Summer Fire

By Mary Bryant

A beautiful young woman with long brunette hair stood next to Frank. He reached out and pulled her into his embrace. She laid her head on his shoulder while he rubbed her back. Frank lifted his head and looked toward Cammie; their eyes met and held for a moment. She dropped her eyes, put her car in reverse, and pulled away from the bridge—away from the fire and the man she loved.

Two years after a devastating forest fire ran out of control through camp, Cammie, Kathy, Pat, Gary, and Ted return to spend one last summer together. While they are primarily there to help campers settle in for the first time since the fire, Cammie faces more than the memory of destruction. She also faces the memory of lost love.

Even mentioning Frank causes Cammie pain, so she hopes to put his betrayal behind her. Once she had planned on marrying the man; now, she can’t imagine loving anyone ever again. However, God has other plans as He always believes in second chances. Just before the campers arrive, so does the past. Cammie has a choice to make: does she leave or stay and face Frank, the man she can’t seem to forget?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Dec 11, 2018
• ISBN: 9781480871670

Mary Bryant

Mary Bryant spent many summers at camp in the mountains of southern California. She now lives in a small town in Wisconsin where she writes to share memories with her readers.

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Copyright © 2018 Mary Bryant.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Archway Publishing

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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ISBN: 978-1-4808-7168-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-7167-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018914118

Archway Publishing rev. date: 12/04/2018

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

To all the friends I made at summer camp and the fond memories we share.

Prologue

T he fire had been growing at an alarming rate, as the winds kept changing, and only a small portion was contained. Camp was at capacity, and the fire marshal had ordered a mandatory evacuation. The order had come early in the morning; everyone at the camp had to be out by five.

The evacuation of the camp was part of staff training every year, but there had never been a need to use it. Additional school buses were brought up from town. The counselors helped campers pack up their belongings and move them to the center of the camp, where they would be loaded onto the buses. The maintenance staff loaded the equipment from the campfire pit and offices into trucks. Several of them were at Mike and Cindy’s house packing as much as possible.

The wind had shifted again, and huge flames could be seen racing toward the east side of the camp. The air hung with thick black smoke that burned the eyes and made it hard to breathe.

By four o’clock, the campers had all been sent down the mountain. The trucks with the equipment had left shortly after the buses. The lead staff made a final sweep of the camp to ensure that everyone was gone.

Cammie moved her car across the bridge and sat waiting for Frank. Ted, Kathy, Pat, and Gary crossed the bridge just before more fire trucks raced up the road and crossed into the camp. As the fire trucks passed, Cammie looked across the bridge, searching for Frank. A car was stopped in front of the office. A beautiful young woman, with long brunette hair, stood next to Frank. He reached out and pulled her into his embrace. She laid her head on his shoulder while he rubbed her back.

Frank lifted his head and looked toward Cammie, and their eyes met and held for a moment. She dropped her gaze and put her car in reverse, pulling away from the bridge—away from the fire and away from the man she loved.

Chapter 1

C ammie pulled off the highway and into the café parking lot. The small weathered building was dwarfed by the group of tall palm trees that surrounded it. The freshly painted sign on the roof of the building looked out of place. She smiled to herself as she pulled into a spot in front of the door. She got out of the car, hurried up the steps to the porch, and pulled open the screen door.

Hey, Joe. I need a cup of hot coffee, she hollered as she pushed her sunglasses up on top of her head and slid into a booth next to the big window facing the highway.

She scanned the counter and equipment that hadn’t changed in all the years she had been making the trip to the camp nestled in the mountains. A smile touched her lips as she turned her gaze to the large front window and the vast expanse of ocean that stretched endlessly beyond the highway and empty stretch of sandy beach. Like a magnet, her eyes were drawn to the group of rocks that hid a grassy cove from the rest of the beach. That cove had been a magical place.

A sadness crept into her heart. The memories that were trying to creep into the present were better left in the past. Nothing about that last summer day could be changed; she needed to move on.

So, you back for another summer? Joe placed a cup of coffee on the table and slid onto the bench opposite her.

I’m afraid they can’t get rid of me. Has anyone else stopped by on the way up?

Ted and Kathy were here about an hour ago. They had one of the new guys with them. Pat and Gary went up yesterday. They said that this would be a tough year with all the inexperienced staff that will need to be trained.

According to the staff listing, it looks like only about ten of the old group will be back. With it being closed for two years, many of the regulars have graduated and moved on with their ‘adult lives.’ But if Mike couldn’t find a good cook, we can always come and kidnap you. The twinkle in her eyes revealed how much she cared for Joe. He had been a loyal friend to the camp staff for so many years.

Now, Cam. There were only two people who called her Cam—Joe and the one she was trying to forget. I don’t have patience with kids. By the second day, I would be finding a way to give them all food poisoning. I’d never be able to handle them the way you guys do. Say, when is Frank coming? No one said anything about him.

Frank isn’t joining us this year. She turned her head slightly to hide the pain the mention of Frank caused. I need to get going. Cammie slid out of the bench, placed her cup on the counter, and turned to leave.

Joe arched his left eyebrow. He had heard the stories, but he didn’t know the details. He wouldn’t press her; the pain in her eyes told him the rumors were probably true. Instead, he gave her another hug and squeezed a little harder than normal, just to let her know that he cared.

See you later. She smiled at him, a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

Before she got back into her car, she looked up at the endless ocean, the waves gently rolling in, and then up at mountains that rose above her. She stood there taking in the contrast of the two things that God had created. This was where she needed to be to put the past behind her before she could find peace in the future.

She slid into her car and pulled onto the road that led up the side of the mountain toward the rugged peaks that were still covered by the morning haze. The farther she traveled, the more evident the scars from the fire were. There were patches of new growth where the fire from two years ago had destroyed everything it touched alongside stretches that had been left untouched. That fact in itself was one of God’s mysteries.

A half hour later, she pulled onto the side of the road. Slowly she got out of the car and walked to the edge of the bridge. This was the last chance to back out, turn around, and go back down the mountain, leaving the past on the other side of the bridge.

The last time she had crossed that bridge, the fire had already reached the far east side of the camp. The last of the buses with frightened campers had crossed. Only two of the senior staff and one attractive young woman had remained. For several months, she had focused only on the fact that everyone had made it out safely. God had protected everyone from the fire. But He hadn’t protected her heart. The memory she could not block out was Frank’s bronze face and his beautiful hazel eyes locked on the tall brunette—and the arms that encircled her. She would never forget the immense pain that she had seen in those hazel eyes as they caught hers. She had climbed into her car and raced out of camp, wanting to outrun the pain that had welled up inside of her more than she’s wanted to outrun the fire that was quickly approaching.

Slowly, she released the rail and walked back to the car. Maybe by coming here, she could find the key to letting the past die—to letting Frank be a part of the past that would no longer haunt her and to finding a way to start a future.

As she crossed the bridge, a slow smile came to her lips. If God could heal a mountain, then He could heal her heart. She just needed to let herself forgive and forget. One of her favorite verses came to mind: I will put my trust in Him (Hebrews 2:13).

Chapter 2

A s Cammie pulled up in front of the office, Pat came bouncing out of the door with Kathy right behind her. "Hey, Cammie! We thought