Keller and Callahan

Chapter 23

The next couple of days passed without incident, but not without tension. Everyone was on alert, feeling the unseen presence of Jensen’s men, but trying not to let the nerves show when interacting with guests. Sam definitely got his exercise chasing Olivia around the campground, shadowing her every move. Even though they both fell into bed at night exhausted after getting everything ready for the campground’s 4th of July festivities, he realized how much he had missed working here, and how different his life would have been had he come back and learned how to run the resort alongside Olivia. But anytime those thoughts were on the forefront of his mind, he did his best to push his regrets aside, reminding himself he made the only choice he could have at the time, and it only made him cherish the time he had at the lodge and with Olivia even more deeply.

The balmy July heat hung in the air as a constant reminder that summer was finally here. The campground was a bustling nest of energy as the buzz of the holiday excited everyone. The Kellers throw one hell of a 4th of July party; complete with a BBQ hoedown dinner for all guests, an epic, and very cutthroat cornhole tournament, and rounding out the holiday with the biggest firework show in four counties.

The cornhole tournament had been a new addition since Sam had left, and Olivia did her fair share of shit talking. But there was no way in hell Sam was going to admit that he’d never played a round of cornhole in his life. He was determined to put the heaviness of their reality to the back of his mind, even if it was just for an hour or two. Olivia’s fierce determination to be strong was on full display, no way surprising him that she went about her day in the way she always had; with a smile on her face and passion in her eyes.

He had no doubt that people from the outside looking in would see exactly what she wanted them to see - someone who loved her job and didn’t have a care in the world. Only those closest to her, Sam included, noticed the tension in her shoulders and the slight way her eyebrows furrowed when she thought no one was looking. Knowing that tensions were at an all time high, Ray let the staff enter the corn hole competition for the first time since its inception, knowing they could all use the distraction.

“Alright peasants. Whattya say we put a little wager on this friendly competition?” Olivia said as she rubbed her hands greedily together.

“No way. I’m not putting my money anywhere near you and cornhole. I’d be broke by the morning,” Cassie moaned as she plopped down at one of the picnic benches.

“Smart woman,” Olivia threw over her shoulder as she tossed her first practice shot.

“I’m not afraid of you, Blondie. I’m in,” Jensen chimed in as he tossed a bean bag directly in the hole, earning him a scowl from Olivia.

Cassie lifted her wine glass and toasted in Jensen’s direction. “Anyone who can give Olivia Keller a run for her money is a hero in my book.” A small smile tugged the corners of his lips but it quickly disappeared. “Oh no, did I see a hint of a smile there, Blue Blood?”

“I don’t think so. I’m serious about my cornhole,” Jensen supplied, tossing another ringer.

“You’re pretty serious about everything, apparently,” Cassie muttered under her breath as she took another drink.

“Aww, come on, Jones. Loosen up,” Sam clapped Jensen on the back as he tossed a bean bag, and watched as it completely missed the board. “Let’s take her down.”

Raising an eyebrow in Sam’s direction, Olivia shot him a look as she took her last practice throw. “Girls versus Boys. You’re not going to know what hit ya.”

“On second thought. I’m in. If I’m paired with Liv I have a chance of taking home some cash,” Cassie tossed back the rest of her wine. “Let’s do this.”

They took their respective places at the boards, and decided to mix it up. Sam and Cassie on one side, Olivia and Jensen on the other. Olivia was eager to get to know Sam’s quiet and steadfast friend, but she was pretty sure the reason he suggested being paired with Olivia was because Cassie made him nervous. Olivia had noticed the way his fists would clench in and out whenever Cassie was around, so she made a mental note to ask Cassie about the attraction later. To lighten the mood, Olivia decided a little trash talking was in order, and she was not going to pass up an opportunity to rib Sam. There was something that felt so natural about playing cornhole with the three of them, despite the intensity of what hung in the balance. It wasn’t lost on her that every single person she cared about was in danger, in fact, the goosebumps that lived on her skin the past few days were a constant reminder of her nerves.

She couldn’t stand the thought of anything happening to them. Her father and Cassie were the two people who held her up when she crumbled after Sam left, they had been her lifelines. And now that Sam had come back into her life, he fit seamlessly into the last piece of her puzzle. Making everything click together in all the right places. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing him now; it would be like living the rest of her life without a piece of her heart. And she was going to do her damndest to make sure that didn’t happen. But for the next hour, she was going to do her best to put it out of her mind, so she could enjoy this innocent time with her friends.

Jensen extended his arms to the board and handed Olivia her bean bag. “Ladies first.”

“Thank you, kind sir,” she took the bag, straightened her shoulders and took a deep breath. Taking a graceful step toward the board across the pitch, she let the bag go as it landed with a resounding thud on her opponents’ board. Shooting Sam a haughty look, she stuck her tongue out at him. “And that is how it’s done, gentleman.”

“You never did lack confidence, Keller,” Sam called back to her, which caused Cassie to let out a snort that made the four of them erupt in laughter.

“Alright, Jones. I’m going to get us on the board here, don’t you worry.” He tossed his bag and missed the board by a solid foot. Olivia gave him a smug smile that made him blush. “I’m luring you into false pretenses, so I can sneak up on ya when you least expect it.”

“Uh huh. I’ll believe it when I see it, Callahan,” Olivia tossed back to him. She raised her eyebrow at Jensen when he made his shot seamlessly into the hole and he let a laugh go at her incredulous look.

“We have a cornhole set at the precinct and play during breaks to help us unwind. You can say I’ve needed my fair share of breaks to distract myself,” he told her.

“Can wield a gun and a bean bag. Impressive. And volunteers his free time at a center for lost youth. What a catch you are, Jensen Jones,” Olivia needled as she took her shot.

Brushing the hair off his forehead, he tossed his bag onto the board. “Well, it’s a great way to blow off some steam, and Sam is doing really great things there. It’s a cool thing to be a part of.”

Jensen stuck his hand into his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “When I first met Sam, he was really haunted. I could tell he had a lot of demons he needed to work through,” Olivia met Jensen’s eyes with such concern it broke his heart a little at the love shown in them. “It takes one to know one. But to see him put all his anger and all his energy into those kids, to try to spare them from the horror he’s seen, it takes a really powerful and honorable man to be able to do that. But I know he was getting his strength from you.” His admission caused Olivia’s toes to curl as she looked into his eyes.

“From me?”

“Police training teaches you to look for things you can’t see, to read people. Once he told me about you that first night we met, I could see you in his eyes each time he threw himself into The Center, that he was doing it as much for you as he was doing it for himself.”

It took her a minute to absorb the weight of his words. Thinking of all the years she had spent angry with him felt like a punch in the gut. She hadn’t realized her heart was racing, so she took a few steadying breaths.

Her mind flipped back through ten years worth of memories and her heart broke. She thought of that first 4th of July without him, how she couldn’t bear to bring herself down to the lake, and with each firework that erupted, so did a piece of her heart, as she cried hysterically face down on her bed. The memory of her driving to Sam’s house on his birthday five years after he left. When she had gotten out of her car and circled the house, she couldn’t control her anger as she hurled an empty beer bottle she had found on the ground to the back door. But the freshest memory that was in her mind was the day her father handed her his keys to Keller Campground, deeming it officially hers. That despite being incredibly happy that her dream had finally come true, all she felt was sadness. Sadness that Sam wasn’t there to share it with her, that he should have been by her side and gifted his own set of keys so they could run it together, just like they had always talked about.

Sure, she had happy memories sprinkled in, she had to move on with her life after all, but between those snippets of happy memories, most of the decade without Sam had been a gray void.

She had spent so many days throwing herself into her work, going through the motions, keeping a buffer around her heart in order to protect herself. In truth, she hadn’t been living at all. And all the while, she had thought he had moved on and was living a happy life without her, but to hear Jensen say that she had been part of Sam all of the years he was gone, it made her feel guilty for all the time she had spent being angry at him.

“I didn’t mean to make you upset,” Jensen said, scratching the back of his neck. “I just wanted you to know that even though he wasn’t physically here with you, you were always with him.”

Olivia let out the breath she had been holding, no longer able to keep herself from asking the question that had been on her heart since Sam had arrived back at the campground all those weeks ago. “Do you think he will stay?”

Shifting his eyes over to Sam and Cassie laughing together as they lifted their beers in cheers, he shrugged a shoulder. “I have no doubt that he will do anything he can to be with you. Whether that means long distance or moving here and running the center remotely. He will figure it out.”

Running the center remotely. That was so like Sam to make such a selfless choice, her heart breaking more at the thought of him once again giving up something he loves. “Thanks Jensen.”

He nodded. “One more thing. When life gives you a second chance, it’s best to not think of all the time lost or the what ifs. Sometimes it’s best to just hang on.”

Hearing the sincerity in his words, Olivia wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug. “It takes one to know one for that too?” She repeated his earlier words back to him.

“Something like that,” he chuckled humorlessly as he pulled back. Looking into his eyes questioningly, she was pulled out of the moment by Cassie’s loud squeal.

“Ok you two, are we still playing or what? I saw a new pair of shoes downtown I’m going to buy with my winnings!”

“Yeah, yeah. The last thing you need is another pair of pumps,” Olivia said sarcastically as she tossed a ringer into the hole.

“A girl can never have too many, now let’s go!” Cassie landed her bag on the board and high-fived Sam, just as he caught Olivia’s eye over the top of Cassie’s head. He could tell whatever Jensen had said to Olivia had made an impact, and he hoped she had room in her heart for all he wanted to give her.