Unlikely Allies (3 page)

Chapter 2

I stared
in disbelief at Mr. I’m-Too-Sexy-For-My-Own-G
ood in front of me in disbelief. Mom had neglected to tell me that Rick had a son too. The bile rose in my throat
,
and I don’t know if I was more embarrasse
d or angry about ogling my half brother. Would Mom’s half-
truths never end?

“Hi,” I said, trying not to sound as stupid as I felt at the moment.

He swept his eyes disdainfully down my frame, taking in my long flowing sundress that was completely inappropriate for the mountain conditions. “You won’t find any waves out here
,
beach bunny,” he taunted.

“Excuse me?” I said, caught off guard. Was he seriously judging me? He was the show-off, standing around with no shirt on, trying to impress everyone. I opened my mouth to shoot off a catty comeback when Rick intervened.

“
Kimmie
wasn’t aware we were so high up in the
mountains,” he said, offering
an explanation I felt was highly unnecessary.

“
Kimmie
?”
Mason said, smirking at me.

“Kim-
ber
-
ly
,” I said, dragging out my name like I w
ould if I were talking to a two-year-
old.

“Well, this isn’t awkward,” Rick said, darting his eyes between us. Ordinarily, I would have laughed at his outright bluntness. It was nice to know we shared that trait.

“Sorry,” I said, trying
to ease the tension. “I guess M
om forgot to mention I had a half brother, among other things.”

“Oh, we don’t share blood, beach bunny,” Mason said, like the mere idea was distasteful.

“Come again?” I asked, hoping I wasn’t misunderstanding him.

“Mason came here as foster kid when he was ten and pretty much never left,” Rick said, proudly slapping Mason on the back.

Well, that was a relief. Not because I was just gawking at him, but because I had the strong desire to jump off a cliff at the idea of actually being related to such an arrogant ass. Still, I have to admit, I felt a little uncharacteristically jealous over the bond they seemed to share that was never an option for me. I knew that was irrational considering we were all practically adults, but
I
kind of felt like a kid with my nose pressed to the window of a candy store while all the other kids got to pick out a treat.

“Little old to be a camper
, aren’t you—
or do they go by maturity level a
round here?” I asked in a sugar
coated voice.

Rick swept his gaze between Mason and me, obviously catching the hostility that seemed to vibrate between u
s.
“Mason is the best counselor/
all-around-handyman I could ever ask for.”

“Yep, see beach bunny, some of us actually work for a living,” Mason said before sauntering off to resume his work.

I was left
sputtering in his wake as he sa
nk his ax into the tree stump and pulled his t-shirt off the nearby branch where it was hanging.

“Okay, so, that wasn’t the way I expected that to go,” Rick said, puzzled by the way we had reacted.

“Sorry, I’m just not used to being around arrogant guys,” I said, passing the buck off on Mason.

“Well, he’s usually not like that. He’s usually very courteous to girls,” Rick said, scratching the light hair that covered his face.

“I guess I bring out the worse in him,” I said, feeling bad for spoiling the moment for Rick. This wasn’t exactly the first impression I wanted to make.

He nodded, still looking confused and a little bit hurt. I followed meekly behind him, suddenly overwhelmed by a feeling of homesickness. What the hell was I doing here? This wasn’t my element. I knew nothing about the people I would be spending the next six weeks of my life with. I’d already alienated myself with one
,
and followed that by disappointing the father I had known all of five hours. I felt like an epic failure.

“This will be your dorm,” Rick said, pushing
open
the heavy wooden door open with his foot. I dragged my suitcase
up the two shallow wooden steps and crossed through the doorway to take in my surroundings. The interior was as rough and rugged as the exterior. Six sets of bunk beds lined three of the walls. Tall unfinished wardrobes stood between each set whil
e two more flanked the wall by
the door we had entered. Two solitary twin beds sat in the center of the room.

“Bathroom is there,” Rick said, pointing to the narrow space between a set of the bunk beds and wardrobes. “The girls get the bunks and counselors get these beds,” Rick added, placing my suitcases on one of the twin beds.

I looked around, unsure of my role in the scheme of things. “Um, I’m really not all that good around kids,” I said, deciding to come clean before I was entrusted with a cabin full of girls.

“I’m sure you’ll be a natural,” Rick said, patting my back. “
There’s
still a few days before the campers arrive. We’ll run you through some basic cour
ses before they get here, CPR, first a
id and a few survival classes that I make all the counselors take each year. It’s imperative to know the basic survival tips for the region you’ll be camping in,” he added before heading out the door.

I watched his retreating back for a minute before I sank down
on my bunk in disbelief.
CPR, first a
id and survival?
The responsibility
he was placing on me was nerve-
racking. Trying to collect myself, I pulled out my iPhone so Carol could talk me through the crisis. I was dismayed to find no signal after sliding my finger across to unlock the screen.
“Seriously, no
service?”
I muttered to myself as my only means of sanity disintegrated before my eyes.

I was literally in my own personal hell.

“Talking to yourself after being here less than fifteen minutes means you’re e
ither a few cards shy of a full
deck
,
or you just figured out you’re in BFN,” a ta
ll willowy
said while stepping into the ca
bin. “Hi,
I’m Amy,
"
she said, smiling at me mischievously as she tucked a long lock of her blonde hair behind her ear.

“I’m Kimberly,” I said, reaching out to shake her hand.
“BFN?”

“Yeah, you know, Bum
Fock
Nowhere,” she said laughing.

“
Fock
?”
I asked.

She laughed harder.
“Sorry, I promised Louise
I wouldn’t swear anymore,” she said, plopping down on the bunk opposite of me. “I normally swear like a frat boy, but Louise promised to help me find bargain furniture in the fall for my apartment off campus if I stopped. Key word being
bargain
,” she emphasized making air quotes with her fingers. “Since my funds are limited. Thank goodness I’ll be eligible for student loans, otherwise I’d be
shi
… oops, I mean SOL,” she corrected herself laughing. “I’m still tr
ying to get the hang of this no-
cussing gig. It’s almost like I’m learning the English language for the first time.”

I couldn’t help grinning at the overflow of information she’d thrown my way in less than one minute. I had all kinds of questions for her, but decided to stick with the easiest.

“So, who is Louise?”

“Louise is the chef and camp assistant extraordinaire. She keeps me in line. She’s been after me for years to clean up my mouth, but hell, when you’ve been bounced around as much as I
have,
you’re bound to be exposed to some colorful language. Oops, don’t tell her I said the H word. I’m pretty sure she’d count that as a curse word,” she said giggling.

"Oh, I love your bracelets," she said, switching gears and taking in the vibrant clay bead bracelets that lined my right wrist.

"Thanks. I made the
m. Here, you can have these
," I said, pulling off two of my favorite ones.

"Shut up," she shrieked, throwing her arms around my neck. "You seriously made these?"

I nodded.

"Wow, you have some seri
ous mad
skills."

I couldn’t help laughing. Her bubbly personality sucked me in right away.

“Did you say years?” I asked, returning back to our original topic.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I’ve been coming to Camp-I-Wish-This-Was-My-Home since I was ten. I was devastated the summer I turned sixteen and knew I was too old to be a camper anymore,
but Louise contacted my
foster home at the time and asked if I’d be interested in being a camp counselor. I jumped at the idea. My foster home at the time was a total drag. This’ll be my third summer as a counselor,” she added proudly.

“Wow, you must seriously like this place,” I said, looking around doubtfully at the sparse living conditions.

“Like?
Dude, I love this place. Rick, or I guess I should say, your dad, which BTW, how totally awesome is it that Rick is your dad?” she said, wistfully switching gears. “All of us used to wish that he’d take us under his wing, like Mason. Have you met Mason
,
BTW?
OMG,
is he the yummiest nugget you’ve ever seen?” she rattled off in one breath.

My head spun trying to keep up with her. “Yeah, I met him. He’s a complete ass if you ask me.

“What? Are you
sure you met Mason? Tall, blond, eye-candy galore, sweetest-guy-you’ll-ever-
meet
,
Mason,” she added, looking at me skeptically for the first time.

“Yeah, that would be him. You don’t think his whole I-could-be a Greek-god act is a bit arrogant and annoying?” I asked.

“Kim, trust me, Mason is the least arrogant person you’ll find. He works his cute little
hiney
off around here. Rick’s always telling him to take a break, but it’s like Mason is bound and determined to make it up to Rick for saving him.”

“How did Rick sa
ve him?” I asked just as an old-
fashioned bell rang outside.

“Oops, it’s dinner
time,” Amy said, leaping to her feet in one fluid movement. “You’re going to love the food here,” she added, reaching out her hand to help me off the bed.

I snatched
one of my new hoodies out of the bag as I followed behind her. My head was spinning at all the
information she’d thrown my way. I e
nvied her easy
going attitude, when by the sound of
it,
she’d had a tough childhood. It made me feel ashamed of the way I had reacted with my mom. All the lies aside, at least I had a mom growing up, which is obviously more than some of these kids can say.

The mess hall was filled with oversized round tables that easily sat at least fifteen people each. The far corner housed a kitchen with no separating walls. I watched as everyone pitched in to carry large serving dishes from one of the long counters that ran the length of the kitchen. They were joking and laughing as they deposited the dishes in the center of one of the round tables in the middle of the room. Rick was on the far side of the kitchen making a large pitcher of lemonade. He smiled at me when he spotted us standing in the doorway.

“Looks like we missed all the work,” Amy giggled,
grabbing up a handful of napkin-
rolled silverware that was on a low table near the door.

“Like you did
n’t do that on purpose,” a dark-
haired guy teased as he tugged on a lock of her hair.

“Hey, that’s not true. I made a conscious effort to at least entertain the idea of helping out in the kitchen,” Amy said, going for a serious voice. “I hate anything to do with cooking,” she said out of the corner of her mouth for my ears only.

“LOL, I think we might be long-
lost sisters,” I teased. “I feel the same. I swear
,
I break out in hives just thinking about it.”

“Me too!” she said, dropping her pile of silverware on the table. “Sis, I’ve missed you,” she said, dramatically throwing her arms around my neck.

I couldn’t help laughing at her exuberance as everyone in the kitchen turned to stare at us, including the one person I wished I could avoid.