Fortunate Miracles (Summer Easton #3)

Chapter 1

Summer

I’m a ship with a hole in the bottom, exhaustion slowing me down, but I’m still looking forward to the camping trip this weekend.

The month of August flew by, but it was a weary month for me.

There were lots of unwanted memories and nightmares after having to relive the most horrendous moments of my life at the trial, and I ended up back on my sleeping pills.

Sarah has me journalling to process my feelings, and it seems to help a little.

Nick has been working too much, trying to figure out what his father is up to.

I’ve seen him at work, of course, but when he’s not working for Finn, he’s on his laptop searching for information.

Even when he’s with us, he’s not. It’s been over a month with no contact from his father, and I miss him, so I’ve banned his laptop for the camping trip.

He was initially reluctant, but eventually gave in.

I finished work at the plantation a few days ago and really enjoyed getting to know Rose.

She shared lots of stories with me about my great grandparents, Mara and Philip.

I even had her over for afternoon tea one Sunday with Zander.

She asked me to work a few Saturdays this fall, and I happily agreed.

Aaron and I became good work friends as well.

I probably won’t see him until next summer at the plantation, though.

The state track meet was okay, but my heart wasn’t in it.

I’m not trying to get a scholarship, and I don’t know if I want to run competitively in college.

Holly got her conditional scholarship offer, and I’m happy for her.

Jaxon had some interest, too. I had a few scouts talk to me, but I’m honestly not sure where I’ll end up after high school.

I’m still thinking of studying plant medicine, but I’d like to go where my guys go.

It’s something we need to discuss this fall.

Zander helped me bake a cake for Lily bee’s birthday on August 4th. He bought sparklers, and we lit the cake that night after the sun went down.

The debutante ball was what I expected. Each debutante was announced and walked down a grand staircase with an escort.

They danced three dances together before joining their families.

Dinner was served, and then there was dancing and mingling.

Except for the debutante’s entrance, it seemed like any other society gathering.

Reesa’s sister had an escort, and she looked lovely, but she wasn’t happy.

“Darling, the guys just pulled up,” Zander says, sticking his head into my room.

“Okay. I’ll be right out,” I smile. We’re going through all our gear for the camping trip and loading the vehicles this morning. We could all use a relaxing vacation. Grabbing my list, I head out to the garage.

“Sunshine,” Seb, my best friend with his golden retriever energy, is a bottle of soda about to explode, all smiles and excitement coming in for a hug. I love hugs from my guys. “Are you all packed?”

“Almost Hurry,” I get hugs from E and Bay as I greet Alex and Nick.

“Okay, spread out what you have on the ground, then we can start loading everything into the vehicles,” Alex tells us. His brilliant analytical mind is already categorizing items.

Once it’s all laid out, I call items out from my list as the guys pack Alex’s SUV.

We’re taking his vehicle and the Jeep on our trip.

It takes a few hours to complete packing, but we have everything we need for our mini camping vacation.

E and Zander bring the coolers inside so we can fill them with food for the long weekend.

I’ve already got the pantry items bagged up, and each person is bringing the snacks they want to eat.

When we’re done, I finish packing, then give Zander a hug, and grab my bags to add to the SUV.

We’re off by 10am to our campsite two hours away. Nick and E are in the front seats while Seb is in the back with me, arm slung over my shoulder, gently bobbing his head to the music and mouthing the words. The top is down and the sun is shining, alluding to the perfect day ahead.

All Finn employees have the long weekend off.

Zander and Troy don’t accept jobs on Labor Day weekend to allow family time before school begins.

I initially felt bad about leaving Zander alone this weekend, but he assured me he had his own plans.

He is going to the beach with Troy and a few guys on Saturday and then prepping the house for painting on Sunday and Monday.

The drive goes quickly, and we’re soon pulling into a beautiful campground.

I hop out to go into the office with Alex.

We booked three campsites side by side to have some privacy from other campers.

We’re given a map to follow with the campsites listed.

Nick follows behind Alex through a copse of old pine trees with brown needles littering the floor, and around a sparkling lake glittering like crystals in the sun.

I’m pleasantly surprised to find lots of privacy around our campsites.

After exploring the three sites, we decide where to set up and start unpacking. The central site will be a common area, and we’ll spread the three tents out around it in the trees.

Nick follows my directions as we build our tent.

It’s a large stand-up tent to accommodate his size.

The poles are already together, so we just slip them into the matching numbered slots on the tent, and he anchors them in the ground.

The instructions are easy to follow, and we soon have a decent-sized rectangle to sleep in.

Grabbing the air mattresses, I fill the queen-sized one first for Nick to place inside, then fill the twin to add to the bottom.

He’s so tall we needed to add some extra length to the bed.

He ties the two together, then we open and lay out the sleeping bags on top.

Two pillows later, and we have our bed. After he gets out, I go inside and organize our belongings.

We have a camp lantern that I hang from the ceiling.

Flashlights and charging banks go on the little folding table I brought.

I leave our bags along the left side of the tent before moving back outside.

Taking a deep breath of geosmin, I tilt my head back to let the rays of the sun brush my skin, absorbing the vitamin D and heat.

The humidity is less here compared to the coast, but the temperature is still really warm and much hotter than late summer in Virginia.

I wonder if I’ll ever get used to the climate here.

Perhaps someday. It has been less than a year.

Nick followed my request and left his laptop behind.

Looking over at him, I see he’s leaning against a huge tree trunk with sunglasses on, scruff and man bun in place.

I can’t tell what he’s looking at, but he’s facing the water.

As usual, he didn’t say much when we were getting set up.

Deciding to check in, I walk over and join him.

“Grumpy,” I say, leaning up on my toes to kiss below his jaw.

He leans down, unfolding his massive tattooed arms and wrapping them around my back, and we share a quick kiss on the lips. “Doing okay?”

“Yeah. Nice place,” he replies.

Turning so my back is against his muscular chest, I lean my head against him, my body relaxing on instinct, being in his arms. Nick is my safe space, despite the scowling, mean guise he shows the world.

All the guys mean safety to me, but after Nick rescued me from the kidnapping and took care of me afterwards, my mind and body know no harm will come to me when he’s around.

We hear swearing and cursing coming from across the common area, so I step away from his arms and meander over. I find Seb sitting cross-legged on a bed of crumpled fabric, frustration etching his features, surrounded by tent poles and an instruction manual in his grasp. “What happened?” I ask.

“Sunshine, it’s gonna be dark before we get this thing together. There’s a million pieces,” he whines, gesturing to the mess.

I reach down and grab the instruction booklet to take a look. They bought an older-style tent where you have to piece the poles together into the different shapes required to make it. It’s also a huge tent and made of canvas instead of nylon. “Where on earth did you buy this thing, guys?”

“We found it online,” E answers, walking in from the far campsite, water bottles in hand.

He looks calm compared to Seb, with a small smile on his face.

I think the contrast in their personalities makes E and Seb such a great couple.

E is a gentle soul, confident but kind; the balm to Seb’s sometimes chaotic energy.

“You know they have instant tents and pop-up tents these days, right? I didn’t even know you could buy this type anymore.” This will take forever to put together, and it’s not waterproof. Here’s hoping it doesn’t rain.

“What?” Seb asks, brows pulled down in confusion. “Is yours up already?”

“Yeah, it’s up, and the bed is ready.” I reply. He pushes himself up from the ground and stomps past me to our side of the common area. E and I follow behind him.

When he sees our completed tent, he whirls towards me. “No way,” Seb exclaims, shaking his head at me. “No fair, Sunshine. We’ve never been camping before. How were we supposed to know? E look at this,” he says, waving his arm towards my tent in frustration.

“I offered to help you pick out a tent, Hurry, but you said you were good.” A smile slips onto my face because only Seb would get himself into a situation like this.