When she pulled back, her gaze found Joe’s across the firelight. He said nothing, but his steady, quiet eyes held hers—as if he could see through her brave face to the ache beneath. Heat pooled low in her belly, her mind conjuring again the brush of his hands, the taste of his lips…Something deep in her chest shifted. It wasn’t just the desire. It was as if she’d never beenseenlike that before. That wasn’t scrutiny or curiosity in his eyes; it was recognition.
This was supposed to be a summer of sensible choices and self-sacrifice. And yet in that one look, Krista knew the real challenge with this “swap” wouldn’t be learning from someone else’s life. It would be resisting the pull she felt toward Joe. A pull that, if she were honest, she had no intention of fighting.
FOUR
JOE
Wednesday, Two Days Before the Summer Swap
Last night certainly hadn’t turned out as Joe had expected, he thought, while he finished cooking his oatmeal over the fire. He stirred the oats in his bowl, mixing in a heavy splash of milk, trying to think about anything other than Krista and the way she dominated his thoughts and dreams.
A faint chill clung to the campground air; it was the kind of midwestern summer day that would pretend it was fall until noon. It would climb to ninety degrees by afternoon, but at night it still dipped into the fifties.
Joe pushed up the sleeves of his thermal while catbirds called in the trees above. He nudged the campfire with a stick, letting the heat rise. Steam rose into the air while the milk started to boil around the edges.
Joe finished his breakfast just as a bright blue Chevy pickup rumbled into view, tires crunching over the gravel. They’d meet with Elsie later to go over her official plans, but until then, they were going to spend the next two days getting to know one another.
When Krista pulled up and climbed out, her hair was twisted and pinned up high, her gold necklace shining in the morning light, and Joe’s chest tightened. So, no—it hadn’t been a fluke. Whatever spark had flickered between them last night was still here, humming in the air between them, somehow even stronger in the morning light.
“Welcome to my humble abode,” he said. “You ready to see where you’ll be sleeping this week?”
Krista eyed the tent. “Tell me you at least have an air mattress.”
“Of sorts. I like to travel light. Everything I need fits in my backpack—it makes life easier on the road.” He grinned. “Don’t tell me your grandparents run this place and you hate camping.”
“Oh, don’t get me wrong, I love the great outdoors,” she said. “I just also love the little luxuries in life, like proper bedding and comfy pillows.”
Joe chuckled. “Guess you don’t know how to make coffee over a campfire then, huh?”
Krista tilted her head toward the metal kettle near the flames. “Instant coffee?”
Joe smirked, crouching beside the fire to stoke it again. “Give me some credit, honey girl. I grind my own beans.”
Her laugh came soft and surprised. The morning air smelled like smoke and dew, and with her there, the world felt more alive than it had in years.
“Okay, first lesson,” Joe said, standing up.
“Bet you love being my teacher, huh?” Krista teased.
Her tone was light, just enough to throw him for a second. He wasn’t used to women flirting with him so openly.
He found his balance again, smiling slow. “There are a lot of things I could teach you, if you’re interested.” His brows lifted. “But let’s start with the coffee.”
Krista laughed. “Probably for the best.”
A quiet grin tugged at his mouth. He’d been half afraid he’d imagined the spark between them last night, that maybe he’d read too much into the smiles and lingering looks. But now, with her standing this close, voice lilting with amusement and challenge, he knew he hadn’t been wrong. The current ran both ways.
“Just tell me what to do,” she said, bumping her shoulder lightly against his. “I assume you don’t have an espresso machine around here…which reminds me, the Hideaway is closed on Wednesdays, but we can still head there in a bit, and I can show you the ropes.”
“Alright. Espresso later. But first, cowboy coffee.”
“A cowboy and a teacher. How did I get so lucky?” Krista teased.
Joe just shook his head, struck by how effortlessly she disarmed him with her mix of gorgeous looks and a smart mouth.
“First,” he said, reaching for the kettle, “we fill this up.”
“Check.” Krista lifted the small metal pot and filled it from the jug of water beside his tent.
