“Neither did I,” Dante murmured and then suggested, “Perhaps we should nap after Bailey has finished her meal. She could stay in the front of the RV with me so that she does not disturb you.”
Mary glanced at him sharply, but his expression was innocent. Still, he’d obviously heard something last night to know that Bailey had woken her repeatedly. Clearing her throat, she shook her head. “Dave and Carol are expecting us at the Round Up for breakfast at eight.”
“The Round Up?” Dante asked uncertainly.
“The restaurant here,” she explained. “It’s just a little shack, really, with outdoor tables, but they make the best food, and Carol and Dave invited us to join them for breakfast.”
“Ah,” he nodded and picked up his coffee. “Then we will have to leave soon. It must be almost eight now, it was ten to eight when I put Bailey’s leash on her.”
Mary automatically looked at her wrist, but hadn’t put her watch on yet. She glanced to Bailey to see that she was half done with her food already, and said, “As soon as she’s done then,” and picked up her coffee to take a drink.
She was only half done with hers when Bailey finished eating. Not wanting to have Dave drive down after them, Mary left Bailey to drink her water and took her and Dante’s cups and carried them quickly into the RV to set in the sink. She grabbed her keys then, locked the door of the RV and took Bailey’s leash as she joined Dante to walk to the main building, where the office, restaurant, store, and entertainment room were situated.
“I told them you were my nephew,” she murmured as they walked.
“I see,” he said slowly, and then asked, “Why?”
Mary felt the blood rush to her face at the question, and grimaced, but said, “It seemed easier than . . .” She shrugged. “I figured you didn’t want me telling anyone about your circumstances; the kidnapping and everything.”
“No, but you could have said I was your lover.”
Mary almost stumbled over her own feet at the suggestion and turned to scald him with a look. “The hell I could. You aren’t my lover, and I’ll be damned if I’m having them all looking at me like I’m some sort of cradle-robbing cougar. Good Lord, they’d think I’d gone off my rocker.”
“Who’d think you’d gone off your rocker?”
Mary turned her head sharply to see Dave standing a few feet ahead on the end of a path leading off the lane they were on.
“And more importantly, why would anyone think that?” he continued when she stared at him wide-eyed. “You’re one of the sanest women I know. You never get hysterical like Carol does.”
“Oh,” Mary blinked, uncomfortable at the more favorable rating he was giving her than his wife. Then she forced a smile and waved the question away. “No reason, we were just—” She waved again vaguely and then changed the subject. “Sorry if we’re a couple minutes late, but you didn’t have to come looking for us.”
“I wasn’t,” he assured her easily, falling into step on her other side as they reached him. “I was just coming back from a walk around to check on everything. Someone tried to break into the campground last night. The dogs chased them off,” he added quickly when Mary glanced at him with alarm. “But I wanted to make sure they hadn’t found another way in and caused trouble.”
“Who was it?” Dante asked, tension in his voice.
“I don’t know. A couple of tough-looking characters from what I could tell. But I didn’t get a good look. Brutus, Little Mo, and Tiger scared them off.”
“They’re Dave and Carol’s Dobermans,” Mary explained. “Beautiful dogs. Good guard dogs too.”
“Yeah. Troublemakers think twice when those three come running. They were out for their nightly constitutional when it happened and scared them off. So we decided to leave them out all night after those yahoos tried to force the gate. Didn’t hear another peep from the dogs so it isn’t likely they tried again, but I just wanted to be sure.”
Mary nodded, but glanced to Dante. He met her gaze and she could tell he was thinking the same thing she was, that it might have been his kidnappers trying to ascertain whether they were there or not, and perhaps even hoping to steal him back.
“Thank goodness for Brutus, Little Mo, and Tiger then,” she murmured.
“Yes,” Dante and Dave said together.
They’d neared the office by then and Mary found herself glancing toward the gate and the road beyond, her eyes searching for a black van. There were no vehicles on the road though, that she could see. If it had been his kidnappers, they’d obviously moved on to check out other campgrounds. There were several around the area. She just had to hope they didn’t return. The gates were open again now, and would remain so all day. Which meant they had to worry about what the kidnappers would do if they got inside and found the RV and Dante.
Eight
The Round Up was busy when they got there, every picnic table on the deck around it seeming occupied, but Carol had saved one for them and stood to smile and wave them over when they approached. The men dropped back to let Mary lead the way with Bailey, and she smiled and greeted several regulars she’d met on past stops as they made their way through the tables. Carol had chosen an outer table, probably because she expected Mary to bring Bailey as usual, and Mary quickly attached Bailey’s leash to one of the legs on the outside, then greeted Carol with a hug.
“How did you sleep?” Carol asked as they settled at the table. “You look tired. I hope the dogs barking didn’t disturb you when those men tried to break in?”
“No. We’re back far enough we didn’t hear a thing,” Mary assured her and it was true, at least for her. She didn’t tell Carol that she hadn’t slept well anyway though. She didn’t want the questions that would follow.
“You must be the nephew,” Carol said, turning her attention to Dante as he stepped over the picnic table’s bench seat to settle next to Mary. Carol’s eyes widened slightly as she took him in and then she murmured, “My, you’re a big fella.”
“Dante, this is Carol and Dave Bigelow,” Mary said, trying to look at him without actually looking at him. A tricky business, but she suspected if she did look at him properly her less than aunt-like appreciation might show. “We’ve been friends for years. Since before they even bought the campground.”
“Yes.” Carol grinned and then leaned across the table to brush a hand over Dante’s arm and explained, “We lived in Winnipeg just around the corner from your aunt and uncle. We’ve been friends for decades.”
“You are Canadian as well?” Dante asked with surprise.
Carol nodded. “We used to be snowbirds too, driving the RV down here like Mary and Joe, but about eight years ago the four of us booked in here as usual, and during our stay the owners mentioned they were looking to sell and move to California to be closer to their kids. We decided we’d buy it and stay year round.”
“The best decision we ever made,” Dave announced with a smile.
The waitress appeared at their table then and Carol smiled at the girl and said, “Oh, Andrea. You remember Mrs. Winslow? And this is her nephew, Dante.”
Mary smiled at the young woman. Carol and Dave hired a lot of locals to help out at the campground in the busy season, but Andrea was one of the year-round workers who had been with them since they’d bought the campgrounds. As Mary recalled, Andrea had started here fresh out of school at eighteen, which put her at about twenty-six, Dante’s age or a little older, she thought. Mary had always liked the girl, but noting the way she was eyeing Dante like he was a tasty treat, she found herself cooling toward her.
“So, what does everybody want?” Carol asked cheerfully. Twisting in her seat, she gestured toward the blackboards on the wall of the cookhouse. “Everything we make is there on the boards, Dante.”
“Yes.” Andrea beamed at him. “Have whatever you want.”
Mary’s eyebrows rose at the suggestive offer and she asked sweetly, “How are you finding married life, Andrea? When I stopped here in the fall it was just a week or so until the wedding, wasn’t it?”