Chapter 36
CHAPTER
THIRTY-SIX
Reeves swung the bag containing the canopy for his tent into the back of his truck.
He’d meet Luke at their agreed upon campsite in another couple of hours.
While Reeves had learned not to overpack throughout the past several years of filming his videos, this trip had him heading back inside to grab one more pack of food.
He should be able to drive almost all the way to the campsite, and he might have to walk a couple hundred yards to pitch his tent.
If it was just him, he wouldn’t worry about the lack of supplies, but he was meeting Luke Young there with four teenagers. OJ, of course, had wanted to ride with Reeves and had thrown quite a fit about it, actually. Luke said he’d handle it, and Reeves hadn’t heard from the teen again.
Luke was bringing his eighteen-year-old daughter, Corrine, as well as two more of OJ’s cousins—Eric and Lars.
Eric had just turned seventeen last month, and Lars was a year older than OJ.
Reeves had been texting with Luke pretty steadily for the last forty-eight hours, and the mega country music drummer had assured him that the kids would have their own packs, snacks, and bedding.
He’d check everything, and he’d been taking his family camping in all seasons since they were babies.
Somehow, that added to Reeves’s nerves as he grabbed an entire eight-pack package of peanut butter crackers and slid it into his second pack. If he had to carry everything, he would never do this, but he also hadn’t been camping with anyone, not just his girlfriend’s biological son, in years.
He normally drew peace and serenity from the mountains and the sky, and he talked about his faith and how nature settled him in his videos. He had no idea how much footage he could get with four teenagers and another cowboy around.
Because of that, Reeves hadn’t prepared a set script for this video the way he had others.
Not only that, but all of the minor children would have to get parental permission for him to film them, and when he’d brought that up with Luke, the man had never answered him.
Reeves finally stopped stress packing with a mega-pack of string cheese and headed out to his truck.
He wasn’t surprised at all to find Bailey’s white SUV pulling in behind him, and the beautiful woman who’d somehow captured his heart dropping from it with a long brown bag in her hand that surely held a loaf of bread.
“Howdy, ma’am.” Reeves quickly stashed his second pack in the back of the cab and went to greet her. “You’ve been to town already this morning?”
“It’s a good thing bakeries open early.” She smiled at him in a way that made his heartbeat rumble like a cat purring, and he simply knew by that grin that she liked him as much as he liked her.
Truth be told, Reeves was fairly sure he’d already fallen in love with the woman, and he had no idea that something so deep and lasting could happen so fast.
“Just so you know, I didn’t get this for you.” She extended the loaf of bread toward him.
He took it and raised his eyebrows as he looked at her.
“It’s for Luke,” she said. “I mean, he’s bringing four teenagers, and I figured the least I could do was load him up with his favorite carbs.”
Reeves lifted the bag and looked in the open end of it.
“It’s a cinnamon raisin baguette,” she said. “And Bryce told me that Luke loves to make French toast out of it.”
He grinned at her. “I’m sure he has something planned for breakfast already tomorrow.”
Bailey ran both her hands up the front of Reeves’s jacket, and he dropped the loaf of bread to his side. “I thought you were planning and cooking the meals, cowboy.”
A nervous chuckle fell from his mouth. “Oh, right,” he said. “I am.”
“So, no French toast tomorrow?” she asked.
“What do you think I planned for breakfast in the morning?” He leaned down and took a slow breath of the soft, feminine scent of her skin. “You’ve seen enough of my videos to know.” He pressed his lips right underneath her jaw, glad when she leaned into him further.
“I’m sure you have some steaks packed away,” she whispered.
A smile filled Reeves’s whole soul, because he loved having this open door into his private life just for Bailey.
“I’m going to make steak and eggs,” he murmured as he kissed his way along her collarbone and then finally claimed her mouth as his.
Reeves could honestly stand in his driveway and kiss Bailey for the rest of his life. She grounded him in a way no one else ever had, but he minded his manners and pulled away before tucking her hair behind her ear. “I’m sure you have to get back to work, wildflower.”
“Yes, eventually,” she murmured.
“I’ll be home just after lunch tomorrow,” he said.
Bailey fiddled with the collar on his jacket. “Are we’re still planning on church on Sunday?”
Reeves heard the trepidation in her voice, and he knew if he said he didn’t want to go, Bailey would immediately back out as well.
He hadn’t been to church in quite a while, though he believed in God and felt His presence in his life on a daily basis.
He wanted Bailey to be nothing but comfortable and happy, and the more he’d gotten to know her, the more he’d wanted to protect and care for her.
So a large, loud part of him told him to cancel church and claim that he might be too tired after camping with four teenagers and a man he barely knew.
At the same time, Reeves felt like it was time for him to get out of his comfort zone, and Bailey probably should too, though that wasn’t his decision to make.
“Yeah,” he said. “I’m planning on church on Sunday. I’ve already ironed my shirt, if you can believe that.”
Bailey smiled, but she didn’t giggle the way she had in the past.
“Okay,” she said. “I think I’m going to go shopping with my momma in the morning.”
Reeves had seen her wear dresses all summer long, though she seemed most comfortable in jeans and boots and tank tops. He’d seen her wear plenty of those too as she cultivated her garden, loved on his dogs, and laid in the hammock with him.
She’d decided to adopt Hydrangea, and Reeves had gone with her to the pet store to buy the little Maltese mix a crate, her own personalized food and water bowls, a brand new collar, and a couple of doggy dresses to boot.
Reeves didn’t much care what he did with Bailey, as long as he could be with her, and the shopping trip had been fun. “All right.” He stepped back completely. “I better get going, or Luke’s going to think I stood him up.”
“OJ’s texted me about forty times this morning,” Bailey said as she walked with Reeves to the driver’s side door of his truck.
“Oh, yeah? What’s he saying?”
“He’s giving me a blow-by-blow of packing his bag, and loading up in the car with his mom, and getting dropped off at Luke’s.”
Reeves turned back toward her and smiled. “We’re going to be fine.”
“I know,” Bailey said, but Reeves wasn’t sure if he believed her.
“I’ve checked the weather, and there’s only a twenty percent chance of rain.” He indicated the bed of his truck, though all of his gear sat out of sight. “I brought the canopy and all my rain gear for my camera equipment, so even if it does rain, we’re going to be fine.”
“I’m not worried about the elements,” Bailey said.
Reeves hooked one arm around her waist and pulled her flush against him. “Are you worried about me, wildflower, or the teenagers, or Luke?” He grinned down at her, hoping it came off in a flirty way.
“Well, I’m not worried about you,” she said, pushing against his chest.
He chuckled and leaned down to kiss her chastely. “That’s too bad,” he said. “A man likes to be worried about every now and then.”
“All right, go on,” Bailey said, and she put one hand against his chest and pressed gently. “I don’t want OJ mad at me for holding you up.”
Reeves would never throw Bailey under the bus like that, but he tipped his hat at her and got behind the wheel of his truck.
She retreated to her SUV, pulled around him, and drove as if she’d enter his garage, then she backed up again and headed down his long driveway.
Reeves did the same thing, making a three-point turn and heading out.
A couple of hours later, he put his truck in park next to a big, full-size SUV that had clearly been wrapped in dark brown vinyl. It was matte and bore the Country Quad logo on the back, and Reeves figured he’d found Luke.
He looked across the cab of the truck and to the northwest, where a path cut through a small patch of wild grass and into the woods. A National Forest sign proclaimed it the Teton Canopy Campground, and Reeves was surprised there weren’t more vehicles here.
“Here we go,” he said to himself. He cut the engine on the truck and dropped to the ground.
He barely had his tailgate open before he heard OJ yelling, “Reeves, you made it!”
He looked back to the trail and found OJ flying down it. Another boy came behind him, and their excitement and exuberance hit him square in the chest, even from fifty feet away. He caught OJ in a hug and somehow opened his other arm to OJ’s cousin.
“Hey, you guys,” he said brightly. “How long have you been here without me?”
“Uncle Luke doesn’t even have the tent up yet.” OJ backed up and looked over to his cousin. “This is my cousin, Lars,” he said. “He’s Uncle Mav’s son.”
“It’s great to meet you, Lars.” Reeves stuck out his hand for Lars to shake. The boy dutifully did so, and though OJ didn’t come from one of Mav’s brothers, they both had Young genes and definitely looked like they belonged to one another.
“Did you guys come to help me carry my gear?” Reeves asked.
“Yeah, you said I could hold the camera on the walk in.” OJ wore pure hope in his wide eyes, and Reeves didn’t think he would ever be able to tell the boy no.
So many of Bailey’s complicated feelings came into focus for him in that moment, and he couldn’t stop smiling as he gestured for OJ to follow him to the back passenger door.