Chapter Twenty-Two
Zoey had never been as thrilled as in the moment she realized she’d be camping for the first time in her life. Sleeping under the stars, too, because she planned on lying outside of the tent in a sleeping bag. Daddy would think she’d gone bananas if he could see her now.
“You have a beautiful home, why would you sleep on the lawn?”
She understood, on some level, because her father had not grown up with the kind of luxury Zoey had.
His mother, a single mom, had worked hard for everything they had.
If Zoey had to sleep in a tent year-round of course it wouldn’t be fun.
But she wanted this experience and couldn’t believe a boyfriend or friend had never suggested “roughing it.” They might have assumed she wouldn’t be interested but they’d be wrong.
Zoey hadn’t asked if electronics would be allowed on this excursion, but just in case, she FaceTimed Twyla before beginning the adventure.
“I’m going camping!”
Twyla’s happy face lit up with a smile. “Really? Where?”
“My backyard.”
“Oh.” Twyla seemed stunned for several seconds, just staring into the phone. “Okay.”
“It was Archer’s idea and he surprised me. You should see it. There’s a tent and sleeping bags and a firepit…it really feels like autumn arrived in my backyard.”
“Aw, I hope you have fun,” Twyla said. “Eat a s’more for me!”
After she disconnected, Zoey packed an overnight bag with a few essentials, like her toothbrush, hair bonnet, slippers and pajamas.
If she forgot anything, she could simply walk a few feet and get it, although that might be considered cheating.
If she were miles away from home in the woods, she would have to make do.
Either way, she took off her makeup and washed her face ahead of time.
She didn’t want to have to do so with the garden hose.
When she rejoined him, Archer was grilling two steaks on a grate over the firepit.
“Smells delicious,” Zoey said, throwing her bag in the tent.
“Wait until you taste this,” Archer said. “I’m not kidding, somehow everything tastes better when it’s cooked outside.”
“Should I get plates and cutlery?”
“Nope, already did.”
“You have definitely prepared for this, and I am truly surprised.” She took a seat on one of the folded lawn chairs he’d placed in front of the tent. “Thank you.”
“I felt bad about canceling your event,” Archer said, turning a steak. “It isn’t fair that your father’s problem became your own.”
“If only y’all had told me the truth instead of blaming it on poor Scott—”
“You would have gotten on board?” Archer gave her a quirk of the eyebrow suggesting he didn’t buy it.
“Well, maybe not, but it would have made more sense to me.”
“What about Scott? Is he texting or bothering you anymore?”
“Not since your very direct message on my behalf.”
“I had a feeling that might work.”
“And I suppose I should thank you for that,” Zoey said, leaning toward the fire. “I never would have been so blunt, but I see now where sometimes it’s necessary to get the message across. I’ve never been good at that.”
“I’ll tell you what—you continue to be kind and leave me to be the ass on your behalf. I can pull it off far more easily than you ever could.”
“Yes, but…you won’t always be around, will you?”
“That’s true, but let’s not think about that tonight.”
When the steaks were ready, they ate them from their plates right on the ground, on which he’d laid a large plaid blanket.
Granted, she had a patio table on the deck they could drag over, but this was roughing it and she wouldn’t complain.
The steak tasted charbroiled, almost as good as what she’d order in a restaurant.
Archer had also boiled some potatoes and vegetables, which would normally taste bland to her.
But damn, he was right, everything tasted better outside. Such a mystery!
“So tell me, Archer. You and your family did this all the time? How often did you and your family go camping?”
“Just about every summer. Naturally, my sisters would complain about not having running water and facilities. I loved it, though. As a kid, I probably spent half my life outside, taking every dare I ever got. I broke my leg once.” He moved his prosthesis.
“I suppose I should say twice. Once, rather more permanently.”
They hadn’t talked about this. For all practical purposes, Archer was a man without anything notably missing.
He certainly no longer had a hitch in his step, but they both knew the truth.
Because of an accident, his life would never be the same.
For someone who’d lost so much, Zoey remained impressed with how little it seemed to matter to him.
She assumed, however, that was a front for his real thoughts and fears.
“Does it hurt?” Zoey whispered.
“Nah. It took some getting used to, but it’s been months now. The only issue was just before I got here, I’d been given a newer model. It took some adjusting. Funny how I can trade in my old foot for a new one. Kind of like a car. More bells and whistles.”
“You deserve the best,” Zoey said, scooting closer to him. “Like the Cadillac or Rolls-Royce of prosthetics.”
He chuckled and their shoulders touched, leaning into each other. “Pretty sure I have it.”
When the flickering flames died back to red glowing embers, Archer reached for the bag of marshmallows.
He had her dialed. This time Zoey ate far too many and may have had a sugar high because she kept reaching for Archer’s lips to clear off something that wasn’t actually there. If he questioned it, he said nothing.
“My parents never took me camping. I don’t know why. It just seems like the seminal American vacation and I missed out on it. I never had the s’mores and campfires and ghost stories.”
“But you got to see other things instead.”
“True, and I’m not complaining. I’ve had a privileged life and I accept that. But I never asked for this. I just happened to wind up in this family with a famous athlete for a dad. He gave us everything he could, even if sometimes he failed to give us more of himself.”
“He was gone a lot, I take it?”
“Yeah. It was far from ideal. We were the pretty picture to the public—Patch Lambert, his wife and daughter. With the bigger games, we were always there for the photo ops. Super Bowl wins and parties, those were the high times. No photo ops of the times my father was sidelined with an injury, miserable and angry. My mother handled it well, even if looking back, it was almost like she was a single parent during football season. I don’t want to sound ungrateful.
We had so much of everything, but sometimes it’s the small things that matter the most. Having a father home to tuck you in every night, tell you a bedtime story, just be there.
My mother did all that for me. No wonder we were so close. ”
“In our family, my mother never let my father off the hook. Of course, he didn’t travel, though I bet there were times he would have liked to get away from us all for a week or two.
When he got home every night it was his job to give the younger kids baths and tuck them into bed after dinner.
He wasn’t allowed to say he was tired from working all day, commuting home from the city.
She’d say, ‘And what do you think I have been doing all day? Eating chocolate bonbons?’” He laughed.
“I grew up in an equal opportunity household, and that’s how it’s going to be when I have a wife and children. It’s only fair.”
The thought of Archer with a wife and children sent a swift kick to her belly. She didn’t like the thought, unless she was in the picture. Now that would be a nice photo op.
“You’re going to have a wife and children?”
“I’m Italian, what do you think? I think it’s written in the contract at birth.” He snorted.
“Well, I’m half Mexican and half Black so it’s probably in my contract, too.” She chuckled. “I have to tell you, this is probably the best Sweetheart Day ever.”
“Yeah? That’s high praise.”
“Except for the ones I had with my mother, of course.”
“Naturally. I can’t compete with that, nor would I want to.”
“Had I known this would happen, I would have canceled sooner. It’s better than a party.”
“You say that now,” Archer said with a smirk. “But wait until you wake up after a night sleeping on the cold, hard ground.”
“I won’t mind.”
“We’ll see about that.”
* * *
Archer bit his lower lip to keep from breaking into a full-blown smile watching Zoey struggle with zipping up her sleeping bag.
“I’m going to sleep outside the tent, I’ve decided.” She positioned her bag a foot away from the smoldering firepit. “And truly see the stars.”
“I might join you. If it gets too cold, just climb in the tent. It’s not like we need protection from dangerous animals or anything.”
“My gardener sprays regularly for snakes and mosquitoes.”
“I meant a coyote.”
Her expression was priceless, eyes round, brows scrunched together. “But I don’t think—”
He grinned. “No coyotes out here. Or lions or tigers and bears.”
“Oh, my.” She giggled, having now curled completely into her sleeping bag and zipped up. Only her pretty face showed.
He certainly wasn’t afraid of anything out here.
He had his gun nearby, locked and loaded, though he hardly needed to bring that up to her.
She’d seen him carrying the entire time.
But just because they were outside in a perfectly landscaped backyard in a wealthy neighborhood didn’t mean he’d let his guard down.
Protecting Zoey was still his number one job.
It didn’t take much longer for the sky to darken to inky black, and with the cloud cover gone, the stars twinkled brightly against a perfect velvety backdrop.
This was the way Archer loved to see the sky, and the range and depth of space itself.
It reminded him that this earthly life was temporary and transitory.
He’d already lost so many friends who would never experience the pleasures and pains of growing old.
Archer could only hope he would be one of the lucky ones who did.
He covered the fire, took off his boot, then his foot, placed both in the zipped-up tent and climbed into his own sleeping bag not far from Zoey’s.
Zoey took out her arm to point. “That’s the Big Dipper.”
“You’re not a true novice.” He chuckled.
“I’m still a camping virgin,” she said, scooting her body closer to him.
He snorted. “Proud to be here with you for your first time.”
“Archer, this is the best thing ever.” She reached for his hand and squeezed it.
He squeezed hers back, not letting go. He’d been all over the world and slept under the sky countless of times, but without a doubt, this would be the one he’d always remember.
They fell asleep holding hands.
Archer heard the sound before he felt the first sprays of rain.
Wait. No, not rain. He opened one eye to the first rays of sunlight just as water hit him.
Sitting up, he saw the problem. The garden sprinklers had gone off.
They were probably on a timer, which was smart, and which he should have considered when setting up.
Pretty soon, he imagined, everything out here would be wet.
He reached for his foot and boot inside the tent, when he heard Zoey squeal.
“Oh! It’s raining!” She sat up, looked up at the sky, then climbed out of her bag.
“Sprinklers,” Archer said. “My fault. We should have turned them off.”
The sprinklers really packed a punch but surely they’d be going off momentarily.
“In here.”
He crouched and helped Zoey climb into the tent.
They could just run inside the house, only feet away, but this was the experience.
They were only slightly damp and not totally drenched, and more importantly, both laughing hard at the idiocy of the moment.
Such careful planning on his part, then forgetting something as silly as turning off the timed sprinkler system.
“You almost got your rain,” Archer said, throwing his arm around her in the tight space. “Wish hard enough for something and maybe it will happen.”
“If only that were true,” she said, curling into his chest. “I’m wishing for something else right now.”
“Zoey,” he said quietly, but it was too late.
She raised her lips to his, and they were kissing in a way that reminded him of other carnal pleasures in life.
He’d been denying himself those, too, for what felt like far too long.
One of the greatest pleasures in life: a beautiful woman who knew how to kiss.
They kissed for so long that the sprinklers finally stopped their pulsing waves of water.
And just like that, Archer woke out of his trance. He pulled away.
“We shouldn’t.”
“Look,” Zoey said. “I don’t care if it’s unprofessional. You know I won’t tell anyone. It’ll be our secret. You want me and I want you. What could be simpler?”
“It’s not that easy. I wish it were.”
He unzipped the tent and climbed out. Together they began to clean everything up. They worked together well, and after an hour, a person wouldn’t know they’d been camping last night. Archer stuck all the supplies he’d bought in Zoey’s pristine garage.
After showering, he changed into his uniform of white button-down with tie and black slacks. Zoey had also showered, and he found her in the kitchen chopping potatoes. As usual, she was making him breakfast. He’d told her a million times she didn’t have to include him, but she always did anyway.
Both the ring camera and doorbell sounded at once, and Archer stood.
“Expecting anyone?”
“Nope,” Zoey said, moving to the door. “But I’ll get it.”
He hoped it wasn’t Scott, trying again, or even worse, the other guy Zoey used to date coming around to try again. If that were the case, he’d have to do better at scaring him off for good. Glancing at the ring app on his phone, Archer saw three men. He moved behind Zoey.
She opened the door to a tall, muscular African American man flanked by two smartly dressed equally large men.
“Daddy! What are you doing here?”