Jenny Cussler's Last Stand (11 page)

Kate, who had followed Clint up the stairs, turned.

“Are you coming, Jenny?”

Already on his way to the men’s section, Clint paused and turned back.

“Everything okay?” Under the dim lights, his wet hair glistened. He held the ends of his towel with both hands, and the muscles of his upper arms peeked tantalizingly out from his short sleeves. What did he look like during the sweat? She could only imagine how wonderfully exotic he might appear by the roaring fire, tall, lean, and muscular, sweat running down his naked body.

“Jenny?” Clint’s amused baritone chuckle nipped at the edge of her consciousness.

“What?” she breathed for a heady moment. Was he calling her to him? She blinked and saw Kate standing next to him, arms crossed, a smirk on her face Clint could not see.

“Oh, yeah,” Jenny said as she tried to snap out of her fantasy. “I must be tired. Just went off into a trance for a moment.”

She climbed the stairs, breezed by both Kate and Clint, and hurried into the women’s shower room without a backward glance.

“And what happened to you?” Kate asked as she followed her in and closed the door behind.

“Oh, gosh, I don’t know. Zoned out, I guess,” Jenny said. She nodded a greeting toward several women who glanced up at their arrival. The shower room consisted of five plain white enamel sinks with wall mirrors above a stainless steel shelf. Two women brushed their teeth at the sink. Auntie Sara, wrapped in a flowery cotton shift, combed her wet waist-length hair while she sat on a bench against the opposite wall between the sinks and the bathroom stalls. As if holding court, she talked to two freshly showered camp attendees who perched on opposite sides of her. Auntie Sara nodded at the new arrivals and continued her story without interruption.

Jenny turned to the left toward the showers and dropped her things on a small wooden bench between the three showers on each wall. She eyed the shower curtain gingerly, wondering how she was going to drop her clothes and hustle into the shower before anyone could see. Always self-conscious of her body, junior high school gym had been a nightmare for her, and camp was rapidly bringing back the misery of those youthful years of feeling like a social misfit.

Avoiding Kate’s eyes, Jenny scanned the small shower room but found no ideas. With a sigh, she slid out of her jeans and took off her blouse. Could she possibly put the towel around her body and wriggle out of her undergarments? Why had she come to camp? She longed for the safety and comfort of her private little bathroom at home, where she could dance about stark staring nude if she wanted...and had.

“Bashful, huh?” Kate asked. With a quick glance toward Kate, who had ruthlessly shed all her clothes and stood slender, pale, and naked, Jenny clutched her towel against her chest and nodded. She glanced over her shoulder at the other women near the sinks, but they seemed busy with their own affairs.

“Well, just jump in, girl. No one’s looking.” Kate pushed aside a shower curtain and turned on the water, testing it before stepping in. “I swear, I went to school with a girl like you. Couldn’t take her clothes off in front of anyone, poor thing.” Kate tossed a grin toward Jenny and pulled the shower curtain shut.

Jenny dropped her towel, wriggled out of her undergarments, and hopped into the shower, pulling the curtain shut before she turned on the water. She regretted the hasty decision when cold water poured over her head.

“You should have tested it before you got in,” Kate called out in response to Jenny’s shriek.

“Thank you,” Jenny responded sarcastically. She realized with a pang of irritation that she’d forgotten to grab her shampoo and body soap from the bench. Pulling the shower curtain aside, she peered out, saw no one, and trotted out to grab her things from her cosmetics case. She beat feet back into the stall and settled in under the now-warm water for a leisurely shower. Kate began to sing about washing that man right out of her hair, and Jenny hummed along.

What was Clint doing at the moment? Was he washing his hair as she washed her own? Did he wash it every day? What kind of soap did he use? She didn’t care. She suspected it would smell deliciously manly...not that she ever expected to get close enough to find out.

Jenny began to scrub her hair harder as she wondered what was going on in her fuzzy brain. That she had developed some sort of infantile crush on the handsome Native American was undeniable. What she was prepared to do about it was deniable. Nothing. He belonged to this world, and she belonged to the world of bookstores, coffee shops, and wireless Internet. Really! They hardly had a future together. She scrubbed harder.

Yes, sir, she certainly was going to wash that man right out of her hair. For some odd reason, he had decided to flirt with her—one of the camp attendees who’d developed an obvious infatuation with him. To what end, she did not know. Had he not said he didn’t like women who chased after Indian men simply because they were Indians?

Well, fine. She wasn’t going to be that silly sap any longer. Her scalp began to ache, and she dunked her head under the water with more than just a rinse in mind.

Jenny heard the rustle of Kate’s shower curtain as she stepped out of the stall, and she turned off her own water. Sliding the shower curtain aside a few inches, she peeked out. Kate, dripping wet, toweled off with an oversized orange towel that looked like it belonged on the beach.

“Get out, for goodness’ sake! I’m not going to look.” Kate buried her hair in the orange towel.

Jenny forced herself out of the shower and ran to her towel, wrapping herself up in its large folds. As soon as decently possible, she slid into clean panties and pulled on some light blue pajama bottoms and an oversized dark blue T-shirt.

“I washed that man right out of my hair,” she announced with a crooked smile as she sank onto the bench to dig in her case for a comb. The other room had thinned out, leaving only one woman brushing her teeth in front of the sink nearest the door. Jenny couldn’t see her face from the shower room.

“I doubt it,” Kate grinned. She pulled on some sweatpants and a sweatshirt. “I can’t imagine being able to put a man like that behind me. He’s sooooo handsome.”

“Are you guys talking about Steve?” Celia, the woman at the sink, stepped to the opening of the shower room.

Jenny bit back a gasp and looked at Kate, who cocked an eyebrow.

With toothbrush in hand, Celia leaned against the wall nonchalantly. “He is handsome, isn’t he? He’s single, you know. Unattached.” She directed her vapid blue-eyed gaze toward Jenny.

Jenny smiled briefly and turned away, ostensibly to search her cosmetics case for some vague item.

“Do you work with him, Celia?” Kate’s sugary sweet voice alerted Jenny to some shenanigans.

“Not closely, but I see him around a lot at work. We rode up here together...both last year and this year.”

“How do you know he’s unattached?”

Jenny suddenly decided Kate had the most precocious personality. She grabbed her toothbrush and passed Celia on her way to the sink. Celia turned so she could see both Kate and Jenny at the same time.

“I asked him...just a little while ago. I thought maybe you might want to know, Jenny. You seemed...interested. I think he likes you.”

Jenny, mouth full of toothpaste that she would have loved to spit at Celia, waved an airy hand toward the blonde and turned away to face the mirror.

“Did he say so, Celia?” Kate’s voice held an undue amount of interest, in Jenny’s opinion.

Jenny continued to brush, hoping Celia would leave.

“No, not exactly. I tried to ask him, but he wouldn’t say. Still, I can tell.”

Jenny spit and rinsed her mouth vigorously. She turned toward Celia.

“You asked him?” she said incredulously.

“Well, I thought you liked him, so...I figured since I kind of know him, I could help.”

Jenny stalked into the shower room to collect her things.

“Thanks, Celia. But no, I don’t like him.” She grabbed her soggy towel. “No, that is, I like him fine. Just not...” She shook her head at Kate. “I’m finished here, so I’ll just wait for you outside, Kate.”

“I’m sorry, Jenny. Did I do something wrong?” Celia’s voice trailed Jenny as she passed her on the way to the outside door. Her tone of remorse seemed insincere.

Jenny waved a hand over her head but did not turn around. “No problem. Don’t worry about it.” Pulling open the door, Jenny escaped into the relative darkness of the night. She moved over to the railing and leaned against it. Jenny didn’t believe Celia for one moment and suspected that the tall, svelte blonde was trying to divert Jenny’s attention away from Clint. Celia could have saved herself the effort. Jenny sighed. She had no intention of hanging onto the handsome man throughout the length of her stay.

“Feel better?” a dreamy deep voice said close behind her. “I’ve been waiting for you two to come out.”

Jenny jerked her head toward Clint, who waved the unlit flashlight.

“To light the way, remember?”

Hadn’t she just washed the man out of her hair? Her scalp still tingled from the vigorous scrubbing. Goose bumps sprang up on her arms at his close proximity, the talc smell of his soap, the shine of his wet hair once again tied back. Did he ever leave it loose? Was it as silky as it looked?

“Clint! You didn’t have to wait for us. We would have been okay.” The harried squeak in her voice revealed her agitation. Her eyes darted toward the bathroom door. Where was Kate?

Under the dim yellowish lights, she saw him tilt his head to the side. He studied her face for a moment before responding with an even smile of white teeth.

“I don’t mind,” he said in a velvety voice.

“Well, I...uh...I’m just waiting for Kate. She’s coming.”

“I’ve got time.”

Clint leaned back against the railing as if he indeed had all the time in the world. Jenny wanted nothing more than to run from him...or jump into his arms. She really had no idea which. Both sounded like excellent plans.

“Clint!” A sugary sweet voice materialized from the direction of the women’s restroom. “You look fresh and clean. Did you just come from the sweat?” Celia passed Jenny as if she were invisible and came to a halt inches from Clint’s chest. He straightened quickly, seemingly no longer relaxed. His eyes slid toward Jenny, but she ignored his hunted expression and turned away.

“Well, we’re all here.” Kate’s tone did little to hide her amusement as she followed Celia from the bathroom, towel and toiletries in hand.

Jenny sprinted down to the bottom of the wooden stairs, only to find that Kate hovered at the top. She turned back to look at the group.

“Have you been waiting for us, Clint?” Kate’s voice matched Celia’s for sweetness.

“Ummm, yeah. I thought you might need the flashlight again.”

Jenny watched with exasperation as Kate neatly stepped between Clint and Celia and took his arm.

“Well, lead the way, Clint. Are you coming, Celia?” Kate threw over her shoulder as she pranced down the stairs with a wink and a smirk in Jenny’s direction. Clint’s dimples peeped out as he grinned broadly at Kate. He flicked on his flashlight. Celia hustled to catch up and took a spot to Clint’s left. Jenny fell in behind the threesome, thankful for the darkness. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but she knew for certain she wished she had Kate’s lack of inhibition.

The short walk back to the Squirrel cabin seemed to take twice as long on the return trip, but the group finally arrived at the well-lit porch. Celia made her move, as Jenny had suspected she would.

“Can you walk me back to my cabin, Clint? I don’t have a flashlight either.”

“Sure.”

Jenny thought she heard a sigh but couldn’t be sure. Clint gave her a last look which she pretended to ignore. “Good night, ladies. See you tomorrow.” He waved and turned away from the two women, who watched the couple walk off into the night.

“Last year, do you think they...” Kate crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame with a crease between her eyes.

“No,” Jenny choked out. “I don’t think so. He was pretty clear about trying to avoid her. Said she followed him around, and he couldn’t get away from her.”

“Are you sure?” Kate stared after them as the darkness enveloped them, only a single sliver of the flashlight bouncing along on the ground.

“Yes.” Jenny bit her lip. “Why? Are you seeing something I’m not?” She searched Kate’s face.

Kate kept her eyes on the disappearing couple and cocked her head to the side for a moment before she grimaced, shook her head, and put an arm around Jenny’s shoulder to usher her inside.

“Nah! Don’t worry about it. Even if they had a fling last year, it seems to be over.”

“I’m not worried. Nothing to do with me,” Jenny said as she allowed herself to be pulled inside, where she draped her wet towel on the post of her top bunk bed to dry. She grabbed her pillow, sleeping bag, and the keys to the van, unable to shake the disconcerting feeling that Kate’s speculation had instilled. Had Clint had a relationship with Celia last year? Did the man protest too much?

“’Night, Kate. See you in the morning.” Jenny made for the door with Kate’s well wishes behind her. She crossed the porch and climbed down the stairs, realizing with a sinking feeling that she was going to have to find her way in the darkness to the van. Though the shower facility would provide faint light for part of the way as she passed it, she would have to watch her footing...if she could see her feet beneath the mass of her pillow and sleeping bag clutched in her arms.

She moved away from the cabin and trod carefully, stumbling once or twice on the uneven ground. She passed the shower building and continued on toward the cars and vans parked near the dining facility, now in darkness.

A faint glow of moonlight shone on the polished metallic sheen of the vehicles, and she felt, rather than saw, the taller profile of the van. Gingerly feeling her way around the back of the van, she found the sliding side door. Jenny shifted her pillow and rolled bag to one side to free up the keys in her right hand. With her fingertips, she located the key lock and inserted the key. It didn’t turn. Several wiggles of the key later, the van still did not unlock. Jenny sidestepped to the front and tried the key out in the front passenger door. Still, no luck.