Page 68 of Camping with the Boss

“I have this Daddy vibe or something.”

“I’m aware.” My voice is warm, and I can’t help that.

The sounds of rain and thunder infiltrate the room. Outside the window, the skies are clear.

“Jared has a sound machine.”

“I don’t even want to know what they’re doing.” I listen to the sounds of a storm coming from the other room. “When did you realize he was your employee?”

“A few months later. George asked me to sit in with him on a meeting with an employee he was struggling with. It was Tim. I thought he was going to announce it then and there, but he didn’t. Not long after that, I started getting notes slipped into my desk. He was blackmailing me.”

“What did he want? Money?”

“His job problems to go away. He got fired. I asked Ander to handle it. So I wasn’t involved. Then, six months later, he’s suing for discrimination, which is ridiculous. But George somehow lost the documentation.” He pauses just long enough for my brain to spiral.

George. Is that why Ander and Jared were talking to him? Or was that something else?

“I’m so sorry, Can. The thing we have—had is completely different. Please believe me.” The anguish in his voice almost breaks me.

I force myself to say the words I don’t want to say. “I believe you.”

“Thank God.”

“But—it doesn’t change anything. We can’t be together. I won’t be the reason you lose your company.”

Chapter Sixteen

Wade

Friday, June 13th, 7:00 a.m.

I’m groggy. It’s like someone filled my head with oatmeal and I can’t seem to dig my way out.

The musty cabin. The scratchy cover. Chirping birds instead of blaring sirens.

I’m at camp.

Why does my body ache? I feel empty….no, not exactly. That void is filled with sadness and pain.

Then, the day before comes back to me. River. Canyon, angry and hurt. Exhaustion pulls at me, and I sleep fitfully, tortured by dreams of Canyon.

At times, he yells at me and tells me he never wants to see me again. My heart breaks all over again. But this last dream is different. Canyon kissing me and whispering sweet words as I press my nose against his neck. Breathing him in. I feel safe and cared for. Everything I’ve ever wanted. I feel…happy. Complete.

Waking from this dream is harder. The loss hits me all over again. But it’s also familiar. Having your life upended. Everything ripped away in one go.

That day comes back as if it just happened.

“I’m so sorry, boys,” Uncle Frank says, his voice raw from crying as he pulls Ander and me into his arms. “Don’t worry. I’m going to take care of you.”

But he didn’t. Couldn’t.

The thoughts are automatic, and I push them aside, remembering instead the pain in his eyes. At nine, I could barely process anything but my own grief and a need to protect Ander. Now I can see what I missed back then. Uncle Frank lost his brother, and it broke him. Less than a year later, he found Meredith and married her. Was that because he was hurting or because he knew he was sick and wanted a caregiver for us?

Not that it matters anymore. I wipe my eyes. The anger at my uncle I’ve carried around for years evaporates.

No. It’s still there, but now it’s aimed right where it should be. Meredith. She took advantage of a broken man for her own gain.

I blink away the past. I need to focus on the now. Figuring things out with Canyon.

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