Cassie smoothed her skirt. “Make yourself at home, but I was thinking we could go down to the kitchen in the camp to eat.”
Melissa’s eyes narrowed. “Cafeteria food?”
“Beth is a great cook, and I asked her to save us some of the chicken salad on today’s menu.”
Melissa shrugged like she didn’t have the energy to argue and walked out of the room. Surviving the next few days wouldn’t be easy.
“Are you ready, Mom?” Cassie asked, walking into the living room. “We’re going to get some food from the cafeteria. I want you to meet Beth.”
“Is Beth your employee?” her mom asked.
Cassie picked Petal up from her mom’s lap and held her hand out to help her mom out of the sinking sofa. Petal jumped out of her arms and began another bath. “She’s my friend, too.”
They walked together down the gravel road to the cafeteria. It was break time for the campers.
“There she is,” a girl yelled, and a group of girls ran toward them and blocked their path to the kitchen.
“Did you let the snake go?” one of the girls asked.
Melissa and her mother looked at each other.
“I sure did,” Cassie answered. “It wasn’t the kind of snake that would hurt anybody.”
The girls screamed.
“Don’t worry,” Cassie said. “I released it a long way from here.”
The girl with the braces had shiny pink lip gloss slathered across her mouth. “If you catch another one, will you show it to us?”
Cassie put her hands on her hips. “Well, that all depends.”
The girls all blinked, waiting.
“Which one of you is going to help me catch it?” Cassie asked.
A couple of the girls shrieked, but two with linked arms held up their hands. When the girls had run over to the basketball courts, Melissa asked, “You have to catch snakes? There aren’t snakes in your house, are there?”
When they walked into the kitchen, Beth was bent over a cutting board, chopping carrots. She dropped her knife and met them inside the door.
“Beth, this is my mother, Nora, and my sister, Melissa.”
Her mother reached out her hand to shake Beth’s, but Beth shook her head. “Oh no you don’t. I want a hug from Cassie’s family.”
Her mother’s eyes widened as Beth wrapped her arms around her. Beth reached over to Melissa with her arms outstretched, but Melissa simply took her hands and gave her the same air kiss she had given Cassie.
“You must both be so proud of Cassie when you see the camp and everything she’s responsible for,” Beth said.
Cassie appreciated Beth’s attempts. Cassie had to look down at the floor to keep them from seeing her smile at Beth’s directed statement, but she did feel a little bad for her mom. Beth was making her squirm.
“Cassie works very hard,” her mother said with a plastic smile plastered on her face.
Beth left to get lunch from the walk-in refrigerator. “She is. . .” Her mother stopped. “Very enthusiastic.”
Cassie led them to a table at the edge of the dining room. “She’s great. She keeps me sane.”
Beth came out with three plates covered in cellophane—croissants with chicken salad and fresh strawberries. Cassie could tell she had taken extra time putting the sandwiches together and arranging the food on the plates.
As Cassie’s mom and sister were devouring Beth’s famous chicken salad and had forgotten their complaints about “cafeteria food,” Beth motioned for Cassie to come into the kitchen. Cassie took a bite of her sandwich before excusing herself from the table.
Beth leaned against the edge of the sink. “Will called looking for you,” she said in a grave tone.
Cassie’s stomach tied itself in a knot. She looked out the door to make sure her mom and sister weren’t listening. She didn’t need them to know about Will and everything going on with the camp. She already felt inadequate enough. She didn’t need the new failings in the relationship and career departments to confirm their opinions. “He knows I don’t want to talk to him. Why doesn’t he leave me alone?”
“He says he wants to explain and try to make things right.”
Cassie wouldn’t listen to his excuses. No amount of smooth talking or charm could get him out of this one. “Make what right? The fact that he wants to buy the camp and turn it into some kind of resort or that he wants to take our jobs and the camp from us? I don’t want to talk to him.”
Beth twisted her face. “So I’m guessing you forgot that he’ll be here all weekend for the men’s retreat.”
Cassie groaned. The thought of Will spending three more days in her camp made her dizzy. Not to mention that her family would still be in town. “This is a disaster.”
“He said he feels bad for keeping the meeting from you, but he didn’t think you would understand.”
Cassie’s chest felt heavy. “He’s right about that.”
It was silent for a moment as Beth wrung her hands. “Cassie, he sounded pretty upset about you being mad at him.”
She studied Beth’s face. “If I didn’t know better, I would think you’re not as angry as I am.”
“I’m pretty confused. I don’t know what they talked about in that meeting, but he sounded so sincere on the phone.”
“Beth?”
Her sister leaned back on the bench to see inside the kitchen. Cassie faked a smile. She took Beth’s arm and pulled her farther into the kitchen. “Don’t fall for that act. He said himself he gets away with a lot.”
“Cassie,” her mother called.
Beth gave her a sympathetic smile. Cassie sighed before walking into the dining room.
“Aren’t you going to finish your sandwich?” her mom asked.
She sat beside her, but the thought of an entire weekend with Will Overman made her lose her appetite.
Fourteen
A bell jingled as Cassie pushed open the store’s glass door with Trash to Treasure painted on it.
“Looks like they have more of the first than the latter,” Melissa said inside the dark store.
Cassie’s mom loved antique stores, and that was one thing Wyatt Bend had.
An old man sat behind a glass counter filled with baseball cards, costume jewelry, and toys Cassie remembered from her own childhood. He wore a flannel shirt with holes in the sleeve and a toboggan even though it was a hundred degrees outside.
The man turned the volume down on the sports talk blaring from his radio. “Are you ladies looking for anything in particular?”
“Just browsing,” Cassie said, picking up a cookie jar shaped like a pig in overalls.
As they walked down a crowded aisle, Melissa stopped to inspect a pink dollhouse that looked older than her. “Mom has been looking for a music box.”
Their mom stood across the room looking at a bookshelf full of paperback books.
“Really? Why a music box?”
Melissa wiped her hands together. “She lost one a long time ago that Grandpa Joe had given her. Every time she comes in a store like this she looks for one like it. It went missing when Dad left. I think he took it to be spiteful.”
“I don’t remember that story,” Cassie said.
Melissa picked up a cup from its saucer. “Mom just told me a few years ago. There’s a lot she didn’t tell us back then. Trying to protect us, I guess.”
Melissa knew so much about her mother that Cassie didn’t. It had been Cassie’s decision to move away from her family. Even though they could drive Cassie crazy, sometimes she questioned leaving.
Her mother picked up and opened every music box she passed but didn’t purchase anything. Cassie noticed a basket of rose rocks beside the antique cash register.
“What are those?” Melissa asked.
“Rose rocks,” the man said.
“They are sandy rocks that look like red roses. You can find them in this part of Oklahoma,” Cassie explained. “I want to buy a couple for my nieces.”
The man
set a sandwich down on the paper plate beside him and wiped his hands on his jeans. “Are you ladies staying at the campground?”
He must have assumed they were tourists since he probably knew everyone who lived in the town. Another canyon near the camp was part of the state park and provided campgrounds and had RV hookups. It was a popular place for rock climbers and mountain biking.
Cassie’s mom walked up behind them. “We’re here to visit my daughter. She is the director of the church camp,” she said, motioning to Cassie.
He pointed a finger toward Cassie’s face. “You must be that girl dating Will Overman.”
Cassie’s face grew hot. “No, I’m not dating anyone.”
The man laughed and slapped his hand against his knee. “Someone told me he keeps going down there to see you, and his daddy’s not too happy about it.”
Her mom cleared her throat. Cassie laid the money on the counter. “I don’t need a receipt, but thank you.”
“I can’t say I blame him for dating a pretty girl like you,” he yelled out behind them.
Her mother walked quickly to the truck. By the time Cassie reached the door, her mother was already in her seat with her seat belt buckled and looking straight ahead. Cassie got in and shoved her key in the ignition.
“So. . . ,” her mom said.
Cassie closed her eyes. “I am not dating anyone, Mom. I’m being honest.”
Melissa grabbed the headrest on the front seat and leaned forward. “That guy seemed to think you were.”
Cassie started the engine. “I understand you want to know, but I’m not dating anyone. And I really don’t want to talk about it.”
Her mother put a quarter lying on the floor of the truck in the cup holder. “Apparently he had some reason to believe you were dating this man. Do you know him?”
Cassie slid on a pair of old sunglasses she had stored in the console. “Yes,” she said, giving up a little. “I know him. He was a counselor at the camp.”
Her mom sucked in a long breath. “The counselor who found you when you broke your toe? How romantic. He rescued you.”
Cassie shuttered. She put her hand on the back of the passenger seat and backed out of the parking place without answering.
“It was, wasn’t it?” Melissa asked.
Cassie gave Melissa a look pleading for her not to encourage their mother. Melissa leaned back in her seat with a satisfied smirk.
“We never went out on a date, and I don’t speak to him anymore, so it’s a nonissue. I don’t even know why we’re talking about it.”
“Why is the man at Trash to Treasure talking about it?”
“Because it’s a small town, and people like to talk,” Cassie said.
“Why aren’t you speaking to him?” Melissa’s question sounded more like a prompt for her mother.
Melissa’s phone buzzed inside her purse, and she dug to find it. “Hello, honey. No, you can’t feed her peaches. She breaks out in hives.”
Her mother smoothed her hair with her hand. “I know you don’t want to talk about this, but why don’t you tell me what happened. Why would his father be unhappy that he sees you?”
Cassie pressed her lips together and looked back at Melissa who was rolling her eyes about something her husband had said.
“He didn’t turn out to be who I thought he was,” Cassie said.
“What do you mean?”
Cassie was silent for a moment. She wasn’t used to talking about things like this with her mom.
“Well?” her mother persisted.
Cassie swallowed. “I think he was using me. I think it was all an act.”
Her mother shook her head. “I see. I’m sorry to hear that.”
Cassie realized that she and her mom had finally found something they had in common—falling for the wrong man.
❧
On Thursday morning Cassie had already been working for a couple of hours when Beth came in to start breakfast. Juggling between spending time with her family and scrambling to finish all her work at the camp hadn’t been easy.
The next day would be tough. She and her staff would only have a few hours to turn over the camp between the end of the kids’ camp and the start of the men’s retreat. Not to mention she would be forced to face Will.
“I think this is the definition of burning the candle at both ends,” Beth said.
Cassie didn’t stop typing on her computer. “I know, but there is stuff I have to get finished no matter who is here.”
Cassie handed Beth a pile of mail she hadn’t had time to open, and without a word Beth began opening bills and sorting out the junk. “Are you nervous about seeing Will tomorrow?”
Cassie dreaded the awkwardness seeing him would bring and planned to lay low all weekend. “A little, but I’m determined to be perfectly professional.”
“Have you thought about what it will be like to see him again?”
If only she could say she hadn’t thought about Will, but it would have been a lie. She had thought about Will a lot. His face had popped into her head when she least expected it. “Hopefully he got the picture, and we won’t have to talk about everything,” Cassie said.
Beth tore a credit card application in half and set it in the pile of junk mail she had made on the desk. “He called again.”
Cassie rolled her eyes. “When?”
“Yesterday when you were with Melissa and your mom. He said he’s called your number several times, but you won’t pick up or return his messages.”
“They weren’t messages about the retreat,” Cassie said. “He just wants to talk about what happened, and I don’t have anything to say to him.”
Cassie could tell Beth was pretending to read the letter she had just opened. “What’s wrong?”
Beth shrugged. “Nothing,” she said, getting up from the chair. “I better get breakfast started.”
“Wait a minute,” Cassie said. “There’s something you’re not saying.”
Beth sighed. “Listen. I’m just worried about you.”
“Worried about me? What’s there to be worried about?”
Beth picked up the junk mail from the desk and threw it in the trash. “You put up these walls. I’m just worried that you’ll never think anyone is good enough for you.”
Cassie pushed her chair back from the desk. “That’s not true. Do you expect me to ignore everything that has happened with Will?”
“I was the first one to be suspicious of Will, and I’ll admit he’s made some pretty big mistakes,” Beth said.
“But?”
Beth sighed. “But you’re never going to find anybody if you expect them to be perfect.”
Beth’s words stung. “That’s not fair. I don’t expect anyone to be perfect.”
“You won’t even meet with Will to give him a chance to explain. I’ve never seen you as happy as you were when you were with Will. Maybe he’s worth a chance.”
Cassie breathed in a shaky breath. “Why are you taking up for him? He met with Mr. Hartley. Why can’t you just be on my side?”
“I’m always on your side, Cassie. But not every man is your dad. You just have to give him a chance.”
Cassie would have expected this from her mom or Melissa but not Beth.
“Just think about it, Cassie. I need to get breakfast started.”
Fifteen
The sight of Cassie walking across the lawn, her arms loaded with papers and folders, sent a charge of anxiety through Will. He was thankful for the chance to be near her this weekend. He was also unsure if the time together would bring them closer or confirm that they could never work past the issues that pulled them apart.
Will’s father was ready to close the deal on Sunset Camp with Marvin Hartley. Will had petitioned him for more time, but time was running out. Will’s desire to help the camp also hadn’t gained him any points with his father when it came to trusting Will with bigger contracts.
If Cassie wasn’t interested in Will’s help, there wasn’t m
uch reason not to pursue the deal. If the camp was closing and they didn’t purchase it, someone else would. But the idea of hurting Cassie haunted him.
Will left the group of guys who were checking in outside the meeting room doors and jogged across the grass to Cassie. He resisted the urge to brush the hair out of her eyes. “Can I help you with that?”
“Hi, Will,” she said, her face barely moving. “I’ve got it, but thank you.” She readjusted her arms around the load.
All business, as usual. Not exactly what he was hoping for. But what could he expect? “I thought you would try to avoid me this weekend, but here you are.”
Cassie didn’t react. “I was just on my way back to my office and wanted to make sure everything is running smoothly.”
He would rather see her angry than for her to have no emotion with him. He wasn’t going to get anywhere with her like this. He bobbed his head in an exaggerated nod trying to hide his disappointment. He held up his itinerary. “So far, so good.”
“Good. Let me know if you need anything.”
He looked down at the stack of folders and paper in her arms. “What is all of that?”
For the first time, her expression broke. He had asked the wrong thing.
Cassie pulled the stack closer to her chest. “I’m using this to prepare for an upcoming meeting with the conference board.”
Will was aware of every breath she took and how she leaned away from him. “Cassie, I don’t blame you for not returning my calls,” he said, taking a risk by crossing the line she had clearly drawn between them.
Cassie avoided his gaze.
“But I wanted a chance to explain myself,” he said.
“We really don’t need to talk about this now.”
Maybe it was too late for “I’m sorry,” but he had to try. Not wanting to lose his chance, he said, “I’m really sorry things got so complicated between us. I’ve done some things that weren’t fair to you.”
She didn’t respond, only stared right through him.
“If we had met under different circumstances, I’d like to think things might have worked out between us.”
Canyon Walls Page 12
