Unlikely Allies (6 page)

"Yeah, really," he said, chuckling.

"Hey, Rick," Travis called. "We need some help with the storage shed."

"I'll be right there," Rick said over his shoulder, looking back apologetically. "Duty calls. Good job, kid," he added before striding away.

"Thanks," I said to his retreating back.

I looked around for Amy and my eyes collided with Mason's. I had the unsettling feeling that I was once again committing some kind of crime in his eyes. Resisting the urge to stick my tongue o
ut at him, I turned away
.

"There you are," Amy said, joining me.

"Sorry, I was chatting with my dad. Do we need to lug more stuff out?"

"No, it's all set up. Come on, it
'
s time to get our bonfire on," she said, mischievously
dragging me closer to the fire
pit where Rick and Louise were handing out hot dogs to roast.

An hour later, I was stuffed and content as I sat on the ground next to Amy with my back leaning against one of the benches. The cool air teased my back while the fire warmed my face. The camp life was definitely growing on me. Of course, the kids hadn't arrived yet, and I'd be most likely eating those thoughts two days from now.

"
Stor
-y time,
stor
-y time," Ryan and Courtney began to chant. The others quickly joined in, including Amy and me.

"Okay, okay," Rick said, laughing. "Let's see, I need a really scary one that'll keep you on your toes," he said, rubbing his hands together, deep in thought.

Travis walked over to the mess hall, hitting a swi
tch that was powering the night
time lights. The night sky a
nd shadows thrown by the flames
combined with the many outdoor noises added to the eerie ambiance. Rick stood in front of the group, looking creepy as the fire’s dancing shadows distorted his features.

"A long time ago, all of this was nothing but open wildness and was a favorite camping spot for locals and visitors to the area," Rick said, sweeping his arms out. "That is, until some campers came up missing. At first, the authorities assumed maybe they had lost their way
,
so they sent out search parties to find them, but couldn't find a trace of anything," he said, dropping his voice down to an eerie whisper. I fought back a giggle as Amy gripped my arm. She was obviously a lightweight when it came to spooky stuff.

"Rumors began to spread like wildfire," Rick continued. "The locals were convinced the area was h
aunted and the campsite lost it
s luster for camping until a group of college kids decided they were going to get to the bottom o
f the rumors." Rick paused for e
ffect. Amy soaked it up, but I could
n't
help but smile. I loved ghost stories
,
and had pretty much seen every horror movie ever mad
e over the years with
Carol.

Glancing around, I could see the others watching him intently, and couldn't help thinking what a field
day Carol would have if she were
here. She was the queen of sneaking up on people and scaring them. As Rick continued the story, my
eyes met Mason's across the fire. His expression looked different than I had become used to, almost troubled, as he studied me. I knew I should probably ignore it and look away, but I found myself contemplating why I troubled Mason so much.
We continued our staring
match for several minutes as Rick droned on until finally, not able to handle the intensity any longer, I finally looked away.

"The next morning all but one camper remained. When asked what had happened to the others, he claimed the trees had come alive. The authorities didn't believe him and feared they had a crazed killer on their hands, so they locked him away. The locals now claim the voices of the victims float through the trees when the wind blows," Rick said, finishing his story.

Amy reached over again and gripped my arm. "I told you he tells some freaky stories," she said, darting her eyes around like she expected to be dragged away at any moment by the trees.

"You don't watch many scary movies
,
do you?" I asked, smiling at her.

"Hell no, that
shitzle
would give me nightmares for years," she said dramatically. "Are you telling me you like to watch them?" she asked, shuddering.

"Heck yeah.
My friend Carol and I have a weekly ritual where we'll watch a double feature. Most of them are cheesy as hell, but every once in a
while we stumble upon
a slasher masterpiece," I said enthusiastically.

"You're a freak. You know that? You look all sweet and innocent with your long flowing skirts
,
but
…
" she let her voice trail off.

"Don't worry
,
sweets, I won't kill you in your sleep," I teased, dropping my voice down to a deep whisper.

"
Eeeeek
.
I'm going to have to sleep with one eye open," she griped as Rick joined us.

"So, what did you two think of tonight's story?" he asked, smiling at me.

"Well, Ms. Psycho here loved it," Amy said, looking at me like I had sprouted an extra head.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm a bit of horror buff," I admitted.

"That's great! So am I. You must have gotten it from me
,
because if I remember right
,
Kate isn't much of a horror fan," he said, sounding pleased about finally finding something we have in common.

"Nope, M
om's not much into the horror scene. I've tried to drag her to Halloween Horror nights at Universal Studios for the last couple years, but she's balked at the last minute every time," I said, laughing.

"Maybe I can fly out and go with you," he said, obviously testing the water on fatherly visits.

"That would be awesome," I said, smiling at him warmly.

"Ready to go to the cabin?"
Amy said, pulling on my arm.

"I guess I need to walk baby back to our cabin," I teased.

"Dam... dang straight," she said, fixing her slip.

"That was a close one," Rick teased, making a production of looking for Louise.

"After a story like that
,
I should get brownie points for my effort," she muttered, dragging me toward our cabin.

I laughed, feeling lighthearted. Camp Unlikely Allies was definitely growing on me.

***

When Rick found me, I was prepping the art room for the campers' arrival the following day.

"Hey," he said, standing in the doorway, taking in the long skirt I was wearing, despite the cooler morning temperatures. Practical or not, I still had
my own style, what could I say?
At least I was wearing some leggi
ngs and
one of the soft l
ong sleeved flannel shirts
I was beginning to tolerate. They didn't match my skirt, but I felt much more comfortable.

"Hey yourself," I teased, feeling more at ease with him than I had just three days ago. I gathered my hair into a bun at the nap of my neck, using a pencil to hold it in place. It was easier to work with my hair out of my face while I moved supplies around.

"I need to make a run dow
n the mountain to get some last-
minute supplies and thought you might like to go with me," he said, leaning against the door jam.

"Sure," I said, jumping at the chance for a little alone time with him. "Will I be gone long? I just need to know what to tell Amy."

"We'll be gone most the day. It's a shorter trip than coming from the airport, but it'll still take us about three hours to get there."

"Okay, I'll go tell Amy," I said, heading out of the room.

Fifteen minutes later, I met Rick outside by his Ford Expedition.

"Ready?" he asked as we climbed into the vehicle.

"Definitely," I said, ready to see a little civilization. I missed my normal haunts back home.

"Missing the city life?" he teased, pulling down the dirt drive.

"A little, but not as much as I originally thought I would," I said, remembering how I felt when I first arrived.

He arched his eyebrows at me.
"Really?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say mountain life is growing on me," I said, watching the passing landscape out the window. I missed most of it the first time because I had slept the majority of the trip up the mountain. I could see why too, the sharp twisty turns and the way my ears kept popping had an almost hypnotizing effect. We had our shar
e of mountains in California
, but I pretty much avoided them.

The silence between us lingered on, but didn't feel stilted or awkward.

Finally, af
ter we had been driving for more than
an hour, I broke the silence. "It really is pretty here."

"I think so," he answered, almost appreciatively.

"You know, California has some pretty spectacular mountains too. Have you spent much time there?" he asked.

I snorted. "No, M
om and I don't do the outdoors."

"That's a shame," he chuckled.

"I wish we had though," I said after several more minutes of silence. "It's actually kind of inspiring. I'd love to put it on paper."

"What's your normal muse?" he asked.

"Anything really, I guess. Anything I can sketch or paint."

"I've always envied artistic types. I'm strictly a stick figure man."

"Ha, just because you can't sketch doesn't mean you're not an artist. What you do at the camp takes a special touch. You're molding and changing lives and that means something," I said in rush.

"Thanks," he said gruffly, obviously touched at my words.

Our conversation took a more lighthearted turn from then on. I busted a gut when I found out he was a CW nut like me as we compared our favorite shows and characters.

"Don't get me wrong, the books are better, but I think the producers are doing a good job keeping the show interesting," he said as I teased him about liking Vampire Diaries.

"I think it's hilarious you read young adult books," I squeaked, holding back a laugh.

"What? T
hey're great books," he defended himself.

"Hey, I'm not judging you. I just don't
think I've ever met a guy who
reads the same kind of books I read."

"Well, I didn't start off that way, but I got sucked in by Harry Potter when Mason was twelve
,
and I guess I've been reading similar stuff ever since. I try to stay away from the mushy romance or sparkly vampire ones though," he said, grinning sheepishly.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with a little sparkle," I said, defending my favorite books.

"I knew you were a Team Edward kind of girl."

"What!" I teased.
"Twilight too?"

"Come on, is there
a human being on the planet who
doesn't know about Team Edward versus Team Jacob," he said laughing. "Anyway, I only know about them from the female population at the camp for the last three summers."

"Yeah
,
right," I said. My side was splitting from laughing so hard.

The rest of the drive passed quickly as we compared book titles. I was amazed at the amount of books he had read and took notes on some of his favorites. I made a mental note to allow more time for reading in the future. I enjoyed reading, but it had always taken
a
backseat to my art.

Rick pulled into the first gas station we ran across when we hit the foothills and I got out to stretch my legs. I was awestruck at the vastness of the mountains we had just left and wished I had the foresight to bring my sketchpad.

"Pretty amazing, right?" he asked, joining me.

"Most definitely.
I wish I'd brought
my sketch
pad," I said wistfully.

"I'm sure we can get you one in there," he said, pointing to the large store hooked to the gas station.

"You think so?
" I asked, doubtfully.

"Trust me
, this store carries everything
but the kitchen sink. We can grab some grub at the restaurant
,
and you can look out the window and sketch to your heart's content."

"You don't mind?" I asked, bouncing slightly in excitement.

He laughed at my enthusiasm.
"Not at all.
I need to catch up on some emails," he said, holding up his laptop. "Not having Internet at Camp UA makes it a little tough at times. I'm going to hit the bathr
oom while you look for a sketchpad. Do you mind holding
this?" he asked, holding out his laptop.