Page 66 of What it Takes
It was such an obvious move to leave them alone, Laney almost laughed out loud. And judging by the way he grinned and shook his head, Ben was aware of it, too.
“I’d kiss you,” he said,“ but I have a feeling we’re being watched.”
If Laney was sure of one thing, it was that they weren’t hiding anything from anybody. “Do you care?”
“No. Do you?”
“Not really.”
He closed the distance between them and kissed her. It didn’t last long, because maybe they did care a little, but the small sound of appreciation he made when his mouth met hers made up for it.
“That definitely makes up for looking at more maps with Josh,” he said, lacing his fingers through hers. “That man loves maps.”
“I noticed you didn’t ride over on your ATV.”
He shrugged. “It’s quiet today. I asked around and most of the lodging establishments around the trail system have vacancies. There’s usually a lull right after a holiday weekend, and it doesn’t take me that long to get back to the station if I need the four-wheeler.”
When he looked at something over her shoulder, she turned to see Josh and Andy walking toward them. “I guess it’s map time.”
“If nothing comes up, you want to go for a walk later? You told me you try to walk every day, so I was hoping to keep you company.”
“Sure.” She squeezed his hand before releasing it.
“Mom, there’s something in the pool!”
“That sounds like Brianna,” she said. “I should go see what’s going on.”
“Holler if you need help,” Josh told her.
She laughed. “I’m sure it won’t be bad. Johnny’s been trying to toss things over the fence since he got here. A personal challenge, I think.”
As she walked away, she heard Josh start talking about the maps in his hand and almost laughed out loud. He really did love his maps. But it made sense. The ATV trail system had changed all of their lives, so the care and maintenance of it was a priority for him.
And in a little while, maybe she and Ben would get to walk one of those trails. They’d have some peace and quiet and—most importantly—privacy. He owed her a much more thorough hello kiss.
Sean
“Who does this belong to?” Sean held up a T-shirt that had been draped over one of the support arms for the RV’s awning.
Emma stared at it for a few seconds before shrugging. “It’s a man’s Red Sox T-shirt, Sean. I think youallhave that one.”
“So it’s mine?”
“I don’t know. Take it and when we’re home and all the laundry’s done, if you have two, you owe somebody an apology. And a T-shirt.”
“Next year we need to write our names on everything with a laundry marker or masking tape, like we’re going to summer camp.”
“Or maybe you could all learn to pick up after yourselves instead of leaving your clothes wherever you happen to take them off.” She pulled a marshmallow out of a chair’s cup holder, grimacing. “I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and guess this is Johnny’s.”
“Did we really bring this much stuff with us?” It didn’t seem possible, even though he and Russell had moved the original pile from the lawn to the RV. “It’ll be nice when Johnny’s a teenager and all he needs is a phone and a charger cord.”
“Do those pirate ships come with outlets?”
He laughed, and then looked over to where Johnny was playing with his trucks. He was sharing with Gabe, while Lily and Brianna pretended to sing karaoke with plastic microphones. Brian and Bobby had been assigned the task of going through all the four-wheelers and making sure no food or damp clothing had been left in the cargo boxes and bags. In the summer heat, that could lead to finding nasty surprises when they finally got around to cleaning them out at home.
“Do you think Gram and Russell will house-sit and lend us their RV again next summer, or should we think about buying our own?” he asked.
Emma laughed. “We haven’t even left yet and you’re thinking about next year?”
