“You’re kidding. The camp with Lah-roy?”
“Yes.” Brynna nodded in amazement. “I recognize the dining hall and the bear on the porch. And there’s the flagpole and the wooden bench and—” She pointed to the right. “Even the original cabins are over there. I stayed in Seahorse Cabin.”
“Yes. I saw those on the website. They rent them for fifty dollars a night, but they looked pretty rustic. My trailer’s much nicer.”
“I can’t believe it. This is thesamecamp.”
Jan continued to drive. “Was it called Surfside Shores then?”
“No. But that’s close.” Brynna tried to think as she lookedaround. Some things looked familiar. Some not so much. “Camp Surfside. That’s what it was called. And they even had surfing lessons. I spent a whole day trying to master it, but nearly had hypothermia by the time I gave up. Fortunately someone had a big bonfire going on the beach.” She sighed. “It was really a fun time.”
“Okay, I want to hear more about it later.” Jan was navigating the narrow road that meandered through the RV camp spots. “But for now, I want you to watch for space 53.”
“This used to be a wide-open area.” Brynna tried to imagine the sports fields as she watched the site numbers. “Room for soccer and softball and archery ... They even had an amphitheater.”
“Sounds like a fun place. Wonder why they changed it to an RV park.”
“Probably more profitable.” Brynna pointed to an empty site. “There. Space 53.”
“Great. Now I need you to help me back in. They told me it’s a pretty tight squeeze.”
“Sure.” Remembering how she helped Jan park at Depot Bay, Brynna felt a bit more confident as she got out. She directed her with waves and hand signals, and after a couple of crooked attempts, the trailer was finally in place.
“Thanks.” Jan checked to make sure the trailer was well situated. After emptying some things from the Yukon, Jan unhitched the trailer, then handed Brynna the keys. “This space is so small, they told me to park in the lot near the entrance. We’re supposed to pick up a parking pass at the general store. Why don’t you take care of that while I set up camp? Feel free to check the place out on your way back.”
“You don’t need my help?”
“Nah. I’m sure you’re curious about your old stomping grounds.”
Brynna nodded. “Might be interesting.”
As she drove to the general store, Brynna took in her surroundings. Much had changed, but there were some familiar spots. The swimming pool was still there, but the old craft shack had beentransformed into a cute coffeehouse. After she parked the Yukon, she decided to use the restroom, but as she walked by the busy pool, the sounds of kids’ voices and splashing was like slipping through a time warp. Had it really been nearly thirty years? At the store, she got the parking pass as well as a souvenir carved wooden bear, a miniature of the one on the front porch.
As she walked toward the lake, she felt that same insecure seventeen-year-old girl lurking inside of her ... as if no time had passed. She almost looked over her shoulder to see if Leroy was running to catch up with her, calling out for her to wait up. She remembered the first time Leroy had bashfully reached for her hand, keeping his eyes downward. It was on this very same path to the lake. After they got into their canoe and rowed out to the middle of the water, he’d shyly confessed he’d had only one girlfriend before. It hadn’t been serious—just a girl his mom had pressured him to take to prom. Their families were friends, and the girl was nice ... but he’d assured her he had no interest in her.
In return, she’d told him a bit about Dirk. Not much though. She purposely kept it brief since she was determined to wipe her unfaithful boyfriend out of her memory once and for all. After three years of off-and-on dating—and too many tears—she was finished. And that’s exactly what she’d told Leroy.
Today the lake gleamed in the afternoon sunlight. Several rowboats, canoes, and kayaks lazily drifted by the docks. After giving up on their less-than-successful surfing lessons, she and Leroy had gotten interested in canoeing. And he didn’t even mention her wimpy paddling skills, but she noticed how he compensated with his own more muscular strokes—two for her one and changing sides more often. In fact, Leroy was the only guy she could recall who hadn’t made a big deal about her small stature. Despite being a full foot taller, he never made her feel childish or small. He never teased or attempted to take the upper hand. He’d always treated her with respect.
These memories were surprisingly pleasant, but Brynna knewit was time to get back to their campsite. She shouldn’t have abandoned Jan to set up camp alone. But as she hurried back to the RV camp area, Brynna felt glad—once again—that she’d agreed to come on this trip. Oh, sure, it still felt a bit weird to be camping with Sergeant Bart. But something about the conversations today, then being here at this old familiar camp, remembering a happy couple of weeks of her life ... well, it felt strangely cathartic.
By the time she reached the campsite, Jan appeared to have it all under control. She was even chopping kindling and tossing it into the small firepit. And the trailer’s striped awning was out, with a pair of matching red camp chairs beneath it. Even the picnic table looked nice with a checkered tablecloth secured from the sea breeze by the two geranium pots Jan had gotten at Riverside Gardens.
“Nice campsite you got here.” Brynna grinned.
“Thanks. Home sweet home.” Jan sank the small ax into a large piece of wood. “And we made a friend.”
“Wedid?” Brynna blinked.
“Apparently this guy—Mike—passed us on the highway a couple of times today. He has a royal blue Harley. I’m calling him Motorcycle Mike.” She chuckled. “Anyway, it seems he followed us here.”
“Followed us? Like a stalker?” she teased.
“No. He seems safe enough.” She nodded to her right. “He’s camping over in the tent area.”
“Uh-huh?” Brynna wasn’t sure where this was going. It seemed unlike Jan to be friendly with a motorcycle dude.
“Anyway, he brought us this firewood.” Jan pointed to the small pile, then lowered her voice. “And then he asked if he could visit our campfire later on.” She pushed messy damp hair away from her brow. “I didn’t know what to say.”
