Place to stay

Camryn raises an eyebrow as Katie gets out of the car, then gives a little sigh. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I made her feel bad, didn’t?”

“Oh, I don’t think it’s you, really,” Jen responds with a little sigh. “It’s just…she and Jason have been through a lot.”

“Yeah, I know…”

“Has he told you about her sixth sense?”

Camryn nods. “He has…I thought it was pretty cool. But I guess it might make things kinda awkward now.” She pauses, then looks down. “Maybe I shouldn’t have come tonight. I don’t want to make Katie feel uncomfortable.”

Jen turns slightly in her seat. “Camryn…don’t blame yourself. Katie and Jason share and awful lot of past that’s hard for her to get through…but you can’t let that stop you from being friends…or more with Jason.”

“More?” Camryn laughs. “Not if he has anything to say about it.”

“What do you mean?”

Camryn rolls her eyes. “You don’t want to know.”

Jen senses what Camryn might be implying, and she gets mischievous. “Come on…tell me.”

Camryn look to her with a smirk. “Alright. So we were this close…” She gestures with her thumb and forefinger, “…to kissing.”

Jen giggles. “Ouch.”

“Yeah, well…maybe I need to take that lure out of the water and find another fishing spot.”

“Oh, now don’t go giving up that easily. I think he likes you.”

Hope shines in Camryn’s eyes. “You think?”

“Well who else does he banter with like he does you?” Jen looks at Camryn knowingly. “He might just take you by surprise.”


“Yeeehaw!” Kyle’s truck pulls into the parking lot, the windows down to let out his loud yell as he pulls up next to Katie’s car. “Yo, KT!” Hopping to the ground, he shuts the door and grabs Katie’s hands to spin her around, singing at the top of his lungs. “It’s just you and me sittin’ on the porch swing, Popsicle grins and swattin’ flies. A hundred degrees out in the sun, It’s summertime, Baby, summertime!”

“Kyle!” Phil chides. “Cut it out and help us with this stuff!”

Kyle brings Katie to a halt, out of breath. “Coming, coming, hold your ancy horses, will ya?”

“Would you just cool it?” Phil glances around his brother to see Katie. “How many times have I told him NOT to drink a Mountain Dew before we go out in public?”

Kyle spins around, giving Katie a cheesy grin, and whispering, though everyone can hear. “I like to make him thing it’s a sugar high, but between you and me, I feel like this all the time.”

Mike rolls his eyes as he walks past and slaps Kyle upside the head. “Behave yourself, or we’ll lock you out.”

“I’ll crawl in through a window!”

“We’ll lock the windows.”

“I’ll…I’ll…. Lock me out and tomorrow night you’ll find frogs in your bed.’

Camryn has just gotten out of Katie’s car, and she grimaces. “Oh, Kyle, that’s disgusting.”

“Hey, Cam!” Kyle whirls in her direction. “What wrong with a little bit of amphibious habitat in one’s bed?”

Camryn rolls her yes and just helps get some food out of the trunk.

Jen sits patiently until Mike comes over to help her into her wheelchair, and when everyone is ready, they head for the door.


Jason tosses a tennis ball across the room, hitting the wall hard enough to get the ball to bounce back to him. He sighs, looking at the clock. He was bored. He was lonely. This was irritating. At least he’d convinced Rick to let him dress in a tee and denim cut offs…it made him feel less of an invalid, but a few necessary short trips out of bed proved he shouldn’t be anywhere else.

Messing up his aim, suddenly the tennis ball bounces in the wrong direction, banking off the edge of the counter, then a chair, then flies out into the hall.


“Whoa.” Carson catches Misty and looks at her with concern. “That’s the second time you ‘bout fell on your face. Come on. Let’s get you back to the car.”

Once back in the parking lot, Danni sighs. “I guess this is where we part.”

Carson nods, then looks to Misty. “For safety sake, Danni’s going to go home like normal. Once everything is over with Zane, we’ll come back to settle a few things.”

Dannie is quiet for a moment, then moves to give Carson a hug. “I hope I don’t wake up in the middle of the night and find this has all been a dream.”

Carson grins at her. “You won’t.”

Not wanting to leave, but knowing she must, Dannie backs slowly to her car, nodding at Misty too. “I hope to see you again…both of you…when this thing is over.”

As Danni drives away, Carson just stares after the car for a long while, and then the empty road. He could barely process everything that had just happened….it was overwhelming. And he couldn’t bear the thought of things not working out now.

Finally looking back to Misty, he shrugs. “I guess we need to find a place to stay. It’s either a hotel or the car. You pick.”