Chapter Nine #2
Something to worry about later, he thought as he stepped forward to greet Sean and Emma.
Sean felt like an uncle to him, but he was actually his dad’s cousin.
There were a bunch of Kowalski cousins in Maine, and ironically, they owned a lodge and campground, but Sean had settled in New Hampshire when he married Emma.
Their kids—sixteen-year-old Johnny and twelve-year-old Cat—gave him a cursory greeting before heading off to hang with Gage and Brianna.
Nora tagged along, skipping in her pink sneakers and smiling happily at her new cousins, before veering off toward the snacks.
“You sure did a good job on that pool,” his dad said, dropping an arm around his shoulder. “I remember those first pictures you sent of it, and it looked like a science experiment.”
“It basically was a science experiment. It took a lot of YouTube videos, reading, and trial and error, but I got it ready for the big weekend.”
“Joey told us how hard you worked on it, and it paid off.”
Rob glanced at the food table where his brother was helping Nora get a watermelon slice, surprised he’d been talking him up. “Thanks, Dad.”
“You’ve all done a great job. I had some concerns.
It’s a lot of work and responsibility, and owning the campground is a lot different than playing here.
Plus, you boys don’t always get along. But the place looks great, you’re booking up, and you’re all still speaking to each other. We’re proud of the whole bunch of you.”
Rob cleared his throat and nodded. “That means a lot.”
“And don’t listen to Dave.”
Rob laughed. “So you’ve met him?”
“We’ve crossed paths with Dave and Sheila a few times over the years, even though they eventually tried not to be here when we came for our camping trips.”
“Of doom,” his mom said, appearing at her husband’s side.
As she launched into one of her favorite memories from those years, Rob listened, but he couldn’t help looking around. Hannah wasn’t here. And maybe that meant she wasn’t here yet—it was still early—or maybe it meant she wasn’t coming at all.
Not a surprise because she hadn’t seemed really excited about it, but still disappointing.
“Are you looking for somebody in particular?” his mom asked, and Rob realized he’d zoned out.
“No. Just looking around, making sure nobody needs anything,” he lied.
“It’s not like you to not laugh at the part where Danny’s trunks fell off and he couldn’t get out of the water.”
Rob chuckled because that had been a good day for everybody but Danny, but his mom was right—he hadn’t been paying attention. There was zero chance he was going to tell his mother, but he was looking for Hannah and he still didn’t see her.
Hannah was tormenting herself and she knew it.
She’d made up her mind she wasn’t going to attend the cookout because the only other campers she’d met that she’d really like to spend time with were the Scotts and they were right next door.
If she went to the cookout, she had no doubt she’d end up cornered by Dave and Sheila and probably not even get to talk to Melissa.
And the last thing her runaway imagination needed was to see Rob with extended family. She was having enough trouble keeping her attraction to that man in check. Seeing him relaxed and happy, laughing and enjoying time with people he loved, wouldn’t help.
But none of that explained why she’d made a special trip to the grocery store and then spent hours cutting up fruit and mixing the creamy whip to make the fruit salad her family had devoured at every summer barbecue they’d ever had.
Hannah was going because it was an excuse to spend an afternoon with Rob, and she knew it. And that was before her phone chimed with a text message from him.
There’s too much food here. You should come eat some of it.
She smiled at the screen and typed a response before she could overthink it. I’m on my way.
Hannah faltered when she broke from the tree line and saw all the people milling around, though. It was a lot of people, and she might have changed her mind and fled back to the peace and quiet of her camper if she hadn’t already told Rob she was on her way.
Her gaze sought him out and she finally spotted him talking to Tony and Barb. Luckily, they seemed to have left their exceptionally cranky dog in their camper, but they were on the other side of the gathering, and Rob had his back to her.
She walked straight to the food tables so she could set the fruit salad down. She wasn’t sure if she’d mingle or flee once it was out of her hands, but it could go either way.
“Hi, I’m Mary Kowalski,” an older woman said, taking the bowl and spoon from her and shifting dishes to make room for it.
“I’m the boys’ grandmother. The matriarch of the family, they all like to call me.
It’s such a stuffy word and makes me sound old, but it also means I don’t have to lift a finger to do anything.
They can call me whatever they want as long as I don’t have to wash any dishes. ”
Hannah laughed, already feeling more at ease. “I’m Hannah. I’m a seasonal camper.”
“Hannah. What a lovely name.” Mary smiled and put her hand on her arm. “Let me introduce you to everybody.”
Her opportunity to run was lost, and what followed was a dizzying round of introductions that included all of the family present as well as a few campers she hadn’t met yet.
There was no way she was going to remember all the names—even though Mary had jokingly told her there would be a quiz later—but she had a general impression of dark hair, blue eyes, warm smiles and a family vibe that made her heart ache to be with her own.
Once Mary decided it was time for her to start hounding the guys about the grill, Hannah spoke to Bert and Connie for a few minutes—they were still mourning the loss of their shade tree, though Connie confessed she’d rather lose the shade than have the tree fall and crush her camper, just as Hannah had suspected—before circling around to Scottie and Melissa.
Red and Blue had discovered Nora was close enough to their age to play with, and they’d commandeered the cornhole boards.
Then Hannah finally managed to speak to Rob. She wasn’t sure she would ever have gotten through everybody, but he spotted her and made a beeline straight to her.
“You came,” he said, his grin lighting up his face.
“I did. I’ve been here for a while, actually, but your grandmother wanted me to meet everybody.” She chuckled. “You have a lot of family.”
“You have no idea. When we came up here when I was growing up, we took up, like, half of the campsites and one of the cabins.”
“That’s pretty amazing.”
He chuckled. “That’s one word for it.”
“No, I mean it. All of you being so close and having all those shared memories is definitely amazing.”
“Yeah.” His face softened and her heart skipped a beat. “It is pretty wonderful.”
“Uncle Rob!” It was Gage, who was approaching at a fast walk. “One of the cornhole bags landed on a camper and Uncle Brian said you have to deal with it because he’s at the grill.”
“Okay, mostly wonderful,” he muttered. “How did a bag end up on top of a camper? The cornhole boards aren’t anywhere near them.”
He shuffled his feet. “The little kids decided to play Frisbee so we were going to play cornhole, but then it became a game of cornhole dodgeball, and then cornhole keep-away and...you know how it is.”
Hannah put her hand over her mouth, trying to hide her amusement. Based on the stories, Rob and his brothers did in fact know how it was.
Rob turned to her, giving her an apologetic look. “I have to deal with this because Brian’s cooking and apparently Danny and Joey are guests today? But don’t leave, okay?”
“I won’t,” she promised, and she meant it, even if it meant artfully dodging Dave and Sheila until he was done.