Chapter 19
Salem
Camp Eden was special to Salem. It was a beautiful piece of property north of Raleigh with acres of woods, various sports fields, cabins, and canoes. It had been used as a public facility for years, but the property finally went up for sale, and Ben Kennedy bought it for his private residence. Their children were grown and out of the house, but they all lived close by in Raleigh and visited regularly. All of the girls would spend the night tonight, and that was something they did often.
Camp Eden was a relaxing refuge, and Salem had the privilege of working out there for a few weeks. He and his brother had put a lot of effort into making a beautiful tunnel in the woods. The tunnel itself had a couple of bends in it. You could see out one end from the other, but the view was obstructed by the irregular flow of the path. It was the vision of Molly's mom, and for most of the job, Phillip and Salem had worked on it themselves without any of their crew.
They made it happen that way once they saw the nature of the job. It had been a good experience for the brothers. (And obviously for Sadie as well.) Most of their work took place in the city, and the job at Camp Eden had been one of the most enjoyable projects Salem had ever done.
It was such a good experience for him, that his body felt warm and happy as he walked onto the property. He loved this place. He had met Molly there, and he was convinced that she was the love of his life. She would be such an amazing partner and mother, and he felt drawn to her in a way that made him want to build a family with her.
But there was so much physical attraction as well. Molly was one of the most gorgeous women he had ever seen in his whole life. Salem could see that from the second he laid eyes on her, but he never considered that they would ever be together. Their relationship had been built on physical attraction. That was all Salem could offer her at the time.
He had his moments when he felt ashamed of himself for that, but it was what it was. If she hadn't been so dang beautiful, he would have never gone along with that no-strings-attached proposition. He would have never been in this position.
And he loved the position he was in.
He loved this night. He loved the property and the Kennedy family. He was proud of Molly, and he wanted everyone to know they were together.
He reminded himself to be patient. He had to do that almost every time he looked at her. She looked comfortable and carefree with her jean shorts and t-shirt. She had been out on the canoe. Her auburn hair was in two French braids, but some of the curls at her hairline were coming out, looking wild in the best way possible, little pieces flying here and there in the wind. She had on green Vans that had seen better days. He wondered how she could have been outside at the camp all afternoon and still be so beautiful.
The guy who emceed the talent show announced that the Kennedy family had so graciously provided the supplies for smores at the campfire, featuring world-famous Molly's Chocolate. The crowd cheered, and Molly blushed which made Salem want to touch her, hold her. It was difficult to resist. He just watched and waited, letting her decide when she felt comfortable telling her family about it.
There were two supply tables set up near the fire—one on each side. The fire was large and hot enough that you had to use long skewers, which the family provided.
The church had assigned people to each table to make sure children had assistance. There was action and excitement, but everyone had been warned about the fire, and so any children who wanted to run and play were in an open area that was safely away from the fire.
Salem loved watching people talk about Molly's chocolate and enjoy eating it. It made him proud and gave him a certain satisfaction. He was protective of her. He watched for people's reactions to her chocolate, and he reacted to them in ways that amused himself inwardly. For instance, when he heard someone say, 'I like the dark chocolate more than the one with caramel', he caught himself thinking that people should just keep their mouths closed about their opinions and be grateful for the caramel. It happened a few times when he would feel protective of Molly for something small.
But the vast majority of comments were talking about how amazing the chocolate was and how they were the best smores ever. Salem made discreet eye contact with Molly throughout the entire time at the fireside. They were next to each other some of the time, and at other times, they talked to other people. Salem's eyes always found Molly's, though. They shared conspiratorial glances. There was something unspoken between them, and it was fun to experience those secret moments with her.
"I'd like to have everyone's attention, please! Can you please gather around and come closer so everyone can hear me?"
The man had taken off his top hat, but he still spoke like he was the one in charge. They walked toward him, all of them standing together in groups.
Salem was behind Molly, and they were standing on the edge of the group, so he held her hand. Her precious little hand gripped onto him the instant he reached out for her.
Molly's nails were trimmed short so she could work with her hands all day.
Her skin was soft.
The contact was so necessary.
He had been aching to touch her, and he smiled at the fact that she held onto him tightly.
"Can I please get a round of applause for the Kennedys? We are so grateful to you guys!" Everyone clapped, and Salem grabbed her hand when the guy continued. "This camp is just beautiful, I've never been here before and I love it! Thank you to the Kennedys for opening your property to us and allowing us all to be here… And now that we're shrouded under the cover of darkness… " the guy made a voice like Dracula and widened his eyes at them. "I will take my revenge on Ms. Amy at a winner-take-all game of capture the flag! Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha! She and I are going to be team captains and I can assure you whoever's on my team is going to be led to victory."
"Boooo!" It was a lady's voice that booed him, and we all assumed it was Amy. She got some laughs.
"It's going to be epic, it's going to be scary, and there are going to be woods involved. So, if you're a little scared-y pants, you do not need to play. If you do not know the rules of this game, you can get that information from your neighbor or the team captains once teams are made. There is a line painted on the ground, dividing the two playing areas. I made it myself by spraying neon orange spray paint onto the grass. It is highly visible. There will be no complaining about where the line is because it is obvious. There is no jail. If you get tagged in the other team's territory, you stay where you are. You can go into the woods behind us, but not into the next clearing." He pointed to his right. "The tunnel is out of bounds. Ms. Rita has stuff stored in that, and there are no lights. You can trip and get hurt. It's off-limits. Obviously, the fire is off-limits, too. If you end up at either of these places, you've gone too far. You're not just frozen, you're out of the game. The playing area is from here over!" he said, gesturing behind us. "Does everyone understand? Because if some people on my team get called out of bounds and come out of the game, and you will be boiled in hot oil." He laughed like an evil villain, and we all laughed. "Does everyone understand the boundaries?"
"Yes!" we all replied.
"Okay, if you are playing I need you to stay out here and we will assign you a team. Play at your own risk. I do not recommend this game for anyone under the age of twelve. There will be high-speed chasing. If you are not playing, you need to go stay by the campfire or go to the cabin area. Ms. Renee will be over there with a few other games. Again, do not enter the area of play if you do not wish to be chased."
Molly turned to Salem when the guy finished talking. She was nonchalant, pretending they hadn't been secretly holding hands. The whole thing was reminiscent of the way they used to act when they would sneak off together.
"Are you and Phillip staying to play this game?" she asked.
She looked hopeful and Salem tilted his head at her. "Do you want to play?" he asked. He knew his brother wanted to get back to Addie and the baby, but she was so beautiful and sweet that he hated to leave her.
"Not really, but…" she whispered to him, flashing a wide-eyed, knowing expression.
"Do you want to play?" Salem asked his brother.
Phillip laughed. "I'm not saying we have to leave right this second… I'm sure Addie's fine. But I'm not up for an intense game of capture the flag. My shoulder is killing me after work today. Alex is sleeping in a little crib by the bed, and he's been up every two—anyway, my shoulder hurts. I don't think I'll be doing any high-speed chasing right now."
Just as Phillip was talking about not playing, others came up to them. They were all gathering around with smiles, deciding who was going to play.
"I'll play," Salem said. He saw Sara give Molly a worried expression when he said that, and she noticed their proximity. Salem liked Sara, and he cared about her, but he wasn't about to sacrifice his own happiness to make her comfortable. He had compassion for Sara, but compassion was not going to stop him from pursuing something he thought was right .
All of the players headed toward the field, and Phillip stayed back with some others who sat out. It took ten minutes to make teams and re-explain the rules to those who couldn't get it. Salem and Molly ended up on different teams. They drew colored marbles out of a bag, and he pulled blue for Ms. Amy's team, while she pulled orange.
"Play for ten minutes and then meet me at the tunnel." Molly had whispered that statement as soon as they drew marbles. There were people all around them, and he gave her a nod to let her know that he would be there. They would play for ten minutes with the teams and then disappear into no-man's-land and find the tunnel. Being on separate teams was honestly a best-case scenario because each team would be down one player. Each team would lose a player and it wouldn't matter.
Salem did his best to show his face and help his team for the first ten minutes. It was a good group of people and a fun game. Salem was able to get one of the flags and help his team before disappearing through the woods going around the back way, and finding the far side of the tunnel. He was out of breath when he got there, and he approached it carefully, smiling at himself as he regulated his breathing.
"Psst! Salem."
He heard her whispering at him. It was dark in the tunnel. There were lights on it, but the family didn't have them turned on at the moment. It was a long, heavily wooded tunnel and it was very dark inside. Outside had been bright with moonlight, but the tunnel was covered in vines and it was dark inside.
Salem could see the other end of it now that his eyes were adjusted, and he could make out Molly's form on the right-hand side. She was moving toward him.
"You scared me," She whispered as he caught her in his arms. I thought you were going to come in from the other side, I was waiting at the other end."
He kissed her instantly. He couldn't wait. They were finally alone. She was in his arms, and just like that, his mouth was on hers. She was anxious to see him, and she came up next to him, getting closer. Molly. He kissed her deeply for a few heartbeats and then pulled back. He could hardly make himself break contact.
"Whoa, hello to you, too," she said. She curled up next to him, hugging him, tucking her face into the sensitive spot on his neck. She stretched up and kissed him there, her precious, soft mouth touching his neck three or four times.
"I missed you," she said.
He sighed, holding onto her. "Yeah, I know. Me too."
She kissed his neck again, and he felt like he might explode. "You made this tunnel with your own two hands."
"At this moment, I'm really glad I did. "
"Oh, me too. But even if this tunnel wasn't here, you know we could've found a spot. We could just disappear behind a tree somewhere. We got good at that when we had that contract going."
"I thought that was still going," he said.