First Degree Burns Read online

  Nicole nodded. “And you’ve been teaching me to stand up for myself, little by little, since we met. I think I’m a slower learner than you are, but bear with me and I’ll get there.”

  “Even if you stay this way for the rest of your life, I’ll still love you.”

  “I’ll always love you as well.”

  The couple let the moment last a little longer before they rose to their feet. Using a cloth Nicole brought with her, they dried their feet and continued on their way. The next place wasn’t as natural as the other places and probably the least safe, but it had been a huge source of entertainment when she was younger.

  They arrived at a broken-down cabin surrounded by a pile of junk. Overgrown bushes and vines had taken over the place, even creeping through a busted window. It was almost like something out of a post-apocalyptic movie, and it wouldn’t be surprising if zombies suddenly appeared. Looking at it now, she realized how crazy they had been as children, playing around the cabin, never mind in the cabin itself.

  “So, how many tetanus shots did you guys have to get after roughhousing in this thing?” Danny tilted her head to take in the whole messy scene.

  “None, thankfully. I’m happy our dads never found this place. This was our fort, but God, I don’t remember it looking like this, but I’m sure it did. We used to run all through this place, playing tag and hide-n-go-seek and everything else under the sun, never thinking about how someone could get hurt or even if someone lived here.”

  “Judging by the beer cans and bottles, someone at least comes by here to drink.” Danny pointed at the litter scattered in the junk piles.

  “We got really lucky. We never got hurt here, and we never ran into whoever it is that leaves all the garbage behind.”

  Danny nodded. “You sure did.”

  Nicole took a deep breath. “My mother would’ve had a heart attack if she knew I played somewhere like this.”

  Danny chuckled and Nicole wondered for a moment if she’d have a child as wild as herself. She almost said something, but decided not to bring it up. She didn’t want to put that in the air, in case Danny had given children actual thought. No way would this help her case of wanting kids.

  “Come on. Show me your cave now. I promise not to bash your cousins in the head with a rock, as long as they don’t say anything to you that upsets you,” Danny said.

  Nicole snickered, even though she knew Danny was quite serious. She was confident her cousins wouldn’t say anything that upset her, unless, of course, they started attacking Danny again. But, if that happened, they’d leave before Danny had to resort to violence. “All right, follow me, Big Dog.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  THE CAVE WAS AS advertised—a cave. It was the first cave Dane had seen in real life. The arched stone entrance was tall enough for her to walk in without banging her head on the rocks. Light from outside reached a few yards inside, showing some graffiti on the cave walls. In the distance, she thought she heard the echo of cave dwelling creatures scurrying around in the darker parts of the cavern. There was a smell to it that she couldn’t place. It was different from the rest of the forest, somewhat musky and a little unpleasant. But, she’d endure it to see the rest of what Nicole desired to show her.

  Nicole’s cousins were inside, not really doing anything from what she could tell. They were all seated on rocks by the left wall with cans in their hands and a cooler at their feet. They had been talking until Nicole and Dane entered. Dane tried not to assume the cousins were talking about them, but that had been her experience when rooms suddenly got quiet when she walked in.

  “Hey, guys,” Nicole said low voice, not seeming too thrilled to be there.

  “Hey, Nikki, Danny. We didn’t think you guys were going to show,” Beth said, smiling. “Nice to see we were wrong. We’re just messing around, reminiscing and playing ‘I’m bringing to the picnic.’”

  “I’m bringing to the picnic?” Dane had never heard of such a game. For some reason, it didn’t sound like something that should be played with family.

  “It’s a memory game. You basically have to name items in alphabetical order. Each person names an item they’re ‘bringing to the picnic,’ and then you have to name all of the previous items,” Nicole explained. Dane made a face and shrugged.

  “You start with A, so let’s say we were playing and I was first,” Beth said. “I would go, ‘I’m bringing to the picnic an amputated limb.’ The person after me has to do B and also repeat my response. The person after that would have to do C and repeat the A and B items.”

  “Oh, okay. Sounds like a weird drinking game,” Dane replied.

  Nicole laughed. “Oh, we’ve made it that before, too.”

  “I don’t think we’ve made it to F while drinking. Well, really drinking,” Beth said, tipping what Dane now guessed was a beer can in her hand.

  “I don’t think we go in alphabetical order when we’re really drinking,” Spider commented with an awkward smile. It was like he was testing the waters, wanting to see if Nicole would respond. She didn’t even look at him.

  “I’m going to show Danny the rest of the cave,” Nicole said, eyes remaining on Beth.

  Dane guessed Beth was the only cousin not in the doghouse. She disliked the fact that she was actually happy Nicole was still upset with Lillian.

  “Come on, baby.” Nicole took Dane by the hand and led her away.

  The inside of the cave wasn’t all that big, unless they were able to shrink down to the size of dogs. It was mostly rocks and darkness. Somewhere, she could hear water dripping, but she didn’t see the source. The smell got stronger as they moved to the back of the cave, and she could hear moving animals a little more clearly. She assumed the animals were in the areas they couldn’t reach.

  “This was basically another playhouse when we were kids. When we were smaller, we could get into other areas. We crawled into a lot of holes and things around here. In fact, Spider got stuck in one of the cracks and we panicked. It took us over an hour to free him. Junior was crying that his dad was going to kill him if Spider died, and Spider and I thought he’d be stuck there forever. Beth was trying to figure out how we’d have family gatherings in the cave to make sure Spider wasn’t left out. We were crazy. We loved playing in here.” Nicole took a deep breath and let out a sigh.

  Despite all the crap Nicole’s cousins put Dane through, it was nice hearing Nicole talk about them. There was this amazing closeness among them all, and Dane hoped it somehow survived this trip. While she refused to accept responsibility for things falling apart, she wanted those morons to realize what they were losing before they actually lost it.

  “You guys were like feral children in the woods, huh?” Dane said, reaching out to touch the cave wall. The rocks were solid and surprisingly warm. Feeling around, she could make out holes and cracks, but couldn’t see how a child could fit in any of them. Of course, wild children like Nicole and her cousins probably found the larger cracks to play around in.

  Nicole chuckled. “Yeah, we were wild when we were little. Once we hit our teens, I think we smartened up a little. But, then became dumber in other ways.”

  “Ah, everyone gets dumber in that way.” Dane bumped Nicole with her hip.

  Nicole smiled again. “I like to think I’ve finally smartened up in that regard.”

  Dane only smiled back, and they enjoyed another quiet moment. They started back toward the cousins once they were done with exploring. They were all still sitting where they were before. When they noticed the couple, Junior and Spider climbed to their feet. They approached, slouched over, maybe humble. Dane could only wonder what they wanted now.

  “Uh…Danny, can we have a word with you outside?” Junior inquired, pointing to the front of the cave.

  Dane arched an eyebrow. “A word with me?”

  “You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Nicole said.

  “Look, we just want to talk this time. Really talk,” Junior tried to assure her.
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br />   Dane thought about it. The pair appeared contrite, suddenly, probably feeling the sting of Nicole shunning them. She thought about how highly Nicole spoke of them and how happy Nicole had been with them yesterday. So, maybe they finally realized the relationship was crumbling and hoped to save it. She’d do her part if that were the case.

  “It’s okay, Nick. I’ll talk to them.”

  The brothers breathed a sigh of relief and motioned to the outside of the cave again. Dane nodded, showing she’d follow them. They understood and marched in front of her. Dane glanced behind, before she was completely out, and flashed Nicole a reassuring smile. Do you see how much I love you, Chem? I will suffer these asses, possibly forgive them, for you. If I’d do all of that, why do I still feel like I’m not good enough? Nicole gave her a shaky smile in return.

  Dane followed the brothers a few yards away from the cave. She guessed they didn’t want anyone to hear their conversation. Now, it could mean they were going to apologize and didn’t want the ladies to think they were weak, or they were going to suddenly change back to the way they were that morning and they didn’t want Nicole to hear. She honestly felt like it could go either way with them.

  “So, what’s up?” Dane asked, wanting to cut to the chase as soon as possible, especially if they were going to continue to act the way they had.

  “Look, first off, you were right to curse us out this morning. We were way out of line. It wasn’t any of our business,” Junior replied.

  “Oh, really? Why is it suddenly none of your business? This morning it seemed like it was the only business you had,” she stated.

  “That was this morning,” Spider said.

  “Ah, I see, so you guys had complete and total changes of heart since this morning without any outside interference at all?” Rolling her eyes, Dane scoffed.

  Junior frowned. “Uncle Raymond talked to us. He explained it was a misunderstanding and, even if it wasn’t, we really didn’t have any right to tell you when or where you could be intimate with your girlfriend. Technically, that does sound right. I mean, I wouldn’t like it if someone was telling me when and where I could be with my girlfriend. That wasn’t our place.”

  Dane frowned, feeling like he should’ve known that before his uncle said anything. He was an adult, after all, and in a relationship. Not to mention, she had screamed some of the same things at him that morning and they should’ve sunk into his brick head, but obviously he needed to hear it from a source he respected.

  “And?” She glared at them.

  “Look, we fucked up. We know. Can we move on now?” Spider kicked a rock.

  “No, we can’t move on, because that was one of the weakest apologies I’ve ever heard and, believe it or not, I have heard some seriously weak shit in my life. So, let’s try this again,” she huffed.

  “We shouldn’t have been in between your relationship with Nicole. She’s a grown woman and can make her own decisions. We’re sorry about that,” Spider said.

  “Besides, Uncle Raymond actually vouched for you. He’s never done that before, even when he tries his best to like Nicole’s lovers. He said you’re a good egg, and he pointed out you’ve done one thing that none of Nikki’s other lovers would’ve done,” Junior added.

  She was curious. “And what’s that?”

  “None of her lovers would’ve put up with us. Usually, the guys she brings try to be our friends. Honestly, they tend to start out pretty cool. They talk business and sports, but then we see how they treat Nikki when they think they’re alone. If we got hostile with a boyfriend, they got hostile right back and right away. They let it be known we weren’t going to tell them how to treat their woman. We barked on them about how we’re not going to let them treat our cousin any old way, but they were always immediately in our faces when we got in theirs. They didn’t put up with it like you did,” Junior explained.

  “And the women?” Dane challenged them, folding her arms across her chest. She was willing to bet her good leg they never treated the women like they did the guys. They probably ignored the women, especially if the women didn’t come on the camping trip.

  Junior frowned and glanced at Spider, who suddenly found the sky very interesting. Dane thought that was an interesting reaction from Spider. After a few seconds, Junior seemed to realize he was on his own.

  “It’s no secret that we’d rather Nikki be with a guy. We don’t usually say anything to the women Nikki brings around. Even the crazy bitch with the guns was a prima donna. Yes, the women she brought on the camping trips were annoying, and we pointed out that they were scared or pissed over the dumbest things, but we knew they weren’t going to be around long.”

  “Because eventually Nick will find a man?” Dane shook her head. So, they were of the 'eventually every woman gets set straight by the right man' school of assholes.

  “She will.” Junior folded his arms across his chest, as if that made his statement a fact.

  An amused chuckle escaped Dane. “If you say so. That’s not the way she tells it.”

  Junior shrugged. “We’ll see, but until then, we promise to give you a shot. You do seem like an okay person. You haven’t bossed Nikki around at all, from what we can tell, you haven’t said anything demeaning to her, and you explored with us. You can’t hike or fish for shit, but that’s something that you can learn.”

  Dane chuckled again, deciding not to contradict him. She could learn to fish and she planned to, but she’d never learn to hike. But, I might see a doctor and see what I can do after getting some surgery. Junior walked off, going back into the cave after saying his piece. Spider remained.

  “Yeah?” Dane inquired.

  “I’m not homophobic.”

  She resisted the urge to scoff. “Oh, no?”

  “No, I’m not. I know my brother and my father are. They’re not bashers or anything like that, but whenever Nicole is with a woman, it bothers them. I’m not bothered by it. I’m bothered that she’s always with someone who doesn’t treat her properly, and she folds for them because she’s got this damn personality that likes to please people. It’s shit to watch, especially when you see how strong she is. But I guess she likes to make people feel good, too, so she folds for bastards all the time.”

  “That she does, but where are you going with this? You don’t have to convince me that you’re not homophobic. I don’t have to deal with you, and you don’t have to deal with me. Though, you have to deal with Nick. I’m not saying she thinks you’re homophobic, but I bet it comes across that you have a problem with her being with women.”

  “Well…” He put his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels for a second, dirt shifting under his feet.

  “Well, what?” She was still willing to bet he was somewhat bothered by Nicole’s sexuality, even if he didn’t know it. But, she thought there was some hope for him since being called homophobic seemed to bother him.

  Spider shrugged. “I’m with my brother on this one, except for one thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Nicole has never talked about a relationship being endgame. She’s got a passion for you that I’ve never seen before. She’d never stick up for a lover or anything like she did for you. Usually, by the time we meet someone, they’ve already worn Nicole down somewhat, to the point where she doesn’t bother defending them, but she’s all about you. Just for that, I think I’m okay with you, even though you’re not the dream guy we all hoped Nikki would eventually meet. Make sure you take good care of her, okay?”

  “I plan to do my best.”

  Spider smiled. “Good. She deserves it.”

  “No, she deserves more, but she’s settling for me.”

  He chortled, like he thought she was joking, but she felt they both knew the truth. He stuck his hand out and they shook on it. He held her hand tightly, not trying to crush her hand or hurt her, but seeming to convey he was ready to accept her now. She offered him a slight smile.

  “Come on. Let’s go in ther
e, so you can see how to play this stupid game. It’s really fun with real alcohol, but it’s tolerable with beer,” Spider said with a small smile of his own. She chuckled and followed him back inside.

  Chapter Fourteen

  NICOLE FROWNED AS SHE watched Danny leave with Junior and Spider. Even though she recognized her cousins looked penitent, she didn’t trust them to not snap at Danny as they made some sorry attempt at apologizing. She also didn’t trust them to properly apologize at all. There was always a chance they would continue blaming Danny for things that weren’t her fault. The very thought made her stomach twist.

  God, what if they say something and it’s the straw that breaks the camel’s back with Danny? I know she wouldn’t leave me based on the behavior of my cousins, but I truly don’t want her to be upset once more on this trip. I just wanted her to see if she enjoyed camping and have her get along with my family. Was that too much to ask? Was it?

  Beth patted Nicole on the shoulder, as if trying to assure her everything would be all right. Nicole sighed. Settling her body on a rock seat did nothing to settle the butterflies that had taken up residency in her gut. She squirmed for a moment, trying to get comfortable on the solid stone.

  “Don’t worry. They’re not going to say anything stupid. They feel bad about what happened.” Beth’s words still didn’t help relax those damned butterflies.

  “They should feel bad. They’re the ones that basically spread the rumor,” Lillian said.

  For some reason, Beth glared at Lillian, but Nicole wasn’t sure why. Beth usually didn’t interact too much with Lillian. Maybe she thought Lillian wasn’t making anything better.

  “Did they? They told you guys what they thought Danny and I were doing?” Nicole would chew those idiots out and then never speak to them again when they got back if that was the case. It was one thing to think poorly of her, but it was another thing to make the others think the same.