Summer drew her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them, thinking about what Tara had told her.
“Maybe,” Tara said, her voice trailing off. “You can just keep telling yourself that it’s only for three more weeks. After that, you’ll have all the time you want...if you want it.”
“I’ve never been very good at waiting,” Summer called over her shoulder as she heard the screen door slam.
* * *
RICK’S TIMING WAS OFF. He thought Tara would be gone by now, and he had one foot on Summer’s porch before he saw the young woman standing at the door.
Damn! He stepped back into the shadows at the side of the cabin. He’d rather the staff not know about his private time with Summer. He and Kenny had an understanding, but too many tongues were sure to start wagging, and then it would be an easy jump to conclusions.
Of course, the conclusions would be wrong. He’d made up his mind. No matter how much he wanted Summer, this was not the time nor the place to begin a physical relationship.
It wasn’t going to be easy to keep a lid on his desire. The kisses they’d already shared nearly sent him careening over the edge.
He’d come prepared to talk with her about it now, before things went any further.
“If you want it,” Tara said as she came out the door, and Summer called after her, “I’ve never been very good at waiting.”
The exact words Rick did not need to hear when waiting was exactly what he was about to propose. That this thing with Summer might grind to a halt a few minutes from now came like a punch to his gut, which bothered him more than a little. But he’d set his course, and he would see it through and face the consequences of his actions.
He waited until Tara was definitely gone, then he stepped up on the porch and rapped softly on the door.
Summer leaped up from the couch to meet him, smiling and breathless. “Hi.” She glanced down and laughed. “You glad to see me or is that a magic wand in your pants?”
He followed her eyes, surprised by the bulge created by the wand in his pocket. “Both.” He chuckled. “Reason number two I need to wear the star around my neck.” He kissed her lightly. Her lips were soft and met his eagerly, but she broke off quickly and slid her hand into his, tugging him toward the couch.
They’d no more than gotten seated before they were both speaking. “We need to talk,” they said simultaneously.
Their gazes locked and Rick felt an “oh, hell” reaction in the pit of his stomach when he saw the heat registering in her look. She was ready to take it to the next level. Pulling one knee onto the couch, he rested his elbow on the back cushion, and turned fully toward her. “You first.”
She nodded, drew in a long breath and let it out slowly. “We haven’t known each other very long, and we’ve only liked each other for a few days.” She paused and gnawed on her bottom lip, obviously thinking about how to say it.
But you’re not good at waiting, and I’m about to make you very annoyed with me.
“But I’m already feeling a strong connection with you.” She turned and mirrored him in her position.
He took the hand she laid on the back of the couch. “Probably the strongest connection I’ve ever felt in so short a time.” Keep driving home the message that’s it’s only been a short time.
She nodded and gave him a small smile before she continued. “I want you, Rick. I would love to move into a physical relationship with you.”
Gotta be strong. He gave her hand a squeeze and saw her wince. But not that strong. Tell her how you feel. “That’s been in the front of my mind since the first time I kissed you.”
She nodded. “Me, too.”
He took over. “But here, with everything else going on...this doesn’t seem to me to be the best time or place to move a new relationship to the physical level.”
“Exactly!” Her voice was breathless with relief.
“You agree?”
“Yeah, I mean, it’s hard for me to resist the idea of going to bed with you right here and now.”
“Same here,” he said, and her knee pressing against his made him do a quick scan of the couch to see if it could take his length.
“And we would be really great in bed together. I just know it.” She kissed his hand, and her lips made a tiny sucking sound against his fingers that made his breath catch.
“We’d be the best...the best ever.” Words weren’t downloading from his brain to his tongue as effortlessly as usual.
Her gaze dropped to his mouth. “I want to stay focused on the kids.” When she licked her lips, the blood flowed southward from his brain. “And I don’t think I can stay focused on the kids if I go to bed with you. I think making love with you would be on my mind constantly—” she paused “—if we were to do it.”
“So it’s best if we don’t do it,” he whispered.
She leaned closer as if to hear, and her leaning closer made him lean closer and their lips met again and pressed harder, and then his arms were around her pulling her to him and she moved into him easily and onto his lap.
His hands crept under her shirt and caressed her back and she moaned against his mouth and sucked his tongue greedily.
A sound registered in Rick’s brain at the same time the hot sucking sensation on his tongue ceased. Not a moan this time. A whistled tune in the distance. “Amazing Grace.”
Summer straightened, pulling away from him slightly. “Kenny.” The aggravation in her tone was almost palpable. Her bottom lip protruded in a pout as she slid backward out of Rick’s lap and onto the couch cushion. Then the pout dissolved into laughter.
Rick laughed with her, feeling his upper brain clear with the additional oxygen. “I think I’d better go,” he said, and she nodded.
They held hands as they inched toward the door. When they got there, she pulled him back and stood on tiptoes to slide her arms around his neck.
“We’re adults, and we can do this,” she said.
“Absolutely,” he agreed. Not a chance, he thought.
“And there’s no reason we shouldn’t go ahead and have our time together at night when everyone else is asleep,” she said.
I can think of several reasons, he thought. “No reason.” He shook his head.
“We’ll just have to keep ourselves under control and limit the contact to kissing,” she said.
Big mistake, he thought. “Right. And we can do that.” He kissed her softly. “Good night.”
“Night,” she said, and her voice caught in his ear and swirled around pleasantly.
He headed toward his cabin and the cold shower awaiting him. “This isn’t Camp Sunny Daze,” he muttered to the tree frogs he passed. “It’s hell. Pure hell.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“HONESTLY, TARA, I THINK the urge is getting worse instead of better. I thought, after the first couple of days, it would lighten up. But it’s been a week since we had the talk, and it’s getting to the point that it’s all I think about when I’m not busy.”
A ripple of laughter from Tara echoed around her friend’s bedroom as she continued folding her laundry. Ginny and Charlie were showing the kids a movie in the dining hall—a special treat to kick off the week. It was nice having a couple of free hours in the middle of the day.
“I’m not kidding.” Summer huffed. “The corn dog at lunch nearly sent me over the edge.”
Tara gave a hearty laugh and managed to land a towel over Summer’s head. “So just do it, and get it over with.”
“No, I can’t. We made an agreement, and I don’t want him to think I’m some kind of sex addict.” Summer let out an anguished groan. “I mean, I love being with him for the hour or so we have at night. It’s really romantic. We swim or go for walks in the woods. And we talk...about everything. I’ve learned a lot about him and his family and his career, so I’m not complaining. I just want more time with him. Lots more.”
“You shouldn’t be getting this serious so soon. You may have learned a lot about him,
but you’ve barely scratched the surface. I mean, Louis and I have been together for eight years, and I’m still learning new things about him.” Tara’s voice trailed away on the thought.
“I think that’s a good thing. You don’t want a relationship to go stale.” Summer folded the towel Tara had thrown at her and set it aside. “Have you noticed that look Rick gets in his eyes sometimes? Sort of a sad, faraway look?”
Tara pursed her lips as she thought. “No. Not really. He always seems pretty upbeat to me.”
Summer shrugged. “Maybe it’s just me. I think he worries more than he lets on. His best friend’s dog tags tattooed over his heart? You’ve got to admit that’s pretty heavy.”
“But sweet.” Tara wrinkled her nose and added, “Sweet in an over-the-top manly kind of way.”
“Maybe I’ll get a couple of tattoos.” Summer kept her face serious as she traced a finger across the top of one breast. “Rick—” and then moved to the other “—Warren.”
“Aye!” Tara shuddered, and Summer smiled that her comment had gotten the desired result. Aggravating her older sisters had been a favorite pastime when she was growing up. Being with Tara was kind of like being with them.
A grin tugged at Summer’s lips. “It would be a way to show him I’m taking this seriously.”
“You’re losing it. You need to breathe.” Tara took some exaggerated deep breaths. “C’mon. Take some deep, cleansing breaths.”
Summer did as she was told and started to relax a bit. She lay back on the bed again as Tara’s breathing continued. “Okay, c’mon! Now you’re being creepy. And the heavy breathing is gonna sling me right back into thinking about sex with him. Talk to me about something else.”
Tara obliged and started chatting about details of the pageant the counselors were planning for the last night of camp. “I have my costume ready, and Rick said his mom was mailing his. How about you?”
“I’ve got a fairy princess story I think the boys will enjoy as much as the girls.”
“How are the parties going without you? Is Kate handling things to your satisfaction?”
Summer smiled at Tara’s intuitiveness. Fairy Princess Parties was probably the only subject that could truly pry her thoughts away from Rick for a while. She shared some new activities Kate had added that she was planning on keeping in the rotation permanently.
“See?” Tara smiled. “You haven’t lost your focus. It’s still on the kids.”
“Unless Rick’s around.” Summer sighed and then felt the smile break across her lips unbidden. “Mmm, I love thinking about him.”
Tara cleared her throat. “Today’s field trip should be fun and educational.” She was obviously trying to direct the conversation away from Rick again.
“Yeah? I’ve never been to this place we’re going to today.” Summer didn’t add that a replica of an 1850s farm sounded hideously boring or that the kids were going to hate it. She’d tried to steer Rick away from this particular idea, but he’d remained adamant.
And he was the assistant director.
His title didn’t bother her nearly as much as it used to, though her parents’ preference of him over her still tightened her gut when she thought about it.
She tried not to think about it. Her time would come.
Tara gave a wistful sigh. “I practically grew up in the Land Between the Lakes. All our school field trips were there. I know you think the kids are going to be bored.” Tara had gotten to know her well. She hadn’t made her negative comments about this field trip to anyone except Rick. “But I think they’ll enjoy it. Learning what life was like back then. The chores and all. It’s...entertaining.”
“How do you think people had sex back in those days?” Summer wondered aloud about what Tara said previously about the pioneers. “Those log cabins were tiny, so the kids would’ve been just a few feet away. There wouldn’t have been any privacy, and you know the beds had to creak really bad.”
“I dunno. Maybe they went to the barn?”
“But what if you had hay fever?” Summer paused. “I’ve always thought sneezes and orgasms feel kind of the same. Not literally, but both of them have that buildup, like a bad itch that needs to be scratched, and then when it happens, it’s such a relief—”
“Aaiiee! Would you get a hold of yourself?” Tara drew in a loud breath. “Hey, wait! Maybe that’s not a bad idea. Maybe you should—”
“No!” Summer protested. “I’m saving myself for Rick.” That sent both of them into a fit of laughter. Summer rolled over and looked at the time. “The movie will be over soon, and I want to get my laundry folded, too.”
“I’m going to keep an eye on you when we get to the farm. Stay out of the barn,” Tara warned before Summer got out the door.
With a little time to spare, Summer showered and changed clothes. She’d never sweated through so many changes of clothes before. She folded and put away her laundry. Thank heavens Ginny was willing to wash the staff laundry; otherwise, they’d have to change it to clothing optional for the staff, which wouldn’t be such a bad thing if it involved Rick in the buff.... She mentally rebuked herself for letting her thoughts stray that direction again.
As she crossed the parking lot to move the bus to the loading area, Kenny drove in, pulling his new camper behind him. It was bigger and newer and shinier than the one destroyed in the storm.
Summer waved. “Wow! She’s a beauty, Kenny.”
“Thanks.” Kenny grinned from ear to ear. “The storm turned out to be a good thing, after all.”
Rick would be relieved, too. He would get his cabin to himself again. He hadn’t felt free to go back to his cabin during the day with Kenny trying to sleep, so he’d roamed around a lot—making notes in the file folder he kept with him all the time.
Yesterday, she’d walked in on him measuring the dining hall, and she’d questioned him about it. He answered that her parents were thinking about repainting the floor, which irked her that they’d talked to him about it and not her.
She reminded herself that the folder only contained a bunch of notes, but Rick still seemed almost sheepish every time she found him writing in it. Maybe a little embarrassment over his borderline OCD, and she now wondered if it was OCD or just all the rigid upbringing from his dad. Whatever it was, she wished he’d let his guard down more often.
She’d learned a lot about Rick Warren over the past week, but there was still a whole lot of man to uncover.
That task she would enjoy every minute of.
* * *
FERN WOODROW THREW HER ARMS around Rick’s neck and held on a little too long. “You haven’t called me in way too long,” she whispered.
Rick didn’t have any sisters, but he gave Fern what he hoped was a sisterly pat on the back before he straightened up and broke her hold. He’d been hoping she’d left the job playing the role of the Browns’ daughter at the Old Homeplace, but here she was. And the sweet smile on Summer’s face as she watched the display of affection didn’t match the coolness in her eyes.
“It’s good to see you, Fern,” Rick lied. “And Peggy.” The older woman let M&M take over the churning for a moment while Rick gave her a hug of real affection. “Man, I’ve missed your Dutch oven blackberry cobblers.”
He watched Summer wander out of the log cabin behind a group of girls.
“Well, you need to quit making yourself so scarce,” Peggy chided. “Now, catch me up on what’s going on with you.”
Much as he wanted to follow Summer, Rick felt obligated to chat for a while with his old friends. He covered the past three years of his life—the time since he’d left the park ranger’s job—as succinctly as possible, but by the time he’d finished, Summer had vanished. She could be in any of the sixteen log structures.
The farm was a place where the kids could roam free and spend as much time as they wanted learning about what interested them. So now that he’d spent some time visiting with his old friends and extricating himself from the clutches of Fern W
oodrow, he and Summer could have two hours of free time together. Well, as free as they could be surrounded by thirty people.
But he’d take what he could get.
He tried to decide where she might’ve gone after the kitchen. Toolshed, maybe? She drove a bus, after all. The corn crop looked good, he observed as he walked the edge of the field toward the toolshed. Felix Pratt stopped his saw-sharpening demonstration long enough to shake hands with Rick and welcome him back. Rick felt the sting of another delay stealing precious minutes away from time he could have with Summer.
Some of the girls were going toward the cabin where they could make cornhusk dolls, so he headed that way in hopes of finding her. But just before he stepped through the doorway, he caught the flash of sunlight on her braid, going into the barn. He had to force his legs to a walk rather than the jog they were insisting on.
The doors at both ends of the barn were open, pulling a breeze through that smelled of leather, straw and horse manure.
When his eyes adjusted from the bright sunlight to the shade, he found her, cooing and nuzzling the neck of one of the horses, looking so tiny and delicate standing next to the giant animal. He paused just to take in the sight.
“I’m not sure that’s appropriate behavior with a horse you just met.” He strolled up beside her.
She raised her chin and tilted her head to lean it against the animal’s jaw as she continued scratching its neck. “Well, you certainly seem well acquainted with everyone.”
The horse snorted and bobbed its head.
“You stay out of this,” Rick scolded. “These were my stomping grounds for four years,” he added by way of explanation to Summer’s question.
Her eyes squinted in challenge. “I think you did more than stomp.”
“Fern and I had three dates.” Rick shrugged, hoping that ended it. “There was never anything between us. She just wanted a man.”
“Bless her heart.” Summer’s fingernails found what must have been the perfect spot. The horse stretched out its head, and she scratched harder.
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