He chuckled at her quick wit—another plus in the long list of things he found adorable about her.
A recent tan line that outlined the modest swimsuit she wore at camp gave way to lighter areas that denoted a bikini. But nowhere was there an area that didn’t have at least some tan.
“You sunbathe in the nude?” His finger traced a lazy, meandering path from the base of her neck between her breasts and down to her navel.
She gave him one of her mischievous grins. “Every chance I get. Which used to be pretty often with Mom and Dad traveling so much. I visited my sister in Florida last month. She has a very private patio.”
He brushed the back of his finger across her deeply tanned and toned thighs. Her weight shifted forward to press against him, and the temptation almost proved to be too much as he felt himself stiffen. He thumped her playfully on her stomach like he was testing a watermelon.
“Turn around, soldier,” he growled. “This inspection’s not finished yet.”
Summer stuck her hip out in an exaggerated sway and undulated her body around in a belly-dancing move until she faced away from him.
She’d given out two more wands the night before, so her hair was still in fairy princess mode. Golden waves splayed down her back in a disheveled mass that gave her an intoxicatingly sensuous look. Rick couldn’t resist combing his fingers through the enticing tangles, noticing the way the sunlight picked up the natural highlights, which separated into myriad colors.
The wild cascade ended just above the small of her back. He let his fingers trail out through the ends and follow the dip in her spine to the crease between the cheeks of the perkiest, most perfectly formed ass he’d ever had the pleasure of knowing. The brown luster of the mounds looked like a pair of buns toasted to delicious perfection and made his mouth water. He leaned forward and nipped the fleshiest part, which brought a surprised yelp.
Summer swung around and popped him on the head with her palm, then tried to scamper away, but he proved faster. Seizing her around the waist, he pulled her between his legs, and began planting loud raspberries across her belly, ignoring her squeals of protest.
Laughter shook her until she finally collapsed onto his lap. “I surrender.”
Their smiling gazes locked, and Rick felt his desire for her make a slow burn through him. Not just the desire for sex, although that was part of it. It was a desire to take possession of this woman, body and soul. Her mouth lowered to his and he could swear he felt the surrender of it all in her kiss.
She straightened, pulling her face back a few inches. “Do you regret this, Rick? Making love was my idea. Do you have any regrets about it?” She searched his eyes for an answer.
He thought about it for a moment, wanting to be as honest as possible. “Yeah. There’s one.” Clouds gathered in her eyes at his words. “We met almost two months ago, and we didn’t make love until last week. I regret all that wasted time.”
He’d never been more truthful, and honesty had never felt so good...especially when Summer rewarded him by inviting him to join her in the shower.
* * *
SUMMER DECIDED NOT TO EVER distrust her instincts again. Making love with Rick had filed the edge off and smoothed her into a new woman. On one hand, she felt relaxed and laid-back. On the other, she had energy to burn and felt as though she could take on the world with her bare hands. The bubble she carried inside made her float through her days knowing she would end them in Rick’s arms.
Normally, the current midafternoon activity would have catapulted her into zombie mode, but not even the boring fossil hunt could sap her giddiness.
“Yep, another crinoid stem.” She nodded and repeated the words for the seventeenth time...but who was counting?
The recent storm had eroded a huge portion of the bank along the pebble beach surrounding the cove, so Rick came up with an idea to combine some geology and paleontology by having a fossil dig.
Neil ran with the idea and had arranged for a professor from nearby Murray State University to come and talk to the kids and demonstrate the proper procedures to follow during an archaeological excavation. He explained to them the different eras of Earth’s history and how fossils were formed.
Of course, Howie asked question after question about the dinosaurs that roamed this region, but the professor, Dr. Shelton, showed a great deal of understanding and patience for the kid’s high-octane energy. Howie just seemed to be one of those kids people responded to.
Summer was pleased with the improvement in his attitude toward females since they’d made the groups coed. She’d even heard a couple of the girls arguing about who he liked the best. She imagined how charming he would be in a few years. It would be difficult not to love him...the little twerp.
So she reminded herself it was his enthusiasm that had him heading toward her once again, lugging another big rock. A couple of groups down, she saw Rick smile and shake his head as he watched the kid carrying the huge rock in her direction. It ran through Summer’s mind that putting Howie in her group for this activity had been by design rather than the random way it appeared.
“I think I found something cool, Ms. Summer. Look at this.” Roughly the size and shape of a partially deflated football, it took both hands for Howie to hold the rock up for her inspection.
Summer glanced down, expecting more of the same-old-same-old, but what she saw made her do a double take. Ridges. One side of the rock was flat but cut by a series of ridges separated by shallow grooves. It was unlike anything she’d ever seen in nature, though it did look kind of like the sole of a running shoe. She ran her fingers across the pattern, her quickening pulse convincing her Howie had found a treasure.
“Howie, I think you’re right.” Her voice shook with excitement. “You need to show this to Dr. Shelton.” She scanned the bank until she found the professor swishing one of the large screen sieves in the water.
“Dr. Shelton,” she yelled, and he looked up at the sound of his name. She pointed to the rock, which Howie now held proudly over his head. “I think we have something here.”
Even from a distance, she could see the spark of recognition on the professor’s face as he tossed the sieve onto the gravel and broke into a meaningful jog.
The beach came alive with the scurry of children and adults alike, running from all directions toward Howie and his treasure.
* * *
“A MAMMOTH MOLAR. Who would’ve thought?” Rick repeated the words on everybody’s lips since Howie’s find that afternoon.
“How much do you think something like that’s worth?” Tara leaned on her hand, looking sleepy, which Summer couldn’t imagine with all the excitement surrounding them right then.
Neil shrugged and took his glasses off to clean them with the hem of his shirt. “Dr. Shelton says not as much as you might think.” He expelled a breath on the lenses and rubbed. “You can find them for sale online anytime for a couple hundred dollars. But he says this is a really fine specimen that a collector might pay more for.” He put the glasses back on and used a finger to ram them into place.
“But it could mean a lot more than that to this place.” Summer was too excited to hold back the news.
Rick gave her a quizzical look. “What do you mean?”
“I talked with Dr. Shelton privately for a little while, and he says there’s a possibility a whole mammoth could be buried in the bank down there. He says it’s not that uncommon for a river like the Ohio or the Tennessee to give up a mammoth tooth, but the banks should be checked to see if any ribs have been exposed by erosion. He wants to bring in a team during the week between sessions to do some digging. I’m going to stay here that week, and they’re going to rent out one of the dorms. He said there’d be a team of probably six.”
“Did your parents talk to you about their plans for that week?” Rick’s mouth drew down at the corners.
“No. What plans?” What was he talking about?
“Um...” He hesitated a moment. “I suggested to
them that we use the week to spruce things up around here. Paint the buildings. Put in some flower beds. Your dad called this morning and said he was all for it.”
A flash of annoyance ran through her. Her dad had called Rick about it—not her. “That’s the first I’ve heard about any of that.”
“I’m sorry. I was going to talk to you about it tonight. But I assumed your parents or Charlie had already said something. ...”
“Nobody told me anything.” The admission clogged her throat. Her parents still saw Rick as the one to turn to.
“Dr. Shelton’s team can still come.” Rick’s placating tone was meant to sooth her fractured ego, but it only made things worse because it was like he was giving his permission. “Neither of the projects should hinder the other,” he said. “I don’t see any problem—”
“The problem is nobody told me anything.”
“Well, it was my idea, so naturally they called me. ...”
“Naturally. And I’m not important enough to be brought into the loop, naturally. So Charlie knows, too?”
“Yeah. He told me at lunch that he and Ginny were going to stay through that week, too, to help.”
A frustrated sigh exploded from Summer’s chest.
“Don’t get all huffy about this, Summer. Charlie’s the director, and I’m—”
“The assistant director.” Her frustration was quickly giving way to indignation and anger. “How could I have forgotten they picked you over me? I’m just their daughter, so it’s not like I have any investment in the place.” Looking around, she noticed that Tara and Neil were on their way back to the dorms. She gathered her things and headed toward her cabin, Rick following quickly on her heels.
“Summer, don’t be like this.”
Aggravation tinged his voice, and she wheeled around on him, letting her own aggravation fly. “Like what, Rick? Say it.”
“Don’t pout. You’re acting like a child.”
She ground her teeth at his words. “I’m not acting like a child. I’m acting like a woman who’s insulted that she’s considered to be no more important in the administration of this camp than any of the kids who are attending.”
Rick reached out to take her hand, but she jerked it from his grasp and hurried on toward her cabin.
“Furthermore, as a grown woman, I’m perfectly capable of being by myself.” Her insides churned hot, and she needed time to cool down. “And that’s precisely what I intend to do tonight. Good night, Rick.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Summer.”
She stepped onto her porch without a backward glance. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
His disgruntled huff followed her into the cabin and stayed with her long into the night as she thought about her situation.
People had to start taking her seriously. She had to prove to her parents—and yes, to Rick—that she was capable of making good decisions.
Charlie was retiring soon and Rick wouldn’t be available past this summer. Her chance to take over the camp was coming soon. She had to show everyone she was capable of running this place—that taking it over wouldn’t be biting off more than she could chew.
Hell, she had a mammoth molar to help with the task!
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
RICK WOKE AT HIS USUAL FIVE o’clock, and because he had no reason not to, he went for a run and hoped the morning air would clear the fog in his head. The Summer Delaney–induced fog.
Last night during the staff meeting, he’d forgotten all about telling the group about today’s special event. That had never happened before.
He’d always considered himself levelheaded and rational. Hell, in Afghanistan he was the one who volunteered for dangerous missions because not many things fazed him enough to muddle his thoughts. When Dunk got hit, and while enemy bullets whizzed over his head, that head stayed clear and focused.
Then along came a slip of a woman dressed like a fairy princess, who, in three weeks’ time, had him forgetting important things, questioning things he knew and regretting actions he’d taken. Even when his head told him he was right, his heart wasn’t so sure.
The Delaneys hired him as assistant director. They had put their faith and trust in him that he would make the best decisions. Next year, maybe Summer would get her chance. He hoped she would, and he would recommend her without hesitation. But this year, they were counting on him. It was his reputation on the line, and he wouldn’t disappoint.
Honor. Courage. Commitment...Semper fi.
Surely, Summer understood that. They’d gotten to know each other well enough for her to understand he would give this place his all.
He ran faster, trying to rid his body of the restlessness he’d put up with all night. Restlessness because Summer hadn’t been beside him. The small granite star thumped against his chest as he ran. He’d never really noticed its presence before, yet today it felt heavy.
Maybe during the second camp session, they could share assistant director duties.
It wasn’t much, but it was the best he could come up with until his brain cleared from the Summer fog.
He broke out of the woods at full speed and detoured from his usual route to beat a path around her cabin, hoping he’d find her stirring, and they could talk.
He slowed. No sign of life yet, damn it. He veered toward the lake to finish up with some laps and his homage to morning and Dunk, hoping the plunge into the cool water would shock his system and clear his head.
* * *
PROPPED AGAINST the pillows, Summer watched Rick run by her window. She’d missed him last night.
But the loss of sleep had been worth the amazing idea she’d come up with—a way to become an active part of the administration of the group, even if she didn’t hold the assistant director’s title. Around two o’clock in the morning, she’d shot off an email to the Paducah Sun newspaper, relating the news of a mammoth molar being found by one of the campers. The story would surely be picked up, which would translate into free advertising. Not even her parents could poo-poo that.
Her clock read five-thirty...the time she usually left Rick’s cabin. She went ahead and got up, hoping that tomorrow her schedule would return to the normal she’d grown accustomed to the past week.
Thirty minutes later, she was about to leave her cabin when her computer pinged that she had a message.
Received your email about the molar tooth. Leaving tomorrow for two weeks off, but would like to run a story in tomorrow’s paper. Am available at 2:00 today. Can we make that work? Cal Perry.
That would be during quiet time. She’d be free. The kids would be free.
“Oo-rah!” She pumped the air with her fist before she typed her answer.
Two o’clock will be perfect. See you then! Summer Delaney.
She hit Send and gave herself a congratulatory hug.
* * *
“BUT SID’S COMING IN and opening the planetarium just for us. He was nice enough to work us into his busy schedule, and I’m not going to call him at this late hour and change it.”
Summer’s chin came up in that stubborn gesture Rick had learned to recognize. “And this is our only chance to get this story while the kids are still here. He’s going to be gone for two weeks, Rick. We’re talking about free advertising here.” She slapped the backs of her fingers against the other palm to emphasize her point.
Rick reminded himself to be supportive. “It’s a great idea.” Neil and Tara had the kids lined up by the dining hall for breakfast. He waved at them to go ahead. “It’s just coming at a bad time.”
“If I’d known you had the field trip planned, I would’ve tried to schedule it for this morning. But as it is...”
“As it is...” Rick wiped his hand down his face. “The kids won’t have any time after the star show to explore the exhibits, and that’s a shame because they’re very interesting.”
Summer snorted. “I’m sure the kids will be more than ready to leave by the time we have to go.”
Her sarcasm a
bout his educational activities unleashed Rick’s irritation. “You should’ve checked with me or Charlie first,” he snapped. “You’re not in charge here. We are.”
Summer’s face blazed red. “And you won’t ever let me forget that, will you?” She stomped away toward the dining hall.
Rick headed back to his cabin to get his measuring tape. Charlie had told him he could measure the square footage of his and Ginny’s apartment today. Might as well do that now since his appetite was nowhere to be found.
* * *
AS HER PARENTS’ OFFICIAL representative of the camp—her dad wasn’t feeling well, which bothered her more than a little—Summer forced herself to smile throughout the interview and photo session with the young reporter from the newspaper. Cal Perry seemed as interested in flirting with her as he was in gathering facts about Howie’s story. In fact, after finishing up with the mammoth molar, he’d announced he’d like to stick around and do a story on the camp itself, spending the better part of the afternoon.
This was the opportunity Summer had dreamed of, literally, and she made the most of it. Ginny had spent the morning calling parents and getting permission for their children’s photos to appear in the newspaper. Mary Margaret’s mother had been a hard sell, but had finally acquiesced.
Summer divided the kids into small groups and sent each group out with an adult. Cal had the opportunity to photograph them practicing archery, canoeing, swimming, geocaching, hiking and cooking. Then they all ended together with a hike to the Byassee place.
During the entire afternoon, Rick kept his distance, and Summer missed his presence by her side. Despite their differences in opinion, she wanted to straighten things out with him as soon as possible. She hated the anger hanging between them.
“The kids have been telling me about this fairy princess philosophy of yours.” Cal was standing beside her again with his pad open. “I think it would make a great angle for the story.”
The Summer Place Page 19
