Hopeless For You Read Online Free PDF Page A

darlins." Momma Jeanne had a booming voice that seemed to match her ample figure. Her iron gray hair was pulled back into a tight bun and her cheeks were ruddy—from standing over the stove, I guessed. "You can call me Momma for short. I run the kitchen and the household so if you ever need anything just ask, you hear? If I don't have it, I'll make sure Don brings it up the next supply run." She smiled in a fond way that strangely reminded me of my grandmother. I found myself liking her immediately, if only because she talked like she was from the South.
    After all the food had been passed around, Momma Jeanne set her bulk into one of the folding chairs, squeezing in beside Don the pilot and Kade. Apparently, Don didn't normally stay for dinner but it sounded like Momma Jeanne had hustled him into it.
    I noticed Kade seemed a bit less antisocial now that he was back inside and sitting next to the camp's den mother. He got his fair share of teasing from the crew. He and the other summer staff had only arrived a few days ago and tales of Kade and Blaine's adventures in Vancouver city over the winter had circulated. Most of those adventures related to Kade's conquests of half the girls at the dive bar he worked at and the ensuing escapades involving jealous girlfriends and drunk boyfriends, which only confirmed my earlier bad boy assessment. I'd definitely imagined the special connection I'd thought I felt between us, earlier. What the heck was I thinking?
    The food was surprisingly good. Chicken, rolls, salad, mashed potatoes, rice. It wasn't what I'd expected but to be honest, I wasn't even sure what I'd expected. Maybe roasted deer on a spit or something, accompanied by Canadian maple syrup and buttermilk pancakes, with lumberjacks chopping up wood for the fire. This was freaking Canada, after all.
    Momma Jeanne stood and picked up one of the empty trays, then started walking toward the kitchen. When she got near me, she sat in one of the empty chairs and leaned close. "You're from Tennessee, right?"
    "Yup. Gina and I both are. We've known each other for ages." I smelled a trace of perfume that I guessed was White Shoulders—the kind my grandmother used to wear.
    "Oh, that's lovely. I grew up in Alabama, so we're neighbors."
    "Really? Wow." I'd guessed as much, from her accent. "How'd you end up here?"
    Momma Jeanne's face darkened, and her eyes got a sort of distant look. When she spoke, her voice was so quiet that I could barely hear. "I was running away from something that happened to me." She paused and I thought she was going to say more but then her eyes refocused and she smiled sadly. "But listen. I wanted to tell you. About Kade and Blaine—don't you mind all the talk. They're good boys. Sure, maybe they're a bit misguided at times. Get them into the city and they're completely different people. But out here, in their element, they're actually normal human beings. For the most part."
    "I don't know," I said. "Kade seems a little rude at times."
    "Rude?" Momma Jeanne laughed. "That's because he likes you."
    "What?" I blinked.
    "That's his defense mechanism. We gots rules around here. The staff aren't allowed to sleep around with the other staff. Don't think I've ever seen him so hard hit, though."
    I felt my forehead wrinkle. "What do you mean?"
    Momma Jeanne winked at me, and then hoisted herself out of her chair and left for the kitchen.
    I glanced at Kade from across the room. He was listening intently to something Blaine was saying. He was still wearing that tight v-necked T-shirt that showcased his bulging biceps so well. I followed the tattoo of a black rose down his thick forearm. On the back of his hand was inked a snarling wolf, and below that the letters of his name were stamped onto each finger. I ran my eyes back up his body and my gaze lingered on his neck and the tattoo there. It was a falcon with a single, human-like eye peering out from Kade's Adam's apple. The eye seemed sad, somehow. I wondered if