I led him to the small section of tents that Harlan kept at the back of the store. The last time I went camping was probably with my Girl Scout troop in elementary school. I scanned the selection, looking for something that would help me identify what kind of equipment he might need.
He pointed to one on the bottom shelf. “How easy is something like that to set up?”
“Um, says it’s a five-minute set-up, so it sounds like that would be pretty simple, especially for someone with experience.”
“Does it come with a rain fly? The forecast is calling for rain this weekend, and I don't want to get stuck without protection.”
The packaging didn't say anything about a rain fly. Unless I wanted to look it up online, it was time to call in the expert, aka Harlan. “Let me go get someone who knows more about it.”
I left the guy standing in front of the tents and pulled open the door to the back room. Harlan sat at a table with papers piled around him. As I stood in the doorway, he looked up from the photo he was holding in his hands.
“I've got a guy out here looking for a tent, and I could use some help,” I said.
Harlan grumbled something about me not being qualified to work in the store and got up from his seat. I glanced at the photo he’d been staring at. It was a picture of him, Thatcher and Holt from one of their fire watch trainings. I’d been so jealous at the time that the three of them got to go out with Nellie’s husband in the summers, leaving me home alone or with Dane while they roamed all over the mountains.
They all looked so happy in the photo. Even Harlan was smiling. I couldn't remember the last time I’d seen him like that, but the huge grin on his face did something to my insides. I picked up the photo and slid it into my back pocket, then clipped the leash onto Bubbles's collar.
“I'm taking Bubbles out,” I called to Harlan.
“Got it,” he said, then turned his attention back to the customer. No doubt he’d be able to give the guy way more information than he needed to make a decision about a tent.
I let Bubbles lead the way and waited while he took a quick detour to a patch of grass where he did his business. The sky was a brilliant shade of blue, the sun was shining, and the sweet scent of sun-warmed honey drifted down from the hanging baskets of geraniums and alyssum that lined Main Street. It was a beautiful day, but I couldn’t enjoy it, not with the heavy tension lingering between Harlan and me.
Determined to clear the air, I waited until the customer drove away before entering the store again. Harlan stood behind the counter, skimming through my notes for the adventure weekend.
“What are you doing?” I asked, catching him off guard.
He looked up like he’d been caught in the act of doing something he shouldn’t. “Just looking through your notes to see what kind of ridiculous events you have planned.”
“Ridiculous events that are going to save your store,” I shot back, not in the mood to argue with him about it. At least not while there were other, more important things we needed to discuss. “Are we going to talk about last night, or do you want to continue to pretend like it didn’t happen?”
His smug grin vanished. “Like I said, it was a mistake. I had a couple of whiskeys by the campfire, and they must have gotten to me.”
“You expect me to believe that a guy who keeps tight control over every aspect of his life suddenly got carried away?” I unclipped Bubbles's leash and hung it on a hook while trying to keep my pulse at a steady rate.
“What can I say?” Harlan’s big shoulders rolled up in a shrug. “You pushed me too far, Firecracker.”
He was hiding something. I could tell by the hard glint in his eyes. “Don’t try to put the blame on me. You wanted to kiss me.”
“In the moment. But I can guarantee you it won't happen again.” His jaw clenched, and he refused to meet my gaze.
I pulled the picture out of my pocket. “And I suppose your reaction doesn’t have anything to do with my brothers?”
Harlan glanced at the picture. His expression didn’t change, but the deep breath he pulled in through his nose gave him away. “Your brothers are family to me. More than my own flesh and blood.”
“That’s what I figured.” I moved closer, stopping right across the counter from him. I’d always loved pushing his buttons and getting a reaction out of him, but this was different. This meant something. “Good to know where your priorities are.”
“Hell, Jessa.” His palms pressed down on the counter. “You’re going to be out of here before the season changes. The last thing you need is to start something up that you won’t be around to finish. You know you don’t belong here. Can't even help a guy pick out a damn tent.”
He was right. I had big plans. Plans that would take me far away from a town that was so small it didn’t even show up on a map of Montana. Even so, I couldn’t stand for him to be right about anything. “I think it’s time I tried out some of the gear on my own.”
“Oh yeah?” He arched a brow. “This ought to be good. What exactly do you have in mind?”
“I’m going camping this weekend. I’ll figure out what I need and borrow it from the store.” I turned my back on him, eager to put some distance between us.
“You think you can convince one of your brothers to take you up into the mountains and set up camp so you can say you’ve got experience?”
“No. I’m a big girl now, Harlan. I’ll do it alone.” At least the dark look on his face gave me a sense of satisfaction because inside I was in a full-blown panic. I’d never picked out a campsite, never tried to pitch a tent. But I’d hike the whole Appalachian Trail if it would let me pull one over on Harlan. And getting the better of him was exactly what I intended to do.
