it, the more scared she was.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  There was plenty of time left before Dylan had to meet Zoey at the parking lot the first morning of their joint days off. He had already packed his overnight bag, which sat by the door. Owen was filling him in on the latest news from Joel on how things were shaping up at Paradise Investments.

  “So, Joel says that the board meets again at the end of the month to decide if they’ll squeeze Dad out.” Owen sat on the edge of his bed, his hair messy, as if he’d had a sleepless night.

  “If they vote him out, what does that mean for us?” Liam asked as he pulled on a work shirt.

  “It means all we have left in our family business is the shares we each hold.” Owen tossed his phone down on the bed. “Without Dad, we lose our voice on how the business is run.”

  Liam paced the small room. “Where the hell did he go?”

  “Has his assistant found anything out?” Dylan asked. “Plane tickets? Hotel bills? Anything? She must have found something.”

  “No, but since Dad pulled out all the cash from the bank, he could be anywhere, paying with cash,” Owen answered.

  “So, the only thing we do know is that he pulled out the cash, had a meeting scheduled with Elle, but didn’t show up?” Dylan could tell Owen was getting frustrated as he stood up. “We’ll keep on it. I think Hannah knows something else that she’s not talking about. She’s been acting strange in the past few days. What about Elle?” He turned to Liam. “Have you gotten into her phone yet?”

  “No.” Liam shook his head. “It’s hard to cross that line. Sneaking around the camp looking for Dad is one thing; breaking into someone’s private phone is a different story.”

  Owen was silent. “What about Zoey. Does she know anything else? Has she talked to Elle yet?”

  “I haven’t talked to her about it since the last time . . .” he admitted. How was he supposed to tell his brothers that he wasn’t going to cross any more lines? That he planned on telling her everything? Well, she pretty much knows most of it already, he thought and avoided his brother’s eyes by bending over and tying his shoe.

  Owen broke in. “What the hell? This isn’t a vacation—”

  “I know.” He held up his hands. �
�But at this point, I’m with Liam. There’s a line I’m unwilling to cross. I really like Zoey, and I’m not going to do anything to jeopardize what we have. Besides, we have to ask ourselves—how important is holding on to Paradise Investments, anyway? How bad could it be? We all have enough in the bank account to retire on. If Dad wants to throw his money away, then I say let him. He’s earned it. If he comes crawling back to us, we’ll decide what to do then.”

  Owen pulled his hair, drawing his hands down around his face.

  “Between the three of us, we hold about ten percent of the stock.” He shook his head. “Ten percent of the business gets us one, maybe two, seats at the table.”

  “That should be enough,” Dylan said, gaining his brother’s attention.

  “No, it’s not. I should have involved myself more in the business when I could. Dad’s been on me for years to take over,” Owen said, and Dylan could tell his brother was kicking himself.

  “Hey, at least you were away at school,” Liam started. “We were just jet-setting around the world having fun.” Suddenly, Dylan felt guilty for all the years he’d wasted instead of working harder to learn more about the family business.

  “I’ll ask her while we’re away,” he assured his brothers.

  Owen walked over to him and slapped his back. “Try to have a good time.” Then he nodded at his forehead. “How’s the head?”

  Reaching up, Dylan touched the slight bump that still throbbed every now and then.

  “Better,” he admitted. “If you find out anything, you know how to reach me.” He picked up his bag and left.

  Zoey was waiting by her car when he stepped outside. The wind had kicked up slightly, which had vacated the campground at that early hour.

  “Hannah has a bunch of indoor activities scheduled for today.” She smiled as he tossed his bag in the back seat with her own. “That should be fun,” she said sarcastically.

  “Some of the greatest Olympic sports are held inside.”

  “True—gymnastics, ice-skating.” She ticked them off on her fingers. “If it leaves you sweaty, I’m up for it. But I just don’t see any of our guests doing backflips.”