Free What We Find by Robyn Carr Page B

can come after school, I’ll give you dinner and when things are slow you can study. You can try to study, anyway.”
    “I’ve been working for my dad the last two years and I have good grades. He just doesn’t want to part with his cheap labor,” Jackson said.
    “He doesn’t want you looking at too many bikinis,” Sully said.
    “Oh? Is there such a thing?” Jackson asked, grinning.
    The camp came alive in the sunshine. The lake was still too cold to enjoy swimming but women rolled up their shorts and sat in lawn chairs in the sun by the water. Maggie strung up a couple of macramé hammocks and they were filled before she could walk away. There was a steady stream of people through the store all weekend, getting ice for their coolers, grabbing items they missed like butter, Tabasco, salt and pepper. Enid left early—she wasn’t usually in on weekends but was coming around to make sure they were covered since Sully’s surgery. Her cookies and breakfast muffins sold like crazy.
    There was activity beginning on other spots around the lake—a dozen rental cabins across the lake, a Girl Scout camp, a church camp, a US Forest Service campground with bathrooms but no laundry, showers or store. Most of them were just starting to get ready for summer vacationers. A couple of them, on the other side of the lake, had little mini-marts but no general store. A family camp across the lake sold gas for the boats. People who needed to do a little shopping had to choose between a trip to Leadville, Timberlake or Sully’s.
    Maggie kept the store open a little later than usual, enjoying the sound of laughter, the smell of cooking fires. Sully operated the cash drawer and Maggie knew there was no way she could leave him yet. Dusk came, the air cooled and campers settled their lawn chairs around their campfires. Cal came into the store carrying two covered plates.
    “I thought you might not have time to cook,” he said.
    “What have you got there?” she asked.
    “Look and see. Where’s Sully?”
    “He’s checking inventory,” she said. She pulled the foil off one plate. “Oh my,” she said. It was a skinless chicken breast cut in strips, smothered in a light sauce surrounded by broccoli, peppers, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, onions and a couple of baby corns tossed in for color. “Sauce?”
    “Yogurt, flavored with spices. Try it.”
    She took the offered fork and dipped into it. “Wow. You did this on that little grill of yours?”
    “The Coleman stove. I’m a pretty experienced camper.”
    “Gee,” she said, chewing and swallowing. “Imagine what you could do with a real stove. Did you go to town today? Shop for dinner?”
    “Yesterday.”
    “I have to stay open a little later tonight,” she said. “I hope it’s not past your bedtime.”
    “I’ll manage,” he said. “Go get Sully.”
    After eating at the checkout counter, Sully went back to the house. Maggie washed up the plates and gave them back to Cal. Then she dimmed the lights in the store and they sat on the front porch for a while. They sat side by side, their feet up on the porch rail. The store was officially closed but if someone came down the path and needed something, she’d unlock the door.
    Since no one did, they talked. Softly. He put his arm around her again and told her that he admired her ability to shift gears, be flexible during this important time. “That you put his needs above your own for now, that’s generous. A lot of people couldn’t.”
    “You thought I was overdoing it a bit,” she reminded him.
    “You are,” he said, giving her shoulders a squeeze. “But I think it will give you both peace of mind. You’re important to each other. I think you watch over each other. That’s all that matters.”
    Maggie was working up a crush. She thought about Cal while she was falling asleep. She was probably a sucker for a soft, calm, confident voice and a steadying arm, she thought. In medical school one learns to worship calm