Jenny Cussler's Last Stand (17 page)

She tilted her head back to eye Steve before forcing her gaze back to the cool-looking water, hunching her shoulders and crossing her arms.

“Nothing to pry about,” she huffed. “There’s nothing going on between Clint and me, if that’s what you were hinting at. I don’t have a crush on him or anything.” She would have to do better about hiding her infatuation. No one must suspect she was just a groupie.

“I didn’t say you did. Look, Jenny, I’m sorry. I was only teasing.”

Steve’s repentant voice caught her attention, and she relented. She uncrossed her arms and shoved her hands in her pockets.

“I know you were just kidding, Steve. I’m sorry I jumped. It’s just...” She chewed on the edge of her lip for a moment. Should she?

“It’s just what, Jenny?”

Jenny threw him a quick glance before turning away quickly as her wayward eyes begged to travel farther in Clint’s direction.

“Well...it’s just...I don’t want to be one of these Indian groupie sorts. You know what I mean? A woman who falls for Native American men just because they seem so exotic and foreign to many of us. Does that make sense?” She scrunched her nose and peered up at Steve’s healthy, tanned face.

“I do know what you mean. Guys do it, too. Fall for beautiful Native American girls. There’s one woman here. She’s so beautiful. I just can’t take my eyes off her.”

Jenny stared at him in surprise.

“Really?”

Steve slid a self-conscious look in her direction and shifted his feet as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his shorts.

“Yeah... I don’t know if you know who she is. She coordinates between Veterans Affairs here at Camp Chaparral and the VA. Her name is Lisa. I think she’s from the Warm Springs reservation, but she lives near Vancouver, Washington, works at the VA there.”

“I’ve seen the name on my paperwork, but I don’t think I’ve ever talked to her. I think I might know who you mean. Is she that really young-looking woman with long brown hair? Wears jeans and a sweatshirt from the University of Oregon?”

Steve’s face burnt through his tan as he flashed her a sheepish grin and looked away.

“Yeah, that’s her.”

“Wow! She
is
beautiful. I remember noticing her when we were checking in, but I didn’t realize who she was. So, is she single?” Jenny relaxed. Someone else’s crush was much more fun to focus on.

“Yes, she is. I asked around at the Portland VA. She was here at camp last year. I never really got more than a brief chance to talk to her. She doesn’t really hang out too much. Keeps to herself a lot.”

“Really...” Jenny mused. The therapist in her told her to hold back and let nature takes its course. The woman in her—and fellow lovelorn romantic—encouraged her to interfere.

“So, is there anything I can do to help?” She beamed, mentally rubbing her hands together, ready for a distraction from her own chaotic thoughts.

Steve’s eyebrows popped up, and he gave her a startled look.

“Help?” he repeated.

“Sure! Can I facilitate something? An introduction? A meeting? I’m sure I have more access to her than you do, if only in the ladies’ room. I’m up for the challenge of matchmaking!”

Jenny held back a chuckle as Steve’s face blanched.

“Are you serious? Talk to her? Are you kidding?”

Jenny grinned. Familiar territory at last. Problem solving...for someone else!

“Sure. Why not? The worst she can do is indicate she’s not interested in meeting anyone special. I don’t have to tell her who you are. I can feel it out ahead of time, see what she thinks about the whole thing. The worst that can happen is you have to daydream about someone else.”

“Oh, geez, Jenny. I like my daydream. I’m not sure I want to give it up.” Steve threw her a lopsided grin. She realized with a start how handsome he really was.

She threw up her hands in an inviting gesture.

“Well, let me know. I stand ready and willing to assist.”

“Thanks,” he said over a nervous chuckle. “I’ll give it some thought.”

“What are you two cooking up over here?” Kate startled them both by sneaking up behind them without a sound.

Jenny threw her a quick grin, allowing her eyes to dart in Clint’s direction. He no longer sat on the boulder, and his followers had dispersed. Jenny pulled her attention back to Kate.

“So, where have you been?” Jenny asked.

“Oh, just hanging out back there. You guys looked so intent, I didn’t dare interrupt.” Kate waggled her eyebrows to Steve’s obvious discomfiture.

“You could have interrupted.” Jenny playfully narrowed her eyes at Kate. “We were just...talking.”

“Oh, I see. Talking. Okay, my mistake. Well, I was over there worshiping at Clint’s feet. Didn’t you see me when you turned? I saw you look over at us several times.”

Jenny colored. “No, I didn’t see you, but I was looking for you.” Pleased with her impromptu excuse for ogling Clint, she resisted the urge to sniff in proud satisfaction.

“I doubt it. I was right there in plain view.” Kate grinned, taking any sting from her words.

“Well, I didn’t see you.”

“Okay, ladies, if you’ll excuse me...” Steve turned to leave.

“Oh, I see. So, now you’re leaving because I got here?” Kate crossed her arms and regarded him with mock sorrow.

Steve turned a mortified face to the women.

“Oh, no, I just thought...you know...that you had girl things to talk about...that I was in the way.” He stuttered just a bit as he tried to find his way through Kate’s teasing.

Jenny knew Kate well enough by now to hear the playful note in her voice.

“Relax, Steve. She’s just teasing.” She touched his arm in a brief, reassuring gesture and shot Kate a smiling shake of her head.

“She’s right, Steve. Relax. I was just joking.” Kate winked, and Jenny bit her lip. “I know I interrupted you two, and I can leave if you want.”

“Oh no, Kate, that’s not it at all!” Steve threw Jenny a beseeching glance. “We were just—”

“Talking about you!” Jenny finished off triumphantly with a sparkling grin. It seemed obvious that Steve didn’t want to share his infatuation with the beautiful Lisa with anyone else, and in fact, probably regretted sharing it with her.

Kate snorted. “Uh-huh. Like I believe that!” She eyed them both suspiciously. “Nope, I think you two were cooking something up.”

“Cooking what up? You guys seem pretty cozy. May I interrupt?” Clint had approached silently from behind, and a startled Jenny jumped to the side.

“Hey there, did I scare you?” Clint reached out to steady her, but she backed up, her eyes darting around to see who was watching. She pretended not to see the hurt look in Clint’s eyes. He dropped his hand to his side.

“Sorry, I didn’t hear you.” Jenny dropped her gaze as if to study the multi-colored, rounded pebbles at the river’s edge. She heard Kate’s short laugh.

“You did sneak up, Clint! I’ve been trying to find out what these two have been talking about this whole time. How about you? I know we were both watching them.”

One never knew what Kate was prone to say! From under veiled lashes, Jenny searched Clint’s face for a reaction. As with poor Steve, he bronzed and stuttered.

“No, no, certainly not. I just came over to say it’s time to head back to group. That’s all!” Clint turned abruptly on his heel and strode away toward the rest of the group, now congregating at the foot of the path.

“Oh, dear. What did I do?” Kate said as she stared after him. Her remorse seemed genuine.

Jenny swallowed hard against the lump in her throat as she too watched Clint’s straight back disappear up the path. He probably would not take her hand again to help her up, would he?

“Don’t worry about it, Kate. I’m sure he knows you’re teasing.”

“Well, I can’t tell half the time,” said Steve as he turned to head back. “I don’t know why he would.”

“Really?” Kate said softly. “I was honestly just teasing.” She turned a pink face to Jenny. “Forgive me?”

Jenny grabbed Kate’s arm and followed Steve.

“For what?”

“For embarrassing both of your men?” Her smile was tentative.

Jenny pulled back and paused as Steve moved ahead. Then she stepped out with Kate in tow.

“
My
men!” A nervous snicker escaped her lips. “Oh, please. For your information, Steve has his eyes on someone else, and I’m not going to pursue Clint like some love-struck white woman on a wagon train.”

Irrepressible, Kate’s lips twitched. “Tell all,” she breathed. “About Steve.”

“I can’t.” They began their ascent, the last people to do so. Jenny allowed Kate to take the lead. “That’s his business.”

“Oh, drat!” Kate said from above. “I hate secrets.”

Jenny didn’t reply as she scanned the top of the trail. Everyone had moved on. Clint did not wait with an extended hand to help her crest the last few feet. Her shoulders slumped.

This was really going to be a long week.

****

After lagging behind the group all the way back to the camp and watching Steve walk with Clint while Celia continued to try to maneuver her way between the two men with no room to spare, Jenny felt certain she’d had enough of the day. Exhaustion sapped her strength, a weariness which she knew stemmed from the constant emotional upheavals and the adrenaline surges she experienced in Clint’s presence...and for that matter, in his absence as she anticipated his presence.

She’d felt this way once when she was a teenager in high school and sharing a world history class with the most handsome boy in school—the captain of the swim team—a tall, dark-haired boy with tanned, olive Italian skin and a lean body. Much like Clint. She’d worshipped Marcos from afar for an entire semester, but he’d never looked her way. Not once. Still, she remembered the similar feeling of exhaustion after a full day of staring at his profile daily in class, hoping and waiting for him to turn around and notice her. Her heart would alternatively race if he twisted his head or thump dully when he talked to the beautiful blonde girl in the seat next to his.

As she settled back into the group room, she stared at the floor morosely, wishing she’d done something different in high school...perhaps told him how she felt...at least given her infatuation one fair shot at success, instead of turning away every time he looked in her direction and hurrying out of class lest she accidentally bump into him.

Keeping her eyes on the floor while people continued to take their chairs, she looked at Steve’s hiking boots and thought about his infatuation with Lisa. It seemed likely he was doing the same thing—letting opportunities pass him by—especially if he had developed the crush over a year ago at the previous camp. She vowed to do what she could to help him. Someone was going to get their heart’s desire...even if it wasn’t her!

“Welcome back, family.”

Clint’s voice brought her eyes up, and she took a deep steadying breath as she watched the man who made her heart jump to new heights. He grinned at the room in general but did not look in her direction.

“We’re going to finish out the day by doing a little exercise in trust. We need to build trust in this family, as some of our members might well be sharing information they haven’t shared with anyone before. It happens every year. Folks come to camp with every intention of learning something new or just having fun, and then they find themselves exploring their innermost thoughts with a bunch of strangers...even us therapists. Some of you have probably already done this. It’s called “trust walk.”

Jenny froze. She had indeed done this exercise in college. It involved leading a person, whose eyes were shut, around the room. Kate clapped her hands in delight.

“I love this,” she leaned in to whisper into Jenny’s unwilling ears.

“Okay, so this is what we’re going to do. This side of the room will close their eyes, and the other side of the room will pick a partner to take for a walk.” His gesture indicated Jenny’s half of the room would close their eyes. “You can take your partner anywhere you want, but not away from the immediate area. No dragging them up toward the cabins or down to the lakes. You can talk to your blind partner or remain silent. It’s up to you. We’ll meet back here in half an hour, and then we’ll switch places.”

Jenny looked across the room and wondered who would take her hand. Directly opposite, a tall, young man, one of the young veterans from Iraq, eyed her nervously.

“Okay, group to my left, close your eyes.”

Jenny closed her eyes reluctantly. She heard Kate’s giggle and the shuffle of feet as their counterparts approached. She fought to keep her eyes shut tightly, though she felt vulnerable. She felt like she was in college all over again.

She put her hands out in front to meet the person who would come for her in what felt like a defensive maneuver. Would she be able to tell if her partner were a man or a woman? Would they speak to her?

Her ears pricked forward as she listened to the sounds in the room, hushed voices, footsteps, chairs scraping the floor.

“Hello, partner,” Kate said nearby.

Someone accidentally jostled her, and she put her hands out even further in front to regain her balance. She fought the overwhelming urge to open her eyes. No one took her hand, and she wondered if a partner was going to choose her at all. Did she look foolish? A hot flush burned her cheeks.

A pair of hands grabbed hers and brought them down in front to rest between them. She gripped the large, friendly hands with gratitude. They pressed back. Her partner remained silent. Jenny released her grip and allowed her hands to travel the length of her partner’s fingers. It was a man. His hands were somewhat rougher than a woman’s and too large for any female she’d ever met. A tremor ran through his hands. She took pity on the young man.

“Hi, my name is Jenny.”

He pressed her hand but didn’t answer. He began to gently pull her forward, his position indicating he was still facing her and backing up. Squeezing her eyes for all she was worth, she took a tentative step forward.

“So, you’re one of the strong, silent types,” she laughed nervously. The sensation of being pulled blindly through the room forced her into quick shallow breaths. She slid her feet along the floor, unwilling to trust the man who pulled her.