Chapter 13

FILLIAN GOT a message about movement at Gregory’s building and checked the camera feed. It was the other tenant leaving, and Fillian put his phone back in his pocket. He had watched a ton of footage over the past three days and gotten nothing. Maybe there wouldn’t be any more notes, or maybe they were making too much of this because of what Lawrence had been doing. Though Carter believed that Lawrence hadn’t set the fire, which meant someone else had, and what if it was this note writer?

“I see you’re off this weekend,” Wyatt said once Fillian pulled his cruiser into the station and checked himself in from his shift.

“Yup. I need to pick up Gregory and the kids, and then we’re heading out of town.” There was no game this weekend, and they had practiced already, so all he needed to do was get out of there before someone found a reason for him to stay. “I’ll see you Monday.” He hurried out, got in the car, and headed home.

His phone rang with a call from Gregory, and he answered it through Bluetooth. “You ready to go?”

“Just picking up the kids now. They’re all packed, and we’ll meet you at the house.” He sounded as excited as Fillian was.

“I’m on my way there, and I’ll start bringing things out.” Fillian hung up and made the turn onto his street and parked around the back. Fillian hurried inside and began bringing out the gear they’d packed the night before. He loaded the cooler, packed with ice, and carried it out front just as Gregory pulled up.

“Let’s load up and go,” Gregory told the kids. Fillian put their gear into the bed of the truck along with the cooler, sleepings bags, and who knew what else. The kids hurried inside, and as Fillian finished loading, Gregory made sure the kids used the bathroom. Then Fillian locked the door and they all piled into the super cab and headed out of town.

“Do you guys know some camping songs?” Fillian asked once the town was behind them. The plan was to head north over the ridge, where they had reservations at a state park with a lake, a dam, and hiking trails. The kids all called out names, and they began singing “The Wheels on the Bus.”

“I’m hungry,” Weston said as soon as they reached the top of the mountain.

“Really?” Gregory asked. But Fillian was ready and handed each of the kids a small bag of goldfish crackers. “Dude….”

“I’m prepared. Now, when we get there, we’re going to set up, build a fire, and I have stuff to cook out. Some hot dogs, salads, and for dessert, the stuff to make s’mores.” He was pulling out all the stops. “Okay?”

“Yeah,” Weston said, and when Fillian turned to look, Marnie was smiling. He took all that as a yes. “Are we going swimming?”

“Tomorrow. We’re also going on a hike up to the dam, and maybe we’ll see some ducks and geese on the way. It’s going to be lots of fun.” He shared a smile with Gregory as they descended the curvy mountain road into the next valley.

“Are we almost there?” Weston asked after another ten minutes.

“Stop,” Marnie snapped. “We’ll get there when we get there.”

Fillian grinned and said nothing, glad Gregory hadn’t had to be the one to say it.

“I checked the camera, and everything has been quiet,” Fillian said softly. “I saw you stopped in too.”

“Just had to check,” Gregory said.

They reached the bottom of the mountain and picked up speed for the ten miles to the campground.

By the time they made the turnoff, Marnie was playing a game on her tablet and Weston was asleep. Gregory pulled up to the office, and Fillian went inside, checked them in, paid for camping, and got their site information and a map. Then he directed Gregory through the campground.

“They made a mistake in the reservation,” Fillian told him.

“What happened?” Gregory asked as he approached an intersection in the road. The tent sites were to the right.

“Take the left. They overbooked the tent sites, so we got one in the RV section. It has electricity and water.”

“So I can charge my stuff?” Marnie said. “Sweet.”

“What do we need electricity for?” Gregory asked.

“Well, now we can use the electric light instead of using up all the batteries, and we aren’t going to have to walk a long way for water.” He directed Gregory to their site between two huge motor homes that looked like walls on either side. Gregory pulled in, and Fillian got out and grabbed the tent from the back.

“What do we do first?” Weston asked, jumping out.

“Let your dad and me set up the tent, and then we can all get our beds laid out. Then we’ll have dinner and tell stories.” Fillian rolled out the tent and went through the process of setting it up. Gregory helped, and after it fell down twice—because that’s what tents did—he got it up and all the lines secured.

“Okay, get your sleeping bags,” Gregory told the kids, and they hurried inside to unroll their bags right in the center. Fillian let Gregory sort that out and got the other sleeping bags, then zipped them together. Once the kids were settled, he unrolled the padding and then laid out their sleeping bags and pillows while Gregory started the fire.

“Is it dinner yet? I’m hungry,” Weston declared.

Fillian unloaded the rest of the gear from the truck and got their chairs set up, then placed the cooler near the picnic table. Then he got out the things for dinner and set them on the table. After Fillian got the hot dog sticks and made one up for each of the kids, Gregory helped them cook their hot dogs so they didn’t burn. Fillian sat at the table, watching them—his family. Or at least what he hoped might be his family, if he were lucky.

“Do you want one?” Weston asked Fillian. “I’ll make you one.”

“Okay,” he said with a smile, and after a few minutes, Weston came over with a hot dog, and Fillian used the bun to get it off the stick. “Do you want to eat it? I know you’re hungry.” He helped Weston put on ketchup and then sat him at the table with a plate, some 7UP, and a little potato salad. “Good?”

Weston nodded, taking another bite. Fillian made up his own plate, and Gregory brought him a hot dog, lightly kissing his cheek before sitting down to his own dinner.

“Is everything good?” Fillian asked, and there were smiles all around.

“Where did you get the potato salad?” Gregory asked as he took a second helping.

“Mom made it. I asked her if she’d make up some of her special salad because everything in the stores is yucky and Mom uses bacon, and everything is better with bacon.” The kids seemed to like it as well, which he would be sure to tell his mom.

“Can we have s’mores now?” Weston asked.

“You have to finish your dinner, and we’ll have them a little later,” Gregory said. “Finish the hot dog and the potato salad.” He was gentle but firm, and Weston went back to eating.

“What are those?” Weston asked.

“Raccoons,” Fillian said, catching a glimpse of the trash-can robbers. “They can see really well in the dark.”

“Will they try to get into the tent?” Marnie asked.

“No,” Fillian told her. “They’re more scared of you than you are of them. They’re just looking for food.” He had put all their trash in plastic, but he hadn’t put it in the can yet. He planned to take it up near the restrooms, away from their campsite.

“Eat up so we can clean this up. Then I thought we’d go for a walk and look at all the trailers,” Gregory said. “There are some big ones.”

The kids got excited and finished eating. “Go ahead and take them while I finish up here,” Fillian told Gregory quietly. He needed a few minutes to get everything put away, and the kids were getting antsy. Gregory took them by the hand, and they headed out on their walk while Fillian tidied up. All the paper he put in the fire, and the rest went in the trash, which he took over to the bathroom cans. Then he put the rest of the food in the cooler, locked it away, then placed it in the truck. There was no sense in leaving it out.

When everything was cleaned up, he sat in one of the chairs by the fire, his gaze drifting skyward. The first stars of the night were just beginning to appear. He opened the star app on his phone and held up the screen, locating the planets and constellations.

When Gregory and the kids returned, Fillian told them stories about the planets and stars, pointing them out and letting the kids use this phone to see what else they could find.

“There’s a dragon and a horse,” Weston said, moving the phone around. Not all of what he saw was in the sky, but he didn’t seem to mind.

“Give Fillian back his phone and let’s make dessert before you both go on to bed. It’s getting late, and you want to be up for all the fun stuff tomorrow.”

Gregory got them marshmallows while Fillian made up the chocolate and graham cracker parts. Then they each got their roasted, and not burned, marshmallow. He smushed it inside and handed each of them their treat.

“These are good,” Marnie said around small bites while Weston ate his own, getting marshmallow all over his nose.

“Yummy,” Weston murmured with his mouth full. Fillian got a stick and began toasting a marshmallow of his own and one for Gregory, since he was busy with the kids.

The fire crackled as they sat around it. Fillian gently added another log. “Tell us a camp story,” Weston said, still eating.

Fillian set his partial s’more on a plate. “What kind of story?”

“Not scary,” Marnie said.

“With bears,” Weston interjected.

Fillian made a show like he was trying to think of something. “Wow, okay. Let me see if I know any not-scary bear stories. I can try to think of one.” He winked at Gregory, who sat back with his bottle of water. “Well, once up on a time… did you ever notice that the best stories start that way?” He looked at both kids. “Well, once there was this little bear, and his name was….” He waited only a second.

“Widget,” Weston supplied, and they all laughed.

“Okay, Widget… and he lived in the woods with Mama and Papa bear.” He went on to tell the story of the mean man who wanted to cut down the trees in their forest and how the bears banded together to scare them off, and then they had a bear party with honey and s’mores. The kids added the s’mores part. “And the bears lived happily ever after… until the loggers came back.”

“They did?” Weston asked.

Fillian leaned forward. “Yes, and if you’re good, I’ll tell you what the bears did that time… tomorrow night.”

“Okay, it’s time you got ready for bed. Each of you get your wash-up kits, and I’ll take you up to the bathrooms.” They hurried to the tent, and Gregory settled his hands on Fillian’s shoulders. “That was so good of you.”

Fillian put his hand over Gregory’s, and they stayed like that quietly, Fillian’s heart beating rapidly and his temperature rising for something he knew they couldn’t do, but his entire body longed for with each of Gregory’s touches.

The kids came back out, and Gregory took them to clean up. Fillian stowed away the kids’ chairs. By then they were back, and Fillian put another log on the fire, waiting while Gregory put the kids to bed.

Gregory backed out of the tent and quietly came over to sit with him. “They’re so excited about tomorrow, and so tired….”

“I hope they sleep well,” Fillian whispered and moved his chair next to Gregory’s as the fire began to burn down. He made no move to add more to it as he looked up toward the sky. The lights from the motorhomes on either side flicked out one at a time, letting the darkness draw closer.

“I used to look up at the stars at night sometimes,” Gregory said.

“I think we all did.”

Gregory took his hand. “Out here you can understand why people have always looked up in wonder. Without all the light, it’s easy to believe that fates and the future are written up there. Kings and queens consulted with people who could read the stars before going into battle.”

“And often the results were rewritten after the battle was over to justify what actually happened.” Fillian chuckled. “But think of this—what we see is into the past, not the future. The stars only show us what has happened. The light we see takes a long time to get here, and the farther away the star is, the older what we see actually is.”

“Yeah?” Gregory said. “Well….” He grew quiet, and Fillian did as well. They didn’t need to fill the night with endless chatter, not when there was an endless sea of….

A light shot across the sky, interrupting his thoughts and quickly burning out. “Did you make a wish?”

Fillian squeezed Gregory’s hand. “Did you?” he whispered in return as another streak zipped over and then disappeared in a flash. Gregory squeezed back, and they sat watching as more meteors burned up high above them, giving him and Gregory what felt like their own private show.

GREGORY PRESSED right against him was the perfect way to wake up. The tent was quiet, and Gregory must have gotten a little cold, because he had moved closer during the night, his back against Fillian’s chest. Not that he minded, and his cock was more than interested, but the kids were a few feet away. Thankfully, thinking about them made things settle down. Still, he tugged Gregory to him and closed his eyes once more, enjoying the quiet he was sure wasn’t going to last.

“Daddy,” an urgent young voice said, breaking into Fillian’s amazing dream.

“Yeah, buddy,” Gregory said softly.

“I gotta go potty.”

Fillian smiled as Gregory got out of bed and pulled on his pants.

“Okay. Is Marnie awake?” Apparently she was, because all three of them got their things and left the tent, leaving Fillian alone to try to get a few more minutes of sleep. Which is exactly how much time he had before both kids piled on top of him in a fit of giggles. Fillian growled playfully and yawned before sitting up.

“Are you hungry?” Fillian asked.

“Daddy is making eggies,” Weston said, still in his jammies.

“Okay. Then you get dressed and join your dad.” Fillian scouted around for some clean clothes, changed quickly inside the sleeping bag, and pulled on fresh jeans and a T-shirt before climbing out and putting on socks and his shoes. He straightened the bedding and left the kids to get dressed.

Yawning, he helped Gregory build the fire before swinging the grate over the pit. “I got bacon and ham, as well as eggs,” Fillian said.

“Bacon,” came the chorus from the tent. Fillian pulled out the cooler and the pans to get breakfast started.

HIKING WITH the kids that afternoon was a whole new experience. They seemed fascinated by everything. “Who plants all those flowers?” Weston asked.

“Mother Nature,” Fillian answered.

Weston turned back to the flowers and then looked at Fillian. “Then what does Father Nature do?” He was dead serious, and all Fillian could do was smile, lift him up, and give him an airplane ride among the trees.

“Is Mother Nature real?” Marnie asked.

Fillian let Gregory answer that one. “Well,” Gregory said, “sort of. She isn’t a real person, but she represents all the things that nature does on its own.” Gregory took the kids off the path to a fallen tree. “See, this tree died, but look at all the small trees that are growing. That’s what nature does. It replenishes itself, and new things grow when old ones die.”

“Like Mom and Dad?” Marnie asked, her lower lip wavering.

“Maybe, sort of. Your mom and dad died in an accident, but they left you and Weston behind to grow up and remember them, sort of like these small trees will remember the big one that fell down and made room for them.” That answer seemed to satisfy the kids, and they continued down the trail all the way out to the dam that made the lake.

The water sparkled in the sunshine as they helped the kids up so they could watch the water flow out of the lake, over the dam, and into the creek beyond. After a few minutes, they set them back down, and the kids ran off to play chase in the grass area nearby. “I used to come here as a kid with Mom and Dad.”

Gregory sighed. “I don’t think I’ve ever been here before. I’ve camped in other places, but not here. In the past I went with friends, but things are different now.” He turned as Weston chased Marnie, both of them laughing. “I have the kids, and camping…. Well, everything is different now.”

“I get that. But…?”

“Well, most everything is better now. I mean, they somehow make things better. I see things through… old eyes, I guess. To them it’s all new. The flowers I would never have noticed, the trees, the lake—most of it would pass me by, but they see it all, so I see it too.” He put an arm around Fillian’s shoulders as Fillian’s phone vibrated in his pocket. The campground had minimal service, but there must have been some here. He ignored it and stood with Gregory, watching the water and the kids playing. When his phone vibrated again, he pulled it out. The camera had caught movement at Gregory’s apartment. Fillian flipped over to the live feed, but the hallway showed nothing.

“What is it?” Gregory asked as he put his phone away.

“Nothing that can’t wait until we get home.” He smiled and put it out of his mind. After all, he had much better things to think about.