Summer's End (Wildflowers #5) - Jill Sanders Page 0,9

clenched teeth. “As I said, we’re all business partners. We’re all putting in equal amounts to reopen the camp.”

Her father had been quiet. “I won’t allow it.”

She rolled her eyes. “Well, since your… responsibilities for me ended on my eighteenth birthday, I’d wager you have no control of what I do. I was just calling to let you know where I was. You know, a courtesy call.”

“I thought you were going back to work. What’s her name has been calling about you. She’s anxious to get you back in the office.”

What’s her name? She rolled her eyes again. Why did it seem like every time she talked to her father over the phone, her eyes turned into marbles rolling all over the place? One day she would roll them one too many times and they’d fall right out of their sockets.

“I’m sorry to disappoint,” she’d said and had added a quick goodbye. Since that day, she’d been avoiding her father’s phone calls.

“Wow, did you just do all this yourself?” Zoey Rowlett asked as she stepped into the now clean space.

“Yes.” She smiled as she leaned against the shovel. There was sweat rolling down her face, her back ached, and she was pretty sure she had a blister on the inside of her thumb. “It was so much fun. I’ve requested to help out on the next cabin tomorrow.” She tossed the last of the trash and then removed the gloves and tucked them in her jean pockets.

“It’s your back.” Zoey shrugged.

“Who won the race?” she asked as Scarlett’s golf cart stopped out front.

Zoey’s smile grew. “Who always wins?”

“That’s because you know that cart number eight has some… modifications to it.” She lowered her voice since Scarlett was out front talking with someone.

Zoey glanced over her shoulder and then narrowed her eyes at Aubrey. “If she finds out, I’ll know who tattled on me.”

Aubrey laughed and then motioned as if she was sealing her lips and locking them.

Zoey reached up and took the invisible key from her fingers and made a show of swallowing it, a move the friends had done since that first year together.

Aubrey laughed again. “So, what are you two up to now?”

“We were heading back for a swim,” Zoey answered. “Floating in the water helps the knee.” She wiggled her left leg a couple times. Zoey had hurt her knee a few months back when she’d attended the Olympics in Rio. Her softball team had gone on to win without her.

Aubrey knew that if Zoey hadn’t hurt herself, she wouldn’t have been in a position to drop everything and join them in opening the camp back up.

“Count me in.” She set the gloves and shovel down. “I need to cool off.”

She thought about a quick dip before dinner and then, after eating with her friends, taking a long walk out to Aiden’s trailer. She knew he’d moved the trailer onto the land a couple weeks ago but, since she’d been basically stalking him and hadn’t officially been introduced to him, she’d steered clear of the area during her evening walks.

She thought about her upcoming night with Aiden as she held on to the golf cart while Zoey raced Scarlett back to the main building. Gravel spit up as they skidded to a halt moments before Scarlett.

Laughing, they rushed up to the third-floor apartment they shared and changed into their swimsuits.

There’d been a time when the five friends hadn’t bothered with swimsuits. But now the place was swarming with crew members working on every part of the grounds, including their own apartment. Aiden had worked on the other bathroom the first week they’d lived there, but she’d been busy setting up their new computers down in the offices on the main floor.

Since she was the one with the most experience with computers, having taken a class in college, she’d been tasked with setting everything up, including their new printers.

They had each picked a room on the main floor for their offices. Elle had the biggest one, Zoey and Scarlett shared a smaller one, Hannah had one across the hallway, and Aubrey had a medium-sized one since it had been decided she would hire and oversee all the counselors.

Still, at the rate they were moving, they had estimated it would be close to a year before they opened the gates to their first guests.

The moment she dove into the pool, her mind cleared. Finally, a moment of peace from all the worry and anxiety that had been building in