As she walked, his words echoed through her mind. He’d been right. Itwasalways like that when she was with him—it was so easy and right and time just flew by.
What had she done to herself?
As if there wasn’t enough indecision about her future clouding her mind, she’d taken things with Rob to a whole new level. And it wasn’t just the sex. That had been incredible and she’d very much like to do it again.
But him sharing his photographs with her felt even more intimate than being naked in his bed. It was as though he’d bared his soul to her and, though she knew that was what good photography felt like, it just deepened her awareness that this was a man she could love with her whole heart.
Love.
Hannah stopped walking, standing in the middle of the dirt road as the word really sank in, and it was like a heat sweeping over her skin that also chilled her to the bone. She was falling in love with Rob Kowalski.
Dammit.
That wasn’t supposed to happen. Sure, she enjoyed his company. They laughed together and talked about anything and everything. They loved books and didn’t love granola bars. His kisses made her toes curl and the sex was amazing.
But she wasn’t supposed to fall in love with him. She was supposed to come to this campground and find clarity. There were decisions to be made forImprobable Causesthat would change not only her life, but Erika’s, as well.
Maybe she could walk it back. Starting to fall in love with him didn’t mean she had to tumble head over heels. She just needed to keep reminding herself over and over that she was leaving in a month, and that her life was in California.
And she would start by opening her laptop and really going through the deluge of information Erika had sent over the last two months. She’d sort it and make notes and really dig into how she felt about the possibilities.
She just needed to refocus herself, and the surge in her feelings for Rob would fade back to a summer infatuation.
Chapter Nineteen
When Brian and Stella pulled back into the campground that evening, Joey and Nora were right behind them. Apparently their brother felt guilty about not being around more, but his wife had plans, so he brought Nora with him.
Rob didn’t bother to ask how he thought bringing a child who wasn’t old enough to be unsupervised in the campground was helpful. At least Joey recognized he wasn’t pulling his weight and he was trying to do something about it.
Unfortunately for Rob, it also meant sleeping on the ancient couch because Nora got his regular bed. Going from sharing the queen-size bed with Hannah to sleeping folded up on cushions that had lost their spring at least a decade ago was quite a downgrade, so he didn’t sleep well. And that did nothing for his mood when he woke up the next morning.
While he ate the pancakes Joey made because that’s what Nora wanted, he wished he could have woken up with Hannah in his arms again. And again and again and again.
When he was finally able to escape the house, he skimmed the pool and checked the chemical levels. After battling with it for so long, the chore had actually become soothing somehow. He assumed he got the same benefit from tending the pool as other people did from tending a garden, and it was the one job he didn’t try to pawn off on Brian—or Joey, when he was around.
Then he opened the store, hoping to have more alone time. He wasn’t in a bad mood often and he was trying like hell to shake it off, but he was low-key resenting his brothers for showing up and putting an end to his alone time with Hannah. It wasn’t fair, but he still wasn’t happy to see Joey walk in an hour later.
“Why aren’t you helping Brian clear that fallen tree over by the northern fence?” he demanded with a little more attitude than was merited.
He wasn’t surprised when his older brother pinned him with a questioning look before shaking his head. “He decided the two of you can do it next week.”
“Oh,Briandecided we’d do the physical labor while you’re not around?”
“I’m not sure where you got the hair across your ass today, but yes, Brian decided that it wasn’t going to get done today because Nora’s here and she wants to hang out with him and Stella. And it can’t be done over the weekend because it’s going to be loud and messy. Therefore, next week. If it’s that big of a deal to you, I’ll arrange to come back for it.”
Rob scrubbed a hand over his face and blew out a long breath. “No. It doesn’t make sense to do it while Nora’s hereorto have you come back for one fallen tree. I woke up on the wrong side of the couch this morning, I guess.”
“I know it sucks, but I do appreciate you giving up your bed for Nora. She was so excited to come, I didn’t have the heart to tell her no. I should have asked Gramps if I could borrow their RV. It doesn’t even need a site. I could just park between the house and the store.”
Rob chuckled. “When people say our parents and grandparents love us unconditionally, I think there’s really tiny fine print that excludes scratching or dinging the RV.”
“Or spilling drinks on the cushions.” Joey shook his head. “And I’d probably have to take out a loan to fill the fuel tank.”
“We’ll figure it all out,” Rob said. “We have to get through this first summer and then we’ll start making improvements for our sakes and not just for the campers.”
Joey nodded. “Since Brian’s making up things to do that Nora’s capable of helping with, I figured I’d do an inventory.”
“Inventory of what?”
