Once she tied his sneakers on, slathered him in sunscreen and plopped his sun hat on his head, she helped him down the camper steps. After a moment’s hesitation, she decided to take him for a walk around the back part of the campground. Not only was there more shade, but most of the Kowalski family was milling around the front part.
She’d met most of them at least once—at Brian and Kelly’s wedding. She’d been her sister’s maid of honor because Kelly didn’t have anybody else, but she hadn’t been happy about it. Her sister simply wasn’t ready for marriage and it had taken all of her strength to fake it through that day. And Steph had assured her the family would be thrilled to see her again, but she had her doubts, so into the woods they went.
Oliver was fascinated. They spent a lot of time at parks, but the woods lining the dirt road weren’t isolated trees planted in cultivated lawns. There were sticks and rocks and piles of leaves to explore. Siobhan hovered, ready to intervene if she spotted poison ivy or insects of the biting variety, or in the unlikely event a car went by, but mostly she let him wander freely.
By the time they’d walked the back loop of the campground, Oliver’s energy was flagging, so she held his handto keep him from tripping over his own feet. Slowing the pace, they made their way back toward the open part of the campground and their camper.
About halfway down the hill that led to the break in the tree line, movement caught her eye and she saw Brian leaving a small cabin. He was looking down at his phone as he walked, and they were on an intercept course.
She almost turned around, but retracing their steps up the hill and around the loop would be a lot for Oliver. Scooping him up and running would just be ridiculous. Instead, she slowed their pace even more, hoping he’d stay engrossed in whatever he was looking at and walk down the hill without ever knowing she’d been behind him.
It wasn’t meant to be. As he reached the end of the cabin’s driveway, he slid his phone into his pocket and looked up—directly at Siobhan.
It had been over half a year since she’d seen Brian Kowalski at a holiday open house Steph and Kyle had hosted. She hadn’t expected to see her former brother-in-law there, and when he’d given her a tersely polite hello, she’d been so taken off guard that she turned her back and walked away.
Not one of her finer moments.
Determined not to bring any negativity into Steph’s special week, she forced her lips to curve into a stiff smile. “Hello, Brian.”
“Welcome to Birch Brook Campground.” The words were flat, and the smile he gave her didn’t reach his blue eyes. His gaze shifted to Oliver and his face softened. “Who’s this?”
“My son,” she said in a wooden voice. “Oliver.”
“I heard you had a kid. Congrats.” There was no warmth in his words, but then Brian gave her son a grin that knocked the breath out of Siobhan’s lungs. “Hey, Oliver.”
“Beep beep.” Oliver returned the grin, and that same strange look slid into Brian’s expression.
Oh, no. No. Absolutely not.“We’re on our way to…over there, but it was good to see you again.”
She swung her son onto her hip and started walking before Brian could say anything else.
Oliver was happily babbling about something, but Siobhan couldn’t hear him over the buzzing in her ears. Her skin was hot, and her breath felt quick and shallow—she couldn’t fill her lungs—and she forced herself to slow down.
The blue eyes. The dark hair. That damn adorable grin.
Kelly had lied to her.
* * *
Brian watched Siobhan walk away as though somebody was chasing her and shook his head.Hecertainly wasn’t going to be the one chasing her, that was for damn sure. The hope he could get through the entire week without interacting with her had been futile, of course, but that didn’t mean he’d go out of his way to talk to her.
Cute kid, though. When he’d smiled, there’d been a second when Brian thought he looked a lot like his cousin Josh’s boy when he was that age. It was weird how much little kids could look like each other sometimes.
When he reached the large canopy they’d erected for shade near the playground, he found most of the family gathered. His grandparents and the original Birch Brook Campground campers, Leo and Mary, were holding court from two camp chairs by the fire ring. There wasn’t a fire burning in it because it was hot and too early for campfire stories, but fire rings were usually the central point of any campground gathering. The actual flames were optional.
He spoke to his parents, Mike, and Lisa, and then talkedto everybody for a few minutes. His brother Joey’s wife, Ellie, was uncovering snack trays with the help of her six-year-old daughter, Nora. Rob and Hannah were adding ice to the coolers of drinks. His aunt Terry—mother of the bride—and her husband Ethan, then his uncle Joe and aunt Keri. Uncle Kevin and Aunt Beth. And there were cousins everywhere. His dad’s cousin, Sean, who was one of the Maine branch of Kowalskis but had chosen to live in New Hampshire, was there with his wife, Emma, and their kids.
The rest of the Maine family would be making a day trip over for the wedding on Monday. They owned the Northern Star Lodge & Campground and it was their busy season, so weekends were tough. It would be a long day with a lot of driving, but they wouldn’t miss it.
“This is amazing,” Kyle said, appearing at his side.
Brian looked at the plate of finger foods the groom was holding. “You think that’s good? Wait until the desserts come out.”
He looked confused for a second and then gave him a sheepish smile. “Sorry, I meant this whole thing is amazing—that you guys are doing this for us.”
“It’s going to be fun,” Brian said, and he was impressed when it came out sounding like he actually believed it. “We’re going to do everything we can to make your wedding the best day ever.”
That part was true, at least. And he was sure there would be some fun times. There always were when the family was gathered in one spot. But being one of the hosts and owners was a lot of pressure.
