“All right, gents, we’re here,” Jade said as she pulled the van into a parking spot inside the state park. “If you could load up your backpacks while I finish our registration, we’re going to hike from here to one of the trailside campsites along the Edisto River.”
As Kaeden followed his family out of the van, he again wondered if he was crazy to agree to go hiking and camping. The idea of him participating in such activities was not logical, and he usually operated on the side of logic and common sense.
“Ready, son?” Kael asked as he slapped Kaeden soundly on his shoulder.
Kaeden took the backpack his father handed to him and caught sight of Jade striding out of the ranger station toward them. The woman took his breath away. “Ready as I’ll ever be,” he said, determined to make the very best of this trip as he patted his pocket to make sure he had the case holding an emergency shot of epinephrine.
“She sure is a pretty gal, ain’t she?” Kael asked.
Kaeden felt his father’s eyes on him and he shifted his eyes off Jade. “That’s pretty obvious.”
Kael shifted the straps of his bulky backpack to a more comfortable position on his broad shoulders. “Sometimes opposites do attract, son,” he advised his son with a wink.
Kaeden said nothing. Was his attraction to Jade that obvious? First his niece and now his father?
Once they divided all their supplies, the men followed Jade onto the trail. Each step seemed to take them deeper and deeper into the forest until they were surrounded by varying shades of brown and green. Squirrels skittering past, the leaves rustling as birds swooped in and out amongst the trees, and the sounds of the river running all blended together into a wilderness symphony.
Kaeden wished he could enjoy it. He sneezed loudly, nearly causing his glasses to fly off his face.
“Bless you,” Kahron said.
“You all right back there, little bubba?” Kade called back to him.
He pushed his glasses back up on his face and swatted at something crawling against his cheek. “Just fine,” he called back, completely lying as he felt the back of his throat itching and his eyes watering behind his spectacles.
They walked single file along the trail, and Kaeden brought up the rear. Keeping up wasn’t his problem. He actually was in pretty good shape. He didn’t want to let on to Jade that the outdoors definitely wasn’t his shtick. He’d rather be back at his town house under the cool comfort of his central air watching sports or playing Literati online.
“All right, fellas, welcome home,” Jade declared as they came to a sand-packed clearing among the trees.
“Wow,” was all that Kaeden could say.
The riverside campsite was even more primitive than he imagined—and he had imagined the worst.
There was a large stone fire ring in the center of the cleared area, and twenty feet away was a lone building he figured was an outhouse. The sound of the running stream was very calming, but Kaeden figured water drew insects.
Jade removed her backpack. “We can set up camp here. Just situate your tents a few feet back from the fire ring. The smoke will help keep away the bugs.”
As Jade ran down the rules and regulations for camping at a state park, Kaeden dug his can of insect repellent out of the side pocket of his backpack. He made sure to spray his exposed hands and neck.
“One of you want to help me gather firewood?” Jade asked as she pulled a small case out of her sack. She opened it to reveal a small but sharp hatchet.
“Jade, Kaleb and I will go chop firewood,” Kahron said, using his sleeve to wipe the sweat from his angular face before he slid his aviator shades back into place.
“Yeah, don’t be silly. Let the men handle this.” Kaleb reached for the hatchet.
Jade raised a brow and moved it out of his reach. “Oh. Okay. So I’m supposed to say ‘thank you, kind sirs’ and let the men go off to do the manly work while I stay behind and…and…what? Cook up the vittles?”
Kaeden paused in removing his pop-up tent from its case. He eyed Jade and smiled at the defiance clearly shown in her eyes. The woman had spunk.
“Now, that look reminds me of my wife,” Kade said with a dimpled grin as he ran his fingers through his large silver curls.
Kael laughed. “Mine too.”
“Hell, mine too,” Kahron added.
“Look, gentlemen, you paid me to do my job. Let’s put aside the old Southern gender-role crap and let me do my job.” Jade eyed each of them sternly and then gave them a brilliant smile.
For Kaeden, that smile made the dark and damp woods seem like a tropical paradise.
Campsites were always so cozy and inviting to Jade. Once they set up camp she had led them farther up the Edisto River to a spot she knew from past experience was great for fishing. After hiking and fishing all day, it felt good to return to the campsite and light the fire.
Jade honestly didn’t think anything was more picturesque than the glow of fire amongst the dense trees, particularly with the moon glinting off the running stream.
Since there was only one fire ring, Jade had staked her own tent not far from the men. A part of her guide duties was cooking the meal—unless her clients wished to fix it themselves. Kahron cleaned the fish and Kade agreed to fry them along with baked beans on the side.
Jade dropped down into her little pink camp chair outside her hot pink tent. The fire was crackling and the smell of the fish frying in the pan was divine. Her stomach grumbled loudly, but she wasn’t at all ashamed. They had all worked up an appetite.
Well, almost everyone, Jade thought, cutting her eyes across the stretch of packed sand to Kaeden’s tent. She could tell from the light on inside the tent that he was scratching like crazy. She shook her head and tried not to laugh at the sight he made.
Jade was normally a good-natured, fun-loving person and there weren’t too many people who truly annoyed her…but Kaeden Strong had been irking the hell out of her nerves all day.
He was a grown-ass man—a good old-fashioned Southern man—who stunk at fishing. He didn’t know how to bait a hook and his line always got tangled in his reel when he threw it.
Between that and the clear signs of his dang on allergies, he reminded her way too much of those businessmen from Columbia. The man had no more right to be on a camping trip than a newborn baby. He was an intelligent man with a reputation for taking care of business skillfully, but when it came to the outdoors, Kaeden Strong needed to stay indoors.
Jade closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of the men joking as they moved around the camp. It was the sound of family…and it sounded good.
“You look awful lonesome over here.”
Jade leaned sideways and opened one eye to find Kaleb standing over her. With his muscular build, he nearly blocked out all of the illumination from the moon. “Looks can be so deceiving,” she told him, closing her eyes and returning to the darkness.
When moments passed and he still hadn’t budged, she frowned. “Kaleb, please, are you still standing over me?”
“Enjoying the view.”
Jade released a heavy sigh that was filled with annoyance. Not the “he’s cute and I’m only playing like he is working my last nerve” type of annoyance. True “please get out my face and leave me alone” annoyance. Men like Kaleb were all caught up in the physical and couldn’t care less if she knew how to count to five.
“Kaleb, you’re my partner in whist!” Kael hollered over to him from his spot at the picnic table.
Jade didn’t bother opening her eyes as she held her hand up and wiggled