A chaperone was the last thing we needed. What we needed was a week with no phones, no distractions, and a very large bed. Any minute I expected this dream bubble to burst. To wake up and find that we were where we’d been a month ago. Years ago. A decade ago.
And I knew that was exactly why he’d kept his hands PG for the last three weeks. I had to trust this as much as I trusted him.
“I’ve missed you this week,” I admitted, stealing another kiss.
“I’m so sorry. Dad had a rough day on Thursday, and yesterday I got tied up in work.”
“You don’t have to apologize. I can miss you; that’s allowed. It’s not like we’re back in high school, when I could sneak a peek at you between classes every day.”
“Every day?” he asked.
“Every. Day.”
He smiled, and I echoed the expression.
“It’s okay. You can kiss her,” Rose said from the hallway, and I ducked my head, laughing.
“Some chaperone you are,” Cam drawled.
“I helped Aunt Willow make lunch!” She lifted the small day pack we’d filled with a picnic this morning.
“Then, I guess we’d better get going so we can eat it, huh?” he asked, crossing over to her and taking the bag from her hands.
She nodded enthusiastically, and we piled into Cam’s Jeep once she was all zipped up for the breezy spring weather.
Cam took us out of the driveway and then turned onto the road that led to the mine. “I thought you might want to see the progress before we picnic.”
“You thought right,” I confirmed.
Five minutes later, we pulled up to the entrance of the mine. Two construction trailers with the contractor’s name sat parallel to the road with various pieces of large equipment parked around them, blocking my view of the tunnel I knew lay beyond.
I hopped out of the Jeep and then helped Rose down. “Stay close, okay?”
“You got it,” she promised, already staring at the construction equipment.
“Your coat, my dear.” I handed Cam’s jacket over as we met in front of the Jeep.
“I like the sound of that,” he said quietly, taking it.
“My dear?”
He nodded, then slipped the jacket on and zipped it up. I noticed the label and laughed.
“What?” he asked, looking down like he’d spilled something.
“It’s silly.” I shoved my hands into my purple North Face.
“Oh, now I definitely want to know.” He adjusted his hat, pulling the stretchy material down to cover his ears.
I snuck a peek at Rose, who was already examining rocks about twenty feet away. “You call me Pika.”
“Right?” He reached over and tugged at my hat, then swept his hand down my unbound hair.
“You know how they like to live with other animals? Well, beneath other animals?” My cheeks heated, and I wished I’d kept it to myself.
His brow furrowed. “Yeah. Sometimes they make burrows under the homes of ones that will alert them to predators.”
I nodded and dropped my gaze to the label on his jacket, then ran my fingers over the embroidery. “Marmots.”
He looked down where my fingers traced those very letters and laughed. “Guess that’s pretty fitting.”
When I was sure my face couldn’t flush any hotter, he cupped my cheeks in his palms and kissed me with warm, closed lips.
“We have a chaperone,” I reminded him but reveled in the contact. It still floored me that I was allowed to kiss Cam whenever I wanted. That he was mine in every sense. Well, at least when we were alone. We hadn’t exactly gone outright public, both content to stay in our little happy space.
“A bad one at that,” he said with a smile. “Hey, Rose, what do you say we check out your namesake?”
“Can you bring the bag?” she asked, her arms already full of rocks.
“I’ll do you one better,” he replied. “Wait right there.”
A minute later, he returned from the first construction trailer with a canvas backpack. “What do you think?” he asked as he handed it to her.
“Cool! Can you unzip it?”
“You bet.” Once they had Rose’s rocks secure, he showed me the bag, which had the logo I’d designed for him embroidered across the back.
“Rose Rowan Mine,” I read.
“They just came in yesterday. I’ve also got sample batches of T-shirts, hats, and key chains in the trailer. Told you I loved the design.”
We stood there looking at each other with upturned lips. I loved designing it for him. Loved working with him. Loved helping him and confiding in him. Loved everything about every moment I got with him.
“Are you two going to kiss again, or can we go find more rocks?” Rose asked.
Cam took my hand, enveloping my grip in his larger one. “Let’s find you some rocks.”
We cleared the construction equipment, and the main tunnel appeared. “It’s smaller than I remember.”
“You were smaller,” Cam countered as we approached the wooden platform, where an open-topped train with three cars waited. “Look what I got running this week.”
“That’s so awesome!” Rose said, racing ahead to the train.
“What she said,” I agreed. “Is that…?”
“Completely safe and in park, I promise.” He dangled the keys from his finger. “It’s the original from the last time the mine ran in the fifties, and I worked with Keith Mayberry to convert it for tours.”
“That’s great, and I bet Keith really appreciated the business.” He was one of the business owners in Alba who didn’t own historical property.
“Yeah. He’s tracking down another setup just like this one—historically accurate, of course—and then he’ll do the same with those. I figured if we’ve got the grant money, we’d better keep as much of the business in Alba as we can, right? It should benefit the whole town.”
I nodded, swallowing back the little lump of emotion in my throat.
“This is amazing!” Rose shouted, already sitting in the car behind the driver’s seat.
“Want to go for a ride?” he asked.
“Yes!”
I tensed.
“Relax, Pika,” he muttered against my temple. “We’ll only go as far back as they’ve reinforced. I won’t let anything happen to her or to you.”