Class Clown (The Thornback Society #4)

2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Ruby’s Truth: Only about six percent of surprises are actually good.

I pulled my little red hatchback car into the space behind our cabin, parking where the insect control people had parked their van the day before, and took in my first close-up view of the place. It was square, made of logs, and had both a front and back porch – although the porches were only big enough for maybe one chair. Zero surprises there. It might have been fairly typical, but I found it exciting anyhow. I’d never summered in a cabin, and I planned to fully immerse myself in the experience.

When we’d been given the all-clear to move in, Cole graciously offered me the single parking space and I’d zoomed over so fast that the maintenance crew would probably need to lay more gravel down to even out the potholes I’d created. As a sister, I knew better than to hesitate and risk the offer being reneged. Also, as a sister, I had accepted his peace offering and didn’t make a lot of noise about the fact that I was currently sitting in a slightly damp t-shirt thanks to the ice that had been steadily melting from my hair and dripping down my back.

The day may have started out cold, but the temperatures were slowly rising as they always did in the mountains, and I wanted to get my things hauled in before the sun hit its peak in the afternoon. Even more than that, I wanted to shower away the camp fire smell I’d picked up while sipping that warm drink, and melt away any lingering ice particles. I needed a fresh body and dry clothing if I was going to make a good first impression on the other staff. And I really wanted to do exactly that. If I was going to spend three months up here, away from my besties, then I was going to need to make some friends.

Cole and I were far from alone up here. This morning I’d seen other staffers moving around in the clear morning air. Across the meadow people were moving their things into cabins that would house the campers. On my side of the meadow, not far from mine and Cole’s cabin, more staff was working their way in and out of the Bearadise Lodge. There was a palpable cheer in the air as they waved, and hugged, and called out to each other.

I watched Cole bop around, cheerfully greeting them. He’d removed his coat and beanie and was wearing a bright neon yellow t-shirt and blue cargo pants, and they did absolutely nothing for his skin tone and build. I blew out a breath, amused. The fashion failure he’d been as a boy was still inside the man.

Gosh, I loved him.

Cole had mentioned that about seventy percent of the staff came back year-to-year, with some leaving as they got more permanent jobs, and new ones replacing them. But there was community here, and I was a woman who loved community.

I popped open the hatchback of my car and gathered up of my bags, which consisted of a first aid kit packed into a backpack, and a couple of duffel bags with my clothing and supplies. I lugged them up the two steps to the back porch and then pushed open the back door by lifting one leg into the air and using my toe to press down on the handle. Thank goodness it wasn’t a round knob or I’d have had to set something down, and I was a big believer in one trip when possible. Sometimes even when it shouldn’t have been possible.

The cabin was painted a dark brown color on the outside, and the inside matched, which made it hard to see much when I first entered. The overall vibe was ‘forest bummer’, but I had a few things in my bags that would brighten that. This true romantic had seen enough love on the prairie TV specials to know a cabin could be transformed, and I’d packed accordingly.

The darkness didn’t affect my sense of smell, though, and boy did it stink of chemicals. Home sweet cancer-causing home . I found a light switch on my left and used my elbow to flip it. The single 60-watt bulb in the center of a dark log cabin wasn’t like the brightness of the sun, but it made things more manageable .

I was grateful to see that the insect people had cleaned everything after the , so at least there weren’t, like, termite carcasses or something lying around, which was a point in favor of staying. It wouldn’t pass my mom’s cleanliness test, but I could overlook the dustiness because nature was dirty, and I was living in nature now.

To my left was a small kitchen area with a stove top, a sink, and a dorm-size fridge. There was a tiny bit of counter space and a few cupboards, but Cole had told me we’d mostly be eating with the campers at the lodge. I usually cooked at home due to budget constraints, and the thought of having the majority of my meals provided for me had made this woman feel like a princess.

Across from the kitchen, to my right, were two sets of bunk beds. Each set was pushed up against the wall, leaving space for two slim dressers to sit side-by-side at the head of each bunk. A door to a small bathroom was near the foot of one of the bunks, and I peeked in the open door to see a stand-up shower, a pedestal sink, and a toilet. I could work with that. Especially only sharing with Cole, who wasn’t someone who primped.

Sadly, there were exactly two windows in the place. One next to the front door, and one next to the back door, under which sat a small, two-seater, café style table.

Choosing the bunk that didn’t share a wall with the bathroom, I set my bags on the bottom bed and staked my claim. If I had to share with my brother, I was going to reward myself by not sharing a wall with the plumbing. There was no way this cabin didn’t have groaning pipes.

I opened my first bag, which was mostly medical books and supplies, along with a few romance novels I’d shoved in at the last minute. Cole had warned me that there was no cell service and very limited WiFi, so I’d brought a few medical things with me as reference, along with some swoon-worthy reading material. It had been a long time since poison ivy, or poison mushrooms, or animal bites had been an issue for me and I wanted to have information on hand if needed. Bloody noses, vomit, bruises? Those were daily occurrences in a school setting and I could treat them with my eyes closed.

The front door knob jiggled a little as I moved to put the medical books on the small kitchen table. I watched as someone pushed on it until it opened with a bang, and I startled at the loud sound, even though I should have known it was coming, causing me to drop a couple of text books. Cole appeared in the open doorway across the cabin from me with one duffel, one backpack, and a big grin.

“Whoa, lady! That door sticks.”

I laughed as I bent to retrieve my books. “Maybe we use the back door to avoid scaring each other all day long?”

He agreed, using his heel to push it closed and then shove it tightly into place. “I’m thinking that hasn’t been opened for a few years.” He looked around, nodded, and smiled. “This will do just fine. It’ll be cozy, but not unmanageable.”

“We’ve had tighter quarters,” I replied, thinking of the camp trailer we’d spent time in as kids when I’d been allowed to join the boys.

In case you’re wondering about that statement – my mom hated camping, and she loved ‘appropriate feminine pursuits’, so I spent way more time at home with her than going out with my dad and brothers. When I’d been old enough to argue for the benefits of a well-rounded life, I’d started joining them more often, and I’d loved it.

I set my stack of books on the tiny kitchen table and moved to the bunk area to start unpacking my things. He followed, popping his head into the bathroom and making a happy sound.

“That bathroom is practically a palace,” he called. “I’m really moving up in the world.”

“A true prince,” I replied.

“It’s kind of dark though,” he glanced around.

I pointed at his shirt. “I think if we point a flashlight at that, it’ll light the place up.”

He playfully frowned. “This is my lucky shirt.”

“No. Just, no. Find another.”

We bantered back and forth as we unpacked our bags, each of us claiming a dresser. Cole, being the tornado he was, finished long before me. He threw a sleeping bag and pillow on the top bunk and shut the drawers of his dresser before clapping his hands together. I doubted he’d even remember which drawer had what clothing items in it.

“You’re sleeping in a bag all summer? On the top bunk?” I asked.

He nodded. “I like the top. And a sleeping bag is as good as anything else.”

“It’s going to be harder to wash. ”

“Washing is for wimps.” He pulled a funny face at my groan. “I’m off. There’s a ton to do, and people needing direction. When you’re finished unpacking, come find me at Bearadise and I’ll show you the health center so you can start getting things organized.”

“I can’t believe the guy in a sleeping bag is in charge of this place,” I teased.

He put one hand on his chest and bowed at the waist, his dark eyes sparkling with good humor. “Farewell, dearest nag.”

I rolled my eyes as he laughed and walked out the back door.

I stood with my hands on my hips, satisfied with my efforts to make my side of the bunk area homey. My dresser top was covered with a lacey cloth and loaded with pictures of my family and my Thornback best friends. There were three brightly colored romance books at a perfect angle, and a scented candle waiting to add ambiance to our evenings. I’d also added a vase of fake flowers to bring in some beauty. I didn’t have a green thumb, and figured I’d be pretty busy up here, so fake had won the war.

My bed had a bubble gum pink, faux fur quilt that was several inches thick and felt like a cloud. I’d blown on it and laughed when the tufts moved like meadow grasses in the wind. It looked completely out of place in the rustic cabin, but it gave me happy vibes and I couldn’t wait to slip in there after a good day’s work and read those romance novels by candlelight. Sweet dreams indeed. Mmmm. I wiggled my hips a little, thinking about how much I’d like to snuggle up right now.

BAM! The front door of the cabin shot open and I squealed, jumping in place and involuntarily holding my fisted hands up in front of me, because, yeah, I had two brothers and my body knew to hurry and prepare for battle without me having to actually think about it.

“Oh my gosh,” I cried, spinning awkwardly until I was facing the front door.

A man stood in the doorway holding a big, soft-sided pack in one hand, and a sleeping bag in the other. I couldn’t see much of his face because he was wearing a ball cap and the sun was behind him. The dreary interior of the cabin hid his facial features, but I could tell that he was tall and athletically built. He wasn’t a chunk of muscle like that super drool-worthy actor Dwayne Johnson, but the man knew his way around a workout room. He took a few steps forward and I was caught by the prowling way he moved. Instead of thumping steps, his feet were quiet.

But wait, why was he moving further into the cabin?

“Hold up.” I firmed my fists and held them straight out from my chest. “I think you’re in the wrong cabin, and I have a mean right hook.”

Mystery man looked around the interior, and then took a few long-legged steps back out the door. I watched, my face scrunched in confusion, as he looked at the sign next to the door and then back inside. Something about him seemed vaguely familiar, but I was still working from a startled space and that is not the time to do a puzzle.

“Sign says this is the Funky Bunks cabin,” the man said.

His voice had my hands relaxing, and I straightened up, dropping them to my sides. Fear had been replaced by interest. He sounded raspy, as though he’d had a cold recently, or didn’t use his voice very often. He cleared his throat before stepping back inside the cabin to face me square on.

“Cole told me this was where I’d be staying,” he added.

This time when he spoke his voice had completely changed to someone used to giving orders. It still wasn’t loud, but it was full and deep and probably carried in the forest if he cared to yell. That would come in handy at a summer camp, I supposed. But, I didn’t know what to make of the change from raspy to commanding, and I certainly couldn’t process the actual words he’d said.

So, in my confusion, I said the first thing that sprang to mind. “This cabin is called Funky Bunks?”

He nodded, and moved forward farther until he was standing close to that one light bulb. Now that I could see his features, a wave of familiarity rushed over me. His eyes were dark under thick, black brows. His face was oval, his nose thin over full lips. His skin was the deeply tanned of someone who had started off with a naturally darker tone and then spent hours in the sun. Nothing about him was relaxed, and that was when it finally clicked. This rigid, stand-at-attention guy, was Cole’s lifelong best friend. A kid I hadn’t seen for years. The last time I could remember actually exchanging words with him had been at their high school graduation ten years ago - obviously before this he’d shed the last of his childhood softness.

“Nico?” I whispered, still a little unsure.

He nodded. “Hello, Ruby.”

Okay, so Nico wasn’t a kid anymore. He was a full-grown man and I’m not going to pretend that nature didn’t do him some favors, because he was not hard to look at. But it seemed like nothing had improved about his general demeanor. Nico had always been serious, quiet, and probably a huge fan of tightly fitted sheet corners and ironed shorts. I’d never figured out how he and Cole worked. It was a major case of opposites attract.

At least I didn’t have to feel awkward about still being in my slept-in clothes with a rat’s nest hair situation going on. I could not care less what Nico thought about me. I wasn’t even sure he processed normal human emotions.

“You’re definitely not a kid anymore,” I cracked, gesturing up and down his body. “Congrats.”

His brows dropped beneath the bill of his hat. “For what?”

“For the way nature blessed you.” When he didn’t reply I smacked my lips together and moved on. “So, why are you here?” I asked.

“He didn’t tell you?” I shook my head. “I’m the assistant camp director. Cole said this is the administrative cabin and I’d be bunking here.”

“Alright. I’m going to have to take a second to process this news.”

I flinched a little as his dark gaze moved to the bunks. He’d be sleeping over there, same as me. I watched him blink, his rudely long eyelashes moving slowly, and I figured he wasn’t used to fluffy pink comforters in his world.

Well, I wasn’t used to sharing my living space with men. I also typically avoided people who make every silence an awkward silence. So, yay me. Standing before me was a double whammy of awkward male.

This wasn’t going to work out. It would be one thing if Nico could be chill, but he’d never really spoken to me, ever. Memories of him silently watching me from his seat at the kitchen table as I moved around my parent’s house came flashing back. I’d never been able to decipher his thoughts, and he hadn’t been inclined to speak them. All I did know was that I’d picked up an odd vibe and had avoided him as much as possible. I had no idea where he’d been for the last ten years, but it would not surprise me to find out there had been crimes involved, and I wasn’t here to be murdered by The Silent One .

“Did Cole tell you that I’d be bunking in here too?” I asked, suddenly wondering if both of us were surprised by this news. He couldn’t be happy about being with me either.

He only shrugged, and I wasn’t sure if it was a yeah, but I didn’t care thing or a nope, but nothing ruffles these feathers thing. Well, he could sit there with his smooth feathers all he wanted, because mine were ruffled to high heaven and I needed to find my brother. I was not sharing a bathroom with a virtual stranger. I was not doing bed-head, and morning breath, and oops I ate something that my digestive system is violently rejecting with Nico. I would not be uncomfortable for three solid months.

“I take it that’s your side?” he asked, nodding toward the mountain of fluffiness.

“I’m a woman of comfort and style.” When he didn’t respond, only kept staring at my amazingly fluffy princess bed, I shuffled back a few steps. “Okay, good chat. I’ll be at the health center, so . . .”

I spun away, snagged my medical books off the table, and nearly ran out the back door and down the long dirt path to the Bearadise Lodge where I was hoping to find Cole. My heart pounded and all I could think about was how best to give Cole the dead leg of his life, and how I desperately wished I could call my friends to share this horrific development.

I’d read the romance novels, I knew the old one-bedroom scenario, and it was brutally unfair that the universe put me in tight quarters with a guy who was so . . . just . . . eww. A total empty vessel. I couldn’t imagine being comfortable with him sharing my space, cataloging my every move the way he’d done when we were young. I’d have to sleep with a knife under my pillow in case he turned out to be an actual psycho.

Plus, he’d scared me away from taking that truly necessary shower, or changing into fresh clothing.

I hustled into the main door of the lodge, unable to even run my fingers through my hair because my arms were full of books, and asked around until someone told me that Cole was in his office and gave me directions. I didn’t bother knocking, but burst in to find him talking with two or three people, all of them with notebooks on their laps.

“Ruby,” he said happily, not reacting at all to my abrupt entrance, “good. Everyone, this is my sister Ruby. She’s our staff RN for the summer.”

I managed to offer cheerful greetings as introductions were made, because this was their first impression of me and I was going to be professional even if my hair was matted, my shirt was wet, and my chest was heaving with a mixture of indignation and high-altitude breathing issues. However, I couldn’t have told you any of their names or roles five minutes later. Cole, having always been able to read me like an open book, quickly wrapped up the meeting and hustled everyone out before closing the door and facing me.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“Do you know who is currently setting up his bunk across from mine?” I hissed, slamming my books down on his desk.

He had the nerve to smile. “I didn’t think you’d mind. We’re all family, sort of.”

I frowned at him. “Wrong.”

“Come on, Rubes. It’s Nico. No big thing.”

I snort-laughed and shook my head. “Why would you think I’d consider him family, or not care that we’d be living in a small space together for months?”

“Because he practically lived at our house in high school.”

I sighed and rubbed at my chest. “Cole, darling brother, I wasn’t home when you were in high school, because you’re four years younger than me. I was away at college. And when I did come home on occasional weekends or summer break, he never smiled, never spoke a word around me, simply followed my movements with those big eyes of his.” I made my eyes big and wrinkled my nose. “I always felt like he had some sort of issue with me.”

“Nico? Why would he not like you? He knows you and I are tight.”

I waved my hands. “Did he pass the background check? Did anyone check his house for bad smells and dead bodies?”

Cole rolled his eyes. “Nico is not a murderer.”

“From my point of view, he fits the profile of a psychopath. Antisocial, unemotional, without warmth or human affection. He sounds an awful lot like Spock from Star Trek.”

“And we all know Spock had a heart.” I raised my eyebrows and folded my arms, and Cole laughed. “You are way off. He’s quiet, not unstable.”

“I don’t remember seeing a single expression cross his face. How did you wrangle him into this?” I asked. “Did he know he would be sharing a cabin with me? ”

Cole sat behind his desk and pulled open the middle drawer. “He came to work with me at the rec center after he left the Marines. When I was offered the director position, I knew there was no one else who’d have my back like him, so after talking it through with the board, I asked him if he’d be the assistant director. He agreed, and after all the interviews and stuff here he is.” He pulled a fun-size candy bar out of his desk and wiggled it my direction. “Really, sis, he’s great.”

I snatched the candy out of his hand and unwrapped it while my thoughts bubbled. Nico was great? The kid I’d known had no heartbeat, as far as I’d ever seen. I could definitely picture him as military, but picturing him as a camp director for kids was a huge stretch. He’d make his bed every morning and rise with the sun, probably shine the floors and white-glove the bathroom. He was going to be a man of silent opinions that somehow screamed loudly. This was not going to work.

“Will the kids think he’s great?” I asked, curious. After all, they were the main reason I was here.

“Of course. It’s the whole good cop, bad cop routine. I’ll rile them up and he’ll restore order,” Cole teased with a chuckle.

“If he yells at them . . .,” I began, but Cole grew serious and cut me off.

“It was a joke. Nico has never been a yeller. Neither me or the board would approve someone who was going to be a problem.” He stood from his desk and put a hand on my arm. “High school was hard for him, and yes, he was quiet. But it’s been a long time, and I promise that he wouldn’t be my lifelong best friend if he wasn’t a good guy.”

“You said he’s recently left the military. He’s probably got PTSD, and a summer camp could seriously trigger that stuff.”

Cole nodded. “I’m aware of all of that. It has been discussed with many people, including his therapist. The kids and staff will be safe with Nico. He’s okay.”

Chewing on the gooey goodness of the candy bar gave me a moment to think, and allowed my higher self to drive for a minute. Cole might be a big kid at heart, but I knew he wouldn’t endanger the campers, so I relaxed and nodded.

I pointed at him. “Again, you should have asked about the cabin roomie thing.”

“Rubes, I think after you’ve survived a ten-year stint in the Marines, including deployments, you probably don’t get bothered by finding out your buddy’s sister will be sharing your cabin.” Cole popped his own candy into his mouth and smiled. “Are we good?”

“I meant you should have asked me ,” I replied with an eye roll that my friend Meredith would have applauded.

“Oh,” he laughed. “Well, that ship has sailed I’m afraid. But, you’re right. I’m sorry.”

“Where was the other RN going to be staying?”

“With the cook staff, but we needed to hire on another staff member and had been trying to figure out where to put her. This ended up working out better for everyone.”

“There’s no other place for me to sleep?” I asked, thinking again about Nico in my space. It was awkward even if he wasn’t a felon.

“Sorry.”

“You owe me big time. You can start paying me back by pilfering a sheet from the laundry area to hang around my bed and dresser for some privacy.”

Cole nodded. “Done. Now, since you’re here, let’s go check out the health center cabin.”