“I’m fine.”
She bent closer, her eyes troubled. “Did he-did he hurt you?”
“No.”
The bell over the door chimed, and she stood. “I’ll be back. I get my break in ten minutes, and we’ll talk.”
My thoughts drifted to the last time my father and I’d had words.
His fist slammed into my ribs, stopping my breath and causing agonizing pain to ripple through my body. He knew exactly how to hit. To cause me pain without permanent damage, and where to hit so that no one could see.
“I told you to drop the fucking tart. She has no place in your life.”
I was on my knees, gasping for air, my mind racing.
I had fucked up and bought Sunny flowers on my credit card. She’d been having a bad day, and I wanted to do something to make her smile. I’d even had them delivered, remembering she had told me once she’d never been sent flowers.
My father saw the charge on the card and traced it.
And now I was taking the punishment.
He grabbed my hair and lifted my head. The anger on his face was frightening.
“Drop her, or I will drive her out of town. Her entire family. Got it? Some gold digger who has convinced you she likes you for anything except my money isn’t going to fuck up my plans.”
Another punch landed, and I was out cold. When I woke up, I was alone.
It was Sunny who saw the bruises. Sunny who made me tell her what happened. She listened with a horrified expression and decided we needed to break up.
“I’m not worth that,” she sobbed. “Someone needs to stop him.”
I held her arms, refusing to let her go. “No one can stop him, Sunny. I’m not giving you up. But I’m afraid,” I admitted. “Afraid of what he’d do to you.” I sucked in some air. “Don’t leave me, Sunny. Don’t make me go back to being alone again.”
She threw her arms around my neck. “I don’t want to.”
“We’ll have to be more careful. I can’t risk you.”
She sniffled, and I held her face in my hands.
“One day, we won’t have to hide. I promise.”
Her kiss said it all.
Since then, we’d been so cautious that at times it felt as if we were strangers barely acknowledging each other in town. We sought out private moments, hiding in deserted places. I lived for the hours when we were alone together.
She returned, carrying a strawberry shake and a piece of pie which I knew were for me. I shook off my dark thoughts. I wasn’t allowed ice cream or sweets at home, so I always got them when I was with her. She set them in front of me and returned a moment later with a sandwich and coffee for herself.
“Tell me,” she said between bites.
I told her what occurred. Instead of her looking disappointed, however, I was surprised when her eyes lit up.
“Did you hear what I said? I won’t be at the shelter this summer. I’ll barely see you.” I let my fork fall to the plate. “I was hanging on to this. Looking forward to it, and now he’s fucked it all.”
“Language,” she chided.
I ignored her. “He somehow constantly finds a way to make me fucking miserable.”
“Well, he failed this time.”
“Care to explain that logic to me? I was going to be right around the corner at the shelter. I could come in here every day and see you since he would be in the city. Now, I’m going to be stuck five miles away at the damn camp.”
She hunched forward, her smile never fading. If anything, it got brighter. After another glance over her shoulder, she slid her hand toward mine, entwining our fingers. “I have my own news.”
I squeezed her hand. “Tell me.”
“I’m working at the camp too.”
I lifted my eyebrows in surprise. “What?”
She nodded, looking excited. “I’m going to be working in the kitchen.”
“What about your sisters? Who will watch them?”
She smiled, although her eyes were sad. “My grandmother’s estate was finally settled. She didn’t have much, but there was a little money left over when it was done.” I waited for her to continue, squeezing her fingers in comfort. Her grandmother had been a special person to Sunny, and when she died a year ago, it had hit her hard. Sunny still became emotional when talking about her.
“So,” she continued, “my mom and I talked, and she decided she was going to send the girls to summer camp. She wants them to have a good summer after the last couple of years. She knew how much I wanted to work there, and she spoke with Gerry—the guy who runs it. It turned out he was looking for another body, so I went and saw him, and I got the job. Harry said I’d still have a job in the fall part time again.” She peeked over her shoulder. “Things aren’t great here, and he can’t really afford me full time this year. His daughter is taking more shifts to help out, and the grocery store hours are being cut back too, so I really needed this to happen.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because you would want to help or give me money, and I don’t need that from you, Linc. I just need you to be Linc. My mom and I would have figured something out.” Then she grinned. “But look how it’s all worked out!”
Her smile was infectious, and I felt my own grow. “So, you’ll be there too?” I asked, feeling the weight of my father’s words lifting away.
She lifted her eyebrows in amusement. “Six weeks away from this town and all the people here? Without a doubt.”
Still, I felt a flash of hurt. “You were going to take the job, and you didn’t tell me?”
She laughed, shaking her head. “I was going to talk to you about it. But when I spoke with Gerry the other day, he said he was getting an assistant. He mentioned the name Lincoln, and I knew there couldn’t be two of you around with that name. Plus, he said your father’s company was sponsoring the camp this year, so I was sure. I said yes right away. I figured you’d be coming and going, but at least we’d see each other in the daytime.”
“No, my father says I’m staying there.” I barked out a low laugh that was bitter. “I guess he figured it was less he had to see of me, while still keeping tabs on what I was doing.”
Sunny smiled, looking guilty. “Is it wrong I’m excited at the thought of sharing a cabin with girls my age and not my sisters?” Then she giggled. It was one of my most favorite sounds in the world. “And now I know you’ll be there all the time? This is perfect.”
A glimmer of excitement hit my belly, and I grinned. “Yeah. He wants me home every Sunday to ‘report in,’ as he calls it, but other than that, I’m free.” It had been the one good piece of news he had given me when he informed me how I would be spending my summer.
“See?” Sunny smiled, the expression lighting her entire face. “It’s actually great.”
I hunched over the table. “I wish I could kiss you.”
“Tonight. Our spot.”
Our spot.
The deserted camping ground not far from where Sunny lived. Easy for her to get to, and a place no one would ever look for me. We’d walk through the woods and sit at the water’s edge, by a tiny cove. The area was too small to be a party place and the ground was rocky, but it was sheltered by the rough cliff walls and secluded. It was a spot Sunny had discovered and loved. No one ever went there, so it became ours. Our own little paradise. Our favorite thing was to build a small fire and sit and talk for hours. On rainy or cold nights, we’d sit in my car. We could be us there with no one watching.