Page 72 of Camp Bliss
I gulp. “O-Okay…” I stare at him for a minute. Why does he look so mad? I mean, Zach always looks sort of mad, but right now it looks like he means it. “Did I offend you?”
“What?”
Okay, now he looks madandconfused.
“Offend me? No. No.” Zach shakes his head, adding frustration to his emotional palette. “I don’t want you doing my chores.”
Calmly, I raise a hand in a placating gesture. “Fine. I won’t do your laundry.” Relief eases his features, but I’m not finished. “What can I do, then?”
Zach rolls his eyes, but he’s fighting not to smile. “You don’t have to do anything.”
Not good enough. “I want to—”
“Fine. Come fishing with me.”
Now I’m the one who’s confused. “Fishing?” How is that helping him? How is that supporting him? How is that lightening his load? “I don’t understand.”
Zach presses his lips together like he’s debating what he’ll say next. He gives a little nod like he’s made up his mind. “When was the last time either one of us did anything just for fun?”
My sardonic chuckle is pure reflex.
“Exactly,” he says, wearing a smirk. “We were working nonstop even before Bassett bailed.” The smirk sours with those words. It’s rare these days that Zach even says his first name. Like Josh no longer deserves to be remembered as someone on a first-name basis. Maybe it’s petty of me, but the feeling of solidarity that gives me is like a shot of B-12. “And since then, we’ve only driven harder. I can’t remember the last time either one of us took the day off.”
I snort. “It’s hard to take the day off when youlivewhere you work.”
“Exactly.” His eyes light up. “That’s why I need you to remind us to make time for fun and recreation.”
The wordsI need youcatch me off guard. Like they are written in glitter ink amidst a page of ball point pen.
“M-me?” I stammer because I don’t know what else to say.
Zach smiles. “Yeah. We have two five-star reviews because of you.”
I shake my head as though to dodge the praise. Maybe because it feels dangerously good. “That’s Camp Bliss. Not me.”
One brow peaks. “The place is one thing. But you’ve createdan experience,and that’s what the guests enjoyed.”
Okay. I won’t deny that there’s some truth to what he’s saying. I let that soak in, and—
“You want an experience?” I blurt.
For a moment, Zach looks like I’ve startled him, but then he tilts his head to the side, his expression going thoughtful.
“Yeah. A fun and relaxing experience.” He swallows. “For the both of us.”
My wheels start turning, and my smile grows automatically. “A fishing experience?”
Now Zach is smiling back at me. “Yeah.”
I nod. “Okay. I’ll get everything ready.” I pick up my phone from the countertop and open my weather app. Official sunset is just after seven. I’m mowing today and Zach is contacting suppliers to start on the high ropes course. “Meet me at the dock at six-thirty.”
“I’ll be there.” The smile he’s wearing is one I’ve never seen. New and uncomplicated. It looks good on him.
I pick up my breakfast dishes and ferry them to the sink. I’m about to wish Zach a good day when a thought stops me.
“We’re meeting at the dock at six-thirty, but knock off at three. No work. That goes for both of us.”
That new smile of his only grows. “Deal.”
