Chapter Nineteen #2
It was her turn for the innuendo, he thought, and he winked at her. “Anything you need.”
Muttering from Joey’s direction caught their attention, though Rob couldn’t make out what he said. Probably something along the lines of telling them to get a room. Of course, he had a room, but his niece had stolen it.
Hannah had a room, though. She had an entire camper.
“I should let you get back to it,” Hannah said. “Thanks for the guest approval.”
“Anytime,” he said. And then he grinned. “Some conditions apply, of course.”
She laughed, and then waved goodbye to Joey on her way out. His brother returned the wave and then, as soon as the door closed behind her, he turned to Rob with a smug smile on his face. “Seems like Mom was right.”
Rob shrugged. “She usually is, but about what specifically?”
“We were still at the seasonals and family welcome cookout when she said you and Hannah were going to end up together. She didn’t even wait until we got home to say it.”
Rob spent enough time thinking about it. He didn’t want to talk about it. “Hannah’s going to end up back in California next month.”
“Plans change.”
Not when those plans also affected one’s family and business partner. He knew all about that since he couldn’t change his plans without disappointing his family and business partners. “I hate to burst anybody’s bubble, but Mom’s wrong on this one.”
If she’d said Rob was going to fall for Hannah, she would have been right. Or if she’d said they’d end up breaking that no-fraternization rule. Or almost anything except that they’d end up together.
They were together now. But he couldn’t see any way for them to have a happy ending.
Hannah woke at an indecently early hour the next morning, despite having tossed and turned for what felt like half the night.
Erika was coming today. Sometime in the early afternoon, Erika was going to drive into this campground and throw her arms around Hannah, hugging her so hard she wouldn’t be able to breathe.
And even though she was still somewhat mad, Hannah couldn’t wait.
When Erika had called to tell her she was in New England to meet with a potential sponsor and wanted to see her, Hannah had let her business partner know in no uncertain terms that not only had she overstepped her boundaries, but she’d essentially set them on fire.
Erika had insisted it was for good reason and that it would be better to talk in person, so she was going to join her at the campground.
Hannah was tempted to tell her not to bother and go ahead and get an earlier flight home, but she didn’t.
Yes, there were going to be some tough conversations in their future, but she missed her family and she’d missed her best friend. Video chats and text messages weren’t always enough, and she was looking forward to some in-person time.
She’d even cleaned the camper, not that it really needed much.
And she’d done a rushed grocery shopping trip to stock up on some of the things Erika liked.
She’d also gotten a few things Erika might not like, like the makings for s’mores and some bug repellent lotion that was supposed to be all-natural, and which Hannah happened to know smelled so bad it was more of a people repellent.
There was no reason she couldn’t have some fun with it.
Just when she was starting to wonder if Erika had taken a wrong turn somewhere and ended up in Vermont, her phone chimed.
I’m heeere!
Hannah smiled and headed toward the office, tucking her phone in her pocket. They could talk about the heavy stuff later. For now, her best friend was actually here and she couldn’t wait to see her.
The rental car was empty when she got there, so she went into the store. All four of the Kowalski brothers were in there, and Stella immediately trotted over for some pets.
Erika turned away from the desk and Brian when she heard the door open, and her face lit up when she saw Hannah. Her high-pitched squeal of excitement startled the dog and made the men wince, but Hannah just laughed and met her friend halfway across the store, wrapping her in a tight hug.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” she said, surprised when her vision got a little blurry from tears. She really had missed her.
“I can’t believe I’m here, either,” Erika exclaimed. “Did you see that monster machine?”
Hannah frowned, shaking her head while she ran through the possibilities. The tractor? The UTV? Brian’s truck? “Monster machine?”
When she looked to the guys for a hint, Rob tipped his head toward the window that faced the house. When she went over to look, she saw one of the big, sporty side-by-sides that she’d been watching go by since the ATV trails opened, but this one had two seats in the front and two in the back.
“Oh.” She had to admit it fit the description of monster machine. “I haven’t seen that one in the campground before, I don’t think.”
“It just arrived,” Danny said. “Our cousins in Maine own a lodge and campground on ATV trails and they were selling it, so we bought it and paid a guy to go get it because everybody’s busy. It arrived this morning.”
Joey shook his head. “Still think it’s not a great idea to buy a vehicle driven by Kowalskis.”
They all laughed, and there was some brotherly shoving. Erika leaned close and looped her arm through Hannah’s. “Can we go for a ride in it?”
“I don’t think so,” Hannah said at the exact same time Rob said, “Hell yeah.”
Erika looked back and forth between them a few times and then pointed at Rob. “I’m listening to him.”
Joey shrugged. “There’s no reason Bobby can’t take you both for a ride. We’ve got all those helmets in the garage.”
Rob nodded, and Hannah could tell by that cheeky sparkle in his eyes when he looked at her that he was really enjoying this. “What do you say, Hannah? Want to give Erika the full Birch Brook Campground experience?”
She wasn’t sure she did want to do that, but Erika was practically bouncing on her toes. “You realize you’ll get dirty, right?”
“That’s part of the fun,” her friend who didn’t even eat wings or ribs because she couldn’t stand her fingers being dirty actually said out loud, and Hannah rolled her eyes.
“How’s eleven tomorrow sound?” Rob asked, his look practically daring Hannah to back out.
That wasn’t going to happen. Erika had gotten them into this, so she was going to enjoy watching her friend trying to brush dirt out of her hair. “Sounds good to me.”
His eyes widened in surprise, but he grinned. “I’ll be ready.”
“I can’t wait,” Erika said. “Okay, time to see your home away from home, Hannah.”
“You’ve seen my parents’ camper before.”
“Sure, but not its parking spot.”
On her way out, Hannah glanced over her shoulder to see if Rob was watching her leave. He was, and he didn’t look the slightest bit guilty about staring at her ass while everybody watched him watching her.
It was strange for all four of them to be in the store. As far as she knew, there was nothing going on to indicate this would be a busier than usual weekend, so maybe they’d all shown up to see the side-by-side they’d bought from their cousins.
She got in the passenger side of Erika’s rental and guided her through the campground. There was plenty of room for her to park next to the truck, and since Erika only had one carry-on and her tote, it didn’t take long to get her settled.
Hannah brewed them each a mug of coffee. “Do you want to sit outside?”
Erika’s nose wrinkled. “With the bugs? I’d rather sit here at the table.”
“You do realize you signed us up to be outside for most of the day tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah, but we’ll be moving, so the bugs won’t be able to catch us.” She grinned and leaned closer. “You didn’t mention the campground is owned by four very attractive men. Seriously, Hannah. There are four of them.”
“I didn’t mention it because I don’t care.” But of course, there was that image of Rob laughing that seemed permanently imprinted on her brain. And because she was talking to Erika and not a random person, the slight deception made her cheeks feel warm.
And her friend didn’t miss it. She leaned closer. “Which one is it?”
There was no sense in trying to lie. “Rob.”
Erika frowned. “Rob?”
“His brothers call him Bobby to annoy him.”
“Oh.” After a few seconds, her eyes widened. “Oh. He’s the one taking us out for a ride tomorrow.”
“Yes, and you will not embarrass me.”
“Define that.”
Hannah sighed. “You know what I’m talking about. No winks or nudges when you think he’s not looking. No innuendo. We’re just hanging out and I don’t want you to make it awkward.”
“Are you hanging out in bed?”
“We have...hung out in bed, yes.” She waved her hand. “It’s not a big deal.”
That was a lie. Rob was a very big deal, but confessing that would just muddy the waters.
While Erika might think it was fun to tease Hannah about a guy she liked, she wouldn’t be so cavalier about it if she realized he was a guy who might factor into Hannah’s thoughts about her future—a future which impacted Erika’s in a big way.
“Is it serious?” Erika asked in an unusually quiet voice, and Hannah could see that awareness was setting in already.
“No, it’s not serious.” Saying the words out loud felt wrong somehow. “How can I be serious about a guy I’m only going to know for a few more weeks?”
“Okay, so a campground affair. A summer fling.” Erika brightened immediately, and she didn’t notice Hannah didn’t do the same. “For the record, I one hundred percent approve of that. Have a little fun and then come home and get back to work.”
“Speaking of work,” Hannah said, because it was time to address the elephant in the room. “You didn’t tell me you were flying to Boston.”
Guilt flashed in Erika’s eyes. “I met with a potential sponsor. They submitted an offer I couldn’t ignore, but I wanted to talk to them first to make sure their vision and sense of ethics around true crime aligned with ours. Yours mostly, I guess.”
“And yet, you went without me? And you flew all the way to Boston for what could have been a Zoom meeting?”
“Your expression right now and your tone are exactly why I wanted to vet them first. If I didn’t think you’d like them, there was no sense in wasting everybody’s time,” Erika said. “It’s a lot of money, and the CEO hates virtual meetings. Plus, they paid for my flight and hotel.”
Hannah frowned, trying to make sense of it. “The sponsor paid for all of that?”
Erika tapped her fingers on the dinette, her anxiety showing. “Maybe not so much a sponsor as a production partner. They want to work with us to take Improbable Causes to the next level, with a full research staff and merch and so much stuff, Hannah. You wouldn’t believe it.”
“No, I don’t believe it.” Hannah paused, taking a few breaths to keep her temper under control. “I’m the research staff, and do they want Improbable Causes as it is, or your new and allegedly improved version of it?”
“Well, growth requires change, so—”
“Erika.” She shook her head. “You agreed to give me time off to consider what I want to do, and yet you’re flying across the country to take secret meetings?”
“Yes, I agreed to put my life on hold for three months while you make a decision about our business. But that doesn’t mean I can’t start putting pieces in place while I wait.
They know there’s no guarantee we’ll change the format of the show.
I didn’t make them a single promise. It was a fact-finding mission and you can add that data into whatever mental algorithm you’re running while you’re out here in the middle of nowhere. ”
Hannah forced herself not to answer right away. She loved this woman, and she needed to consider how she’d feel if Erika took off for three months with their business’s future in her hands. “I’m sorry. I know it’s hard for you.”
“And I know if your heart isn’t in a new format, it’s best to know before we’re in bed with some soulless corporation.
” Erika covered her hand. “I’m not trying to undermine you.
I’m trying to find a compromise, and I just want the pieces in place no matter which way we go so we can hit the ground running. ”
Hannah nodded and even managed a smile, but the pressure was like a weight on her chest, making it hard to breathe.
She had no doubt when she looked over the new information Erika had sent her, the potential income was going to be that much higher, which meant her decision would be that much harder.
“I didn’t come here to pressure you into committing,” Erika continued. “I’ve never been camping and I missed you and I honestly just want some girl time. In the woods, I guess.”
“Fine. I’ll go easy on you today because you did a lot of driving, but tomorrow when we get back from this four-wheeling adventure of yours, you’re going to sit outside at my campfire and make s’mores with me.”
Her nose wrinkled again, but then Erika mustered a game smile. “It’s a deal.”