Chapter Seven
Maisie was trying to play it cool, but inside, her stomach kept flipping nervous somersaults.
Declan was the hottest guy she’d ever seen! And she wasn’t one to think every man was into her. That certainly wasn’t the case. In fact, it seemed like guys were rarely into her. Or if they were, they sure didn’t seem to show it much. She spent more nights at home reading than she did on dates. And flirty Snaps or texts? Forget it. Those happened even less than the dates did. She never really heard from any man.
But it sure seemed like Declan was…into her? Could he be? They just met. And part of their time together had included her getting chastised by the camp’s director.
How embarrassing was that?
But even during the ordeal, Declan had seemed to keep his eyes on her, fighting a smirk the entire time.
Did he think she was cute? Were they really vibing as well as it seemed they were?
She told herself that it was most likely her imagination. There were way hotter Littles at camp that week. Maisie had seen them herself. And he could have any one of them he wanted! With that black hair, the strong, dimpled chin, and his muscular physique, he probably had no trouble landing dates!
But for whatever reason, Declan was taking her out for ice cream.
It was freaking amazing.
They sat in the parlor, enjoying the air conditioning that, combined with the cold treat, helped beat the summer heat that awaited them outside.
“It’s beautiful around here,” she said.
They were standing at a high table, enjoying their cones, but obviously, she wasn’t referring to the ice cream parlor.
Declan seemed to pick up on that fact because he nodded after taking a bit of his rocky road and said, “I love the west. These mountains. The history. It’s amazing.”
“Where are you from?” she asked after swallowing a bite of cookies and cream. It made her throat feel frigid and she told herself to wait before taking another nibble.
“California.”
“That’s farther west than here!” she said with a grin.
He chuckled. “True. But the culture is way different. This is Old West type stuff. California, at least along the coast, has beach vibes. It’s totally different.” He took another bite. “Where are you from?”
“Originally Kansas. But now I live in Denver.”
“What took you to Colorado?”
“Not a ton of jobs in cyber security in Kansas,” she said. “Especially the town I’m from.”
“Wichita?”
She chortled. “I wish! That would be a bustling metropolis compared to where I grew up.” She looked him in the eyes and said, “Ellsworth, Kansas. You ever heard of it?”
She watched as Declan’s eyes lit up. “Wyatt Earp lived there!”
Nodding, Maisie said, “Uh-huh. Or at least that’s what the legends say. Wild Bill Hickok was there, too. But those two are probably the last famous people to even know about that town. Now, it’s pretty quiet.”
“Were you raised on a farm?” Declan probed.
“Nope. But farm adjacent. My dad is a heavy machinery mechanic. We lived in a neighborhood—or what passes as a neighborhood in Ellsworth—and people either brought their tractors to his shop that was just down the street or he would travel to all the local farms.”
“I can see why you moved to Denver,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure Ellsworth is nice. But, like you said, not exactly needing a lot of cyber security experts.”
“Exactly,” she said. “My folks still live there. My sister and her family do, too. So, I go back a few times a year. It’s not too far from Denver.” She finally took another bite of ice cream, but took it slow, not wanting her throat to freeze up again. Or worse, her brain! “What do you do in California?”
“Coast Guard,” he said.
“Seriously?”
She watched as he nodded.
“Do you bust bad guys and stuff? Like board their boats and search for drugs?”
He laughed. “Nah. Some guys do that. But I’m on the rescue team. I’m helping stranded surfers, mostly. Sometimes an overturned boat or something like that.”
“That sounds exciting!” she said. “I bet it’s…” Her eyes fell to the door and she gasped, looking around frantically for an exit strategy.
Derek had arrived.
Declan cast a casual glance over his shoulder and then looked back at Maisie, not seeming to be very bothered. “You can’t hide from him all week.”
“The hell I can’t!” she said loudly. She then winced and said, much quieter, “Sorry. I shouldn’t curse. And I’m not trying to be rude. But…well, I have to hide from him all week!”
“Why?”
“Because he’s…a jerk! And he’s…coming right over here.” She groaned. Her mind raced, looking for any way out of this, but it was too late.
Derek had noticed her and was wearing an expression of utter shock as he strode straight toward her.
“Maisie?” he asked, nearly yelling her name.
“Hey, Derek,” she said weakly, raising her hand in an unenthusiastic wave.
“What are you doing here?” His mouth hung low once he’d finished voicing the question, his eyes bugging from his head. It was clear his brain was struggling to make sense of this new development.
Maisie couldn’t blame him there.
“Just…uh…attending camp. The same as you, it seems,” she offered.
There was no sense in lying about it. It was probably evident that she was a Little, just as it was obvious he was, too. Why try and hide it? It wasn’t like there was another reason the pair would be at Camp Mountainville.
“So…you’re…like me?” he asked.
Maybe this is a good thing, Maisie thought. Perhaps they could bury the hatchet, set their differences aside, and come together over their common bond.
But the look on Derek’s face told her that might not be an option. The man appeared truly disappointed to be seeing her.
“Hi. I’m Declan.”
Maisie watched as the handsome man thrust out his hand to greet Derek. It seemed like he was trying to cut the tension and awkwardness, and she appreciated that.
She appreciated everything about Declan.
It took her co-worker a moment, but finally, he shook Declan’s hand. “I’m Derek.”
The handshake was brief and seemed somewhat tense.
Derek returned his attention immediately to Maisie, as if the interruption by Declan was less than a blip on his radar. “You’re seriously here?”
It was evident the question wasn’t truly directed at her, but his mind was still trying to make sense of the unexpected turn of events.
She couldn’t blame him. It was a lot to process.
“Quite the crazy coincidence,” she said with a forced smile.
“But…” It seemed as if he couldn’t say anything beyond that.
“I, uh, better get back to my friends,” he finally muttered, walking away without saying goodbye or looking her in the eyes.
Once he was with his buddies in line for ice cream, and safely out of earshot, Maisie said, “Oh boy. This week suddenly just got interesting in all the wrong ways.”
Declan looked sympathetic as he reached across the table and put his hand atop hers.
Just that small bit of contact sent shockwaves of excitement throughout her body.
Okay, Derek’s presence isn’t that big a deal when Daddy is holding my hand.
She chided herself for even thinking that way. Declan wasn’t her Daddy. He was probably just a really nice guy.
Still, a girl could dream!
He sure sounded like her Daddy, though, when he offered some advice. “You know, you can still have an amazing week even with him here. It doesn’t have to ruin the experience. This camp is big enough for the two of you. Just stick to your plan, do all you have on your list, and have the most amazing time of your life.” He smiled. “Who knows? You two might bond over all this. You could even become friends.”
“I guess,” she said uneasily after considering his words for a moment. “When I saw him earlier, I was sure hoping we could go the whole week without him realizing I was here.” She offered a little shrug. “I guess that wasn’t realistic.”
She looked across the table and saw Declan shaking his head. “Unfortunately, no. You were bound to run into each other. At the mess hall or some of the other activities. The camp is big…but not that big.”
“Makes sense,” she said.
“Why do you dislike this guy so much?”
She pondered the question while she worked on her ice cream. A melted stream spilled onto her fingers. Declan grabbed a napkin from the holder in the center of the table and reached across, cleaning it up for her.
Just like a Daddy would.
Mmm.
Her eyes fell to Derek across the room, though, bringing her mind back to the question Declan had asked. Finally, she explained, “He’s a sexist, arrogant jerk! We work together. And you should see how he acts! He’s always making rude comments and stuff.” She shook her head and sighed. “And now he’s here at camp. Bleh.”
“For what it’s worth,” Declan said, “I’m sorry.”
“Thank you.” Maisie sighed. “Guess you wasted that kiss. I ran into him after all. Sorry.”
“That’s not how I see it. I hope you don’t see it that way, either.”
The response came so quickly that Maisie was a bit taken aback.
“No,” she said eagerly, hoping she hadn’t offended the man.
He didn’t seem to be upset, because he chuckled. “You free tomorrow night?”
“I don’t have anything on the schedule,” she lied.
She did, in fact, have a pottery class in mind. But she would gladly miss that for whatever Declan was about to propose. Especially since she had a hunch he was asking her out.
That was proven true a moment later when he said, “Want to go to dinner? I suppose the mess hall isn’t the most romantic spot for a guy to take a gal. But…” He made a show of looking around. “We don’t have many options. And we’ll need something more than ice cream for supper.” He stopped for a moment as if thinking things over. “We could travel into town. Just about fifteen minutes away.”
She grinned. He was sure making this sound like it was a date. He was even looking for something more romantic !
Sweet!
“I’ll leave it up to you. I’m good wherever we go. But I’d love to have dinner with you.”
“Perfect,” Declan said as he polished off the last of his ice cream. Once he was done crunching the waffle cone, and wiped his mouth, he said, “In the meantime, will you do me a favor?”
“Anything,” she said.
“Keep the shenanigans to a minimum,” he told her. “I know this Derek guy bugs you. But try not to get into trouble over him. He’s not worth it. And if he messes with you, come find me. Deal?”
“Deal!” she said.
“Good. Because I’d hate for you to get kicked out of camp before we can have our big date.”
Maisie almost giggled in excitement, but managed to hold it in.
So tomorrow night was a date! Nice.
She marveled at the dichotomy. Running into Derek was the worst! Meeting Declan and landing a date with him was the best.
Hmm. Something told her this was going to be a very interesting week at Camp Mountainville.
Very interesting indeed.