Page 48 of Own the Eights Gets Married
“We had a slight mishap a few years ago. We lost a couple of boot campers,” Syd replied, a little too calmly for admitting they’d lost actual people in the wilderness.
Sweet Jesus!
“You lost them?” Georgie whispered in that same panicked tone.
“Only for four days,” the woman replied with a nonchalant wave of her hand.
“We told them not to wander off,” Buck mumbled, opening the gate.
“If you do find yourself in danger, press the button. Thanks to a court order, we’ll get you in a jiffy. Now, let’s get to camp,” Syd said, gesturing for them to follow her as the lantern lit her leathery features.
Jordan fell into step next to Georgie, allowing Syd to stay a few paces ahead of them while Buck disappeared with the car keys.
“What have we gotten ourselves into?” Georgie asked under her breath.
“It’s probably for show. You know, to make hipsters and city people feel like they’re roughing it,” he replied, hoping that was the case.
“I don’t know the first thing about camping, Jordan. I spent most of my childhood parading around on stage in full makeup and five-inch heels. Do you know anything about wilderness survival? Were you a boy scout?”
He shook his head. “No, I spent my childhood hiding from bullies and reading comics in the library.”
Georgie lifted her chin. “We’re two capable adults. We advise people on all kinds of things. We should be able to figure it out. And, last week, we watched that nature documentary,” she added with a hopeful lilt.
“Georgie, that nature show was on dolphins, and after five minutes, you fell asleep.”
“Shoot! That’s right,” she whispered as his stomach growled.
He’d figured they were going to some fancy boot camp with a Paleo menu and organic produce that would make Georgie swoon.
“Syd, what’s on the menu for dinner?” he called to the bobbing lantern light in the distance.
“Perfect timing! We’re at the snack shack,” she answered as they came upon a small shed.
The wilderness woman unlocked the door. With a clank and thud, she grabbed some items and threw them into a sack.
“A pound of deer jerky, six cans of beef stew, a gallon of water, and, for a real treat, some canned pineapple,” she replied.
Georgie made a sound between a yelp and a gag.
“That’s dinner?” he sputtered.
She handed him the burlap sack. “Yep, these are your rations, and you can always get more water from the well.”
Beef stew, deer jerky, and canned pineapple? This wasn’t dinner. It was a recipe for constipation.
“That’s it?” Georgie asked.
“If you trap a rabbit, we can cook it up, too. And don’t forget to lock up your food in the bear canister. You’ll find it next to where we’ve got you making camp. We haven’t seen bears in these parts for years, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry in the backcountry.”
A bear canister!
Syd locked the shed, and they continued walking.
“Don’t worry. I’ve got us covered. Just keep that pineapple away from me,” Georgie whispered.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“I’ve got a tube of vegan cookie dough in my bag. I wrapped it in an ice pack.”
