Family Camp (Daddy Dearest, #1)(19)

In the dining room, the tables had been moved out of the way and big foam pads were arranged on the floor. Geo brought Lucy’s blanket. She lay down, accepting the offer of his lap for a pillow, and held her dolls close under the blanket while she watched the movie. It was the closest to cuddling they’d come, and it made Geo feel stupidly happy. Also it was nice to be one parent and kid in a sea of parents and kids. It felt like they were a real family. Like he really was a dad.

By ten o’clock they were walking back to their cabin. It was a beautiful night with a full moon. Soft yellow bulbs in lantern-style sconces were next to the door of every cabin, and their glow gave the path a warm, welcoming coziness. When you looked straight up, the night sky held a billion stars. There was a slight breeze that caused the trees to shirr and sent the smell of pine wafting through the darkness. Campers called to each other as they went to their cabins.

“Good night.”

“Good night!”

“See you tomorrow.”

Parents carried little kids who were already fast asleep. There were distant giggles and squeals and even a little girl’s whining, which only made it feel real.

With Lucy’s hand in his and Jayden walking close by his side, rubbing his eyes and yawning, Geo thought that Family Camp might be working its bonding magic, at least a little.

Jayden and Lucy were asleep as soon as they hit their pillows. But Geo felt restless. He wasn’t ready to give up that magical feeling he’d sensed outside. He slipped out and sat on the cabin’s porch step, watching the last few campers wend their way to their beds. He listened to the hoot of an owl and stared up at the stars. It felt exactly as he remembered camp feeling when he was a kid, with the spider webs on the wooden railings, the pine needles and soft dirt under his shoes, and the sense of being someplace woodsy yet completely safe, with so much promise of fun and adventure in the word tomorrow.

When was the last time he’d been to camp? Age thirteen, maybe? He’d no idea he’d missed it so much until just now.

A shape loped down the path. Before Geo had time to recognize who it was, the person plopped down on the step next to him. It was Travis.

“Hey!” Geo said. He had his palms flat on the step, elbow’s locked, and Travis’s arm brushed his. He shivered.

“Hey. How was your first day?” Travis asked stiffly.

“Uh… Good. Excellent, in fact. I managed not to drown on the canoe ride. Or make myself sick eating too many sloppy joes. They were great, by the way.”

“That’s my mom’s recipe. They’re the best.”

“And not fattening at all, I bet.”

Travis smiled ever so slightly, visible only in profile. He shrugged his shoulders and rolled his neck as if working out a kink, but he didn’t say anything.

“I think Jayden and Lucy had a good day. That’s what’s important,” added Geo, feeling awkward now.

“Good.”

Travis seemed tense, and Geo wondered if there was a problem. Travis wasn’t wearing his baseball cap or his sunglasses. Well, duh, it was night. But now the darkness made it hard to get a read of his eyes. Especially in profile.

Did the guy take a master class in how to be a closed book? Or did it just come naturally?

“So, you know, thanks for going in our canoe today and getting Jayden to come along.” Geo laughed nervously. “I think I just need a ticket dispenser right here.” He tapped his chest. “So I can just hand you a ‘thank you’ ticket every so often. Waa. Waa.” He mimicked pulling tickets from his chest, trying to lighten the moment.

“All part of being a camp counselor,” Travis said.

Was it? Geo recalled Bridget’s words on Devil’s Island, that it seemed obvious that Travis liked him. Travis could have ridden in anyone’s canoe. He was obviously a celebrity and coveted by everyone at the camp. And here Travis was again, sitting on Geo’s porch step in the dark—rather than, say, the porch step of any of a hundred other campers. Bridget, for instance.

But he also remembered what Bridget had said about Travis being a foster kid. So maybe this really was all about Jayden.

“I think it means a lot to Jay that you’ve given him extra attention. He was nervous about camp. Not that he would ever admit it.”

Travis shrugged. “I get the kid, that’s all. I was a lot like Jayden at twelve.”

“You were?”

“Yup. That’s the year I was adopted by the Mayhews.”

Geo was grateful for the opening. “How long were you in foster care?”

“Always. Never knew my real parents. I was put up for adoption as a baby. And something went wrong with the people who were supposed to adopt me, so I ended up in the foster care system. It was just one big clusterfuck from there.”

Geo had a million questions but struggled to find one that didn’t seem too personal. “What was it like?”

Travis blew out a breath. “Well. I was in a couple of places that were bad. Like, not much food, four kids to a room, dirty living conditions. Get a smack or a belt if you opened your mouth. No sense that you were actually wanted. It made me angry. I was an angry kid. I acted out a lot. And that made it harder for me to stick anywhere.”

Travis was projecting a tough-guy image at the moment, posture stiff, voice neutral and matter-of-fact. Jesus, he really is like Jayden, Geo thought. He wanted to reach out and touch Travis, pat his arm or something, but that would probably just annoy the hell out of the guy.