Page 51 of If the Summer Lasted Forever
“You did? From where?”
“The rock and mineral shop in town, like you suggested the other day,” Hunter says, coming down the steps behind his brother, looking about as chipper as always.
Caleb scowls at him. “It’s my story.”
Hunter rolls his eyes, sits at the picnic table, and pulls out his phone.
“Landon broke it open earlier,” Caleb continues, turning back to me. “Do you want to see it?”
I nod, and he scurries back into the camper, off to retrieve his treasure.
“Is he over his gold fascination?” I ask Landon quietly.
He shakes his head. “No. He talked to the man at the shop for thirty minutes about the history of mining in the area.”
Colorado is perhaps known more for its silver and uranium than gold, but we had a short rush of our own in the eighteen hundreds.
“Are the ribs done?” Mrs. Tillman asks her husband as she places the bowls in the middle of the picnic table. She’s already set it with a brightly striped tablecloth and lit several jar candles. In the middle of the table, there’s a bowl of hot pink flowers, something she must have planted since they’re going to be here all summer.
The Tillmans are better at this camping thing than most.
“Yep, we’re ready to eat,” Landon’s dad confirms.
You don’t have to tell the younger boys twice. Caleb and Hunter leap in, though Landon holds back with me. After we fill our plates, we sit in camp chairs scattered around the site. It’s all very casual, and it sets me at ease—even if Landon is right next to me.
But no matter how many times I tell myself this isn’t real, I catch myself feeling like maybe it is. That’s crazy though. I’d know if something had shifted between us…
Wouldn’t I?
“Can I bring out the cake?” McKenna asks her mom after the last of the leftovers have been spirited away.
“Yes, but be careful,” Mrs. Tillman instructs.
Nodding solemnly, McKenna walks into the camper. Several moments later, she appears at the door with a gorgeous cake precariously teetering in her hands. She pauses at the top of the stairs, frowning in concentration.
“Don’t trip,” Mr. Tillman says.
She’s just coming down the last step when Candy spots a dog walking with his owners on the road. The little cotton puffruns in front of McKenna, tripping the girl with her sparkly pink leash. McKenna tumbles forward, shrieking.
Landon leaps up, grabbing McKenna before she can fall face first on the ground, and he ends up with a shirt-full of chocolate cherry cake. Everyone is silent for several moments, and then Caleb glares at Candy and loudly proclaims, “Stupid mutt!”
“Caleb,” Mrs. Tillman reprimands, standing to relieve McKenna of the empty plate. McKenna’s lower jaw trembles as she surveys the mess.
“Don’t cry,” her mom says, though she looks as heartbroken about the loss of perfectly good chocolate as the next person. “It was just an accident. No one’s mad at you.”
Hunter watches silently, looking conflicted. It’s obvious he’s amused that his older brother got caked…but at the same time, he’s irked that now there’s no cake. It’s quite a predicament. I’m not sure which emotion is winning.
Mrs. Tillman turns to Landon and frowns. “We’ll take your shirt to the laundry room when it opens in the morning.”
I eye the fudge chocolate and thick cherry pie filling as it goops down the front of Landon’s stomach.
“You can use our washer,” I volunteer.
Landon turns to me, and I get a full view of the mess. A jagged piece of cake falls to his feet, followed by a gob of frosting. I try not to laugh…but I fail.
He cracks a smile, and soon we’re all laughing to the point that our stomachs hurt, and we can’t breathe.
“Come on,” I tell Landon once I catch my breath, motioning for him to follow me.
