Page 49

Jenni and I laugh. “Where does he come up with this stuff?” Jenni says, shaking her head.
I crouch in the dirt with Hayden near the fire ring and teach him how to arrange the sticks in a formation that’s conducive to keeping a flame alive. “There you go,” I say once it’s caught fire. “You’re officially a camper now.”
“Almost.” Jenni crouches beside us. “We have to see if he can make it through the night.”
“Are you sure you can stay out here all night?” I ask Hayden. “It can get pretty scary out here when it’s all dark and Gordon the Ghoul is wandering about.”
“Who’s Gordon the Ghoul?” Hayden asks, settling onto one of the logs around the campfire.
“You’ve never heard of him?” I lean closer to Hayden. “You know, Jenni here is terrified of him,” I stage whisper.
“You’re going to frighten the boy with those spooky stories,” Jenni scolds.
“I’m not scared.” Hayden puffs his chest out, all bravado. “I want to hear about Gordon.”
Jenni brings over a package of hotdogs and a couple of roasting sticks, the kind that retract to get really small and easily transportable. She extends them and stabs a hotdog onto one before handing it to Hayden.
“Did you know there was once gold discovered in these mountains?” I ask.
Hayden’s eyes get huge. “Is that how you guys got so rich?”
I chuckle. “No. My family never discovered any, but one of Jenni’s ancestors did back in the early 1800s in a nearby town in Georgia called Dahlonega. And so did Gordon.”
Jenni hands me a roasting stick with a hotdog perched on the end, and I poke it into the flames, with her doing the same from her end of the fire.
“What happened to him?” Hayden asks.
“Well, he wasn’t the smartest guy. Gordon went around town yelling that he found gold. Some of the men who didn’t find any gold snuck into his house while he was sleeping and stole all of his gold. And to this day, they say that Gordon haunts these woods, angry about his stolen gold.”
“Did Jenni’s family steal the gold?” Hayden whispers to me.
I shake my head. “No, it turns out it was his brother. Jenni’s ancestors found their gold fair and square.”
“How did he find out it was his brother?”
“All of a sudden, he had all this money. He dressed in the best clothes and spent all the money on …” I was going to say on gambling and women, but Hayden doesn’t need the less kid friendly parts of the story. “Well, let’s just say he wasted away all the money. And Gordon has been furious about it ever since. A few people have seen Gordon hanging around these woods. Legend says that he haunts Jenni’s family because he’s jealous that they got all the money.”
Jenni waves a hand dismissively. “That’s not true. Don’t listen to him, Hayden.”
“She’s in denial. Either that or she doesn’t want to admit how scared she really is inside.” I look over to Hayden, who seems to be hanging on my every word. “Did you know that we spooked her one time when we were kids out here camping? Jenni was so scared she peed her pants.”
“I did not!” Jenni scowls at me. “Don’t listen to anything he’s saying, Hayden. He’s just full of nonsense.”
Hayden grins and leans over to me and whispers, “I think we should prank her tonight.”
“I like how you think,” I whisper back to him.
“It would be really funny if she peed her pants again.”
“What are you two talking about over there?” Jenni eyes us with suspicion.
“Oh, nothing,” Hayden says innocently. “Dad was just telling me a little more about Gordon the Ghoul.” Even in the darkness, I can see his dimples popping as he smiles at Jenni, like he’s not up to anything at all.
This kid is definitely my son. He even knows to team up with me against Jenni.
After eating hotdogs and s’mores, it’s time to roll out our sleeping bags and hit the hay.
Jenni goes into her tent, but then re-emerges in pink fuzzy pajama pants with hearts all over them and a pink-and-black hoodie. Usually, Jenni is polished with every hair in place. Even when she’s riding, she has her hair pulled back neatly. It’s nice to see her a bit more casual. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her in pajamas. Jenni brushes her teeth and rinses her mouth with a drink from a water bottle.