When We Met (Fool's Gold #13)(75)

He took the fresh food he’d brought over to the communal kitchen area. A small generator powered a portable refrigerator. The woman there picked up her clipboard when she saw him.

“You’re with the Acorns?” she asked.

“That’s me.” He handed over the eggs and sausage he’d brought. The fresh fruit would keep in their site.

He made two more trips and brought down the rest of his gear. As he was locking up his SUV, Taryn pulled in next to him. When she stepped out of her car he saw she’d dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. She had her hair pulled back in a braid and even wore sensible hiking boots.

“Don’t look so surprised,” she said, slapping his arm. “I know how to dress for the occasion.”

He peered at her. “You’re not wearing any makeup.”

She wrinkled her nose. “I know. Sunscreen only. I didn’t think I could take it off tonight and reapply that easily so I’m going natural. Don’t get used to it. Next time you see me, I’ll be back in heels and mascara.”

“If only that was all you were wearing,” he murmured.

Her mouth curved up in a slow smile. “We might be able to negotiate that.”

Which was one of the things he liked about her, he thought as she opened her trunk. She came to their relationship as his equal. She was willing to take him on and win. She was smart, sexy and unexpectedly charming. Just when he’d thought things couldn’t get better, she’d taken care of him when he was haunted by missing his kid. She was a hell of a woman. Different from Marie, but amazing in her own way.

She hauled a huge backpack out of her trunk and slung it over her shoulders. Angel started to take it from her, but she shook her head.

“This is the stupid thing I have to wear when we go out with Cole,” she reminded him. “If I’m going to hike for a day in it, I should be able to trudge down to the campsite. But you can carry the rest of it.”

“The rest of it” turned out to be supplies for the weekend, but not the kind Angel had brought. The shopping bags were filled with hair clips, ribbons and glitter nail polish, several kits for making sparkly jewelry and two small bouquets of flowers.

Angel stared at her purchases.

“Don’t give me that ‘what were you thinking?’ look,” she told him firmly. “We’re here until four on Sunday. Do you know how long that is? Sure, there are grove activities, but there is still plenty of downtime. Do you really want eight bored girls on your hands? This stuff will keep them busy, and that’s a good thing.”

“Okay. What about the flowers?”

“I thought they’d look nice on the table.”

“You’ve never been camping before, have you?”

“No, but that’s not the point.”

“I guess not.”

He followed her down the trail to the lower-level campsite. At the bottom, Taryn waited for him to point out where their grove had been assigned. She let her backpack slide off onto the ground.

“It’s nice,” she said, looking at the trees, then up at the sky. “It’s been clouding up all day. I hope it doesn’t rain.”

“Your tent is waterproof.”

She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t care. Having it rain would really mess up the weekend. The outdoor activities wouldn’t be as fun and my hair would frizz.”

Angel laughed, then pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. “Dammit, Taryn, how do you do that?”

She looked up at him. “Do what?”

“Constantly surprise me.”

She smiled. “It’s a gift.”

He stared into her eyes. He wanted her, but there was something else. An emotion that made him want to say...

He released her and stepped back. No getting involved, he reminded himself. He couldn’t. Or maybe it was better to say he wouldn’t.

“Angel! Taryn!”

They turned and saw Kate and Regan hurrying down the trail. Their parents were behind them and laden with camping gear. Over the next half hour the rest of the girls arrived. Allison’s father hovered, as if he wanted to step in and help. Taryn walked over to him.

“She’ll be fine,” Taryn told him. “You’re just a few hundred feet away. If she needs you, she’ll come get you.”

The man nodded. “Yeah, I know. But this is her first campout. I don’t want her getting scared.”

Taryn murmured something Angel couldn’t hear and Allison’s dad reluctantly left.

“What’d you say to him?” he asked when she returned to his side.

“That she might be embarrassed by having him here. She wouldn’t want her friends calling her a baby.”

“Shame as parental control. Interesting.”

She smiled. “Allison’s a great kid. He should trust her to be okay.” She glanced around at their camp area and then at all the tents piled up. “Do you have a plan for all this?”

Angel looked from the tents to the eight girls watching him. Taryn was right—he needed a plan. He stood and put his hands on his hips. “All right, Acorns. Line up.”

The girls looked at each other, then at him. They slowly got in a semistraight line.

He frowned. “I said line up.” He raised his voice slightly with the last two words.