Summer at Willow Lake. Сьюзен Виггс

the ax?” He gave her a wild-eyed look.

      “I think I can do without that, thanks.”

      “Fine. But if I had a book in me, this would be the perfect place to write it.”

      She headed back inside. “Let’s go figure out where we’re going to sleep tonight.” Olivia and Freddy ended up sharing a cabin that first night. Neither of them relished the idea of lying in a cavernous bunkhouse, alone in the wilderness, wondering about every secret rustle and snuffle they heard from the impenetrable darkness that closed over the place after twilight. When the others arrived, they’d move to the private cottages, but for the time being, neither wanted to be alone.

      The bunkhouses were all named for historic forts and battle sites—Ticonderoga, Saratoga, Stanwix, Niagara—and Olivia picked Ticonderoga for its proximity to the dining hall and to the big, communal bathroom.

      After unloading their supplies and luggage, and fixing a meal of canned soup and crackers in the cobwebby but still functional kitchen, they used an air compressor from the utility shed to fill their mattresses. The camp had switched to flocked air mattresses years ago to avoid the problem of being chewed by mice. Then Olivia and Freddy made up their bunks at opposite ends of Ticonderoga cabin and embarked on a thorough decobwebbing and general cleaning.

      Evening crept over the forest slowly, the sky turning from iridescent sunset pink to layers of deepest violets and then finally, a darkness so complete that it was like being in a cave. Once night fell, Barkis was completely intimidated. He feinted from every mysterious rustle of leaves or lonely birdcall.

      After a harrowing battle with two spiders in the large, institutional bathroom located outside the bunkhouse, Olivia got ready for bed, returning to the cabin in lilac pajama crop pants and a matching tank top. The night breeze through the window swept over her.

      Freddy stared at her boobs. “I do love Mother Nature,” he said.

      She dived for a sweater and wrapped it around her.

      “Okay, now I’m bored,” he complained. “This is usually my night to watch Dog the Bounty Hunter.”

      “I told you there was no TV. No phone, no Internet, no cell phone signal.”