Fireworks and Frenemies by Elle Rush

Author:Elle Rush [Rush, Elle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: SBD Entertainment

CHAPTER 17

For the first time since she’d been in Holiday Beach, the weekend dawned gray and wet. The forecast didn’t offer much hope for Sunday either. “It’s better now than on the long weekend,” Lori muttered to herself.

She had a lazy morning, enjoying her freshly painted apartment until it was time to meet Mac and the others at the campground. She pulled on jeans and sneakers with rubber soles that stretched around to cover her toes. A windbreaker with a hood was all the protection she had from the drizzle unless she wanted to stroll through the woods with an umbrella. She could handle being damp for a couple of hours.

The others were waiting at the campground. The parking lot facing the playground and picnic area was filled with cars. Rachel waved to her from one of the picnic tables. “Don’t panic. This is a staging area. We’re taking the north shore trail from here to the gas station on the highway. It’s about three miles. Owen’s grandfather is going to pick us up when we call and drive us back to our cars.”

The brunette coffee shop owner pointed out other groups and told her where they were going. Lori spotted Roy and Lucy heading south. “They’re taking the trail that will pass behind the Dew Drop Inn. They’ll have a longer walk than groups that have smaller legs like ours,” Rachel said.

“I have small legs,” Richie shouted.

“You do. We’re going to use your small legs and our big legs to clean the trails so people can enjoy them over the summer,” Rachel said.

“Did people litter? That’s bad. And gross.”

Owen zipped his son’s jacket to block the wind off the lake. “Some people litter. Sometimes it’s old trash that blows in on the wind and gets stuck in the bushes. Are you ready to go?”

“I’m ready,” the little boy shouted.

“Me too.”

Richie raced ahead. His father trailed behind, holding a garbage bag. Rachel grabbed the handle of a wagon on the far side of the picnic table and began to pull it behind her. “We’re leaving bags of trash on the trails as we fill them. We have a team of ATV riders who will go down the trails afterward to pick them up. We’ll cart our trash as far as we can, then swap out the bags for Richie when he runs out of energy,” Rachel explained.

“That’s genius,” Mac said. “Will it hold me if I get tired?”

“Sure. We’ll get Richie to pull your lazy butt though the woods.”

“Or I could walk.” Mac was dressed for the weather, from his brimmed khaki hat down to his waterproof hiking boots. His canvas jacket was covered in loops and pockets. Lori squinted. “Are those fishing lures?” she asked, pointing at a pair of silver hooks with feathered tufts hanging off one pocket flap.

He looked down and carefully patted his chest, stopping when he found them. “Probably. This is my fishing jacket. It’s good for keeping the water off and blocking the wind.”

She’d seen it in his boat the day she’d gone for a dip in Star Lake.

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