Chapter 25
Maddie
The quietness of Camp Horizon is eerie as I walk through the unkempt pathway toward the beach. I can tell immediately it’s been deserted for some time.
In all the days that I have spent here, I have never heard it so still.
Even at night when everyone was in bed, long after curfew, the unknown sounds of the woods or the cooing of nearby owls filled the air.
Pushing my way through the overgrown pathway, I finally make it through the other side, and just as I suspected, there’s a shadow sitting on the end of the dock, taking in the impending sunset.
Back in his safe space.
What is he doing here?
Without pausing, I lean down and remove my heeled booties, then my socks, and walk across the manmade beach, the sand cold against my toes. I’m closer to the water than I ever would have been before. Where the water laps against the shoreline, and the sun slowly inches down toward the horizon.
I haven’t been here in years, since the day Nate and I said our goodbyes, when I thought my life was over.
Silly teenager.
As I inch close to the dock, one foot in front of the other, a warmth in my chest and visions of the happy memories begin to flood my mind.
One in particular is in the forefront. Nate had just given me my first ever nickname, Mads. I was beside myself, but I played it cool.
“Are you okay with sitting down there? Sunset is soon, and we won’t want to miss it.”
“Sure. Hopefully, I don’t fall off the dock.”
Nate’s face fell to the ground when I mentioned how I couldn’t swim, he turned white as a ghost. Looking back, it was that very moment that spoke volumes. I wouldn’t have to rely on my big brother any longer.
Nate would always be my protector, even when I didn’t know it.
“Forget it. We’ll sit on the sand far away from the water.”
“Oh my goodness! I was kidding.”
“One sway of the dock, and I’d lose my mind. There’s no bad view here. This is fine.”
He ushered me to the sand, and our bodies touched for the first time, innocently enough, but I lit up like fireworks on the Fourth of July.
I was in heaven.
It was a feeling I quickly became addicted to. One my body yearns for, still, after all these years. Even now, as I make it to the end of the dock, his body calls to me.
There’s always been a magnetic force between us, one that most people would never understand.
“Come sit.” Of course, he knew I was here; he always knows.
Nate pats the spot next to him, without turning to look at me, and I lower myself as close as possible. Arm to arm, leg to leg, just like we did more than fifteen years ago. This time he’s confident enough to put his arm around me without hesitation, exactly how it should be.
For a while, we sit quietly, watching the most spectacular sunset. Even after all these years, another has never come close to the beauty that radiates from Lake Horizon.
The hues of pink and purple marble through the sky, and, like magic, they shift to deep oranges as the sun begins to disappear and the moon takes its place, lighting the sky and casting a rippling light across the lake.
“Tell me something new,” he whispers, pulling me deeper into his side.
There are still so many things we need to learn about the adult versions of ourselves, but there’s something I can’t wait to tell him.
“I know how to swim now.” I smile proudly.
He chuckles. “Doesn’t count. Mason already told me. But I’m proud of you, and jealous.”
“Oh.” My shoulders drop. I was sure he was going to be surprised. “Wait, what is there to be jealous about?”
He shrugs. “It was always my job to teach you.”
“Oh, come on. You can’t be serious.”
He shrugs again. “So, tell me something I don’t know.”
I think about telling him about my secret career as Cherry, but that will only turn the conversation solely on me, and that’s not what I want. I want to know why he’s here at camp. So, I go with something less interesting.
“I started taking Spanish lessons again.” That’s a semi-truth. I only downloaded the app yesterday, but there’s no doubt I’ll follow through this time and learn it fluently.
Hearing Juliette speak to Harrison in French at the gala and Leo speak Spanish to a potential client reminded me of how being proficient in another language was such an important goal of mine earlier in life.
“A long time ago you were halfway there. You’ll be fluent in no time.”
“Thanks,” I mumble. “Now you.”
“I miss sailing.” His voice is despondent. “I’m so busy with M-Squared, I had no idea how much until now, being on Lake Horizon.”
My hand reaches across his lap and squeezes his in comfort. I don’t tell him that it’s not something new. I could tell how much he missed it the day he told me about his childhood.
Sailing is his safe space, his therapy, and a huge part of his life. Of course, he misses it.
Nate’s question broke the ice, but the lingering silence is tangible, and it’s making me uneasy.
In a soft tone that matches the swaying trees, I ask, “What are you doing here, Nate?”
A chuckle rumbles in his chest, a small smirk lifts his lips. “I’m not sure you’d believe me if I told you.”
“Maybe years ago, but nothing you tell me surprises me anymore.”
“I bought it.”
My head snaps toward him. “Bought what?”
Okay, maybe this was a surprise.
He lifts his arm in a sweeping motion. “Camp Horizon.”
Although I already knew his answer was going to be something outrageous, I’m still shocked as hell. “What? Why?”
He pulls me back into his side, wrapping his arm a little bit tighter.
“Because they went bankrupt a few years back. They filed Chapter Eleven, which means they were given the chance to pay off their debt while keeping the property. They failed and had to sell the land to pay their creditors. I’ve kept an eye on it and made an offer they couldn’t refuse.
No one but me would keep the land as is, and there was no way I would let someone rip away our memories. ”
I’m not going to cry again. I’ve done enough of that, so for a moment I close my eyes and revel in his words and the romantic gesture behind everything Nate lives by.
“I’m sorry, Nate,” I whisper into his shoulder, the guilt eating me alive. “I’m so sorry.”
He doesn’t tell me it’s okay, he doesn’t pacify me with empty words. “Where have you been all week, Mads? Where has your head been?”
“I’m struggling.” I sit up, needing space to breathe, and blow out a breath.
“I started seeing our relationship in a different light, and it didn’t shine pretty on me.
I was taking time to wrap my head around it before we went any further.
” He sweeps my hair off my face and tucks a piece behind my ear.
I nuzzle my face into his hand, using the power of touch to tell him how much I love it.
“I can’t play games, Maddie, we’re too old for that shit. After the masquerade party, I thought we were moving forward. That we’d talk and figure out everything together, but you ran from me. That’s not us.”
I turn, kiss the palm of his hand, then maneuver myself so I can look him in the eyes. “I know, and I was a coward. When I woke up the next morning, I started to see everything clearly, and I didn’t like what I saw—”
He puts his finger up to my lips to silence me. “You said you wanted to wrap your head around it. So answer me this first. After we talk it out and sift through the bullshit, are you in? Are you mine?”
My demons might weigh me down, but I’m not living another day without the love of my life any longer. “I’m yours, Nate.”
“Good. That’s all that matters right now.” He stands tall, taking me with him. “Let’s get out of here, you’re shivering. We can talk when we’re somewhere warm.”
He interlocks our fingers and walks me back toward our meadow. I stop short, looking up the hill, beyond the trees where our cabins would be.
I can partially see what’s left of the abandoned food hall and the path that leads to my favorite memories.
Nate runs a hand up and down my arm. “We’ll come back when we decide what to do with this place. We can walk and explore when it’s light out.”
I incline my head in a small gesture and continue following him. “Aren’t you wondering how I got here? Or, how I knew you were here?”
His lips curve. “A helicopter in the quiet night’s sky isn’t hard to miss, and Leo is the only one who knows about the purchase.”
“Oh,” I mumble under my breath. Of course.
“Here. You’re trembling.”
I shake my head and give Nate back his jacket. “I’m not cold. I’m nervous.”
He gives me a meaningful look, and I know if we weren’t steps away from the waiting helicopter, he’d be changing his mind to talk now. Instead, he helps me up and then climbs in himself before buckling me in and putting the headphones on my ears.
“Can you hear me?” I ask into the microphone.
He nods. “Yes. So, keep it PG.”
“Me? You’re the one with the dirty mouth.”
He waggles his brows, then takes my hand in his and places it on his thigh. I sigh on the inside, already feeling less stressed.
Nate’s therapy is sailing, mine is his touch.
The pilot adjusts the settings and presses a million buttons before he asks, “Are you ready, Mr. Davenport?”
Nate glances in my direction. “You, good Mads?”
“I am.” I nod dutifully.
He squeezes my hand, then turns back toward the pilot. “You heard the lady, let’s do it.”
A short while later we land, and Nate escorts me to a different plane than the one I arrived in.
This one is on the smaller side, but you can tell right away it’s pure luxury.
“How many planes do you have?”
His eyes sparkle with laughter. “Me, personally? Zero.”
“Don’t be smart.” I teasingly hit my shoulder into his. “How many does the family have?”
“M-Squared owns a large plane with The Valencia Hotel Group since we both work closely together, especially internationally.”
Is he kidding me right now? “Semantics, Nate. You are M-Squared, and Seb is The Valencia Hotel Group.”