“Just so you know, I haven’t had a girl in here in a long time.”
“Define long time.”
He thought for a second. “A year.”
Natalie wrinkled her nose. She didn’t care how long it had been. She didn’t want to think about other girls being in the tent at all.
He looked up into her eyes. “I can’t take back the things I’ve done in the past. No matter how much I wish I could.”
“I know.” Did he really wish that?
“And I can’t help it if I’m attracted to you. Opposites attract, or so I’ve heard.” That smile of his was enough to ruin her for every other guy.
“What’re we really talking about here, Colton? I mean, yes, I like you. Of course, I do. But what does that even mean?”
“A lot.” He sat up. “It could change things.”
“What things?”
He gave no answer.
“Once we get to Virginia Beach, you’re going to meet up with Grant and Lexi and your friends, and things will go back to the way they were before. You’ll go back to not knowing me again.”
“That’s not what I want.”
“But that’s what will happen. That’s what always happens in situations like this.”
“Everything’s different now.” He crawled closer to sit on his knees in front of her. “Don’t you feel it?”
“It’s just the excitement of taking this trip together. It’s all thrilling right now, getting to know someone new, but we’re both off to college in the fall. Far away from each other.”
“How far?”
“I’m going to Arizona on a gymnastics scholarship,” she answered.
His eyes widened. “That is far.”
“And I’m not looking to get attached to someone and then have to walk away in three months.”
His eyes narrowed. “You’re very logical, aren’t you?”
“Did you expect anything else?”
“Not really.” A smile crossed his face just before his hand came to rest on hers. “I don’t want to not know you.”
She nodded once in agreement. “Maybe we’ll stay friends.” She hoped it would be true, but doubted it.
He touched her cheek, his thumb brushing against her bottom lip. “Friends who make out?”
She pushed against his chest and sent him tumbling back onto the sleeping bag, laughing and holding his chest as if he’d been wounded. She rolled her eyes and reached for her bag, grabbing a sweatshirt before she lay down on top of the sleeping bag instead of climbing back in next to Colton. It was better this way, and the idea of lying where Colton had been with other girls made her a little sick to her stomach.
“Why six months ago?” she asked as her mind played over everything.
“Huh?”
“You said six months ago, you never would’ve thought twice about … this. What changed in six months?”
“Nothing.”
She didn’t believe him, but she didn’t push. The storms had begun to pass, but she could no longer sleep. And she realized he had gotten her through it. She had been so focused on him and their conversations and what was happening between them that she almost forgot about the frightful weather outside. And she had been too distracted to let her mind dwell on the past.
13
Sermon on the Mount
The sound of birds chirping in a nearby tree woke her. She lay still for a while, listening, eyes closed, enjoying the feeling of fingers slipping through her hair over and over. Her eyes flew open when she realized they were Colton’s fingers, and she was greeted with a nice view of his solid bare chest. She had snuggled up next to him at some point in the night and now lay in his arms, his upper body sticking out of the sleeping bag, her head resting on his chest.
More than anything, she wanted to stay put. She wanted to forget the fact that there was a Lexi and kiss him and touch him and do whatever he wanted to do with her this morning. But she couldn’t. She knew she couldn’t. It would be a moment, a one-time thing, and she wanted more than that, she deserved more than that.
She wiggled in his arms, and he let out a low groan that nearly made her give in and kiss him.
“Morning.” He squeezed his arms tighter around her.
“Morning,” she responded quietly.
He unwound his arms from her and sat up.
She watched him, all naked from the waist up. He really was a beautiful guy, especially with that messy bed head he was sporting at the moment. A giggle escaped her before she could stop it.
He looked back at her. “What?”
“Nothing.” She glanced up at his hair.
He attempted to smooth it down, then turned to her again. “Hey, I’m not the only one with crazy morning hair.”
She sat up and gathered her hair into a messy bun on top of her head, securing it with one of the hair ties she always kept around her wrist for gymnastics.
“Oh my gosh.” He stared at her.
“What?”
“I didn’t think you could possibly get any cuter.” He gazed up at her messy bun. “I was so wrong.”
She blushed. It was nice to be admired, to feel beautiful, especially in Colton’s eyes. But she had to keep reminding herself that once they reached their destination, this would be over.
“How are you feeling?” Colton asked. “Does your neck still hurt?”
She shifted her head from side to side. “Still stiff, but better, I think.”
“Good.” He reached for her knee.
She jerked it away from his hand.
“I wanted to see how your wound is healing.”
“My wound? It was a scratch. Yours was a wound.” She waved her finger in a circular motion to get him to turn around.
He rolled his eyes and turned.
She leaned forward and gently touched the bandaged area on his back. It appeared less red and had started scabbing over. She couldn’t help but notice the goosebumps that had spread over his skin at her touch.
“How’s it look, Doc?” His voice wavered a little.
“You’ll survive.” She patted his back and moved away.
Colton stood and grabbed a t-shirt from his bag, pulling it over his head. “Do you mind if I go for a quick run?”
“Go ahead.”
“Do you want to come along?”
“Nah. I’ll get cleaned up and get my stuff packed.”
He unzipped the door to the tent and zipped her in. “I’ll be back.”
“OK.” She sank down onto the air mattress again, her mind replaying every minute of last night and this morning. She shook it off and gathered her things, heading off to the shower facilities and away from the tent.
The campground was filled with the aroma of campers’ breakfasts, some being prepared over the open fire.
“That smells so good,” Colton said as they finished taking down the tent and began rolling it up.
“My stomach just growled,” Natalie said.
“Yeah, I heard it.” He laughed.
She scrunched up her nose at him.
Just then, Wilmot and Elinore arrived at their site.
“Good morning, you two,” Elinore greeted them. “We thought you might like some breakfast.” She opened the bag she'd been carrying and revealed two plastic containers with lids.
“That’s so sweet of you,” Natalie said as she took one.
Colton dropped the half-rolled tent and took the container Elinore handed him, popping open the lid to reveal sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, and a blueberry muffin. He stepped to Elinore and hugged her firmly. “Thank you.”
She chuckled. “You’re more than welcome.”
“We thought you might like to join us for a little Sunday morning service at the gazebo.” Wilmot motioned toward the other end of the campground.
“Oh, that sounds nice, but we’re packing up to get back on the road,” Natalie explained.
“We can go if you want,” Colton said through a bite of muffin. “We’ve got time.”
She was surprised by his response. He didn’t seem like the kind of guy that went to church or was interested in anything remotely spiritual.
“Well, great,” Wilmot replied with his crooked-toothed smile. “It’s getting started now, so come on over if you want. You can bring your breakfast with you.”
The sweet couple walked away, and Natalie looked over at Colton. “You really want to go to church?”
He chomped on a piece of bacon. “Sure, why not.”
“I didn’t think you were much of a church-goer.”
“You would be correct.” Colton started walking.
A small group of campers were seated in the yard around the gazebo. On the steps were a man playing guitar and a woman leading the group in song. Colton and Natalie took a couple empty seats at the back, and a woman approached and handed them a paper with song lyrics on it. Natalie immediately joined in singing the next hymn, one she already knew well from her own church. Colton used the song sheet and sang along.
“What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear,” they sang. “What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer.”
Colton elbowed her, and she found him grinning at her.
She stopped singing. “What?”
“Look who has another talent.”
She shook her head and continued. “Oh, what peace we often forfeit, oh, what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”
They sounded good together, singing in perfect harmony, and she wondered why he had never joined choir at school.
“Can we find a friend so faithful, who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our every weakness. Take it to the Lord in prayer.”
Colton quieted as everyone else sang. He seemed affected.
“What’s wrong?” Natalie asked.
“Nothing.” He blew it off.
The song came to an end, and they sat and listened to Wilmot speak from the Sermon on the Mount in the book of Matthew, which seemed fitting with them being on top of a mountain and all. He focused on the passages about not worrying about your life.
“Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?”
It had been a long time since she heard someone quote the King James Version of the Bible. Her Dad often read her verses from that version. He said it sounded better to him than the newer translations.
Wilmot’s words seemed to cause Colton to fidget in his seat.
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.”
Colton glanced at his phone and leaned closer. “We should go soon,” he whispered.
“OK.” She took his lead, and they left discretely.
Wilmot spotted them, but continued speaking and gave them a friendly wave goodbye.
“Is everything OK?” she asked as they walked back to the campsite.
“Yeah, why?”
“You seemed bothered or something back there.”
He gazed over at her. “What if our accident was no accident?”
She looked at him curiously. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, like, what if it was meant to happen?”
Natalie laughed. “Like, you were meant to drive like a crazy person, and I was meant to crash into that other guy’s car?”
He let out a little chuckle. “I guess that sounds kind of stupid, huh?”
“I didn’t say that.” She regretted her thoughtless reaction.
“Never mind.” He waved a hand at her.
“I’m sorry for laughing. It’s not stupid, Colton. Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“It’s nothing. I was just thinking out loud.” He shook his head as if returning to his senses.
“Colton.”
“So … you’re a church girl.”
She sighed at the change of subject, knowing he wasn’t going to tell her. “I go to church, yeah.”
“That explains it.”
“Explains what?”
“Why you’re so boring.” He winked at her.
“Going to church doesn’t make me boring.”
He grinned at her. “I told you, I like your kind of boring.”
She smirked. “Whatever.”
“I’m saying, church suits you. It’s a compliment.”
“Well, I can never tell with you.”
“You will,” he said.
“I will what?”
“You’ll figure out my sense of humor.”
They walked on in silence. She wanted to remind him that she wouldn’t figure him out, that they would go back to not knowing each other in a matter of hours. But she let it be, and they went back to work packing up the tent and loading their things into his trunk.
When Colton ran off to the restroom, Natalie stood in the center of their campsite, staring at the rounded, forest-covered mountaintops before her. A moment of peace was exactly what she needed. A moment away from Colton and her growing attraction to him. A moment to clear her head.
She closed her eyes and opened her heart in a prayer. God already knew what she was feeling, what she needed, without a word being said. She felt him close as she remembered Wilmot’s message. Seek ye first the kingdom of God. Those words were as familiar to her as her own name. She had heard them since she was a little girl, sang them in a chorus at church, read them every day as she passed by the frame that hung in the entryway of their house. It was like her mantra, so the fact that Wilmot spoke those very words felt simply providential.
Colton’s words about their accident hung in her thoughts as well. She wished he would’ve let her in and explained what he meant. What was he thinking? Something had obviously sparked his question—something prompted by the song or the verses Wilmot quoted.
“What ya thinkin’ about?”
Colton’s voice made her jump.
“Sorry, you looked deep in thought.”
“Soaking in the silence before I have to get back in that ugly yellow beast and listen to rap the rest of the way.”
His chin dropped. “Ugly? Are you kidding? My baby is beautiful.”
“Why yellow, though? You could’ve gone with red or black.”
“Yellow looks sharp with the black stripes.”
“If you say so.” She rolled her eyes.
“It does.”
“And you want people to see you coming a mile away.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
She shrugged. “Attention hog.”
“Little miss boring.”
“Ooh, good one.” She rolled her eyes again.
“Hey, if you don’t like my car, you don’t have to ride in it.”
She narrowed her eyes at him and stuck out her tongue.
He chuckled. “That’s mature.”
They climbed into the car and drove slowly through the campground. It appeared the church service had just let out as the campers scattered.
Elinore saw them coming and walked toward their car.
Natalie rolled down her window.
She leaned down to see both of them. “So glad you stayed with us. Hope you have a safe trip to Virginia.”
“Thanks. It’s lovely here. Maybe we’ll come back one day,” Natalie replied. She said the words before she really thought about them, and glanced over at Colton, who was already smirking at her.
He smiled in that adorable way that made his dimple show. “Yeah, maybe we will.”
14
Used
How much longer to Virginia Beach?” Natalie asked when they were finally back on the road.
Colton tapped the screen on the GPS. “Looks like about seven hours.”
She read through the email from the school containing the itinerary. “The buses are going to beat us there then. This is taking longer than we th
ought it would.”
“Well, we stopped a bunch of times yesterday.”
She gave him an accusatory look. “You mean you stopped a bunch of times.”
“Hey, you’re the one who wanted the waterfall.”
“OK, I’ll give you that. But if we had driven straight through, we would be there already.”
“Probably. But we’d be exhausted, you’d still be falling all over from your concussion—”
She smacked his arm. “Which was your fault.”
“And the bus wouldn’t even be there yet,” he continued. “This way, we get there right after they do. It’s perfect.” He gazed over at her. “And if we hadn’t stopped for the night, you wouldn’t have a good memory to replace one of the bad ones.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “I don’t know about that.”
“Well, it was good for me,” he chuckled, which earned him another smack on the arm. “I’m gonna come up with more stuff we can do during storms to erase the bad memories.”
“Colton.” It seemed wrong for him to speak of the future as if they really had one.
“Have you ever slept in a treehouse? I have one back in the woods by my house that my dad had built for me. We could go up there and—”
“I don’t need you to fix me,” she snapped, wanting him to stop.
“I didn’t … I mean, I wasn’t trying to. I just want to help.”
She regretted her tone. “I know, but stop talking like there’s an us. It makes things worse.”
“What does that mean?” His emerald eyes left the road and held on her.
“Watch the road.” She pointed ahead.
He looked forward again. “Explain.”
“I told you last night. You think things are different, but I know what’s going to happen once we get to Virginia.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do. You’re deluding yourself if you think we can have any kind of relationship after we get there. This isn’t reality.”
He gritted his teeth, and his jaw muscle twitched. “You really tick me off when you start saying negative crap like that.”
“I’m being realistic.”
“Well, what if I told you I’m not very fond of my reality and haven’t been for a long time? What if I told you that you’re more real to me than anybody else in my life right now?”
18 Hours To Us Page 9
