Bet On Love (8 page)

“It means you have to stay until then. As soon as he gets home he’s going to print it off for us to sign.”

“Wait a minute. You guys are really going through with this annulment thing?” Abbey’s tone came through loud and clear, making Cole blink in surprise.

“Abbey, this doesn’t concern you.”

“Oh, I think it does, Dad.” Abbey’s eyes prompted me to say something, but I couldn’t.

“We’ll talk about it later,” his voice held firm while his eyes remained on me as if
he
wanted to say something but didn’t dare.

“You mean after Shelby is already gone? Don’t you think it will be a little too late?”

“I don’t like your attitude, young lady. This is an adult matter, and let me remind you that you are still a child.”

“Cole, she’s entitled to her opinion, and this does concern her.” I kept my voice calm and low, my heart thumping loud against my rib cage.

“Shelby, I’ll deal with my daughter later, but this is what yo—I mean
we
, wanted. We have to see this through.” His words stung a little, but hit home just the same.

“You’re right.” I dropped my gaze to the floor. “So how long do we have?”

“You two are impossible!” Abbey yelled and left the room, stomping her way through the house and up the stairs to where she slammed the door. Cole startled, not expecting the bang, and then sighed.

“Hey, she’s your daughter. You know her best. I’m just the soon-to-be-ex evil step-momster.” I tried to make light of the situation, but Cole wasn’t in the joking mood for some reason. “Well, then, I guess I should finish packing.”

“You’re more than welcome to stay here until this is over.”

“I don’t know, Cole. It’s getting a little weird.” That was putting it mildly. The tug-of-war going on inside my head was almost too much to bear. I needed to get back to my life, back to Malibu where Cole Martin only existed in my dreams-not flesh and blood.

“There’s no reason to pay the expense of a hotel. Just stay, please.” Those sexy as hell eyes pleaded, and I turned to putty in an instant.
Damn him.

“Ugh, okay, fine. Now don’t you have a job somewhere that you were headed to?”

He grinned, quite pleased with himself, then looked at his watch. “That I do. Looks like you get to experience my chicken parm after all.” Cole had taken a couple steps toward the door when Abbey appeared once more.

“Dad?” She stood hesitantly at the threshold then folded herself into his open arms. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right, munchkin. This is an unusual circumstance, and I’m sure even for a big girl like yourself, it’s hard to understand.”

“A little.” Abbey looked at me, and I saw the curious hint of a smile. What on earth was this girl up to? “But I’m doing okay. I just had to take a step back and think about things from your guys’ point of view.”

“Coming where?” I shot a frightful glance at Cole. We’d just figured all of this out. I couldn’t imagine what the monkey wrench was going to be now.

“Eagle Lake,” Abbey answered like I was silly for not knowing. “Dad, remember we were going up early before Maria’s party?” Cole’s smile drooped a little at the reminder.

“Crap! I’ve been so tied up with things here I’d completely forgotten. We’ll have to wait and go up the day of the party. I don’t have our gear together or anything.”

“But Dad, Maria’s expecting me. We made plans, and we’re going to decorate the pavilion. I can’t let her down.”

“I’ll call Uncle Rob. He’ll understand.”

“Why can’t Shelby take me to the store? I know what we need. Then when you get home from work we can go up to camp just like we planned.”

“Camp?” I questioned with dread as my imagination whirled with images of man-eating mosquitoes, bears and skunks. I hadn’t camped since I was seventeen. Over the years I’d become a beach girl, through and through. “As in woods?” I scratched at phantom bug bites.

“I-I’m not scared,” I scoffed, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say the two of them were in on this together. Something was definitely up. “Bring it on, Captain Wilderness, I can totally handle it.” I hoped.

“Yes!” Abbey fist-pumped and jogged out of the room cheering.

***

Abbey and I hit up the local market, putting everything in our cart from s’mores ingredients to cereal. We picked fresh vegetables, fruit, and salted peanuts in the shell because they were Cole’s favorite. The perishable items we stocked in the cooler once we got home. Everything else stayed in plastic shopping bags.

“Well, now that we have our supplies, I guess I’d better get upstairs and pack,” I said, looking at our huge stockpile of food.

“Me too. I want us to be ready to go when Dad gets home,” Abbey said as she looked toward the clock on the wall.

“Right.” I eyed her suspiciously. The dancing hairs on the back of my neck warned me something was off. “Abbey,” I said, reaching for her arm. “This camping trip doesn’t change anything. I have to go back to California.” The young version of Cole didn’t bat a lash.

“I know.” And off she went upstairs without a care in the world.

I followed a moment later and put my belongings back into my suitcase. So this was it. I’d be leaving for parts unknown then returning to my real home by the weekend. Such a bittersweet feeling, but I knew this was all for the best. I only hoped Abbey truly understood, because even though I’d be all the way across the country, I’d hate for her to hate me.

And as for Cole, well, I knew he didn’t hate me. The bond we shared was strong enough to last through anything except a relationship. This role-playing exercise was more than enough. In the course of a week, I became a wife and a mother. Not everyone could say that. Memories I would cherish forever.

“I’m ready, how about you?” Abbey poked her head in the door, a dark green nylon duffle slung over her shoulder and matching sleeping bag cradled in her arms.

“Yeah, let’s put your clothes in with Dad’s.” Abbey promptly dropped her stuff outside the door and waltzed in to take my Anne Klein luggage back to the bed. “I suppose we can leave this in the trunk if you insist on bringing it, but for conveniences let’s put everything together.”

“Remember, I’m going to have to catch the flight--”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry about the flight. You’re going to have so much fun I wouldn’t be surprised if you missed it all together!”

And there it was.

I had seen the original Parent Trap movie hundreds of times, and I’d even allowed myself the hidden joy of watching the remake. I knew exactly what was happening here, and I couldn’t help but be impressed at her determination of doing it on her own. While she occupied herself with making space in Cole’s duffle, I discreetly slipped my airline confirmation from the outside pocket of my carryon and into the zippered compartment of my purse. This was one item that was not going to become misplaced during our wilderness adventure.

“How’s it looking?” I ventured a peek over her shoulder.

“All we have to do now is wait for Dad to add his things.”

“Great,” I said and then spied half the contents of my suitcase on the bed. “Wait a minute, I need this stuff.” I picked up my make-up bag and curling iron. “This place has a hairdryer, right?”

“We’re tenting, Shelby, no electricity. Which reminds me, we’d better grab the extra batteries for the flashlight.”

“Flashlight?”

“Yeah, for when you have to go to the bathroom, and we need plastic bags for the toilet paper. We usually set up in the woods next to our site.”

“You’re joking, right?” Good Lord, I hadn’t had to squat in the woods since my college partying days, and even then, it didn’t go well. “Certainly they have bathrooms at the camp sight.”

“Sure, way up where the campers are, but we go far into the woods. The bathrooms are a really long walk.” She seemed to sense my fears because she added, “And at night the skunks and raccoons come out.”

“Great.” I forced a smile. “I can hardly wait.”

Chapter Eight

After driving almost two hours through winding roads and deep woods, we finally reached the remote town of Conrad and entered into Mill Creek Campgrounds. Abbey had conveniently listened to her music the entire drive, leaving Cole and I to make small talk. We seemed to talk about everything but my impending departure and the fact that Friday, Matt Drake would be dropping off our official release from this fiasco.

“How far away are we from Uncle Rob’s sight?” Abbey pulled the earbuds away from her head.

“We’re just down the creek a ways,” Cole replied.

“You mean there really is a creek here?” I searched out the open window. The strong scent of pine tingled in my nose as we drove further into the campground.

“Hence the name, yes.” Cole glanced my way and winked. “We usually get this sight or the one Rob has which is closer to the actual lake. The kids like fishing off the dock or the rocky point, and the beach isn’t that far, either.”

“Sounds great.” My mood lifted a bit. I remembered how relaxing I found the wilderness to be when I was younger. Now the sound of the surf every night after a tough day was what I craved. Although anything would be a welcome distraction from the handsome man beside me and the unhappy ending to come.

“Ah, here we are, sight 518. Let’s unload and set up the tent.” Cole rolled into the sight, and Abbey was out the door before the car was even in park.

“I’m letting Maria know we’re here. I’ll be back!” she shouted, and I watched her lime green shorts disappear down the path. I couldn’t help but smile.

“Looks like it’s just you and me,” I said, not realizing the implication until Cole’s brows disappeared. “I mean, you know, to set up camp.”

“Right.” He winked again, and I suddenly wondered if this wasn’t a conspiracy concocted by him and his daughter after all. “Do you remember how to do this, California girl?”

“Like riding a bike, isn’t that what you said?” I followed and helped him lay the tent out. One-by-one we slid the poles until the four room tent took shape. “Wow, this is some tent.”

“Comes in handy when Abbey brings friends.” He grinned, and my heart melted. He was such a hands-on dad, and I knew he loved every minute of it. In spite of the divorce, Abbey was growing up with the love and support of her father. I admired him for his dedication.

“So you guys camp a lot?”

“Every chance we get.” Cole pounded the stakes down with a rubber mallet. “It makes an easy getaway, you know?” He stood, brushed off his knees and returned to the back of the car to haul out the cooler.

“Oh, don’t I know it.” I trailed behind, wanting to help, and settled on slinging our duffle over my shoulder. “My back deck faces the ocean. That’s my escape every night. There’s nothing like mother nature to make you forget your troubles.”

“Listen, I know this has been a little weird.” He dropped the cooler just under a tree.

“A little?” My voice hitched.

“Okay, a lot.” His face formed a silly expression as he splayed his hands in a wide gesture. “But I can tell Abbey really likes you.” He returned to the back of the truck with me on his heels.

“She’s a great girl, Cole.”

“What I’m trying to say is, thank you.” He stretched his arms to grip both sides of the tailgate over his head, his face only inches from my own.

“For what?” I blinked several times in a feeble attempt at clearing the fantasies already forming in my head.

“For being a good sport and for coming along when I know you’d rather be on your way.”

“Cole, I--” but I never finished because Abbey and Maria barreled through the bushes. Cole beamed at the sight of his daughter, as if he was seeing her for the first time in days. It hadn’t even been twenty minutes. To know that kind of love existed brought a fullness to my heart I had never known. The man was amazing.

“Wait ‘til you see how Aunt Kelly decorated the camp! There are signs everywhere, she has tons of food for tomorrow and Uncle Rob wants to know if you guys are fishing later.”

“Nobody’s,” Abbey tweeted and both girls smiled as wide as the sky above. “Well, Maria and I are going for a walk.” She took Maria by the arm and pulled her from the campsite. The whispers and giggles floated on the gentle breeze.