Page 3

Gavin

W yatt was so overwhelmed. His green eyes had been wide with worry, and he’d clutched his backpack close since he’d left his car.

He’d over packed by at least one whole suitcase.

But I’d read his file, and he’d never camped before, never really did anything outside, and wanted to change that.

“The chest at the foot of the bed is for any nonperishable food you may have brought. Also, as you can see, we like to keep things rough. There’s a small closet for each camper over there, and a hook to hang your laundry bag on. ”

“Can I do laundry while I’m here?” he asked and sounded so unsure of the whole idea of staying here.

“Yes, we have facilities and you’re welcome to use them whenever you need to.

Just remember they’re for all the campers, so you might need to wait for a machine,” I said, and he cringed before clearing his throat.

“Why don’t you get changed, and you can help us out until the others arrive?

” He chewed his lip as he considered it before finally nodding his head.

“Wyatt, you can help me in the mess hall. We need to set up the tables,” Dad said, and I was at least as thankful for that as Wyatt seemed to be.

“Sounds good. I’m going to go finish in the boat shed, then I’ll be checking out the other cabins,” I said before hurrying outside.

Wyatt was early, and it was obvious it wasn’t because he was anxious to be here. I really hoped we managed to change his mind and when he left Camp Acorn, he loved the outdoors.

The morning turned into early afternoon, and more and more campers arrived, each of them looking nearly as unsure as Wyatt, but Dad worked his magic and after we checked them in, he made sure they had a task to keep them busy until finally it was time for lunch.

“Come and get it!” Jimmy yelled from the front of the mess hall.

Even though I couldn’t see him from where I was currently raking up some fallen branches, the sound of him clanging the dinner bell caught my attention.

Everyone made their way toward the noise and, for the first time today, they were all in the same place at the same time.

“We’re keeping it simple since it’s the first day.

Sandwiches, chips, and fruit for everyone.

There are plenty to choose from and be sure to grab a drink too.

” He stood at the sandwich section and helped everyone choose what they wanted.

I took a seat at the back table, guessing that would be where Wyatt would choose to sit, and when he walked that way and saw me, he stopped and looked at the other tables.

“Wyatt, have a seat,” I said and pushed out the chair across from me with my foot.

He glanced around once more before slowly walking to the table and setting down his tray.

“Are you sure you don’t mind? I can sit somewhere else.”

“Not at all,” I said before taking a bite of my sandwich and attempting to speak around the food in my mouth. “So, tell me, what do you do back in Sacramento?” I’d read his application so I already knew what his job was, but I hoped that talking would relax him a little.

He sat and, after wiggling around in the seat for a moment, he unwrapped his sandwich and gave it a good look. “I work customer service for a credit card company,” he said before taking the tomato and pickles off his turkey sandwich.

My brows shot up as I imagined the hell that must be, but I cleared my throat and got control of my reaction before he noticed. “How do you like it?” I asked, leaving it to him to tell me without me injecting my personal opinions on him.

“Oh, I hate it. People are dicks,” he said before finally taking a small bite and making me bark out a laugh that startled him.

“Sorry, it’s just I didn’t want to say that, but anytime I’ve had to talk to a credit card company, it’s never a pleasant experience for either of us.” He smiled then, and my god, the way his eyes lit up.

“Most people only call if they find a mistake on their statement, or in a panic over losing their card. My favorite though, is when they pay late and get charged a fee and say they’ve never paid late before. Usually they’re repeat offenders,” he said with another nibble at a potato chip.

“I had to do that last month because even though I had auto-pay setup, it didn’t go through. Still not sure how that happened,” I said and reminded myself to set a reminder on my phone for the day before to make sure it didn’t happen again.

“Most of them had a programming glitch with auto-pay software. It was widespread, but they kept it out of the media.”

“Son of a—I knew something must have happened on their end. They tried to blame it on me at first, but I’ve always had it setup. Then they tried to blame my bank, but nothing had changed on their end.”

“You can call me directly next time. I mean, if it’s the same company.”

“Sounds like it is. I promise I won’t yell,” I said, making him grin again. “Now tell me, have you ever gone on a hike?”

“Not really. I’ve walked on the bike trail, but nothing that was off the trail.”

I suspected he meant the American River bike trail, a popular paved trail that ran along the river from Folsom to Sacramento.

“Well, don’t worry, everyone in the group is at the same level.

Most of them are from the Sacramento area, but some are from Reno and even Tahoe,” I said.

He blew out a deep breath and relaxed a little.

“Oh good. Even though it says it’s a camp for people who have never camped, I was afraid there would be someone who knew how to do everything and made it harder for those that don’t.” His eyes met mine then, as though he was waiting to see if I’d allow that to happen.

“No, we would never do that. We want you to have fun and learn to enjoy camping without feeling like it’s a competition or we’re trying to make anyone look bad.”

“How old were you the first time you camped?” he asked, his food all but forgotten.

“Well, I don’t remember it, so I must have been young. Mom and Dad used to backpack a lot and take me with them. They loved camping on the coast and deep in the forest with no one else around.” He shivered as I spoke, and I patted his arm. “Are you cold?”

“No, just imagining hiking into the middle of nowhere and staying the night there. Are you ever afraid of animal attacks?”

“Not really, but when you’re out there, you’ll want to make sure they know you’re around.

It’s not a time to be quiet.” His eyes widened, and he nodded before again taking a small bite of his sandwich.

“Don’t worry. You’re going to know how to handle every situation by the time you’re done here.

” I took a bite of my sandwich, and hoped I’d eased some of his fears, but his nervous glances over my shoulder at the mountains didn’t make me confident I had.