Fallen Crest Campout by Tijan

4

Samantha

When we got out, Mason and I went around to the back of the SUV and began to grab the bags. Nate came across the campsite toward us.

“Hey, man.”

He and Mason hugged.

I had to stop and pause because it was so natural for both of them. They’d been through a lot, but Nate moved toward his childhood best friend and Mason held up, waiting for him. Both knew what the other would do and it was striking me how much these guys had been through. Maybe it was because of the Matteo awkward dynamic that I was realizing how different this was feeling, how much I’d taken for granted Mason’s close friends that were like brothers to him. He and Logan were brothers, but in a different way, so was Nate to them. Channing was in that group, and until today I would’ve put Matteo with them as well.

I still would. So that meant things needed to get hashed out at this campsite. Pronto.

Mason asked, “Things work out here?”

He was referring to the reason Nate had been in California a lot more lately.

Nate shrugged. “It’s a work in progress. How about that?”

Mason jerked his head toward the campers. “No tents?”

Nate’s smile was blinding, and instant. He seemed more at ease suddenly. “Trust me. Tent camping sucks. You’ll be thanking me tonight when you’re wrapped up with Sam and you’ve got some privacy.” His smile turned rakish. “Plus, I knew Logan would be griping about tents. So yeah, we splurged. Each of us has our own. We were figuring Matteo and I would take one of these. You and Sam the other. Logan and Taylor in the third. How’s that sound?”

“Sounds good.” Mason looked at me. “You good with that?”

I grinned back. I was easy with anything, just wanted Mason and Heather.

And speaking of Heather, I heard a door close at the campsite next to us and looked over. Voices and shouts filled the air soon after, and I could see movement through the trees.

“Where the fuck are they?”

Heather.

A pissed Heather.

Still sultry. Her hair was still a dirty blonde mess, but those smoky eyes that she sometimes made-up wasn’t on her face. Didn’t matter, though. Not for Heather. If she was standing, how she was now, she still oozed sex appeal.

God, I missed her.

Mason and Nate started laughing.

I was moving toward her before I realized what I was doing.

Mason called after me, “Yeah. Sam. I’ll get everything situat—”

I wasn’t listening anymore. I loved my man, but I needed my Heather right now.

I darted down the path that connected the campsites.

There she was.

Standing just outside Channing’s truck. Frowning—or more scowling, with her hands on her hips and her blonde hair tossed back over her shoulders.

“What the fuck is going on here?” she yelled. “I called. I explained the situation. We were supposed to get prime campin—” She saw me, and her voice stopped. A strangled sound came out next. “Holy fuck!”

Heather shrieked and ran to me.

I ran to her.

It was all glorious, with our hair in the wind and then our bodies hitting each other, and we didn’t care. We laughed and squeezed each other as hard as we could. Then I was cursing—no, she started cursing first and I followed.

“Your future sister-in-law’s lost her marbles, Bren,” I heard a voice call.

I turned to find the tallest guy in the group looking our way. Next to him was a shorter guy, a bit more squat, and he grinned as he checked me out.

“Damn. Forgot how hot Samantha Kade is.” He didn’t seem to care that I could hear him. He tipped his head up. “Respect, Mrs. Kade, but you’re hot. You get hotter each year too. Each week since it wasn’t long ago that we saw you.”

“Z!” A bark came from the girl who stepped out from behind them.

Bren, Channing’s sister.

The words beautiful wolf were the best to describe her—dark hair, dark eyes, and a thin frame. I had jet-black hair, but there was something feral in Bren that I’d never attained. When I thought about growing up, living with Analise, I sometimes wondered why I hadn’t gotten what Bren had inside her. But from what Heather had shared, there’d been some serious dark moments in Bren’s life.

Heather sighed. “Mama Malinda has taken Bren under her wing.”

“Good.” For some reason, that made my chest feel lighter. When I looked at Heather, I could see her own concern for the girl. “She’s got you. She’s got Malinda. She’s got Channing. She’s going to be okay.”

Heather drew in a ragged breath, blinking back a tear.

“God,” she whispered. “I hope so. She’s been through so much already.” She shook her head. “She could kick our ass, Sam. Thank God we didn’t grow up at the same time she did. If we tangled with her…” Heather whistled under her breath.

I hip-checked her. “Don’t let Logan hear you say that. He’ll take it as a challenge.”

Heather groaned and angled her head to check out where I’d come from. “True.” She stepped back, untangling our arms and folding hers over her chest. She looked at all the campers. “We caravanned up with Nate, and he told us about the campers, but damn. Wow.”

“I know. Nice, huh?”

“Yeah.”

I turned to look at the two campers on their site. “I’m assuming Bren’s crew will stay in one and you and Channing in the other?”

Bren and her friends had disappeared. I saw two, but I knew there was a third somewhere. There was no way Bren would come without that third guy.

“That’ll be four together. They’ll be okay with that?”

Heather barked out an abrupt laugh. “Yeah.” She patted my arm. “You really don’t understand how tight that group is. You, Mason, and Logan are tight, but those guys…” She shook her head, her eyes rolling upward. “It’s almost ridiculous at times. You’ll see. And yes, they’ll prefer it. If Bren and Cross want alone time, they’ll disappear and then come back.”

Cross. That was his name.

A second truck pulled in and parked behind the first. Channing waved from behind the wheel and hit the horn, flashing us a grin.

Instantly, Heather loosened up.

Oh yeah, my friend was happy. That made me happy.

Before Channing got out, a guy who could’ve been his younger brother stepped out from the passenger side.

He paused, looking at me, and oh yeah, I could see what Bren saw in him. He was young, but it didn’t matter. The guy was gorgeous—dark blond hair, a scowl that probably made most of the girls want him, and he was tanned and lean like Channing.

Without saying a word to any of us, he took off.

Heather waved. “Nice seeing you too, Cross.”

He didn’t look back, just lifted an arm.

Channing came over. A tattooed arm rose and he raked his hand through his dark blond hair, which was shorter than the last time I saw him. It accentuated the model face Channing always got teased for having. He was frowning now. “He’s in a mood. I picked him up from his dad’s house, and holy shit, I thought Mason could brood. Mase has got nothing on that kid.” His words were laced with fondness and amusement. “He needs time with his other half, if you know what I mean.”

Channing turned to me. “Heya, Sam.”

I chuckled. “Hi, Channing.”

He caught me up in a hug, but it was brief and polite.

I was best friends with his other half, and he was close enough to be considered a best friend to mine, but Channing and I didn’t have much of a relationship. We both loved our soulmates, and because of that, we were friendly. Anything else felt inappropriate, but a sort of respect had formed between us.

After he pulled Heather in for some brief Heather/Channing time, he went off to search for my man.

Heather craned her neck, looking toward our campsite. “Is Taylor over there too?”

I didn’t have time to answer. Just as a bunch of male voices got loud and raucous, Taylor came walking our way from the path. She paused, looked back, and shook her head as she approached.

“Buddy!”

“Man!”

“Hell yeah!”

Cheers filled the air behind her.

Taylor came over, hugged Heather, and murmured, “I’m fairly certain there are going to be two groups tonight: the boys…” She indicated behind her. “And the women.”

“And Bren’s crew will be the third,” Heather added.

Taylor frowned. “Who’s Bren?”