Valentine Wishes (Baxter Academy Book 1) (18 page)

“
B
rett coming back soon
?” Theo asks me as we walk through the camp. Brett’s been gone six weeks but Theo seems more concerned than I am with when he’ll return. With each week that passes, Theo gets tenser. I’m not sure if it’s because school will start soon or he thinks Brett is blowing me off.

It isn’t like we dated long, or that it was even normal dating, before he had to up and leave to parts unknown doing something he couldn’t tell me about. He’s been gone longer than I’ve known him.

He’s called, often, but I still don’t know what he’s doing other than it involves his work as an agent for the FBI.

This is the strangest relationship I’ve ever been in.

“Actually,” I smile. “He’s coming back today and will have ten days off since he didn’t get a break while he was gone.”

Theo’s shoulders relax. “Will he be coming over when he gets back?”

“I think he’s going to visit his aunt, uncle and cousins first since he will be staying with them.”

“But he intends to see you too?”

Why is Theo so concerned? “Yes. We’ll probably go get something to eat, hang out and talk.” We don’t have set plans and it’s not like we can be alone since Grandma is back living with us. She’d have a fit if Brett even thought about going upstairs. He’ll be sleeping in his uncle’s basement, which makes it impossible to have any privacy with seven kids ages twelve and under hanging out.

We couldn’t even have magical phone sessions while he was gone because he had a roommate. So, the past six weeks have sucked on many levels and I don’t anticipate it getting better, except we’ll at least get to see each other.

Then again, there’s always the fishing shed. I try not to grin, but I’ve just decided that Brett and I will be taking walks – a lot.

“Good.”

I stop and look at Theo. “Why is this so important to you?”

He shrugs but the muscle twitches in his jaw. “I like the guy. You like the guy. I just want to make sure it works out for you and that he’s treating you right.”

I snort and continue walking to the group of kids using water colors to paint grandma’s butterfly garden. “Since when have you ever cared who I dated?” This was not like Theo at all. In fact, until this summer, he barely spoke to me. Now he was all concerned about me finishing my degree so I can be a principal one day.

“Hey, I’ve been thinking.” In fact, it’s something I’ve thought about for the past couple of weeks. “Why don’t I homeschool you this last year of school?”

“Don’t you have your own education to worry about?”

“It’s not like I’m going to be doing anything else. Going to school and studying. Might as well educate you too.” I nudge him in the side. “It’s your senior year. You’ve only got a couple of more classes to meet requirements for graduation.” I wouldn’t even be suggesting this if it was like his freshman year in high school. That workload would be too heavy for me to take on and keep up my own studies.

His jaw tightens, then he blows out a breath. I know he hates school, but he has to graduate. Even if he doesn’t end up going to college.

“I’ll think about it,” he finally says and walks off.

I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, if anything, but I thought he’d prefer this to going back to school. As it is, I’m still not sure what he thinks of the idea.

My phone dings and my heart jumps. It has been six weeks since my stalker was caught, but I still get jumpy when someone texts me.

This is your warning. Pack for five days, camping is on the agenda. I’ve cleared it with your uncle and grandmother so they know you won’t be at the camp. Pick you up in two hours. Heading for the mountains.

If anyone else would have sent me this text I would have first asked if they sent it to the wrong person and then told them hell no. But, it’s Brett and since I haven’t seen him in six weeks, I’d sleep by a fire, out in the wilderness and catch my own dinner just to be alone with him.

Crap, what do I even pack? But, since I will be gone for five days, the first thing on the agenda is a shower and washing my hair, and shaving all the necessary body parts. Who knows when I’ll get a chance to wash again? It might not be until I come back. Then, I’ll pack and hope I figure out what I need while in the shower.

When I get to my room, Grandma already has my brother Tyler’s backpack on the bed. He was always going off camping and roughing it in the Catskills with his friends before he joined the Army. Grams also has my clothing already laid out on the bed. In place of makeup, she has mosquito spray and sunscreen. There are socks, boots, jeans and a few shorts, long sleeved shirts and t-shirts. Nothing pretty or frilly. But, I get that. I’ll be in a tent, if I’m lucky, and probably sleeping in my clothes. Well, when I’m in my clothes.

“Brett assured me that there would privacy for you and separate places to sleep.” She narrows her eyes on me. “You know how I feel about premarital sex. Your aunts didn’t listen to me and look how they ended up.”

I keep a sober expression and nod my head.

“He’s a nice boy. I know he’ll treat you right and be respectful or I’d never let you go.”

As if she could stop be. I am an adult, but I also respect my grandmother too much that I wouldn’t go against her wishes, as long as they are reasonable. And, if she thinks Brett and I are sleeping in different tents, bags, or whatever, I’ll let her keep on believing it.

J
ackie’s waiting
and ready to go when I arrive. She’s wearing a pair of loose, faded jeans and a t-shirt. I’ve not seen her look so casual before and I really like it. Especially the way that t-shirt hugs her boobs. If her grandmother wasn’t standing right there I’d grab Jackie and kiss her so fucking hard. It has been six weeks and I want to do a hell of a lot more than kiss.

But, her grandmother is standing there and my inner Eagle Scout emerges, along with my military training, and with it, respect for the woman that raised Jackie since she was ten. My back goes straight, hands to my side and as soon as she speaks to me the answer will be “Yes, Ma’am” no matter what she says.

Jackie’s also not wearing any makeup, which I really like. Not that she wears all that much anyway, but she doesn’t even have eyeliner on. All natural and I can’t wait to get up into the mountains so all of her is natural, and uncovered, down to her little toes.

A worn backpack is sitting next to her and I’m surprised to see that and not a suitcase.

“I’ll warn you,” her grandmother says. “Jackie’s idea of
camping
is a hotel that doesn’t have room service, a restaurant or a bar.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

Jackie’s face flushes to a soft pink and she looks away from me.

“Fishing to her is sticking the pole in the sand next to her and ignoring any bite on the line while she gets some sun and reads a book.”

“Yes, Ma’am. I’ll take care of everything so she at least eats.”

If her grandmother is trying to discourage me from taking Jackie camping she is mistaken. Jackie could sit on her ass all day while I do everything. As long as she’s there, with me, and keeping me warm at night, that is all that matters. The only reason for this trip is to get away from everybody, everything and to be alone without interruption.

“She has everything she needs for camping and roughing it, and nothing silly,” her grandmother continues. “Good luck.”

This time Jackie frowns at her. “I’m not as lazy as you make me out to be.”

Her grandmother chuckles. “Lazy has nothing to do with it. Living without electricity or running water for a few days is an entirely different matter.”

Jackie wrinkles her nose and then catches my eye. “I’m sure we’ll be fine.” Then she grins at me. “Brett’s been threatening to make a Wilderness Girl out of me.”

This time her grandmother snorts as Theo walks in the door.

He eyes the backpack and Jackie and then frowns. “Where are you going?”

“Jackie and I are going camping for five days.”

Her brother starts laughing. “I bet you’re back in forty-eight hours.”

“Hey!” Jackie protests, but Theo ignores her and grabs the backpack.

“I’m just going to grab some waters,” Jackie calls as she heads off to the kitchen and her grandmother gives me a wink.

“It won’t be so bad. I’m just giving her a hard time.”

“I thought you were trying to warn me.”

“That too,” she smiles.

“Open your trunk,” Theo calls from outside and I head out.

He’s standing there, and it’s already open. His fists are on his hips. “I don’t see any camping equipment. Just groceries and linens.”

Shit!

I hurry over before Jackie or her grandmother comes outside. “Can you keep a secret?”

Theo eyes me with suspicion and then gives a quick nod.

“I rented a cabin, but I don’t want your grandmother to know that, or Jackie yet.”

“Why?”

“I don’t think your grandmother will approve after going on and on about there being two tents.”

Theo snorted. “Like you need any if the mood strikes.”

True, not that I’d admit that to Jackie’s little brother.

“She is so old fashioned.” He’s shaking his head.

Actually, I kind of like that about their grandmother, not that I’m going to be all that old-fashioned once I have Jackie alone.

“Why didn’t you tell Jackie?” he finally asks.

“I kind of like making her squirm with talk of campfires, fishing, tents and sleeping bags. You and I both know that probably sounds like hell to her, but the fact that she’s willing to go for me, means a hell of a lot.”

“You have no idea.”

“The cabin will have running water, a full bath and a kitchen. Just like being at house.”

“She is going to be so pissed.”

For the first time I’m alarmed. “Why?”

“Did you see her? Hair in a ponytail, no makeup, her bumming around clothing? She’s probably got herself all prepared to not have a chance to brush her hair and having to pee behind a tree. When she gets there and knows that she could have her makeup, nicer clothing and all that stuff she’s going to get self-conscious that she isn’t looking her best for you. Girls are like that.”

I can’t help it and grin. “I want her just the way she is right now. She doesn’t need to go to all that trouble for me anyway.”

Theo’s smirk disappears and he studies me. There’s thoughtfulness and questions in his green eyes.

“Are you in this for the long haul?” he finally asks me.

“Marriage?”

He shrugs. “Kind of, I guess.”

My gut tightens at the question. Will Theo go all over protective if I don’t answer this right? “Look, I like Jackie, a lot. I sure as hell don’t want it to end any time soon. But, I’m not exactly ready to put a ring on her finger yet either.”

He cocks his head and purses his mouth as if he’s thinking on this.

Shit! Not what he wanted to hear?

Then he nods. “I get it. Too soon.” Then he takes at step forward, his eyes boring into mine. “But if you break her heart or hurt her in any way, I’m gonna beat your ass.”

“Deal!” The last thing I intend to do is hurt Jackie. And who knows, there may be a ring in the future. I’m just not sure when, but it isn’t now.

He takes a step back and closes the trunk. “Look, I just want to make sure she’s taken care of. As long as she won’t be alone, I’m good.” With that he turns and saunters off, headed back to the campers.

Won’t be alone?
Odd.

“I’m ready if you are.” Jackie grins as she practically bounces out of the house and hands me a bottle of water.

I go around and open her door for her and wait to close it until she’s settled. Her grandmother is standing here, nodding, a smile on her face. I doubt the woman would be so approving if she had any idea of the real activities I have planned for me and Jackie over the next few days. And, hardly any of them involve fishing. Hell, we might not even leave the cabin, or the bed.

I
can’t believe
I am going camping. If anyone else would have asked I would have laughed in their face.

Oh my God! Am I in love? It’s either that, or I’ve lost my blooming mind.

Blooming! One of my favorite words of late. I’ve been reading a lot of historical romances over the last six weeks, when I’m done with my work at the camp. My brain tends to switch to Regency phrases when I’ve been reading books back to back, but they are fun words, even if they don’t enter into everyday conversation. Like blast, bullocks, bloody hell, wanton, vexing.

I glance at Brett out of the corner of my eyes and wonder how he’d look in a cravat and knee-breeches and can barely contain my giggle. Not that he’d look funny. Quite the opposite, in fact. I just can’t believe this is my train of thought.

Then again, it’s better than thinking about camping, and bugs, and snakes, and peeing and pooping behind a tree.

I can barely contain the shudder and decide to think about learning how to play Whist.

He looks back at me out of the corner of his eye and his brows furrow. “What?”

“Do you know how to play Whist?”

“Um, no.” Now he thinks I’m nuts. “And, I didn’t bring any cards.”

I hadn’t expected him to. We were roughing it, which doesn’t involve parlor games.

Geez. Stop thinking in terms of Regency. Then again, they didn’t have electricity, and neither will I. But, they had very nice townhouses, with servants. I’ll have a tent. But, at least we are in a car and not a barouche. Though tooling around Central Park in a horse drawn carriage with Brett would be rather romantic. More so that pan fried fish over an open fire.

Stop that
! I will enjoy this trip. I will not complain.

Brett pulls off to a rest area and cuts the engine. We haven’t been on the road that long. Does he need the facilities already, or is this the last stop before nature is our only choice?

He turns to me and leans over. I lean in waiting for him to tell me something. Instead, he grasped the back of my neck as his lips descend upon mine, kissing me deeply and fully. Tangling his tongue with mine. Everything in me heats and I’ll be a puddle if he keeps it up, not that I’m about to stop him.

To my regret he pulls away.

“God, I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” Camping may not be so bad after all.

I
swear
I can almost hear her thoughts on camping the further we drive into the Catskills. She hates the idea but is doing this for me. “The weather is supposed to be good, but there is a chance for rain tomorrow night.”

“Rain?” she practically squeaks.

“We’ll be fine.” I dismiss her concern. “There will be shelter and I’ll make sure we are under a grouping of trees so things don’t get too wet.”

She just nods.

“We’ll have to keep an eye on the fire and I hope it doesn’t get too muddy.”

“Sounds lovely.”

I bite back a grin at her dry tone.

“If the fire goes out, the wood will be wet and we won’t be able to make coffee in the morning.”

She gasps. “I need coffee.”

“As do I.” I reach over and squeeze her hand. “But if we can’t cook, we’ll have to find berries and other edible plants. Can’t have you starving.” I squeeze her hand again.

“Sounds great.”

That is a forced grin if I ever saw one. I love that Jackie is trying to be a trooper about this.

“I figure in the day we can fish and hike. At night we’ll sit around the fire and snuggle.”

“Snuggling sounds nice.”

“Before we set up camp though, I’ll need to make sure there are no signs of black bears, bobcats or coyotes in the area. We don’t want them getting into our food while we sleep.”

“Or eating us.”

I just laugh. “They won’t bother us if we don’t bother them.”

“So, I’ve heard.”

“We could find beaver dams along the streams though. They are really something to see.”

“I don’t think I’m going to be going in the water.”

I look over at her. “We need to wash at some point.”

“You mean bathe outside?”

I laugh. “It isn’t so bad. Can be cold, but we’ll warm up once we put our clothing back on.”

“Can’t I just wash without getting in?”

“Where is the fun in that?” I ask her.

“What if someone see us?”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. We will be so remote, nobody will be around.”

“So, if we are killed by wild animals, the bodies, what is left of them, won’t be found for weeks, if ever?”

I laugh. “I’m not so much worried about the bears as I am about the snakes.”

I swear Jackie just lost all color. Maybe I should stop.

“Snakes. What kind?”

I shrug. “Timber rattlers, which you will hear first, but don’t move once you do. Then there are copperheads. Those are really the only ones you need to worry about.”

“Only?”

“The rest are harmless. I promise.” Again I give her hand a squeeze.

“Well, if we make a lot of noise when setting up the camp and there is activity, the snakes should stay away.”

At least she’s being positive.

“And, I have long pants and sturdy boots for hiking, so I shouldn’t get bit,” she adds.

“See, it won’t be so bad.”

“No. Of course not.” Another forced smile.

I find the turn off a barely marked road, but I have an idea where I’m going. I’ve been in this area before, just not this particular spot.

We follow the winding dirt road then cross over an old wooden bridge before turning up a drive. If we do get rain, that thing will be underwater. Not that I’d mind being stuck here with Jackie.

“What is that?” she asks, looking out the windshield.

“A cabin.”

“Why are we stopping here?” There’s hope in her voice. “Do you need to let the owner know or something?”

I lean over and kiss her. “Do you really think our first camping trip would really involve camping? I wouldn’t do that to you.”

The cabin is rustic, doesn’t look like much, but does have a nice porch with rocking chairs. Compared to a tent, it’s heaven.

Brett finds the hidden key and unlocks the door. The outside may be rustic but the inside is not. A two story cabin, with a modern kitchen including stainless steel appliances and a granite counter top. The living area has an overstuffed, comfortable couch, huge fireplace, colorful woven rug and a television. Stairs lead up to a loft area that has a large, iron bed with a patchwork quilt over it. I open the first door beneath the loft and it’s another bedroom. Nothing fancy, just a bed and old dresser and not nearly as romantic as the loft.

“I promised your grandmother that there were separate rooms.” He kisses my neck. “I just didn’t tell her that we’d only be using one bed.”

Heat shoots through me, straight to my girly parts and I’m ready to drag him upstairs right now.

The next door leads to a basic bathroom with the necessary toilet shower and sink. Given I was expecting to take care of all personal business outside, I think it looks pretty wonderful.

“Let’s look out back.”

He grabs my hand and we step out the door off of the kitchen onto another porch. This one has rocking chairs. The yard isn’t that large, but it’s not like we need much. At the side is a bunch of stacked wood, some of it needing split, in the middle is a small area for a campfire, and beyond that, the stream. The water rushing over the rocks is soothing, but it also makes me want to pee.

“I’ll unload the car.” He goes back inside and I follow. After a pit stop, I head out to the car and help him haul in everything.

“Why do you have linens?”

“We are supposed to bring out own towels. I wasn’t sure if sheets and blankets were included or not.”

We leave them behind and take the boxes inside and I find he has everything to stock the kitchen for five days, including a can of coffee.

“I hope you aren’t real disappointed that we aren’t in tents,” she says.

I pretend to be and sigh deeply. “That’s okay. Maybe next time.”

Brett barks out laughter. “By next time I take it to mean never.”

“Hey, I was willing to give it a try this time.”

He snakes his arms around me and pulls be close. “I know and I do appreciate the sacrifice you were willing to make.” He kisses me quickly and then let’s go.

Crap. I could have kissed some more, been held longer, visited the loft upstairs, but I guess he’d rather get us situated. Which is okay, for now, but I don’t plan on spending five days in the kitchen.

Once the perishables are put into the fridge and he’s set other stuff aside, deciding what to do with it, I stretch and yawn. “You know, I think I could use a nap.”

As I pull off my boots, Brett’s watching me as if he isn’t sure if I do need a nap to sleep or it’s an excuse to get in bed.

I leave them by the front door and wiggle my ass in his direction and then stand. As I’m walking to the stairs I pull my shirt over my head and toss it in his direction. “It’s so uncomfortable sleeping in clothing, don’t you think?” He’s got to know I want to have sex, like right now, but I’ve never been one to come out and say fuck me to anyone. He’s got to get the hint, right?

At the top of the stairs I undo my jeans and slide them off before folding them over the loft railing. “Do come get me if you need anything.” I wink and then crawl into the middle of the bed

The entire time he’s just stood in the middle of the kitchen and watched intently. His eyes darkening with each step I took.

“Wouldn’t a bra be just as uncomfortable to sleep in?”

I frown. “You’re right.” Reaching behind me I unhook it then toss it down.

Brett catches it and grins. “I better bring this to you.” He heads for the stairs, fingering the lace on the bra. “But, if you want to leave it off the entire time we are here, I’d be good with that.” His steps are slow and steady as he stalks up to the loft. I can’t think of a better word, but that’s what he’s doing. Like a wild animal studying his prey, waiting to pounce. My clit begins to throb and before he’s reached the top of the stairs, my nipples are already hard and boobs swollen.

He lays the bra over the railing then pulls his t-shirt over his head. My mouth goes dry. We’ve had sex, but I’ve not seen him stand like this in the middle of a room in broad daylight. He’s got more muscles than I remember, but they aren’t bulky kind of muscles. He’s tight. Lean and making me wet.

“Panties.”

I slide them off and toss them to Brett and he puts them next to the bra before he takes his jeans off. His boxers going with them, only to stop and mutter a curse. I can’t imagine what the problem is. In fact, there is no problem, especially with his hard and ready cock. I start to ache. I don’t care if there is foreplay or not. I just want him in me now.

Brett puts a hand on the railing and balances himself as he kicks of one boot and then the other. The entire time his pants are around his ankles and his cock, jutting out, waiting. The sight of it makes me ache all the more, and giggle because I expect him to fall on his ass any minute.

He kicks everything aside and stands to face me. “God you are gorgeous.”

I look him over from head to toe and back up again. “I was thinking the same thing about you.”