him.
“Can’t be too safe these days, Jackie.”
“He works for the FBI in Albany.”
“Albany?”
“New to the job and hasn’t found a place to live yet and has been staying with his uncle. A state trooper,” I point out. The fact that Brett is FBI and his uncle is a cop should put my overprotective uncle at ease.
“Who is his uncle?”
“O’Brien.”
“I know him.” My uncle now sounds much more relaxed. “So, when do we meet him?”
“Sometime soon. I’m sure.”
“Saturday!”
“What?” No. I won’t do that to Brett or myself.
“If you brought him to the beach, he can meet the family on Saturday.”
We’re having a cookout, the entire family, at the lake next Saturday to celebrate my grandmother’s birthday. “I don’t even know if he has plans.”
“He better not.”
“Okay, okay.” I might as well enjoy my time with Brett now because I probably won’t see him after next weekend. My family can be a bit overwhelming.
“Oh, and Jackie.”
“Yes.”
“Behave and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
I have to laugh. “Well, since I can’t do both, I’ll just pick one and go with it.” I click off the phone before he can respond.
“Everything good?” Brett asks as I come back down to the beach. He’s busy spreading the blanket out on the sand.
“There’s a price to using the beach tonight.”
He eyes me suspiciously.
“Uncle Gary says that since I brought you to the beach, even though you brought me, you have to come to the family cookout next Saturday.”
Brett laughs. “Sounds like fun.”
“An easy assumption when you’ve only met Theo and my grandmother.”
I plop down on the blanket and Brett takes a lighter from his pocket.
“Hey, Boy Scout. There’s no using lighters. Aren’t you required to rub two sticks together or something?”
“As this isn’t exactly wilderness training, I’m not going to waste the time when I could be getting to know you better.”
His voice dipped low at the end and sparks go off in my belly. We are virtually alone out here and even thought my uncle’s house isn’t that far away, nobody can see us. Uncle Gary would only be able to tell there was a fire by the light, but that’s it.
I ’ve wanted to be alone with Jackie all night. We talked at dinner, but I was also conscious of what we were saying, or what I was asking. It’s okay to be general in a restaurant, but I hate really talking to someone when that conversation can be overheard. Then we listened to the band, which was pretty good, but not a good environment for conversation or anything else. It was a risk, and I didn’t ask, but I’m glad she’s okay with being at the beach and didn’t insist I take her home. It’s only about eleven at night. Late for some, but I was so not ready to walk her to her door yet.
Truth be told, I’d rather be kissing her than talking, but making out on a second date is probably not the wisest thing to do. Besides, I do want to get to know her. Jackie intrigues me unlike any girl I’ve ever met.
“You were going to tell me more about the camp but you didn’t.”
She uses her cup to make a hole in the sand so it won’t tip over and I do the same with mine. Instant cup holders.
“Well, it started off as just an art camp. My grandparents’ idea, when the living history thing didn’t work out. They had mostly kids of rich parents who were looking to unload their children for a few weeks each year. Kids who were kind of interested in the arts, or parents who thought their offspring should be interested in the arts. The following week they’d be sent to another type of camp. Their summers filled with adventure until school started again.”
“So, what changed?”
“One couple.” She smiles. “About ten years ago, this couple, who had five foster kids, didn’t send them to the camp to unload them on someone else, but so they could experience something different. My grandparents spent a lot of times
“Can’t be too safe these days, Jackie.”
“He works for the FBI in Albany.”
“Albany?”
“New to the job and hasn’t found a place to live yet and has been staying with his uncle. A state trooper,” I point out. The fact that Brett is FBI and his uncle is a cop should put my overprotective uncle at ease.
“Who is his uncle?”
“O’Brien.”
“I know him.” My uncle now sounds much more relaxed. “So, when do we meet him?”
“Sometime soon. I’m sure.”
“Saturday!”
“What?” No. I won’t do that to Brett or myself.
“If you brought him to the beach, he can meet the family on Saturday.”
We’re having a cookout, the entire family, at the lake next Saturday to celebrate my grandmother’s birthday. “I don’t even know if he has plans.”
“He better not.”
“Okay, okay.” I might as well enjoy my time with Brett now because I probably won’t see him after next weekend. My family can be a bit overwhelming.
“Oh, and Jackie.”
“Yes.”
“Behave and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
I have to laugh. “Well, since I can’t do both, I’ll just pick one and go with it.” I click off the phone before he can respond.
“Everything good?” Brett asks as I come back down to the beach. He’s busy spreading the blanket out on the sand.
“There’s a price to using the beach tonight.”
He eyes me suspiciously.
“Uncle Gary says that since I brought you to the beach, even though you brought me, you have to come to the family cookout next Saturday.”
Brett laughs. “Sounds like fun.”
“An easy assumption when you’ve only met Theo and my grandmother.”
I plop down on the blanket and Brett takes a lighter from his pocket.
“Hey, Boy Scout. There’s no using lighters. Aren’t you required to rub two sticks together or something?”
“As this isn’t exactly wilderness training, I’m not going to waste the time when I could be getting to know you better.”
His voice dipped low at the end and sparks go off in my belly. We are virtually alone out here and even thought my uncle’s house isn’t that far away, nobody can see us. Uncle Gary would only be able to tell there was a fire by the light, but that’s it.
I ’ve wanted to be alone with Jackie all night. We talked at dinner, but I was also conscious of what we were saying, or what I was asking. It’s okay to be general in a restaurant, but I hate really talking to someone when that conversation can be overheard. Then we listened to the band, which was pretty good, but not a good environment for conversation or anything else. It was a risk, and I didn’t ask, but I’m glad she’s okay with being at the beach and didn’t insist I take her home. It’s only about eleven at night. Late for some, but I was so not ready to walk her to her door yet.
Truth be told, I’d rather be kissing her than talking, but making out on a second date is probably not the wisest thing to do. Besides, I do want to get to know her. Jackie intrigues me unlike any girl I’ve ever met.
“You were going to tell me more about the camp but you didn’t.”
She uses her cup to make a hole in the sand so it won’t tip over and I do the same with mine. Instant cup holders.
“Well, it started off as just an art camp. My grandparents’ idea, when the living history thing didn’t work out. They had mostly kids of rich parents who were looking to unload their children for a few weeks each year. Kids who were kind of interested in the arts, or parents who thought their offspring should be interested in the arts. The following week they’d be sent to another type of camp. Their summers filled with adventure until school started again.”
“So, what changed?”
“One couple.” She smiles. “About ten years ago, this couple, who had five foster kids, didn’t send them to the camp to unload them on someone else, but so they could experience something different. My grandparents spent a lot of times
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