Harlequin Heartwarming May 2016 Box Set: Through the StormHome for KeepsThe Firefighter's RefrainTo Catch a Wife

by Rula Sinara

Grace let go of Caleb’s hand.

  “If there are any scary animals around here, you’d better go find them,” Caleb joked. “They’ll be a part of your study.”

  Jimmy looked puzzled. “Yeah, I guess so.” Then he asked, “But there aren’t really any bears or wolves around here, are there?”

  “Not many. That’s something you can note. What happened to them, the top of the food chain?” Caleb urged, “Go on. See you for supper.”

  Laughing, Jimmy shuffled off.

  Caleb and Grace returned to the campsite together and sat companionably on a log near the fire pit built in the center. Caleb slid an arm around her shoulders. “I’m glad you could come.”

  “Me, too.”

  “I can’t believe you’ve never been camping before.”

  “Neither can I. And I don’t want this to be the last time, either.”

  “I know plenty of great places you would enjoy.”

  Especially with you, she thought. She gazed into his eyes, dark and fathomless. His breath feathered her cheek. They leaned closer, lips brushing, then meeting for a sweet kiss. Grace touched his cheek and the kiss deepened...

  ...until a loud beep jerked them apart.

  An old sedan had emerged on the road through the trees and come to a stop at the edge of the camping site.

  “What...?” breathed Caleb. He stood up. “Mom.” He strode to the car. “Something’s wrong.”

  Grace just remained on the log, staring. The woman in the driver’s seat must have been close to sixty, gray streaking her black hair. Angela sat on the passenger side.

  Caleb’s mother rolled down her window. “You said there were no cell phones this weekend, so I just drove here, hoping we could find you. The park ranger told me a class had booked this area.”

  “You could have called my cell phone,” said Caleb, concern in his voice. “Since it seems to be a real emergency. What’s wrong?”

  “It’s not that bad, but I have to drive up north. Una’s broken her hip.”

  “Aunt Una. How?”

  “An unfortunate accident. She fell down some steps. There’s no one else and I’d like to take care of her, instead of a stranger. I could be gone for as long as a week. Given the circumstances, I thought it best to deliver Angela to you.”

  “Sure.”

  Caleb motioned for Grace to come over so he could introduce her. “Grace, this is my mother, Maddie. Mom, this is Grace.”

  Maddie was pleasant-looking, with a kind face and intelligent eyes. Her voice was pleasant, as well. “Grace, it’s wonderful to meet you.” She reached for the door handle. “I guess I should at least get out of the car.”

  “That’s okay.” Grace figured time was of the essence or the woman wouldn’t have driven to the campground. “Sounds like you have somewhere you need to go.” She motioned to the tents. “And we don’t really have many amenities. No chairs. No refreshments.”

  Maddie nodded. “We’ll have to sit down and talk the next time we meet.”

  Angela had gotten out on the other side. “’Bye, Gran,” she said before slamming the door.

  The girl carried a sleeping bag and a backpack. “Where do these go, Dad? In your tent?”

  She started for the green one but stopped short when Caleb told her, “Grace is using that tonight.”

  “That’s okay,” Grace put in swiftly. “We can share. There’s enough room for two of us girls in there.”

  The look Angela threw her way could have frozen her solid if the coldness were due to natural phenomena. The girl ignored her offer. “Where are you sleeping, Dad?”

  “In a sleeping bag by the fire.”

  “I’ll roll mine out there, too.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  “HOW ABOUT FINDING some firewood?” Caleb asked Angela. “You’re good at that.”

  And many other tasks of camping. The two of them had enjoyed outings in the woods since his daughter was small. Maybe this would be a chance to re-create some of that goodwill they used to share. It was worth a shot.

  When Angela set off into the woods with no complaint, he told Grace, “We can get the food ready and the cookware.” Then he broached the topic of Angela’s surprise appearance. “Things didn’t turn out the way we expected this weekend, I guess.”

  She smiled. “Don’t be concerned. It’ll work out.”

  He hoped so. Meanwhile, he’d try to keep himself in check. No searching gazes with Grace. No handholding. Not that he’d been planning on romancing her during a campout with a class. But he was finding it difficult to keep his distance.

  Grace eyed the surrounding trees. “What about sticks for roasting hot dogs and marshmallows?”

  “Save the branches.” He opened the front door of the truck and reached under the seat for the foldable metal forks he’d stuck there. “I brought a dozen of these.”

  She nodded. “Using reusable sticks for roasting food is ecological.”

  “It was nice of you to offer to share the tent with Angela.” He was glad Grace didn’t seem fazed by the change in plans.

  “I probably wouldn’t have wanted to get so up close and personal with my father’s girlfriend when I was a teenager.”

  “Did he have a girlfriend?”

  She looked thoughtful. “At least once. He didn’t talk about her much.” Then she laughed, her blue eyes crinkling in that way he appreciated. “He probably wasn’t serious or he would have introduced me. I don’t know what I would have thought. It’s interesting to see the other side of things, isn’t it?”

  She could always put herself in another’s shoes. Empathy. Another of her qualities that he liked.

  A few minutes later, his daughter entered the camp with an armload of wood. Her expression was neutral.

  “Go ahead and build the fire, too,” he told Angela.

  “Uh-huh.”

  She built it like a pro and the wood was crackling by the time the students had returned for the evening meal. Caleb introduced them to his daughter and everyone seemed pleasant and didn’t question why their professor now had two extra guests for the campout.

  Furthermore, from the way the students were talking, it sounded as if they had gotten a lot of good work done. Graham had found another patch of garlic mustard and had marked it on the map. The next part of his project was to notify the authorities about it. Beth and Lindsey and Sheridan had collected water from the spring and the creek. They planned to get another sample the next day from a small lake on the other side of the grounds. Now everybody pitched in to set up a grill over the fire for burgers and corn. Steve had made a big pot of chili to heat up. Jimmy volunteered to roast hot dogs for anyone who wanted them.

  Caleb filled up plates for both Grace and Angela, as well as for himself. He handed one to Angela, then came back and seated himself on the log next to Grace.

  “Yum,” she said, folding the bun over her burger. “There’s something about food cooked over an open fire that just can’t be beat.”

  “I totally agree.”

  After the main course, they toasted marshmallows for s’mores. The sun having sunk beyond the trees, the woods were dark.

  “Guess you really like ’em burnt, huh?” Steve remarked when Jimmy’s marshmallow went up in flames.

  Jimmy grunted and rose to shake off what was now a burning ember at the end of his stick. He looked around. “Wow, we aren’t alone.”

  Caleb glanced about. More than a dozen sets of small golden eyes glowed back at the group of humans from the surrounding brush and trees. He felt Grace edge a little closer to him on the log.

  “Just raccoons,” he stated.

  Jimmy peered into the bushes. “Do you think they like marshmallows?”

  “They like anything edible.” Caleb chuckled. “Don’t fee
d them or you’ll be inviting an invasion.”

  “Aw, but they’re probably hungry,” said Lindsey, captivated by the small furry creatures.

  “You’ll encourage them to bug other campers,” Caleb told her. “And make them even more dependent on humans.”

  Jimmy reached in his backpack. “I need to take some photos of this, don’t I, Prof? This is a perfect example of how animal behavior has been changed by humans. I bet lots of campers actually do feed them.”

  “Which is the reason there are so many,” agreed Caleb. “That and the lack of predators. I mean coyotes run some of them down, but they don’t have to worry about wolves or cougars.”

  Jimmy turned on the camera’s flash and snapped photos while everyone watched. The raccoons didn’t seem frightened at all. In fact, some of them showed themselves at the edge of the clearing, black masks, fluffy pelts and big striped tails making them look like mischievous, roly-poly “bad guys” from old movies.

  “Ooh,” Sheridan breathed. “There used to be wolves and cougars in this forest, huh? Predators that could eat raccoons! I wouldn’t want any big creatures looking us over in the dark.”

  Caleb grunted. “We aren’t on many of their menus.”

  “But what if there were still cougars in southern Wisconsin? Or bears?” said Steve. “And what if one went crazy or something?”

  That launched the group into telling scary stories that featured bears, wolves, mountain lions, even a moose attack, all probably seen on Animal Planet. Caleb patted Grace’s hand, though he didn’t think she was scared. She reached for his to give it a squeeze. He noticed his eagle-eyed daughter giving them a dirty look. He wondered what it was going to take to get her used to the idea of his liking this woman.

  “I saw a video of a place in India where a tiger killed two fishermen who were rowing up a river,” said Beth. “People started having to wear masks on the back of their heads to stop the attacks.”

  Steve snorted. “There aren’t any tigers in Wisconsin!”

  “Thank goodness,” Beth shot back. “I wonder if the same mask technique would work with cougars.”

  “Hey, let’s be conscious of what we’re doing here,” Caleb cut in, having heard enough. “Remember you’re just telling stories. People like drama and being scared, yet safe. We’ve demonized a lot of predators that way through the centuries. If you see big teeth, you think they’re for you. They’re not. Big predators prefer moose or deer.”

  “Or raccoons,” said Steve, laughing. He looked around. “Hey, anybody know a good ghost story?”

  “Well, it’s not really about ghosts but there’s the one about two teenagers who were parked in the woods,” began Jimmy. “At the same time, there was a convict on the loose and he only had one hand.”

  “But he had a hook,” Graham went on. “While the teenagers were sitting there, they heard a scraping sound and took off.”

  “Then the next day, they found a hook hanging from the car handle,” finished Sheridan. “Who hasn’t heard that old story? It’s a cliché.”

  “You mean urban legend,” said Jimmy. “When it’s been around long enough, it’s legendary.”

  Steve shrugged. “Whatever. We’ve all heard it.”

  The discussion centered on scary stories then, all of which ended up being retellings of horror movies.

  “Gee, I guess we just don’t know many original ghost or monster stories,” Jimmy finally said.

  “Don’t look at me,” said Grace.

  Angela leaned forward. “I know one.”

  Caleb suddenly had an uneasy feeling.

  “You do?” Sheridan asked.

  “It’s bloody and real scary.”

  “Great.” Steve leaned forward eagerly. “Tell us.”

  “Well, there was this old farmhouse near Sparrow Lake,” Angela began, “and a weird old couple lived there and they had cows.”

  Though they weren’t touching, Caleb was certain he could feel Grace stiffen. “Angela!”

  She glared at him, her face like a thundercloud.

  Caleb frowned right back at her. “Don’t be telling that story. You’re just spreading rumors.” And he knew it would annoy Grace.

  “Rumors are okay,” said Steve.

  If Caleb simply commanded the group not to talk about it, he knew it would only pique their interest. “That farmhouse drivel is just a story manufactured by some Wisconsin ghost tour. Actually, an elaboration of something fairly mundane. It’s stupid—who’s afraid of a ghost cow?”

  “Oh, right, I think I saw something about that on a flier,” said Jimmy. “They’re all over town.”

  “I have a better idea,” Caleb said, deciding to tell an old story that Maddie had used to scare him when he was getting out of hand. “Ever heard of the wendigo, the half beast of the North Woods?”

  “Now, that’s an old legend, right?” Steve quickly jumped in. “I mean, really old, like Native American or something.”

  “Ojibwa.” Then Caleb put the spotlight back on his daughter. “You want to tell it, Angela?” They’d both heard Maddie’s rendition through the years, about the wendigo stalking and carrying off unlucky wanderers in the woods.

  But leave it to Angela to be peevish and uncooperative. “I don’t want to tell that one. You can tell it yourself.”

  Caleb wanted to sigh with frustration but instead launched into the story about a monster that had stalked a village and the young hunter who refused to believe he couldn’t defeat it with his spear or bow and arrow.

  “He wouldn’t listen to the tribe’s elders and he roamed the woods alone at night. Finally, he disappeared and all they found was a moccasin that was torn to pieces and scattered along the creek bank. So whenever the moon is low and the wind sings through the trees, keep close to camp or the wendigo might run you down.”

  “Pretty good,” said Steve when Caleb had finished. “Though it could use more gory details.”

  “Yuck, that’s what I hate about horror movies,” muttered Sheridan. “Gory details.”

  “It’s getting late,” Caleb told them. “We have an early morning tomorrow. Probably should turn in.”

  A couple of students had already been yawning. Steve and Jimmy sorted through a pile on one side of the fire, looking for sleeping bags. Grace headed for her tent and ducked inside to grab a towel and washcloth. Then she headed for the park building, its single light glimmering through the trees.

  Caleb flicked on his flashlight and followed her down the path.

  “I’ll be happy to escort you.”

  “Thanks, I wouldn’t want the wendigo to get me.” Her voice was filled with warm humor.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure it doesn’t,” he said, thinking they might even steal a little alone time in the dark. That would be a nice nightcap.

  He found a chance as he caught up with Grace in a shady area just out of sight of the camp. He wrapped her in a bear hug.

  “Oof!” she said, hands against his chest, but she sounded amused.

  “How about a kiss for your protector?” he whispered, covering her lips with his own.

  “Sure you’re not the wendigo?” she mumbled, winding her arms about his neck.

  * * *

  ANGELA ROLLED HER sleeping bag out on top of the tarp her dad had brought, feeling thoroughly disgusted. She grabbed her toothbrush out of her backpack and headed toward the restroom only to see her dad nudge that woman off the path, into the shadows. Then he enveloped her in his arms and kissed her!

  She couldn’t believe her father had brought Grace Huber along on a class camping trip. Or that he was flaunting her in front of his students. That he was kissing her! What if someone else saw them? Bad enough she did. Her dad was too old for this kind of stuff.

  Yuck! She loudly cleared her throa
t.

  They immediately pulled apart and her dad said, “Angela?”

  “Good night!” she announced smugly, passing the pair without a glance back, knowing she’d thoroughly interrupted the moment.

  Inside the restroom, Angela quickly took care of her teeth and rushed back out of the building, passing Grace in the doorway. Her expression seemed uncomfortable. Good.

  Angela stomped back to camp and had made herself comfy in the sleeping bag when a vibration buzzed on her hip. The phone! She slid it out to take a look and saw it was Kiki.

  “Hi.” She glanced about but no one was paying attention to her. Still, she quickly dived under the covers and kept her voice low. “I’m up north at Birdwing State Park. Yeah, with Dad for his ecology class campout. And that Huber woman is here with him. And I saw them kissing!”

  “Blea-ah! Want me to come to the rescue?” asked Kiki.

  “I don’t think you can find us. And Dad would be mad.”

  “Why? He shouldn’t be the only one who can bring a guest. Where are you?”

  “Campsite 32. It’s too far, though. Don’t bother.”

  “It shouldn’t be that far on Viper’s scooter. I’ll look at a map.”

  Eyes on the path to the park building, Angela had been watching carefully for her Dad’s return. He suddenly appeared, only yards away, Grace beside him.

  “I’ve asked everyone not to use their phones. So please turn yours off.”

  Punching the phone off, she carefully tucked it under the pillow she’d made out of a towel and hunkered down, her back toward the space where she assumed Dad would put his sleeping bag. She heard him get it ready and climb inside. Then things got quiet. The fire was dying down and she wasn’t at all sleepy. What was she going to do with herself?

  * * *

  GRACE CRAWLED INTO the tent and switched off her flashlight. Before getting into her sleeping bag, she unzipped the mesh and stuck her head out of the door flap to appreciate a scene of incredible beauty. Tall trees surrounded the campsite and the dying fire bathed the scene in a dim orange glow. Wind rushed through the trees. High above, a half-moon slid west across the sky. Humans had been gazing at that moon since ancient times and listening to the sounds of nature. Modern society should listen a bit more, she thought, grateful that Caleb had brought her along on the campout. She needed to immerse herself in the outdoors more often. She felt like a new person.