Chapter 15
MILLIE
“I don’t understand.”
Shelly smiles softly, her green-eyed gaze kind in the same way they were the night I checked in. “The cabin is yours for as long as you need it, Millie.”
“But why? How? If I can’t pay, I shouldn’t get to stay here,” I argue.
There’s another woman wandering around the office tonight, taking in the shelves of camping supplies and sweatshirts with the Shimmer Lake Campground logo stamped on the front.
It’s a good logo, bright and rustic. Whoever they hired to design it did a good job.
I’ve always been a doodler but haven’t created anything that well thought out before.
The way the colours work with the mountain landscape while also pulling in the rustic font is incredible.
Shelly reaches for my elbow. She tries to hide it, but I can see the curiosity in her stare. I don’t blame her.
“Just consider it taken care of, doll. You’re free to stay as long as you want. I’ve already shifted a few bookings around, so there’s no point in arguing.”
“Shelly . . .”
“All I ask in return is that you don’t give up on finding what you’re looking for. I have a feeling you’ve run far enough. Stay and search now.”
My throat grows sticky. I have a hard time getting my words up.
“Is it that obvious?”
“No, it’s not obvious. You just remind me of the woman I was when I first got here.”
“You’re not from Oak Point?”
Her smile is faint. “No. But I’ve been here for the last twenty-five years.”
“You’ve liked it here that much?” I ask, darting my eyes to where the other woman here has started our way.
Shelly notices the woman and asks me, “Do you like iced tea?”
“I do.”
“How about you get one from the cooler over there and wait for me to finish up here. I’d love to have a bit more time to chat with you.”
My heart swells with gratitude. “Yeah, so would I.”
The cooler is only a few steps away. I reach it with ease as the woman steps up to the counter and sets her red sweatshirt down.
After the eventful day I’ve had, I wasn’t expecting to come in here with the plan of sitting down with Shelly.
Shade let me run out of the studio like a total wuss after kissing the daylights out of me, and the first place I came was here.
I don’t know what the draw was, but I couldn’t go back to the cabin without figuring out what I’m going to do with my whole lack-of-funds problem.
Shelly wasn’t here before I left this morning, and I’m starting to think that she did that on purpose. If this was her plan all along . . . I don’t know how I’ll digest that. The kindness that she’s offering me right now is hard for me to understand.
I’m unsure I’ll ever feel this taken care of again once I leave.
“Have a great evening. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to come in. The office closes at nine, but my number is on the door for any emergencies,” Shelly explains to the woman.
“Thank you! I’m sure I’ll be just fine.”
“Glad to hear it.”
I open the cooler door and grab a bottle of iced tea. The brand on it isn’t familiar to me.
Carrying it back to Shelly, I ask, “Do you make this stuff?”
“I do! Well, with the help of my husband. He does all of the packaging. I just make the iced tea.”
“You make quite the pair.”
“Thank you. He puts up with quite a lot from me, but I like to think I put up with even more from him.” The wink she sends me is adorable. “Anyway, come with me and we’ll chat some more.”
I follow her outside and to the camping chairs on the front porch. She takes a seat on the one with the stool, and I sit beside her. It’s silent out here besides the chirp of the bugs in the grass and an engine of what I think is a quad in the trees.
“The lid is a twist off. Ladies shouldn’t have to struggle to open a bottle,” she tells me, eyeing the iced tea I’m holding.
I give it a twist, and it comes off easily. “You’re a miracle worker.”
“I try. Women have to stick together. Especially in this world.”
“Men are the worst.”
“They are. But with a little elbow grease, you can get the right one trained just how you want him.”
I choke on a laugh and try to tame it with a sip of the iced tea. It’s the perfect mix of sweet and bitter, so I take another drink.
“I don’t think all of them are trainable.”
“Are you talking from experience there? Was he too stubborn to change or too wild to tame?”
“Yeah, and it was more like he was too arrogant to consider anyone besides himself. Let alone me.”
Her nose crinkles. “It wouldn’t be all that bad if you stayed here a while longer, then.”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Well, for the record, even the wild ones can settle a bit. And I’m speaking from experience this time.”
I pause, taking in her wistful expression. “Chadwick isn’t wild. I don’t think he had a wild bone in his body.”
“Mm. It’s a good thing I’m not talking about this Chadwick, then,” she sings.
“Shelly.”
“What? I’m just putting in my two cents.
Shade’s a good one. I’ve known him since he was tiny.
His parents used to bring him here for summer camp every year.
Little shit-disturber, that boy, but he had manners in spades.
He used to offer to scrub the kayaks for my husband and bring the clean towels to every cabin for me. ”
“You sound like a matchmaker.”
She lifts her feet onto her stool and smiles. “I’ve been called far worse, doll.”
“Shade’s a nice guy. We’re friends,” I explain pointedly.
“I’ve been trying to get him to come back here for years, but he was always just too busy. Turns out he can make the time when it comes to driving you home.”
It’s impossible not to enjoy her pushing. Every attempt obviously comes from a place of kindness, and I’ll take it if it means we can keep chatting for a bit longer.
“You were telling me about when you first came here. Want to continue that?” I ask, grinning.
Shelly frowns, tapping her chin. “Oh, I was? My memory is a bit spotty tonight.”
“Where did you move from?”
“Fine, fine. I was born in Saskatoon and left on my thirtieth birthday. I’m not sure what it was that drew me here exactly. Not without getting all misty-eyed on you. But in what felt like a blink, I was pulling up outside of this place. I met my husband that night.”
“What happened then? Did you ever go back home?”
“No. I left for a reason, and I knew I couldn’t ever go back. That was my choice. Each person I hurt and betrayed has been left in my past. It’s the only place we can’t hurt each other anymore.”
“I’m sorry, Shelly,” I murmur.
She shakes her head, smiling. “Don’t apologize. I’m happy where I am, and I’ve never regretted my choice to leave or the one I made to stay here. I met the love of my life at this place, and with our beautiful family we’ve raised here, how could I wish I’d done anything differently?”
“You have kids?”
“Two!” Leaning forward, she drops her feet to the porch.
The sleeves of her flannel top are too long and hang to the tips of her fingers when she holds her knees.
“Tilly and Ash. You’ll see our son around here every once in a while.
Ash lives in town, but Tilly’s off in Nova Scotia with her husband. ”
“I’ve always wanted to go out East,” I say.
“It is beautiful. We flew there for her wedding, and I had a hard time coming back. If it weren’t for this place, maybe we would have stayed.”
“You’d have been missed.”
“Another good point,” she teases.
“I’d love to meet your family sometime. I hope I’m still here the next time they’re around.”
“My husband, Kirk, is always around doing something or another, but unless you’re near the dock or in the woods, you’re sure to miss him.
I’ll call him over the next time you’re around.
And Ash, well, he’s usually responsible for the four-wheeler noises coming from the trees. He runs the community centre in town.”
I absorb that information and nod. “That’s the building right by the entrance to town?”
“That’s the one. Usually, the majority of sports programs run out of Cherry Peak and the school there, but Ash managed to get a softball team up and running here. He’s trying to get something started for hockey, but there hasn’t been enough interest.”
“I’m not much for sports, honestly,” I admit sheepishly.
“Oh, me neither. I don’t know where the hell he got those genes from because they don’t belong to either me or my husband.”
I belt out a laugh, her brutal honesty refreshing. “I’m glad not to be alone, then.”
“You should stop by sometime and say hi. I’ll have blabbed his ear off about you by then.”
“Yeah, maybe,” I say, not wanting to be rude.
I can’t see myself doing that, though. Not that I’ll even have much time to with my job at the studio and all of the extra time Shade and I are going to be spending together . . .
Before my cheeks can go red, I change the subject.
“If you need help with anything around here that you or your husband don’t want to do or don’t have the time for, please just ask me. I can’t stay here for free. It doesn’t feel right.”
“Millie, there’s no changing my mind. One thing you’ll learn about me is that I’m as stubborn as a mule.”
“Please. Just let me help with something. I don’t care if it’s small or unimportant. I’m just really trying not to take advantage of anyone while I’m here. This isn’t how I wanted to do things.”
I’m begging now, but I don’t feel shame because of it. I’m just desperate, and if I freeload my way through a stay here, I won’t be able to stop feeling guilty.
Shelly stares at me for a long moment, her eyes digging into me. “What are you running from, doll?”
“A life that I know I’ve taken advantage of. But it’s not the one I want. I’d give it to someone else if I could.”
“If it makes you happy, I’ll come up with a list of things you could do. But you don’t need to. Truly, we have more than enough help here as it is,” she says, giving in just enough for me to claim the win.
I release a relieved breath. “Thank you, Shelly.”
“You’ll need to get more familiar with the campground. We can’t have you getting lost during one of your tasks.”
“Let me guess, you know the exact person who I should ask to help show me around?”
She bats her eyes, her thin lips pursing. “What? Does that sound like me?”
“Yes, yes it does.”
“I’m just thinking that you could take advantage of Shade’s interest and put him to work a bit. I’d love to see him a bit more, as well. I suppose I’m just thinking about myself, really.”
I take another sip from my bottle, smiling against the glass. “His only interest is in friendship.”
“Oh, now you’re just insulting me.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a tad dramatic?”
“If you ask my husband, he’d tell you that being dramatic is my best characteristic.”
“I don’t know what I’m expecting him to be like, honestly,” I say, setting my bottle down beside my chair.
“Imagine a grumpy lumberjack and then make him even grumpier.”
“So, you’re a grumpy/sunshine couple,” I note.
“You read romance novels?”
“They’re the only ones I read.”
Shelly beams at me, and I can’t help but laugh at her reaction. It’s so pure, and honestly, I think she’s the cutest woman I’ve ever met. There’s so much to her. More than there usually is to the ones I’m used to meeting back home.
“Have you been to the free little library that’s set up by the beach? It’s quite popular! There’s another one on the corner of the street beside Twice Treasured, as well. I’ve stocked them up pretty well over the last few months. You need to take a look through,” she rambles excitedly.
“I’ll stop by the one here on my way back to my cabin. I’ve only seen them on social media before.”
“Please do. And don’t forget to come by and tell me if you take a book, and which one. I have a list of my favourites, but it changes so quickly.”
I nod. “I haven’t read in a while, honestly. I’d like to get back into it.”
“This is only another sign that you’re in the right place, doll.”
There’s no doubt in my mind that she’s right.