Chapter Thirteen

       Saturday afternoon, midway through the two weeks at Camp Logan, was phone home
day.  Campers could use the phone in the office any time during the afternoon to call
their families and touch base.  For those not using the phone, it was a free afternoon. 
Dwayne and Suzanne were stationed on the beach as lifeguards for those who wanted
to swim, or take out the canoes, and Max discovered that quite a few of the kids were
milling around the basketball court shooting hoops. 
	“Hey Coach,”  one of the girls called, as Max wandered past.  Looking over at the
group, he spotted Jenny,  one of her own high school students.  Jenny had been
delighted to see her when she’d arrived at Camp Logan, and had immediately informed
all her friends at camp just how ‘cool’ Coach McGreggor was.  Since camp staff were
usually called by their first names,  Jenny had taken to calling Max ‘Coach’ because she
felt uncomfortable calling her teacher by her first name.  At the moment, Jenny was
waving at her and bouncing up and down.
	“Want to play some ball with us, Coach?” Jenny asked, as Max approached
court-side.
	“Got enough here to make it worthwhile?”  Max asked, grabbing the ball that
Jenny had tossed her way.  
	"Boys against girls," one of the others suggested, and immediately the girls
chorused together in their agreement.
	"No way!" complained one of the guys, however.  "Girls have an unfair
advantage. Max is good!"
	Max smiled.  It was the greatest form or appreciation to have a teenage boy
suggest that you were good at a sport.  Soon the other boys were nodding as well, and
one of them ran off in search of re-enforcements.  It didn't take long.  Just minutes later
he returned with Cal on his heels. 
	Max laughed.  "Oh yeah, you guys are too scared to play against the girls with
me on their team, so you go get him?"
	"Fair's fair," they all called out, and soon the ball was in play and there was no
time for further discussion.  They played for fun, but they played a high energy game. 
Most of the time Cal was encouraged to be her blocker, and she enjoyed the sport of
getting away from him.  By the time the impromptu game was over she was breathless
and sweating.
	"Now that's what I call unfair!" she said, waving her hand at the many shirtless
guy wandering around the court.  "You guys can take your shirts off, we can't"
	"We ain’t stopping ya!" one of the boys in the back called out and all the guys
laughed and hooted.  Max laughed and shook her head. 
	"You guys are dreaming," she said, sinking down onto the grass and pulling the
hem of her T-shirt up to wipe her wet face.  
	"I'm sure a lot of them are," Cal agreed, as he sat down beside her.  Then he
turned to survey the grounds.  "Have you made your call home yet?"
	"That's just for the kids, isn't it?" she asked.
	"Don't see why we can't do the same."  He glanced at her with a wink. "Maybe
he'd like to hear from you?"
	Max chuckled.  "He's not even home, Cal. Now no more talking like that."
	He shrugged, and stood up, reaching down to give her a hand. "Call somebody
else then.  "I called my mother,"  he said, as he pulled her onto her feet. 
	"You really called your mother?" she asked.
	"Sure did.  You must have someone you can call?"  He started walking, and
before she knew it, they were approaching the camp office.
	Max sighed.  She was enjoying herself at camp, and had managed to keep her
mind off of Jake, most of the time.  Of course, knowing he was away from home made
that easier.   She looked at her watch. What would Mikki be doing at this time of day, she
wondered.  She glanced at Cal, who was grinning and pointing the way to the office
door.
	"Looks like there's no line up right now," he said, and Max laughed.  She felt like
one of the teens, and bounded up the steps into the office. 
	"So how's it going back at home?" she asked, a few minutes later when Mikki
was on the other end of the line.
	"It's great to hear from you!" Mikki said, her voice bubbly.  "It was beginning to
feel like back when Joey ran off on us."
	"I've only been gone a week!" Max groaned. 
	"And have you used that week wisely?" Mikki asked.  "There must be some cute
councillors there, huh?"
	Max laughed.  Leave it to Mikki to turn the subject to men.  Being the only single
one left out of the three friends, of course she was fair game for that, she supposed. 
Ignoring her friend's question, she went on to describe the practical joke the staff had
played on Cal when they'd sent him to pick her up, then diverted the conversation to life
in Elmdale.
	"Heard from Reese lately?" she asked.
	"He and Jake are working long hours," Mikki said, concern in her voice. "They
were hoping they could get home earlier than expected, but it doesn't look that way now. 
They ran into some complications."
	The young staffer sitting behind the desk smiled politely at Max and motioned to
her watch with a sympathetic look.  Max nodded, and said goodbye to her friend and
hung up the phone.
	"Sorry to do that to you, Max, but they have a time limit for the kids and they like
us to set a good example."
	"Oh, I don't mind, Mindy.  That's exactly how it should be.  It's amazing how
rejuvenating a little contact with home can be though, isn't it.  I hadn't expected that."
	Mindy nodded.  "I know what you mean," the girl said.
	"Feel better?" Cal asked, when she stepped out of the office.  He was sitting on
the steps waiting for her, and she was surprised he was still there. 
	"Yeah, I do," she nodded, with a smile.  "Thanks for suggesting that."  But she
wasn't sure exactly why she was feeling better. Was it because she'd had contact with
the outside world, or was it that she knew Jake probably wouldn't be home before she
was.  Somehow that would make missing him just a little bit easier on those occasions
late at night when she allowed herself that luxury.
	
	Jake was exhausted.  He and Reese had slugged earth and rocks for three days
straight.  After several days of garden maintenance they had started into the major
expansion project.   A new arm of the little babbling brook that ran through Marina's back
yard was being added to the open lawn segment.  Although a small back-hoe had been
brought in to dig the actual path of the stream, all the removed earth had to be dealt
with, then the rockery laid for the new waterway to run over.  When it came to sculpting
with the land, Reese was the best, and Jake knew it, but he also didn't know when to
quit for the day!
	Of course, having his partner work him to death certainly made it easier to keep
his mind off the royal mess he'd made of his life the last few weeks!   Of all the stupid
things he could have done, falling into bed with Max was probably the stupidest.  Instead
of easing the tension he'd been feeling over her 'am I sexy' question, it had only made
matters worse.   Had he given it much thought, he would have known that would
happen.  How could anyone expect to make love to a beautiful, sexy woman like Max
and not want to do it again.  And again, and again!
	That this didn't seem to bother Max was in his favour, but how long would she put
up with him coming over every night and sharing her bed until she decided that wasn't
enough?  Sure, she agreed with him when he insisted they were still just friends; that
there was nothing romantic between them.  But When would all that change?  When
would she start looking at what Mikki and Reese had and start wanting him to give her
the same thing? 
	Jake glared at his partner, who was placing a rock in the stream bed in the semi-
dusk.  Why did Reese have to make marriage look so damn appealing anyway, he
thought, and quickly reminded himself that it would be Max who would be
impressionable, certainly not himself.  Reese and Mikki were madly in love, and Jake
was the first to admit that they were a match made in heaven, but there was no way he
was planning on following in his partners footsteps in any part of his life that didn't
involve the business.  No, he wasn't Reese.  He had no intention of getting married. 
He'd been far to close to that once in his life, and he considered that the biggest mistake
in his life.
	And then there was Maddy.  Jake's scowl deepened as he continued to glare at
Reese.  Max loved that kid, it was obvious.  It was just a mater of time until Max would
start to want a kid of her own. No, Jake thought, something had to be done before he
got caught up in that!
	A smile began to slide over his lips, replacing the frown he'd been wearing. 
Maddy sure was one cute kid.  He loved the way she snuggled up against him with her
curly head in his neck, playing peek-a-boo behind his chin.  She was a strong one.  She
hugged him so tight sometimes it nearly choked him.  And the sound of her giggles!
Man, he loved that kid! 
	Jake felt his stomach do a twist.  OK, so he loved the kid, he could handle that. 
But that didn't mean he wanted one of his own, or that he wanted any woman getting
any ideas about love and marriage. Not even Max!
	"What are you just standing around for?" Reese called from the stream bed. 
	"I’m quitting, that’s what.  It's too dark to work, Reese," Jake insisted.
	Reese stood up and wiped his sleeve across his forehead, looking up at the sky. 
"I guess you're right. We'll have to pick up here tomorrow."  He climbed up onto the lawn
and started picking up the tools. "Let's call it a night, I'm going to go have a shower and
then call Mikki." 	
	Jake found himself frowning once again.  Why was it that Reese's comment had
him thinking of Max?  It was thinking like that that was getting him into trouble.  When he
got home, he and Max were going to have to have a good talk.  He'd explain to her that
it was in their best interest for them to stop sleeping together.  It was a dead end, and if
they continued, one of them, or both, were likely to get hurt.  He just wasn't the marrying
kind, and he was certain that eventually Max would start thinking that way.  Women were
like that, especially when they started thinking about babies. To save their friendship,
they had to get back to where they had been before.  It was the only way.  He had to
take action before it was too late.
	But as he lay alone in Marina’s spare bedroom in the middle of the night that
night, that was the last thing on his mind.  He’d been tired after several long hard days in
a row, but when he’d gone to bed, sleep had evaded him.  Against his better judgement,
he’d allowed Reese’s innocent comment about calling Mikki to play havoc on his mind,
and he’d reached for his cellphone and dialled Max’s number.  After the third ring he’d
glanced at the clock.  Twelve-forty-five.  There was no reason why Max shouldn’t be
home, and in bed.  He’d let the phone ring four more times, then hung up, a scowl
growing on his face.   Now, as he lay staring into the shadows on the ceiling, all he could
think about was that Max wasn’t home in the middle of the night.
	His mind raced through all possible explanations.  His first thought was for her
safety.  Was she all right?  Had something happened to her?  Was she sick?  Then he
wondered if she’s decided to spend the night at Mikki’s for some reason.  That thought
quelled his concern at first, until it struck him that she could actually be spending the
night elsewhere.  Anywhere.  With  a man? 
 	She’s a grown woman, he reminded himself.  She can spend the night wherever
she wants!  But that didn’t help ease the feeling that was gripping his chest and turning
his gut.  Maybe she’d gone out with Michael Cunningham again? Maybe, without him
there to interrupt them, she’d ended up in bed with the man?  Or James?  It was gym
night, afterall.  Had she gone without him and decided to accept James’ proposition at
last?
	The thought of Max in the arms of either of those men made him frown, and he
rolled over in bed and punched the pillow into a ball.  I don’t care! he insisted, but
somewhere there was a voice in his mind telling him he was lying to himself.  All right, he
grumbled.  So I do care, but not for the reason you think!  I’m just looking out for her,
that’s all.  Those guys are all wrong for her!   

	“You look like a bear this morning, Buddy,” Reese commented, as he dragged
his tools out of the back of the truck the next morning. 
	Jake glared at him.  “Nothing a good night sleep wouldn’t cure,” he grumbled. 
	“Something keeping you up at night?” Reese raised his eyebrow and Jake
shrugged.
	“Weather’s too hot.  I can’t sleep in the heat.”
	Reese’s brow lifted further.  “Too hot? Last time I was in Marina’s house it was
perfectly climate controlled.”    Reese had opted to spend his nights at his mother’s
house, since he wasn’t going to be having much spare time for visiting otherwise.  The
Ryan’s lived in a two bedroom house, however, so Jake was staying at the Clark’s in
their spare room.  Their air-conditioned spare room, he remembered with a groan.  
	“Yeah, whatever. It’s just too hot outside. The change in temperatures isn’t good
for the body you know.”
	Reese chuckled.  “Are you sure it isn’t the change in locations?” 
	“What the hell are you talking about?” Jake blurted out, and Reese broke into a
full laugh. 
	“Ever since that morning you came to work in the same clothes you’d been
wearing the night before, I’ve been pretty sure you’ve been keeping company with a
lady.”  He winked. “You’ve been in too much of a good mood.  Sure you aren’t missing
somebody?”
	“Shut up,”  Jake turned and walked toward the back yard with a handful of tools.
Reese’s laughter rang in his ears even as he rounded the corner of the house.  Instead
of dismissing the subject, however, his comment only served to heighten Reese’s
interest in it.
	“Sounds like I’m right to me,” Reese said, coming up beside his partner as they
crossed the footbridge over the stream.
	“Like hell you are,” Jake said, without looking at the other man.  “And if you don’t
shut up I might just toss you off the side of this bridge.”
	Reese stopped, and leaned against the railing.  “The thing that I can’t figure out
though, is who,” he said.  “I mean, I haven’t seen you out on the town with anyone.  I just
can’t figure it — yet. But I will.”  He grinned, and Jake swung at him with a dark stare.
	“First of all, you don’t exactly go out on the town do you, so if I were out you
wouldn’t see me anyway.  Second of all,  you wouldn’t see me because I’m not out on
the town with anybody. Third — “ He stared his partner down for a few seconds, then
turned to walk away. “It’s none of your business.” He snapped.
	“Right,” Reese said, cheerfully.  “Well then, I guess we’d better get to work then
hadn’t we?  The way I see it, the sooner we get you back to Elmdale, the better.”
	“Reese!” Jake shot him a warning stare.
	Reese just shook his head.  “Whatever you say, Jake.  All I can say is, if you
take a good look at yourself, maybe you’ll see that right now you remind me an awful lot
of somebody we both know real well.  At least the rest of the guys don’t have to put up
with you.”  With a parting glance but not another word, Reese climbed back into the
stream bed he’d been carving out the evening before.   
	He didn’t know what was eating his friend, maybe it wasn’t a woman at all, but
there was no denying that he was acting exactly like Reese had himself when he’d
thought Mikki was involved with other men.  If Jake knew what was good for him, he’d
take care of whatever his problem was as soon as they pulled in to Elmdale. Hell, Reese
thought, he’d even drop Jake off at the woman’s door himself if he thought it would help. 
But if his own past experience was anything to go by, he supposed Jake was going to
have to realize there was a problem in the first place before he’d be able to fix it.  In the
meantime, they had work to do.