The Summer of Our Discontent (17 page)

Rachel rubbed the bridge of her nose with her middle finger and went back to work on her oatmeal. Faith thought it wise not to test her. She was learning so much about her former nemesis. How much she valued sleep. She thought Nerd Rope was a nutritional supplement, and she could put an entire pack of gummy Lifesavers in her mouth at one time. That was really cool until Rachel laughed, and they shot out of her mouth like missiles. Faith toyed with the fruit on her plate as a feeling of shame washed over her. As an adult, she realized how very wrong it was to have picked on Rachel about her looks.

“You are a very pretty woman,” she blurted out. Rachel slowly looked up at her. “I thought you should know that…I thought you should hear it from me because I was such a shit back then. I’m not just saying that because I feel guilty, I’m woman enough to admit fact.”

Rachel stared at her as though she’d lost her mind. Amusement appeared in her green gaze, then tugged at her lips. “Well…thanks for that.”

“I’m not coming on to you or anything, but I just really noticed…well, I noticed it a long time ago…but this morning, even though you’re tired, you look,” Faith waved her hands, “nice.”

“Do you really wanna stop talking, but you can’t because you know you’ve stepped into a giant puddle of awkward?”

Faith sighed. “Yes. I meant the compliment, though.”

Rachel pulled her napkin from her lap and tossed it into her bowl. “You look great, too. I need to walk around and chase away this malaise. I’ll meet you outside.”

“No problem, go take a nap if you want.
Ashlyn
said they’re gonna do free play for a while.” Faith chewed at the inside of her cheek as Rachel walked away and felt like a fool for letting what floated in her mind pass her lips.

*******

Rachel walked briskly out to the trails that they’d taken the night before. She picked up a stick and tossed it at the brush that grew alongside the packed path. Lack of sleep wreaked havoc on her coping abilities, and when Faith had paid her that compliment, she felt like she wanted to cry. And that pissed her off. She prided herself on always having her emotions in check, but Faith had nearly reduced her to a puddle of goo. People complimented her hair when she wore it down; her eyes also drew a lot of attention. Compliments were an ego boost, for sure, but hearing it roll off Faith’s tongue had an effect like no other.

What bothered her most was she wanted to hear it from her; some weakness inside of her craved Faith Leblanc’s approval. She’d not allowed herself to dwell on that, but it gnawed on the edges of her consciousness for the past few days. In her weakened state and the prompting of Faith’s behavior that morning, the weakness parked itself in the front of her mind and demanded attention. “What the fuck is wrong with me?” she said aloud and picked up another stick.

Faith could grate her like no other, but since they’d thrown up the flags of surrender, she had managed to touch places that no one else had. Rachel felt it had less to do with the things she said but how she behaved. She asked questions and listened intently to the answers. She was kind to the children and a sweetheart to Kaycee. She was funny. She… Rachel stopped in the middle of the trail. Her sneakers skidded to a halt in the dirt. “Aw, shit,” she said as realization began to dawn. She had a crush on Faith.

“No, no
no
.” She stamped forward as though she could pound the notion out of the bottom of her feet.
I’m just sleepy. I’m not seeing things in the proper perspective. That’s just insane. Oh, shit, I’m screwed.

Rachel stopped again and put her hands on her hips, and she stared up at the tree canopy shading the path. She wanted to scream and send the birds scurrying.

*******

Rachel’s full lips were completely gone as she marched across the courtyard. “You okay?” Faith asked as she passed nearby, looking completely lost in thought. She stopped, held up a finger, and without turning around, said, “I’m gonna take you up on that nap.”

Faith watched her go. “Wow, sleep deprivation really jacks her up.” The sun was out and ran the girls who’d been playing on the rock wall to the shaded area where they took to the swings. Faith took a seat on the root of the oak where she’d sat and thought about the day she and Rachel took a heated dip in the lake. It was her thinking tree, a place where she cleared her mind.

Kaycee and Sophie dug in the dirt beneath another tree. Faith smiled as she watched Kaycee pick up something, spit on it, then rub it on her shirt. She handed it to Sophie, who stuffed it into the pocket of her shorts. Had things been different, she figured that would’ve been her and Rachel. They would’ve had a blast as kids, would’ve been inseparable. In just a week, a bond had already formed. She felt for the first time in her life someone truly understood her. She hated that stubbornness had robbed them of years of friendship, but looking back was a waste of time. She would look to the future and know that Rachel would be in that, too.

Lisa caught her eye as she walked onto the playground. Lisa looked in the direction of Kaycee and Sophie first, then her gaze swept around until it settled on her. Faith gave a half-hearted wave. “Don’t see the one you’re looking for, do
ya
?” she said, hoping that Lisa could read her lips. She wasn’t sure why Lisa got under her skin the way she did. Perhaps it was the way she watched Rachel or the stink eye Lisa gave her every time they locked gazes. Whatever she was up to, Faith wanted her to know she was watching and closely. Nobody was going to jack with her new buddy.

Lisa was daring. She came surprisingly close as she spoke with one of the children. “Sorry again for last night,” Faith called out as she headed back toward the mess hall. “We get a little carried away sometimes.” The latter part of her comment caused a flicker of animosity to appear in Lisa’s eyes. Faith had struck gold.

“Don’t make a habit of it,” she said coolly as she came to a stop.

“That won’t be a problem. Rachel left this morning.” Faith almost laughed at the shock on Lisa’s face. She knew she was stirring up shit and knew she should stop, but Lisa ticked her off.

Lisa took a step closer. “Is she sick?”

“Nope.”

Lisa glanced at Kaycee. “Then why did she leave?”

Faith smiled then. “She didn’t. I just wanted to make you squirm. I watch you, too.”

Lisa was truly hot then. “Don’t screw with me, Faith,” she said before she stalked off.

*******

Rachel was on her stomach when the door to her cabin swung open and hit the wall by her bed. “Faith, if you’re about to—”

“What did you tell her?”

Rachel rolled over and looked up at Lisa, who was red-faced and breathing heavy. “What’re you talking about?” she said as she sat up.

“It was only supposed to be between us. She knows,” Lisa said shakily.

“I haven’t said anything to anyone and not out of respect to you. I’d rather not think about our past. You don’t think you’re being obvious with all the looks you’ve been giving us?”

“I have children and a husband to worry about. She could wreck my life if she opens that mouth of hers.”

Rachel blinked away sleepiness. “Then you should’ve never gotten involved with me. It wasn’t my idea, remember?”

Lisa was trembling from head to toe. She opened her mouth to say something and obviously thought better of it as she backed toward the door. “I wish I wouldn’t have come here, not this time.”

Chapter Twenty-one

Rachel found Faith at the lake in the shade watching the kids as they swam. She pulled a chair over and sat down.

“Feel better?” Faith asked as she regarded her from behind dark glasses.

“Much, thanks.” Rachel thought for a moment about how to approach the topic of Lisa when Faith began to confess her sins.

“I did something that I’m not proud of today. I picked on Lisa a little bit this morning. She gets on my nerves with all the staring. It seems every time you’re around, she’s somewhere near watching like a stalker. Earlier when you were napping, she walked out on the playground, and it was so obvious that she was looking for you. I told her you left, and you should have seen her face. She was shocked.” Faith waved a hand. “I admitted that I was lying, and I told her that I’d noticed how much she watched you. That
really
pissed her off. What is her malfunction?”

“I don’t really know.” Lisa’s youngest daughter,
Taryn
, was
Kaycee’s
age, and they’d been coming to the camp as long as Rachel and Kaycee had.
Taryn
was a complete girly girl; she and Kaycee had nothing in common. Neither was interested in playing together, but even still, Lisa made it a point to keep them separate. Rachel noticed a few glances from Lisa during the past, but they avoided each other. This particular summer, though, Lisa’s interest seemed to be piqued. The outburst earlier in Rachel’s cabin was the most the two had said to each other in years. Even with knowing all their history, Rachel found herself as perplexed by the odd behavior as much as Faith was.

“You’re still not going to tell me what happened with her, are you?” Faith drummed her fingers on the chair.

Rachel looked around and noted that there were too many people milling nearby. “Not now.”

“Have a good time last night?” Keely asked from where she stood behind them.

Rachel only grinned, but Faith began to fidget as Keely walked around in front of them.

“Yeah, it was a nice evening, the campfire was…nice,” Faith stammered.

Keely pinned Faith down with a stare. “I’m talking about what you did after the campfire, Leblanc.”

“Uh…what?”

“I have a master’s degree in evasive techniques. My teenage son is a brilliant professor, and I have to say you suck at it. I know you broke the rules. I know you two left the camp.”

Faith threw up her hands. “It was my idea, Rachel just went along to keep me from getting lost, which didn’t work out so well. We got into some mud, that’s why we were in the showers so late last night. All we did was get some snacks.”

Keely grinned at Rachel. “She sings like a canary.”

Rachel threw back her head and laughed to Faith’s consternation.

“I knew before y’all left what you were going to do,” Keely said. “Your buddy here asked for permission. All I wanna know is if you got my Milk Duds.”

“Yeah, they’re in my cabin. I’ll get ’
em
for you in a little while,” Rachel said, still laughing.

“You let me squirm like that?” Faith asked. “You led me through all that brush and she knew the whole time?”

“Leblanc, y’all are adults, and this isn’t prison. All I ask is that you let me know when you’re leaving and that you don’t drink or bring alcohol back on the premises.” Keely wagged a finger. “I’ll give you advice, though. Don’t tell anyone what you’re doing besides me or you’ll have a shopping list a mile long. And take my car next time instead of wandering in the woods. That’s when the snakes are most active around here. You both could’ve been bitten.”

“I’m gonna kill you,” Faith said as she turned to Rachel.

Rachel rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on, you loved the idea of thinking you were getting away with something. I couldn’t take that thrill from you.”

“Do you have your phone?”

Rachel shook her head. “I left it back at the cabin, what do you—”

Faith jumped up and dragged Rachel out of her chair. “Turn a blind eye to this, Keely.” She grunted as she wrestled Rachel into a hold.

Keely waved a hand. “And I’m gone.”

“Don’t you throw me in that water,” Rachel said as Faith dragged her across the sandy beach. She dropped her legs out from under her and broke Faith’s hold. The match was on then as the kids surrounded them and cheered Faith on.

Rachel could hear
Kaycee’s
voice in the crowd. “Get her in the water, Ms. Aunt Faith!”