Secrets Under the Moonlight

Chapter Two: Magical Beginnings

Five Years Later

"You ready to meet your staff for the season?" Dan asked as he leaned against his... well, I guess now my... desk in the main office in the lodge.

"Anyone I need to be worried about?" I asked curiously as I closed my laptop and picked up the files he'd dropped on my desk.

"It's a pretty good group," he shrugged.

Dan was finally stepping back and appointing a new camp director after this summer, ready to enjoy a partial retirement from Camp ArrowWood. When he'd called me a few months ago and asked if I was interested in training for the job this summer, I was a little hesitant to leave my job as an outdoor activities coordinator at the college I'd been working at during the year, but it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up.

"We've got a few new faces, but a lot of the same counselors who've been around for the last two years." I sifted through the folders, looking at the names on the tabs, recognizing quite a few of them. "Oh, and the assistant director should be here tomorrow, she'll come to find you once she gets in."

I nodded, knowing that she'd been a last-minute hire, her contract had just gone through a few days ago. Dan had insisted she was more than qualified, having worked at a camp in Pennsylvania the last three years, but I hadn't arrived at camp when she'd flown out last month for interviews.

"Sounds good," I nodded, looking forward to meeting my right-hand woman, but he still hadn't told me her name.

.....

Knowing that my life was going to be chaotic for the next several months, I took the opportunity to enjoy the quiet and sit in my favorite place along the lake.

I'd spent a lot of time sitting here, but tonight I couldn't help but remember the summer that I'd met Violet. The elusive camp director's niece hadn't been back the next summer, much to my disappointment, and Dan didn't mention her. I often wondered why she hadn't returned to camp, but maybe it wasn't a special place for her.

As I watched the moonlight dance across the soft ripples in the water, I found my feet moving toward the pier, not quite knowing what I was doing. I stopped at the end of the dock, and slipped my feet into the water, watching the reflection of the moon across my toes.

I closed my eyes as I sat there, wondering if I'd ever find what my parents had in these woods, a lifelong partner. It seemed to be slipping away the more summers I spent here, but I still held out hope that maybe I'd find her.

A quiet splash drew my attention and my eyes popped open, spying a towel and a pair of flip flops sitting next to me at the edge of the dock.

"You going to join me this time?" a quiet voice asked as Violet Woods surfaced and crossed her arms along the edge of the wood a few feet to my left.

"What..." I felt like I was hallucinating as I watched the water slide down her cheek. She looked different than she had before, her features more defined in the five years since I'd seen her last.

"Come on, Gray. I think it's time you broke a few rules," she smiled as she pulled herself up to sit next to me.

"I didn't think I'd ever see you again," I smiled, not entirely convinced she wasn't a figment of my imagination.

She returned my smile as she reached back for her towel, wrapping it around herself like she'd done back then, covering up the body that looked more like a woman's than the girl she'd been. "Well, if uncle Dan has anything to say about it, we'll be seeing a lot of each other this summer."

I frowned at her, wondering why she was back.

"Don't look so disappointed, Gray," she teased as she leaned her shoulder against mine. "When he told me you'd taken the director position and he wanted me to come work alongside you, I was curious how well you'd take it since you avoided me like the plague last time."

"I didn't..." I trailed off, knowing that I had pretty much done exactly that.

"Yes, you did," she smiled widely before she laid her head against my shoulder. "Don't worry. I had a hard time staying away from you too."

As we sat and stared out at the moonlight dancing off the water, I wondered if this was going to be my most magical summer yet. When she took my hand and intertwined her fingers with mine, I felt that same spark and thought that maybe I'd finally found the one I'd been waiting for.