Family Camp (Daddy Dearest, #1)(37)

He said it matter-of-factly. But his lower lip stuck out and there was a faint tremor in his voice. Travis felt the pain in those words, the self-hatred. Hell, he’d lived it.

What’s wrong with me? Why am I not good enough?

Travis took a deep breath. Let it out. “You know what, kid? That doesn’t sound like Geo to me. He’s been a teacher for a long time. I don’t think he’s the sort of person to cut and run. I think he’s the sticking kind. Besides, I bet he sees what I see—that you’re a cool guy. Smart and funny and I bet you care about stuff, even if you don’t like to show it.”

Jayden’s mouth pursed in a yeah, right grimace. The plastic water bottle made a crunchy sound as he squeezed it.

“You know what’s interesting?” Travis said. “It’s interesting that I met you this summer, because I was just your age when I found my family. Before that, I was moved around a lot too.”

Jayden looked up at him sharply. “You were?”

“Yup.” Travis hesitated, then made a decision. He took out his phone, scrolling until he found the picture Cindy had posted on her Facebook page a while back. It was a photo of all the Mayhews, circa 1999. They were having a picnic at this same campground, at a table down by the lake. Travis had been twelve and still had the look of a kid who didn’t fit in anywhere, even his own skin.

And damn, he’d been pudgy and geeky before puberty had kicked in.

He showed the picture to Jayden.

“That was me. I was put in foster care when I was a baby. And that’s my mom and dad, James and Ida Mayhew. Only they weren’t my mom and dad yet when this was taken. I’d just gone to live with them. They adopted me and a bunch of my brothers and sisters too. Best thing that ever happened to me.”

Jayden stared at the photo for a long moment. “You were twelve, like me? For real?”

“Yup.”

Jayden reached out and touched the screen. “And you stayed with them forever?”

“I did. In fact, that’s Cindy and that’s Joe,” Travis pointed to the photo. “You know them. They’re both counselors here. And that’s my dad. He runs the camp. He was the guy with the clipboard this morning.”

“The old guy?”

Travis chuckled. “Yup. But don’t let him hear you say that.”

Jayden stared at the photo for another long moment, as if making the connection. Finally, he spoke. “Lucky.”

“Yup. I was very lucky. But you know what? So are you.” Travis put the phone away.

Jayden drank some more of his water, his expression thoughtful. “So how’d you become, like, a famous baseball player?”

“I loved playing ball, and I was really good at it. My coach in high school thought I could go pro, and my mom and dad supported me in every way they could. You can be whatever you want in life. But it helps a lot if you have other people there to cheer you on and to support you.”

“I don’t need nobody,” Jayden said stubbornly.

“We all need people,” Travis said. “Kinda sucks sometimes, but we do.” Travis opened his bottle and drank half of it in one go. He thought maybe he should take that lesson a little more to heart himself.

Jayden leaned his elbow on his knee and put his chin in his hand with a huff. “Geo’s gay. That’s why he can’t have his own kids.”

Travis felt a pang of apprehension, but he kept his face neutral. “Yeah. How do you feel about that?”

“About what?”

“That Geo is gay.”

Jayden shrugged. “I dunno. Guess it’s good for me. If he had his own baby, he wouldn’t need me. So…score.” Jayden pulled back one hand, being purposefully dramatic.

Travis felt a mix of relief and sadness. Of course, Jayden would only see Geo’s homosexuality in relation to himself, as a reason for why Geo would ever want a foster kid.

Travis cupped the back of Jayden’s neck and squeezed. “Hey, I’m starving. Should we go get lunch before it’s all gone? I heard there are cheeseburgers today.”

Jayden’s face brightened. “And fries?”

“Of course. What do you think this is, some kind of amateur operation?”

They jumped off the bleachers.

“Cool!” Jayden said, skipping ahead. “You know the worst part about lunch? You gotta wait to go in the water after. That sucks balls. I’m a good swimmer. Yesterday, I swam all the way across the family area without touching down even one time!”

“Good job.”

“Hey, Travis, Trish said I could swim out to the floating dock today if I had someone with me. Could you go with me?”

Jayden looked at him pleadingly and Travis nearly said yes, then he thought better of it. “How about if I watch Lucy while Geo takes you out?”

“Okay!” Jayden said. “Will you watch me though?”

If Jayden was lounging out on the dock with a wet Geo, watching was pretty much guaranteed.





Chapter 18




After lunch, Geo took Jayden and Lucy back to the cabin to change for their swimming lessons and then to the beach. Lucy had been so cute during the cooking lesson. She had taken it very seriously, being careful when helping Geo measure ingredients in the measuring cups and spoons and cutting out the cookie shapes with the kind of intense focus she normally reserved for painting or playing house. Her little doll family had sat on the counter, watching the proceedings, but she hadn’t paid much attention to them.