Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

Hilly blinked.

Goddammit. Why was she always so transparent? Couldn't she, just this once, not have every emotion she was feeling show on her face? Hilly knew she had to fix this, and fast, or Cisco might decide he didn't want the job. Which was kind of what she'd been angling for in the beginning, but after spending an hour with him, she'd changed her mind. He was so…normal; an easy conversationalist, and extremely fine to look at. She didn't want to welcome a different instructor now that she'd crossed paths with Cisco again and become settled with the idea of having him around. She just hoped her old, inappropriate crush wouldn't crawl up from the dungeon of her past; coming back to shackle her.

Damage control time.

"I don't dislike you," she spluttered. "I simply…"

Damn. It was so hard to get the words out.

"What, Hilly? You can tell me," he assured her with a soft look in his big brown eyes. "You won't hurt my feelings. I meet all kinds of people who for one reason or another don't like or trust cops."

If only it were that simple.

Hilly, not known for her verbal filtering, ended up putting her thoughts right out there for him to ponder. "It's not that you're a cop," she told him. "It's that you're…larger than life. Very good looking, and easy to converse with."

Cisco grinned, and that damned dimple peeked out again. "And that's a problem…why?"

"Because…" Now she was reaching; trying not to make it personal. "I'm afraid you'll turn the heads of our female counselors, and disrupt things around here."

Cisco threw back his head and laughed. "Not the first time I've heard something like that in regard to myself," he admitted without an ounce of conceit. "But Hilly, I have it under control. First of all, I'd never go there. These girls are college age, and I'm thirty-three. It would be highly inappropriate, and honestly skeevy of me to encourage anything." He gave a little shiver. "So please believe me when I say I'm very adept at setting boundaries, and I won't provoke or allow any improper behavior from any of your staff."

If Cisco had simply said he wouldn't go there, Hilly might have called him on it. But the man had said he was skeeved, which meant he felt the wrongness of it in the right kind of way.

Hilly knew it was time to give up her over-the-top cranky attitude, and offered him a tentative, tepid smile. "I'm sorry if I implied that you'd take advantage. I wasn't questioning you. I was simply worried about the dynamics of some uncontrollable teens fixating on you, your uniform, your bike…"

Shit. She was talking too much.

Cisco tilted his head and gave a wry twist of his lips as he studied her. "Then why do I still feel like you've got me on probation?"

"I'm…" How much did Hilly want to share without cluing him in to who she really was? Not that she thought her identity would remain a secret forever. Her parents loved to visit the camp, and at some point, they might run into Cisco. Even though he'd never laid eyes on them, it was possible Cisco and her mother might get talking and blow everything up.

Thinking it through, however, it was more likely it would be her new chef, Ellen Sothard who would inadvertently spill the beans. Ellen's sons worked alongside Cisco, not only on the police department, but on their SWAT team.

Yeah . Guilty as charged. She'd kept track of him.

Ellen would, no doubt at some point, make some innocent comment like, "didn't you two go to school together?", then Hilly's entire cloak of anonymity would be yanked off.

Maybe she could nip the potential problem in the bud by swearing Ellen to secrecy. She'd have to share some of her story—which she hated to do—but it probably would be the only way to see if Ellen would be amenable to keeping her secret.

Cisco was watching her closely as she thought things through, and she finally answered his question with a partial truth.

"I've had more than my share of run-ins with bossy men," Hilly began, remembering that just this morning she'd had another dust-up with that pesky developer. "And this being my camp, I don't have any wish to be mansplained to, or micromanaged on my own turf. And no offense, but you seem like a man who likes to be in charge."

Cisco held up both hands as if in surrender. "Not a problem. I promise I won't try to take over, nor will I go outside any boundaries you set up regarding my participation here. I'm completely at your mercy when I'm on site."

Hilly quickly dismissed the erotic picture that conjured, but concentrated on the real meaning behind his declaration. And really? What more could Hilly ask for?

Ummm. One thing. A middle-school do-over. But that obviously couldn't happen, and any current awkwardness between them now was all on her. Try as she might to dismiss it, Cisco's presence reminded her of the pudgy, graceless kid she'd once been; worshipping him from afar and dreaming he'd be the knight in shining armor who'd one day keep her bullies at bay.

That hadn't happened…except for a time or two that had seemed random.

Still, she'd survived.

Now she had to remember the confident woman she'd become, let the past go, and accept Cisco onto her camp team.

She sucked up a breath. "I owe you an apology," she managed. "I've been judging you…unfairly. If it's okay, I'd like to start over."

She put on her brightest smile. Even though it was somewhat forced, there was part of it, down deep, that felt sincere, and maybe he'd recognize that. "Hi Cisco. I'm Hilly. I'm so glad you could help out this year at Camp Venture. I just know you're going to be a wonderful addition to our curriculum." She stuck out her hand.

Was that appreciation in Cisco's eyes as he returned her smile and took her offered palm in a warm shake?

"Pleased to meet you, Hilly. I'm Cisco, and I look forward to spending time here and helping in any way I can to make a positive impact on your campers' lives."

He said it so sincerely, Hilly could do nothing but believe him. Even though, as a clueless young teen, he hadn't saved her from all the bullies, it looked like he'd grown up with his heart and his head in the right place, ready to champion her fearful campers.

Hilly's gut, however, was screaming " danger, danger "; that the man looking oh-so-fine in front of her, would upend all her hard-won nonchalance where the opposite sex was concerned. But that same roiling region of her belly was also doing excited flip-flops, knowing that she'd be seeing a lot of Cisco and his lusciousness over the next two months.

He interrupted her semi-inappropriate musings, which was a good thing.

"Now that I'm here, can I help you with anything? More set-up of any kind?" Cisco asked, looking around, and thank God, clueless to what she'd been thinking.

Nope. Not happening. Hilly needed at least a few days to come up with the bland face she'd have to don around Cisco. Having him up close and in her space this very afternoon wouldn't give her any time to conjure a calm visage

"Thanks, but I?—"

A scrabbling noise and a fast-approaching blur brought her up short before she squealed and knelt down.

"Nel!" She opened her arms wide, and forty pounds of fur jumped into them, flattening her to her back while she laughed and hugged. "Hi, baby. Hi," she repeated, rolling on the ground and scruffing her pup like it had been far more that two days since she'd last seen her. "Who's a good girl? Mama missed you," she crooned.

Once the licking and wagging had settled down, Hilly blinked up at her audience which had increased by one. "Papa-J. What are you doing here? I didn't expect you until tomorrow."

"Your Nel was becoming inconsolable," he laughed, "and knowing you, I knew you'd almost be finished with your set-up and deliveries, so I decided to bring her early and put her out of her missing-Hilly-misery."

Her stepfather, who was in construction and always helping her with projects around the camp, turned his smile toward Cisco and offered his hand. "Hi. I'm Hilly's Dad, Jenson Duncan."

"Nice to meet you, sir," Cisco returned the greeting and the shake. "I'm Cisco Andera. I'll be running self-defense courses here for Hilly's campers. She was just giving me the tour."

Looking up at the two men, Hilly wondered how rude it would be if she continued to lay there hugging her dog while appreciating the hell out of her step-father, and ogling Cisco's tall form from below. With the sun positioned just behind the younger man's head, his imposing silhouette made all her girly-parts clench.

"I'm sure you'll be a great addition to her program," Papa-J rejoindered. "Hilly works hard to make everything here, perfect." Her dad eyed her amusedly where she lay. "Hey Munchkin, you want a hand up?" he asked.

Hilly rolled her eyes at his nickname for her, but before she could tell him she could find her own two feet, Cisco moved close.

"Allow me." He sent a hand down to her, and not wanting to appear rude, she gave an internal sigh, and took it.

A nibble of something tingled between them, and by the look on Cisco's face, he must have felt it too, but instead of either of them commenting on whatever it was—perhaps excusing it as a bug caught in-between their palms—he tugged her upright with ease, then cleared his throat, breaking the spell of whatever had bitten them both.

"So, this handsome girl is Nel?" Cisco asked, quickly letting Hilly go, hunching over to pat her dog.

Funny . If she didn't know better, she'd say that the uber-confident officer was looking flustered as he scruffed Nel's head.

"She is," Hilly confirmed, using her prickling palm to brush the dirt off the back of her shorts while she regrouped. "She's four years old. I got her as a rescue when she was one, and we've been almost inseparable ever since."

"An Australian sheepdog?" Cisco continued to pat Nel, and the dog almost turned herself inside-out with pleasure.

Hilly eyes would be rolling back in her head, too, if those gorgeous fingers were on her, too.

Shit. What had Cisco asked? Oh yeah .

"Yup. She's mostly that, but the rest? A blender-special. A little of this, a little of that. I sent her DNA off to see what exactly her concoction was, and it came back Australian shepherd, Border collie, and Kelpie. In other words, all the good stuff."

"Sweet," Cisco was getting a hand-lick, but that wasn't unusual. Nel loved anyone who was friendly to her. "And she helps out around camp?"

"She does. Nel cut her teeth with me my first year here two seasons ago, and she's proven to be invaluable. Not only does she tend to herd the kids who have a propensity to wander, she's taken on the role of comfort-dog with a lot of our shyer campers." Which was the truth. Nel tended to know, instinctively, who needed a little extra love.

"I've always wanted a dog," Cisco added wistfully.

"No animals growing up?" Hilly asked, patting Nel's rump while Cisco continued to commandeer her head.

"Nope. My mom has really bad asthma, so we couldn't have any animal dander in the house."

"But you no longer live with your mother, right?" Hilly asked, making an assumption. "Couldn't you have a pet now, as an adult?"

Cisco shook his head a little sadly. "I live alone, and I work a lot of hours. I didn't think it would be fair to have a dog who was inside by themselves for a lot of the day."

"Makes sense," Hilly's Papa-J spoke up, reminding Hilly he was there. "You'll just have to spend a lot of time with Nel while you're here, Cisco."

"If she'll have me," the man demurred.

Hilly laughed, for real this time as she looked at the silly, infatuated face her dog was giving Cisco. "Are you kidding me? She's already smitten. I wouldn't be surprised if she hitches a ride back to town with you on your bike."

"Now that's something I'd like to see," Cisco chuckled. "One of those bike-riding dogs with goggles and a scarf?"

Nel's nose suddenly went up in the air, no longer basking in the human attention. She sniffed several times, then took off like a shot into the woods.

"And there she goes," Hilly chuckled.

Cisco frowned. "You let her run wild? You're not going to call her back?"

Hilly understood he wasn't used to a dog's ways, and quickly allayed his fears. "Nel is more familiar with this property than I am, and knows her borders. She feels it's part of her job to patrol the place, and I must say, she does a great job keeping critters like coyotes away. Which is good for everybody."

"They don't…attack her?" Again, Cisco looked worried.

"Nope. In general, she tops the average coyote by about five pounds, and she has a heck of a bark and growl that has them giving her a wide berth."

Cisco still didn't look convinced, and Hilly commiserated. She'd had the same doubts when Nel had first started confronting the local pack. But her mutt had come to an understanding with them, and they now respected her turf. As each new season of camp got underway, however, the local canines had to be reminded this was Nel's territory. Hilly figured that's what her dog was doing now.

Papa-J had been watching the interaction between Hilly and Cisco closely, and she saw the speculation on his face. She shook her head at him slightly to shut him down.

"Okay, honey," he gave in. "I know you have things to do, and I have to pick your mother up at the hair salon, so I'll leave you and Nel to your work." He came over and dropped a kiss on top of her head.

"Thanks for bringing her, Papa-J."

"Any time, Munchkin. And if you need me for any physical-plant problems that arise, call me." He gave a wave, then turned and walked back toward the parking area where he'd left his car.

Her sudden good mood over having Nel back, slopped over onto Cisco, and she gave him her first real, unabridged smile. "My Pops is such a great guy," she spontaneously offered.

Cisco's eyes went to her mouth, and his eyebrows raised.

Right. She shouldn't have been holding back and treating him to less of a welcome than she'd give, say, her delivery people. Her smile wobbled, but held.

After all, it wasn't Cisco's fault she associated him with a very difficult time in her life. At least he'd never made fun of her or treated her like shit. He simply hadn't known she'd existed. Maybe, if she dropped all her bitterness over the past, they could work toward enjoying some kind of friendship thing.

"Do…?" Cisco suddenly looked as conflicted as she felt. Was he having some thoughts that she looked good right now with a real smile on her face?

He shook his head as if to clear it, and started again. "I take it your family is local?"

Aaand…

Nope.

Friendship wasn't going to happen. Not until Hilly felt fearless enough to share with him who she was. Or at least who she'd been.

"They travel a lot," was all she offered.

The mental welcome sign she'd just been erecting, turned rapidly to closed.