Page 16 of If the Summer Lasted Forever

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The oscillating fan on the counter does little to cool the hot office. After months of cold, fickle spring weather, summer decides to hit with a vengeance.

The bells above the front door chime, and in walk Greg and Hallie.

“How’s the fishing?” I ask Greg.

“It’s great—thanks again for the cabin on the water.”

“No problem.” I set aside the newly printed stack of flyers advertising Saturday’s barbecue. Soon, I need to distribute them throughout the campground. If I have time, I might even go into town and hang them in shop windows. “What can I do for you guys?”

Hallie stands next to Greg, reading the kids’ craft schedule. “You’re panning for gold Saturday?” she asks.

Surprised she’s talking, I turn to her. “Sort of. We’re going to spray rocks with gold paint and hide them in a kiddie pool of sand. The kids will get to ‘pan’ for them, and then they can trade in their gold for little prizes or candy—kind of like the ticket system at arcades.”

I found the idea online and was inspired by Caleb, who’s so obsessed with finding gold. Much to his chagrin, he hasn’t found anything valuable in our landscaping. (He did, however, catch a lizard that entertained him for half a day.)

“That’s fun,” she says. “You put a lot of thought into your activities.”

It’s why we charge “the big bucks,” as Uncle Mark jokes, but I don’t tell Hallie that. Everyone who stays here knows you get what you pay for.

“Thanks. I think they’ll have a good time with it.“

“We’re here for the pool code,” Greg says.

“It’s open from seven to ten,” I tell them as I write down the five-digit number, glancing up when the door opens. Landon walks in but hangs back. He wears a small smile as he waits for me to finish with the Hendricks.

I hand Hallie the number. “If you’re going in the next few hours, I’d be happy to watch Bark for you—I remember you saying he doesn’t like to be alone. Mom’s coming in for office duty shortly, and I was going to walk the campground and hand out flyers.”

“Really?” Hallie asks.

“Sure. He’s welcome to come with me.”

“You guys really are awesome,” Hallie says with a laugh. I think she might finally be opening up. “I’ll bring him by in fifteen minutes. If it’s really all right.”

“Of course.”

Landon waits until they’re out the door before he ambles over, looking entirely too tempting in shorts and a T-shirt that’s just fitted enough to show a hint of muscle—a scrumptious hint.

“Hi, Faux Boyfriend,” I say, teasing him…and reminding myself at the same time.

“Hi to you too, Faux—” He cuts off abruptly as Mom walks into the office.

She calls a greeting back to the Hendricks as she enters.

“Hey, Landon,” she says, a big smile stretching across her face. Her hair is still down for the day—surprising considering how hot it is. “What are you guys up to this afternoon?”

I hold up my new stack of flyers. “The Hendricks are going to bring Bark by, and we’re going to walk around the sites to hand these out.”

“But I said you could have the afternoon off.” Mom frowns in the way that makes me feel bad for being too productive—which is weird.

“It’s just walking—not exactly hard work,” I point out.

Mom takes a flyer, and her eyebrows jump with surprise. “These are awesome. Did you make them?”

“Landon designed them,” I say, flashing him a smirk. “I ate ice cream.”

Mom turns toward Landon and beams. “At least you can get her to take time off.”

“I do my best,” he says.

Does he ever.

She digs into her pocket and tries to hand several twenties to Landon. “Thank you for the design.”

He steps back, refusing to take the money. “It was nothing.”

“Use it to take my daughter out. Drive into the city and catch a movie or something.”

Watching with wry amusement, I cross my arms. “Are you actually paying a guy to take me on a date? Thanks, Mom.”

She grins and waves the bills at Landon, not about to back down. Apparently coming to the correct conclusion that she’s more stubborn than he is, Landon gives in and accepts the money, solemnly promising it will be spent on me very soon.

Hallie shows up with Bark just as Landon pockets the bills. The Greyhound trots on his lead, right by Hallie’s side, and plops his rump down the moment she stops.

“Are you sure he won’t be any trouble?” Hallie asks, dressed in a swimsuit and flip-flops, with a beach towel wrapped around her middle. “He can be rambunctious.”

Bark stares at me, the picture of manners.

“Positive,” I assure her.

She thanks me again—many times. Before she leaves, she turns back. “Oh, watch out. He likes squirrels.”

Thinking she’s joking, I laugh.

Hallie widens her eyes and shakes her head. “No. He really likes squirrels.”

“I’ll be careful,” I swear.

Before she leaves, she kneels in front of Bark and tells him to be good. The dog wags his skinny tail.

“Good boy,” she kisses his head, apparently as attached to him as McKenna is Candy, and finally walks out the door.

“Whatever you do, don’t lose that dog,” Mom jokes as she sits at the desk, ready to do her time. I almost remind her to check my laminated chart before she assigns any sites, but I hold my tongue.

“We’ll be fine.” I look down. “Won’t we, Bark?”

He watches me with his adoring, liquid brown eyes.

“See?”

Landon offers to take the flyers, and he follows me out the door. Bark trots with us, perfect as can be.

“That dog is putting Candy and George to shame,” Landon jokes.

“He is really good, isn’t he?” I ask, and then I give Landon a nudge. “So, are you going to keep me company while I hand these out?”

Landon slides his arm through mine, tugging me close to his side. “We have appearances to keep up, don’t we?”

I tell myself that’s the candy-coated part of the already sweet deal. I get all the perks of dating Landon without any of the heartbreak. I just have to deny my heart is getting tangled up to believe it.

“I see you have your camera,” I say when he pulls the device from his pocket and begins recording. I’ve seen his parents with a bigger one, one with a fluffy audio accessory and larger lenses. Landon seems partial to simplicity.

He focuses it on me. “Never leave home without it.”

I’m growing used to its constant presence.

“Tell me, Lacey, what are we doing today?” he asks in an exaggerated voice.

“Well, Landon , we’re going to hand out flyers for the barbecue.”

“And who is walking with us?”

I smile, loving the lighthearted way he handles his videos. Sometimes he’s a bit over-the-top—but in a completely endearing way. No wonder the family has so many subscribers. “This is Bark.”

He films as we walk, switching to a natural, conversation mode for his viewers. We make our way through the campground, handing out flyers and chatting with people. The retirees like to talk in particular—especially to the camera.

Some of them have been coming to the campground every summer for as long as I can remember.

They dole out hugs when they first see me and tell me how “grown-up” I look.

Then they focus on Landon’s camera, detailing every stop they’ve made from the moment they pulled out of our campground at the end of last summer to the day they returned.

Not only does Landon not mind, but he nods as they talk, giving them his full attention.

I’m standing here, most of the flyers distributed, listening to Mr. Pent tell us about the alligator they found underneath their Class A motorhome while they were snow-birding in Florida, when Bark spots a squirrel.

“No!” I yell as Bark pulls a canine version of Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde and rips from my grasp, running down the camp road, chasing after the bushy-tailed rodent that’s barely evading him. “Bark!”

I take off after him, flyers flying behind me, desperate to catch Hallie Hendrick’s beloved dog. Even at his age, he’s crazy fast.

Landon’s right behind me, and then he passes me completely, far quicker than I am since I’m in flip-flops. We race through the campground, through A Loop, through the thick brush to B Loop, and then the squirrel finally darts up a pine tree and disappears.

Bark stops under the tree, leaping three feet into the air, trying to find a way up.

I slow to a walk as soon as Landon grabs the dog’s leash and set my hands on my hips, gulping precious air. Apparently, I need to get more exercise.

“Thank you,” I say to Landon as I attempt to catch my breath.

Like an angel, Bark forgets about the squirrel, plops onto his haunches, and wags his tail, practically saying, “Aren’t I a good boy?”

“You’re rotten,” I inform him.

His tongue lolls out, and his tail wags faster.

“You’re all scratched up,” Landon informs me, nodding to my legs.

I glance down and find several minor white scratches along with a long one that’s oozing blood. “Oh, yuck. I must have caught myself in the bushes.”

“Come on.” Landon’s already walking toward the office. “Let’s drop off the mighty squirrel hunter with your mom, and I’ll fix you up.”

Ten minutes later, we’re in Landon’s camper, and he’s digging through the overhead cupboards while I try not to bleed on his mother’s cushions.

“Where’s your family?” I ask, eyeing the white cat as she comes out of her hiding place so she can study me from the table. When I attempt to pet her, she steps just far enough away I can’t reach her and continues to stare.

“They took the dogs on a hike.” Landon comes to the cupboard directly above me and rummages through it.

“And why aren’t you hiking?” I ask, looking down so I’m not staring at his stomach.

Finding what he’s looking for, he kneels in front of me, first aid kit in his hand. “Because I’m with you.”

Butterflies flutter, but I ignore them. It’s just a side effect of being around Landon.

“You ready for this?” he asks as he opens an antiseptic wipe. “I don’t know what brand these are, but they sting like no other.”

Before I have a chance to answer, Landon dabs the wipe along the long, deep cut. I suck in a hiss, laughing at the same time.

“Told you.” His gaze meets mine, and even though he’s not smiling, his eyes are.

“You have pretty eyes,” I say out of nowhere. Instantly, I wish I could take it back.

Because I’m watching him so closely, I see the way those aforementioned eyes widen with surprise and then scrunch with amusement. “Pretty, huh?”

I feel the all-familiar blush heating my cheeks. “You know what I mean.”

“When did you get this?” He runs the pad of his thumb over an inch-long scar on the inside of my knee.

“Riding my bike when I was about nine,” I answer, pretending it doesn’t faze me that his hand is on my leg. “I caught it on a jagged rock.”

Landon meets my gaze again. “Sounds more like crashing than riding.”

“Yeah.”

All I can think about is our kiss…kisses…that night in Misty’s barn. The thought completely consumes me. From the way Landon’s eyes darken, I wonder if he’s thinking of the same thing. Just the memory makes me nibble my bottom lip. When his eyes follow the movement, I panic.

“I don’t think we should kiss again,” I blurt out.

Very slowly, looking far too amused, he raises his eyebrows. “All right.”

“Not that you were going to… I mean, I’m not trying to say you were thinking about…”

Shut up already, Lacey. Just. Shut. Up.

“I was,” he says, his eyes still locked on mine.

“Oh.”

Oh.

“But if you think it’s a bad idea, we won’t.” His thumb moves tiny circles over the sensitive spot on my inner knee.

“I don’t date summer boys,” I explain at a whisper. “Not anymore. Not actually.”

Landon nods, but there’s something in his expression that causes my stomach to tighten in the most delightful way. “Sounds reasonable.”

Does it?

“We should probably…” I motion to the first aid kit.

A smirk tugs at his lips, and I’m having trouble reading him. With careful hands, he applies ointment to the pads of several regular-sized bandages and places them in a row over the long scratch, one by one. I watch him in silence, mesmerized.

When he’s finished, he zips up the first-aid kit and offers me a hand. “Don’t worry, we’ll keep it platonic,” he promises.

“Okay.” I nod like that’s a good thing—a wise thing.

I’m an idiot.

Just as I’m walking toward the door, silently scolding myself for the rash words, Landon catches me around the waist and pulls me back. “Except in public, right?”

My pulse jumps, and I try not to melt against him. “Naturally.”

We have appearances to keep up after all…

His eyes practically sparkle. “Then it’s settled. I’ll only kiss you in public.”

And though that statement is all wrong, I nod like it makes perfect sense.

“Okay,” I say, breathless.

Grinning, Landon releases me and heads down the camper stairs, into the sunshine…hopefully toward a public place.