Chapter 17
M ac stood at the edge of the lake, arms crossed, watching the last light ripple across the water.
The air was cooling fast, the kind of crispness that hinted at fall.
He'd walked the campground twice already, checked the fire pits, and stocked the bathhouse for the night, but none of his routine chores settled the restlessness in his chest.
He'd seen Lauren earlier. Briefly. She'd smiled, but it wasn't her usual bubbly attitude that infected him. Her eyes barely lingered. She was in a hurry.
She was pulling away.
And he hated how much that bothered him. She was going to leave. Winter was right around the corner.
A motorcycle engine growled in the distance, then cut off. Cord was back.
Mac turned as his cousin walked up, helmet under one arm, grinning like he hadn't skipped out twice already this week to go fuck around in town.
Mac raised a brow. "You find what you were looking for?"
Cord smirked. "Always do, cuz."
Mac shook his head, half amused, half annoyed. "You ever think about settling down?"
Cord sobered. "You ever think about not being so damn uptight?"
Mac didn't answer. None of this generation of Callahan cousins seemed to want to settle down. Beckett had his own problems. Cord tried to distract himself with women. And, he had Jetter to raise.
Cord studied him for a beat. "Is this about the woman who wears the dresses?"
Mac's jaw tightened. There was nothing to talk about. He had sex with Lauren a couple of times. It was just like Cord going into town to get his nut off. They didn't need to talk about it, because what they did in their free time had nothing to do with the campground.
"I saw Tara at the gas station before I headed up the mountain. She mentioned coming up and seeing Jetter." Cord ran his hand down his beard, straightening it from the ride. "Everything okay there?"
He got along fine with Jetter's mom. They had co-parenting down and had only needed to deal with a few insignificant problems over the years.
"I imagine she misses Jetter." He inhaled deeply. "I think he misses her even more. It was good that they spent the day together. Now Jetter can enjoy the last couple of weeks of summer with me without getting homesick."
"Hell, I wouldn't call it homesick. He lives for his time on the mountain." Cord softened his voice. "The kid misses his mom, that's all. Nothing wrong with that."
"Yeah."
Cord leaned against a tree. "So, it's the other one that's got you in a quieter-than-usual mood. The social media princess you're brooding about."
"I never said that."
"You didn't need to. I can see it on your face." Cord chuckled. "You're a fucking mess."
He punched Cord's shoulder. "You're not helping."
Cord rubbed his arm, still smiling. "Don't take it out on me that you can't get a little something on the side to put you in a better mood."
Mac turned away, but the words stuck. He walked back toward the cabins. Beckett was outside the bathhouse, rolling up the hose.
"All done." Beckett nodded toward the showers. "Gotta love when the campers clean up after themselves."
Mac waved and kept walking. He wasn't in the mood for conversation. Business talk could wait for another day.
Instead of heading home, he found himself drifting toward Lauren's cabin. It bothered him that she hadn't seemed excited to see him earlier.
Walking up the porch, he noticed the propane light on inside. He knocked on the door, then stepped back and leaned against the porch railing, arms folded tight across his chest.
Lauren stepped out without a word, slipping her arms into a sweater. His balls ached. But more than sex, he wanted to spend time with her.
"Is something wrong?" she asked.
He took her in, having missed her today. "Haven't seen you."
"We spoke earlier." She looked away. "You seemed busy."
He kicked the porch with the heel of his boot. He'd never heard her say a smartass comment all summer. Until now.
"Jetter's mom stopped by." He paused. "It makes my son happy when he can have both his parents with him."
She glanced at him. Raised her brows and, to his surprise, didn't press further.
That was something about her that he liked. She never dug too deeply for information or tried to pin down more time with him.
Mac turned and leaned on the railing, looking out at the lake. "We never really had a relationship," he said. "Tara and I."
Lauren stepped up beside him. He could sense her listening.
"She was...is a nice woman. A real good mom." He paused. "She got pregnant, and we both knew a relationship wouldn't work between us, so we did everything we could to become good parents to Jetter."
He stared out at the trees. They didn't judge. They just stood there, quiet and ancient.
"She works in town at the city hall. Hates the mountain. Hates the dirt, the bugs, the way the wind sounds like it's trying to talk." He exhaled slowly. "I'm the opposite. I can't imagine ever leaving the mountain."
He glanced at Lauren. She stared at the lake. The silence stretched between them. Letting her know what kept him away from her today hadn't put the smile back on her face. If anything, her eyes seemed to hold a hint of sadness.
He leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "Night."
"Night," she whispered back.
Knowing he wouldn't solve the problem tonight, he headed back to his cabin. If anything, he was more confused than he had been before he saw Lauren.