Page 40 of The Write Track
“Yup.”
“And what does Hayley say?”
“That it will be within the first three nights of the retreat.”
I snorted. “They are both idiots when they want to be.”
“Hey, that’s my future wife you’re talking about.”
“Maybe so, but they’re both romantic fools. Just because I don’t want to see somebody get hurt, that doesn’t mean I want to get horizontal with her.”
“Fair enough.” Brody held up his hands again in surrender. “I was just checking. We’re all going to be working together to make sure that Preston Martin Charles III doesn’t get what he’s looking for.”
“We need to scare him off from organizing future events too. He’s the reason we all got tricked into something we didn’t technically agree to.”
“I don’t know. I’m kind of looking forward to it. Bree and I plan to have romantic walks on the water and nights by the fire.”
“Gross.” I made a face. “You’re so disgusting now. How did that happen?”
“I have no idea.” His grin made him look ten years younger. “She just brings it out in me.”
“You’re gross. You need to realize that.”
“Oh, I do. Love makes it so you don’t care, though.”
“I’ll have to take your word for it.”
“Maybe for today. Eventually, you’ll see.” Brody grabbed a flannel off the bed. “Now, let’s get you packed so I don’t break out in hives from nerves.”
“Yes, we can’t have that.”
10
TEN
I’d been camping before, of course. My mother was big on excursions that allowed her to dance under a full moon in a flowy dress. There was always alcohol involved in these excursions, for the adults. The kids were put in separate tents, and we played until it got dark. Then our mothers had us put on glow necklaces so they could count heads in the dark, allowing us to keep playing far into the evening.
We would hang out by the fire, cook s’mores, and get sugared up to the point where we were practically feral. Then we ran around until we burned the sugar off and passed out until morning. I was a big fan of breakfast around the fire, bleary-eyed adults putting eggs and hash browns onto our plates. Then we were sent off to play again.
Nothing was better than a good camping trip. This campground was different, however.
“Fancy,” I mused, looking around at the cabins spread out along the water’s edge. The lake was small, but everything came together for a pretty scene—picnic tables near the lake, volleyball nets, a playground for kids, and a variety of tables spread out everywhere in the shade, each making for a nice spot to write. If Igot a chance to write, that is. I was still uncertain how that would all play out.
“It is nice,” Bree agreed. We hadn’t driven together, but she and Brody had pulled in right as I was parking, so we’d come together to check out the campground before grabbing our items. Just in case there were issues. It didn’t look like there would be though. “I’m not one for nature, but this isn’t bad.”
I grinned at her. “You don’t like nature?”
“Not even a little.” She involuntarily shuddered. “You know those post-apoc shows where people are stuck indoors for years or even the entirety of their lives? I would thrive in that environment.”
“You would not,” Hayley said on a snort, walking up behind us. “You and Brody walk several miles a day, and you write outside all the time.”
“That’s a controlled environment, though,” Bree argued.
“You’ve just been watching too muchSilo.” Hayley clucked her tongue. “I know darned well that it’s Brody’s turn to choose your binging show.”
“We might know a little bit too much about one another,” Bree complained.
I laughed—I really did like them—then exhaled heavily. “I like being outside. When I was living in Boston, there were parks and stuff, but it was different than this. Savannah is one of those walkable cities where you always want to be outside.”
