Claiming the Enemy: Dustin (Porter Brothers Trilogy 3)

“Bye, Uncle Greer.” Logan gave Greer a big smile before bending down to give Rosie a kiss and a hug.

“Have fun, young’un. Don’t get lost.”

“I won’t. I’m all grown up now,” Logan bragged, puffing his chest out before his excitement got the better of him again. “Can we go now, Dad?”

“Let’s hit the road, Jack.” Dustin opened the door as Logan sprinted out.

“My name’s not Jack, and we’re not driving,” Logan shot back as Dustin closed the door behind them.

“Let’s not be technical.”

“What does that mean?”

“That I was just teasing you.”

“Oh.”

Dustin grabbed the two lanterns that he left on the porch before following Logan, who was running ahead of him. Keeping him within his sight, he didn’t try to tell him to slow down, letting him run some of his energy off.

Logan beat him to the spot where they would be sleeping that night. It was heavily wooded but in a flat area that they could put a tent up and start a fire without having to worry about catching the branches on fire.

“Can we go get Jessie?”

“Let’s set the tent up and get the fire pit ready, then we will.”

Dustin dropped the canvas bag to the ground then unzipped it. Setting several items aside, he took out the tent and let Logan help him put it together. If it were just him and Logan, he wouldn’t have bothered with a tent, but he thought that Jessie would be more comfortable with it after her terrifying experience.

He wasn’t surprised she agreed to go camping with him and Logan. Jessie had always been a fighter. She had faced fierce opposition from her brothers when she opened the daycare. Even as a child, she’d had the guts to try some things that he had been wary of. She even braved making a fool out of herself and enduring her brothers’ anger when she bid on him at the auction. The little girl turned into a woman that he was in awe of had survived that nightmare experience.

He hadn’t made a few mistakes with Jessie. He had made a gigantic one. It had been easier to give in to his pa’s demands to stay away from anyone with the Hayes’ last name than to oppose him. He hadn’t wanted Jessie to grow to hate him because of that, yet he failed. She hated him despite loving him, and he couldn’t blame her.

He was guilty of everything that she’d thrown in his face, and he couldn’t bring himself to make excuses when she had been hurt because he ignored the place she held in his heart.

Jessie hadn’t stolen his heart when he was just a boy. He had willingly handed it over.

“What’s wrong? Are we doing it wrong?” Logan’s question broke into his thoughts.

“No. Why?”

“You looked sad. I don’t need to help if you don’t want me to.”

Giving him a gentle smile, Dustin shook his head. “I was just thinking about something.” Raising the tent, he tied it down.

“About what?” Seeing they were done with the tent, Logan began gathering large rocks.

“Jessie.”

“You like Miss Jessie a lot, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“I like her, too.”

“I’m glad.” Dustin picked up several rocks around the area that Logan was ignoring.

“Are you going to marry her?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Jessie doesn’t like me, and I can’t blame her.”

“I don’t think Darcy likes me either. What are we going to do?”

“You’re not going to do anything.” Seeing Logan’s disappointment, he clarified, “At least until you’re older.”

“How old?”

“Fifty works for me,” Dustin said, trying to keep a straight face.

“Dad!”

“All right, thirty. But that’s my final word.” Gathering an armful of sticks, he dumped them into the finished firepit.

Logan regarded him suspiciously, as if deciding whether he was serious or not. “Can we go get Miss Jessie now?”

Laughing, he tousled Logan’s hair. His cousin Drake was going to be lucky if Logan didn’t come calling when Drake let her start dating.

“Yes, grab a lantern.”

Dustin let Logan lead the way to Jessie’s house, his longer strides easily keeping up.

Jessie came outside at Logan’s knock, a backpack in her hand.

Dustin gave her the lantern he was carrying and a smile at her searching look.

Listening to Logan talk to Jessie about his day and the thoughtful way she listened without interrupting him brought an ache of emptiness at the fact that he had lost so many opportunities with her.

At the campsite, he started the fire as Logan opened the ice chest he had carried there before going back to get Logan and the tent.

Dustin let Logan poke the sticks through the hot dog.

“Be careful not to burn it,” Logan cautioned Jessie, as if he were an expert at cooking over a campfire.

“I’ll be careful,” Jessie said, twirling the stick over the fire.

“Dad always burns his. I’m better. That’s why he lets me do his.”

“Do you and your dad go camping a lot?”