Page 17 of One Last Summer
“And we wanted to tell you ourselves. We didn’t realize the real estate agent was going to stake that into the ground this morning,” Marla explained, pointing at the sign. “We just finalized our plan a couple of days ago,” she added.
“So, what, you’re selling it to someone random?” I asked, trying to keep my voice light, even though I was suddenly agitated, all the shoulds of my life bubbling to the surface. That heavy feeling of time lost, with nothing to show for it, circled back through my body, gripping my shoulders.
“Glamp Camp. They’re a company based out of Denver; they have a bunch of glamping resorts all over the country. Our friends who used to run Green Mountain Camp in Vermont sold to them a couple of years ago.”
“Glamping?” Trey said without trying to hide the horrified skepticism in his voice.
“Oh, it’s not that bad,” Marla said with a chuckle. “You know, nice big tents with bathrooms attached, linen sheets, that sort of thing. They want to put in a pool, offer massages. You kids should come spend a weekend here when they open!”
Our bodies weren’t even touching, but I could somehow feel Mack stiffen next to me, and a quick glance revealed a worried crinkle at the edge of his eyes, his lips twitching briefly into a frown before turning back upward. But there was no playful edge to his smile now. We were both silent, no doubt each of us living out our own terrible version of Pine Lake Camp 2.0: The Glamping Years in our minds.
Thankfully, Nick was there with the save, like always.
“Yeah, I just always assumed you guys had a plan for… this.” Nick gestured up the road toward camp. “And for it to stay Pine Lake forever.”
“Our plan was to keep doing this until we got tired,” Steve said, a softness to his voice, which still rang with the long r sound of a Maine accent. “And we’re tired.”
“We can’t quite keep up like we used to,” Marla added, wrapping an arm around Steve’s waist. “And we’ve got plans to travel. I want to see South America. And then we might relocate. I’m sick of the cold.”
“I can’t imagine why,” Mack said, and then turned toward us. “We got, like, two feet of snow here in April,” he explained.
“That definitely helped move the conversation along.” Steve nodded. “And that they offered all cash.”
Considering the cost of lakefront real estate, it was a logical assumption that someone would swoop in and grab the place. I shuddered at the thought of Pine Lake Camp getting divided up into plots, the beautiful old buildings razed to the ground to make room for fancy yurts and a pool.
Nick sucked in air through clenched teeth. “Well. I guess we better make this one last week extra special, then.”
I dug my teeth into my thumbnail, a nervous habit I’d picked up somewhere in childhood. One week. This was the only time I had left at Pine Lake, period. I had to make it count.
“Why don’t you all head to the bunks and get settled in? Sam’s up there with Eloise and her new beau.” Marla gestured toward the pickup parked along the road. “We’re heading down to Portsmouth for the night to visit some friends, but as usual you’re in good hands with Mack.”
She wrapped her arm around his shoulder and tugged him close to her, his tense face shifting into something boyish and sweet.
“Forgive me for asking, but it’s been a while,” I said, digging into my bag for my phone. “Can you give me the wireless code? I still have to check in with work while I’m here.”
“No working!” Nick reminded me with a poke to the ribs.
“Check-ins,” I said, jabbing back. “Short, quick check-ins.”
“I’ll give it to you,” Mack said, reaching out to tap my forearm. “I have it written down in the boathouse. Come grab it after you get unpacked.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled. I could have sworn Marla shot Steve a confused look, but I was too flustered to give it much thought.
Annoying Mack was easy to handle. But kind Mack always left me oddly at a loss for words.
And somehow that bothered me more.
9
“YOU HAVE TO hand it to them, it’s a pretty badass way to break the news,” Trey said as he steered my Prius along the bumpy dirt road. “Just dropped the sign in the ground. Boom. Sold. We’re out.”
Trey flung his fingers out in front of him, mimicking an explosion. Nick snorted and shook his head. For once, he was speechless.
Mack was next to me in the back seat, his long limbs going every which way. Worn jeans cuffed at the ankles, a pair of beaten-up, slip-on navy Vans. He still looked like a cool kid from Southern California, and it dawned on me as I surveyed him that he’d always been like this, stylish without ever even realizing it.
I shifted my gaze back out the window, taking in all the small changes to the place. My eyes centered in on a patch of land that had been divided into rows, each of which overflowed in a beautiful bounty of green. A fence ran around the perimeter, painted all different shades of the rainbow, and at the entrance, a tiny farm stand.
“Is that a vegetable garden?” I asked as we got closer, the small wooden baskets of zucchini and tomatoes now coming into view. “Where the tetherball courts used to be?”
