Page 56 of Timid (Lark Cove 2)

“Call me if you need anything,” I said as I walked out of the office.

“I will.” She waved, then dove back into the paperwork stacked on her desk. I’d taken care of all the logistics for the bar while she’d been gone, but I’d left her the bills to pay and supplies to order. Thea loved mixing drinks, but she had this weird thing where she got off on paperwork.

Which was fine by me. I hated that shit.

From the bar, I went straight to the camp and into the main lodge. Willa was nowhere to be found. Actually, the entire place was quiet—the campers must be out on an adventure.

I lucked out and found Charlie in the first place I looked: the kitchen.

She was sitting on the table, eating a bowl of trail mix. The faded ball cap I’d given her was on her head. Her knees were dirty and she was swinging her legs back and forth. Her shoulders were turned down and her expression heavy.

It broke my heart to see her sad. Like Thea, she was missing Logan.

“Hey, Chuck.”

Her head whipped up from her bowl, sending her long, brown hair flying to the side. “Uncle Jackson!”

The smile on her beautiful face made my world a brighter place. I rushed for her at the same time she set her bowl aside and hopped off the table, flying across the tiled floor into my arms.

I needed that hug just as much as she did.

I held her tight, hoping to chase some of her sadness away. Over her tiny shoulder, I saw Hazel in the back corner of the kitchen. Willa snuck in from her office door at the back.

I winked at them both, then gave Charlie all of my attention. “Feel like hanging out in your fort for a while?”

“Yeah.” She nodded and stepped out of my embrace. Then she went back for her bowl of snacks, tucking it under her arm and leading me out of the kitchen. “Let’s go.”

I waved to Willa and Hazel, then followed Charlie outside, where we spent the morning exploring the woods. As we collected cool rocks and sticks and brought them into the fort she’d made beneath two evergreens, Charlie told me about her trip to New York. She’d met Logan’s family, her family, and explored the city.

I did my best to lift

her dampened spirits. Because she never failed to brighten mine.

Parked in the gravel lot at the camp later that evening, I popped a piece of gum in my mouth as I waited for Willa to take her on our first date. I was rattling with nerves. My thumb was drumming on the steering wheel in a fast beat and I was sweating even though the AC was cranked.

She hadn’t kissed anyone before me. Had she ever dated? I didn’t want to wreck this for her like I’d ruined her first kiss. I didn’t want to wreck any of her firsts, including her first time with a man if she chose that man to be me.

Maybe if I’d had more experience taking a woman to a nice restaurant, I wouldn’t be so worked up. Maybe the pressure wouldn’t feel so overwhelming. But since I didn’t date often, or ever, this was likely to be the blind leading the blind.

I kept drumming as a group of kids came out of the lodge, and right behind them was Willa. She waved good-bye to a counselor and then started up the trail to the parking lot.

My thumb stopped.

She’d changed since I’d been here earlier. Instead of the simple green dress and cream cardigan she’d been in this morning, she was wearing a—what did women call them?—little black dress.

My pulse spiked as I took her in. Her dress was elegant and sleeveless. It showed just enough skin to be sexy. The way it hugged her hips and molded to her perky breasts showed off subtle curves. The skirt rode down her toned legs nearly to her knees. It wasn’t short, but with its tight fit, it would ride up her thighs as she climbed in my truck.

And if the dress weren’t enough to get my blood pumping, her hair would have done the trick. She’d pinned the top back from her face but left long waves to cascade down her back.

I liked knowing that if I made her blush tonight, she wouldn’t be able to hide it from me in her hair. I also liked knowing that when I kissed her tonight, the pink lipstick she was wearing would smudge.

She was almost to the truck so I made a quick adjustment to my dick and swallowed my gum. Then I took a deep breath and whispered, “Don’t fuck this up.”

For some reason, Willa had picked me. She wanted me for her first kiss and her first date. I didn’t want to be a disappointment tonight.

That would come later.

One day, Willa would realize I wasn’t anything special and I couldn’t give her what she needed. I wasn’t a marriage-and-babies kind of guy, but until then, I’d do my best to make this good for her.