say in the matter. A reluctant grin tugged at her lips. She had to admit she liked the way it felt when he looked at her with attraction burning in his gaze, and she definitely wanted more of that. How much more and how far she’d let this go emotionally, she didn’t yet know, but couldn’t wait to find out.
One thing was certain: this was going to be a summer to remember.
Chapter Three
Laurel didn’t sleep very well that night. After years in city apartments, it was weird trying to sleep without cars and buses rolling by all night. There were no streetlights to shine through her windows, no cheerful drunks singing on the sidewalk, no alley cats hissing and fighting. At first she thought it was weirdly silent, but then she heard owls hooting, wind rippling through tree leaves, the occasional crunch of footsteps as someone walked along the dirt road outside. The sounds were different than what she was used to, and it took a long time to drop into slumber.
That meant she really needed coffee next morning. Only there was no coffee in her cabin. No, she had to walk all the way over to the main lodge to get her caffeine fix. She stumbled through a shower and getting dressed, then did a zombie-like walk up the road to the main building.
Breakfasts were self-serve cold cereal, pastries and bagels. Everyone was in charge of clearing their own messes in the mornings. Which meant, thankfully, that none of the handful of people that had already arrived tried to speak to her before she’d had some coffee. She hunkered down at a table in the corner with a croissant and two ceramic mugs full of liquid ambrosia. Yes, she was double-fisting her caffeine. No, she was not ashamed.
It took both cups and another fifteen minutes of staring into space before she started to feel normal. She glanced around, but didn’t recognize anyone. She didn’t see her new neighbors, and she had to admit she was a little disappointed. Which was stupid because she’d spent a grand total of maybe thirty minutes with them. Still, she would have liked to run into them, but they definitely weren’t among those sitting in the large dining room.
As if her thoughts had conjured them, Neil and Violet walked in the door. He was dressed in khakis and a T-shirt that hugged his broad shoulders— oh, yum —while his daughter looked as if she’d just rolled out of bed. She wore a pair of mesh basketball shorts, a wrinkled tank top, and her dark hair stood up in odd clumps and flyaway wisps. They grabbed trays of food, and the teen’s face creased in a grin when she spotted Laurel. Waving them over, Laurel tidied up her dirty dishes to make room.
“Morning,” Violet said, the word almost swallowed by her enormous yawn. She parked herself next to Laurel, leaving Neil a seat across from them. He had a book tucked under his arm, and he set it next to his tray.
After Vi yawned again, Laurel laughed. “You look lively.”
“Not a morning person.” The teen shoveled in an enormous bite of Cheerios. “Never have been.”
“She’s not lying.” Neil stirred sugar into his black coffee. “Vi was the only baby in history to sleep in from the day she was born. We had to wake her up on Christmas mornings.”
“Lucky dog. My nephew Nick has been up before sunrise every day of his life. I’m fairly certain my brother and sister-in-law would kill for the chance to sleep in.” Laurel widened her eyes. “I know I would when I’m on overnight babysitting duty.”
“You have a brother?” There was just a hint of wistfulness to Violet’s question.
Neil tensed, and his face went blank, but he said nothing. Hmm, so siblings were a sore subject, huh? Did he have one he hated, or did Violet want a baby brother or sister and never get one?
“Yep. Tate’s four years older than me. He’s the most amazing big bro of all time.” Laurel cast a conspiratorially wink at the girl. “Don’t tell him I said so.”
“I won’t. It’s cool you have a sibling
Lauraine Snelling, Alexandra O'Karm