Molly knew the truth, though. Why would she ever have thought that someone like Nick, from an affluent, well-known Christian family, would want anything to do with her? He needed someone as flawless as he was, and that person was not Molly. She refused to find her self-esteem in men, though. Her mother had been that way and Molly had seen the way it destroyed her life. Based on Molly’s past relationships, making bad choices when it came to men must be in her blood. No, if she ever dated again, it would be someone who thought she’d hung the moon, who respected her and considered her an equal.
Not Nick White, in other words.
But despite their past, he’d always been kind. He’d always done the right thing. Always took a moment to pray before responding. Molly had thought he was the perfect man, a man who shared her heart for serving others in Christ. It was at that week of summer camp that she’d decided to become a nurse. After hearing a missionary speak, she decided she wanted to go and serve others in that way. Nick had felt the same calling to the mission field...or so Molly thought.
Molly wondered how he’d ended up back here. It wasn’t that Christian summer camp wasn’t a worthy place to be. She’d just never envisioned him working here as an adult. His family had pushed him to follow his dad’s footsteps and become a pastor. She wondered about his journey from the time they’d last spoken. What had happened to lead him here?
“This way,” he said, placing a hand on her back. Just his touch still sent a shiver through her. Why did he still have that effect on her? He led her toward the screen door. “Some fresh air sounds nice.”
The last place Molly wanted to be was outside at night in the middle of nowhere. But at the same time, she didn’t want to show her fear, for Nick to think of her as weak. So she sucked in a deep breath and prayed for courage as she stepped into the steamy nighttime.
“Feel up to a walk?”
Perhaps stretching her legs would be nice. Despite the thought, she still shivered as she said, “Sure.”
She pulled her arms over her chest and soaked in her surroundings. Time hadn’t touched this place. The camp even smelled the same, like old wood, fresh leaves and bug spray. “I feel like I’ve gone back in time. This place looks just like I remember it.”
“It needs some upgrades, we just don’t have the funding for them yet.”
“I think it’s charming.”
“That’s your nice way of saying run-down.”
She smiled at his rakish grin. They kept steady pace beside each other, and Molly tried to assure herself that this stretch of wilderness was safe. It had been used for church groups and even local community clubs for decades. Still, prickles of fear danced across her skin and her throat felt dry as the lights of the cafeteria disappeared.
She cleared her throat, trying to distract herself from her growing fear. She needed to think of something safe—neutral—to talk about. “So, when are the campers coming to begin registration?”
A moment of exhaustion crossed Nick’s features. “Tomorrow at three o’clock.”
“What else do you have to do before they arrive?”
“The cabins still need to be cleaned, the snack bar stashed, the grass cut.” He shook his head. “That’s just for starters. The camp was practically in shambles when I arrived. I’ve been busy doing paperwork—preregistration for campers, background checks on counselors, making sure insurance information is up-to-date. I’ve been mending bunk beds, repairing broken toilets and patching roofs. I just haven’t had enough hours in my day to get everything done that needed to be done.”
“Things have a way of working out. I’m sure it will all get done.”
“You’ve always had amazing faith, Molly.”
His words reminded her that they had a past. But the conversation’s positive spin conflicted with the way their relationship ended as, at the moment, he sounded like he admired her faith. In truth, he’d broken up with her because she wasn’t good enough for him. No, he never said that out loud, but he didn’t have to. His reasons were obvious. The thought of it caused turmoil to well inside. She needed to think about something else—anything else.
As silence fell, Molly’s mind traveled to her time as a camper. “You know, everything that’s happened tonight reminds me of one of those crazy campfire stories the counselors used to tell to scare us.”
“Campfire stories were more fun when you were telling them as a counselor.”
Campfire had always been one of Molly’s favorite parts of camp, a time when it seemed like God and his creations met and hearts were touched as a result. But after the worship time was over and as people lingered around the fire waiting for the embers to fade, the scary stories emerged. Some of them still caused fear to taunt Molly. Despite that fear, talking about campfire seemed like a safer bet than other subjects. At least those scares were all of the make-believe variety. And at least they didn’t involve her and Nick’s past relationship.
“The one I still remember is the one about the prison inmate who’d escaped and still haunted these woods looking for prey.” Molly shook her head. There was a federal prison only a few miles from the camp, so stories involving escapees were always a favorite. “I could hardly sleep at night thinking about those stories.”
Nick smiled. “Chainsaw Charlie. A psychotic serial killer who escaped from the prison and lived in the woods around the camp. He always carried a chainsaw with him and liked to peek into the cabins at night, searching for his next victim.”
Molly shivered just thinking about the story. “Then there were the supposed sightings of Charlie. I still remember one girl in my cabin started screaming in the middle of the night and said she saw Chainsaw Charlie peering in through her window.”
“I remember that. All the cabins were on lockdown while the counselors checked things out. Turned out it was a boy who had a crush on her, if I remember correctly. He’d sneaked out hoping to get a moment with her and ended up getting sent home instead.”
They passed the area of the camp that Molly called The Grove. It was an area of evergreen trees with benches along the outskirts. Molly remembered that this area was one of Nick’s favorites, a place he’d often escaped to.
Campfire stories. She needed to keep talking about campfire stories and stop thinking about Nick.
“Then, of course, there was the story about Lucy Winslow, Chainsaw Charlie’s victim.” Molly shivered even thinking about the story.
“They say she still haunts the camp, upset she didn’t finish out her week here. That, of course, we all know isn’t true.”
She glanced over at Nick’s chiseled profile, one that seemed to beckon a second glance. “Was there a girl named Lucy who died here? I always heard that part was true.”
Nick grimaced. “There was a camper here. She was fifteen or so. This was before you and I were ever here. Apparently, she was horsing around with some of her friends when she fell and hit her head. It was a freak accident. She did die, but it wasn’t from Chainsaw Charlie. That’s just how the story evolved over the years.”
Molly shoved her hands into her pockets as they circled past the girls’ cabins and began the walk back to the cafeteria. This was Camp Hope Springs, she reminded herself. Who would have thought in a million years that she’d be back here? And with Nick...
She cleared her throat, scolding herself for allowing her thoughts to go back to Nick. “Maybe counselors told us those stories so we wouldn’t be tempted to sneak out at night.”
Nic
k smiled. “It worked for me. Even with all of my logic, I had no desire to be anywhere near the woods at night unless I was with a group.”
The path narrowed at the stretch ahead of them as the woods edged closer to the gravel. Molly pushed down her fear. “Seems like this could be one of their stories. Only this isn’t a made-up story. It’s really happening.” She paused, ears straining to hear something in the distance. Was she hearing things? Had these stories caused a certain paranoia to rise in her?
“Molly? What’s wrong?”
No, she definitely heard something...didn’t she? “Do you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
“Listen.”
Nick paused, quiet. A subtle noise sounded in the distance, causing both of them to freeze.
“Is that what I think it is?” he murmured.
Molly nodded, her face white again. “It’s a chainsaw.”
* * *
As the sound of the chainsaw intensified, Nick grabbed Molly’s hand. His first instinct was to run toward the sound, to see who was behind such a cruel joke and put an end to this once and for all. But he couldn’t ask Molly to go with him, nor could he leave her here on this path alone. Instead, he pulled her up the gravel pathway toward the cafeteria.
His heart raced, and he wasn’t sure whether it was from the chainsaw or Molly’s nearness. Most likely, it was both. “I need to get you back inside.”
“Is someone just trying to scare us?” Her voice trembled slightly as the words poured out of her at a quick clip.
The woods blurred by them, but the chainsaw still growled in the background. “I’m not sure, but I’m not taking any chances, either.”
Something was going on here at Camp Hope Springs, and Nick intended to figure out what it was. He’d walked into a mess, one that he hadn’t created and hadn’t chosen to get involved with. But despite those facts, he was here and someone had to deal with this chaos.
He urged Molly to walk faster, anxious to get her away from the person behind these threats. Whoever had that chainsaw was out in those woods right now. He was sending them another message on the evening before the camp season kicked off. Nick had never been one to give into bullies, and he certainly wasn’t going to let this prankster get his way.
The chainsaw still squealed in the distance as they reached the cafeteria. Each nuance seemed to make his muscles tauter. Apparently, he’d left one danger zone in Iraq only to come here to another.
Just as he pulled open the screen door, a laugh bellowed out from the darkness. An evil, twisted laugh.
Nick’s grip on Molly’s hand tightened as he propelled her inside. “Come on.”
The sheriff paused as he emerged from the staff quarters and stared at both of them. “Everything okay?”
Nick let go of Molly’s hand, feeling foolish for even taking it in the first place. Grabbing her hand had just been pure instinct. “Someone’s got a chainsaw outside.”
“You saw them?”
“No, we can hear it. We didn’t want to take any chances.”
The sheriff looked back at two of his deputies. “Go check it out. But be careful. We have no idea what we’re dealing with here. It could be a prankster but until we know for sure, we need to treat this as a threat of the highest level.”
The two men headed out to their cruisers. Nick wanted to go with them. After all, this was the property his grandfather had left him. But as he looked at Molly’s pale skin he knew he couldn’t leave her, not after everything she’d been through tonight.
“Why would someone be using a chainsaw at this hour?” Molly asked.
Nick shrugged, trying to think of something—anything—that might calm her fears. He decided to go with the truth instead. “They want us to ‘get out or else.’ I’m just not sure why they want that, or how far they’re willing to carry this.”
Was there a connection between these threats and the man found dead in the road? Had he been murdered? If so, where did that leave Nick and the rest of the camp? Nick wasn’t sure. He hoped these things were just a one-time affair, but what if they continued...?
The sheriff’s gaze traveled back and forth between Nick and Molly another moment before he shifted his weight. “While my men are looking, I thought I’d let you know that your quarters are now clear. We’ve collected all the evidence we need. It will be a few days before we get any results.”
Molly cleared her throat. “Thank you, sheriff.”
A few minutes later, the two sheriff deputies emerged from outside. “There’s nothing, sheriff. We don’t even hear anything now. Whoever was out there is gone.”
“I think we’ve done all we can do here. Hopefully, the evidence will turn up something. In the meantime, just be careful. Keep your eyes peeled and your ears open for anything suspicious.”
“Will do.”
“Call me if anything else happens. And lock up tonight.”
After the sheriff disappeared, Nick turned to Molly and his smile dimmed. He started to place his hand on her arm, but stopped himself. They hadn’t talked in years and things had ended badly between them. So why did it feel so natural to want to reach out and touch her?
He dropped his hand and shoved it in his pocket instead. “Why don’t you get some rest, Molly? Everything else will get done in the morning. If worse comes to worst, we’ll recruit some of the campers to help when they get here. And all that stuff that’s happening? It’s probably nothing, just some ill-timed and ill-advised pranks. But just to make you feel better, I’ll lock up and check everything twice tonight.”
Molly nodded, her eyes wide with uncertainty and a hint of exhaustion as she stepped away. “You know the area better than I do. I’ll trust your opinion.”
As she wandered back to her quarters, Nick had to wonder if she should trust his opinion, though. Were these things just pranks? Certainly the dead body in the road wasn’t. He hoped—and prayed—that there was some logical explanation for everything.
For the time being, he wanted to be by himself, to regroup. When he’d come back to Camp Hope Springs never had he imagined taking over the place. He’d wanted to find his footing and figure out his future.
He sat down at the cafeteria table, harder than he’d intended, and stared blankly at the screen door.
Since he’d arrived home, life hadn’t been the retreat he’d hoped for. He needed to mourn the losses in his life. His most recent loss had been his best friend, Dewayne. He’d left one day to travel to a different location when friendly fire had gotten him. Why would God take away such a great man, a man who sought after him with all his being? Despite Nick’s hurt, he’d had no one to go to with his pain. Deborah was right—he did have walls around his heart.
Those walls had started going up when he broke up with Molly all those years ago. He’d caved into pressure from his family. But he’d justified the decision by telling himself that he didn’t want Molly to see who he really was. Because who he really was was someone who knew everything about acting like a perfect Christian when he hadn’t touched his Bible in months or prayed other than to fulfill his studies. He acted like he had himself together on the outside, but on the inside he had a hard time distinguishing what was real and what wasn’t.
This camp brought back so many memories. Molly’s lovely face washed through his mind again and, against his better instincts, he smiled. She’d always been such a ray of sunshine in an otherwise dark sky. His mind went back a decade ago to that week at summer
camp when they’d met. It had been more than her outward beauty that had attracted him to her. Molly had a way of forgetting about herself and her own problems and helping others. She’d been the first person all the other girls had gone to with their problems. They’d always known that their secrets would be safe with her. She just had a goodness about her, one that couldn’t be faked.
He’d fallen in love immediately.
His heart still ached as he remembered the way it had all ended. As soon as he’d broken up with her, he’d regretted it. He’d told her they were two different people—and they were. Molly was too good for him. He frowned as he remembered seeing Molly for the first time on the road outside the camp, looking shell-shocked after running over the stranger sprawled across the asphalt.
He was so uncertain about so many things right now, but there was one thing he didn’t waver about. Nick would make sure Molly was safe if it was the last thing he did.
FOUR
Molly sat on the lumpy, thin mattress she’d use for the next three months and braced herself for the beginning of a long summer that would certainly test her. It would be a summer of facing two of her biggest challenges—Nick White and the woods.
What a start to her time here. It couldn’t be a coincidence that all of this was happening on the eve of the beginning of summer camping season. Someone had purposely planned to place these doubts in their minds on this evening. Molly didn’t even feel confident that the hunters were the ones who’d aimed those bullets their way, despite the sheriff’s conviction.
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