Unexpected Wedding Read Online Free Page A

about him, but it’s not as if she would be waiting at the front gate to see him again. Curious? Yes. Truly interested? Not really. She didn’t have the time for romance, and real, honest romance didn’t ever seem to have the time for her.
    “I’m just sayin’,” Rebekah continued, “it’s your chance to see him again.”
    Gia yanked off the lock and pulled open the door to the shed. “We’re working, Rebekah. I’m too busy to flirt and socialize. Here’s your spray and your gloves. Try not to slip in the bathroom and fall in a puddle of pee-pee.”
    “Eeewwwww, Gia. That is gross.”
    “Buck up, rook. We’re working with kids here. A lot of it’s gross. But then there’s devotion and campfire and those squishy bonding moments that make it all worthwhile.”
    Rebekah huffed a piece of hair from across her nose. “I know. As the prophet Isaiah says, the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever. So, believe me, I know. Every bit of promise and truth we put in their young hearts will be there long after they leave camp.”
    “That’s awesome. See? I knew you had it in you.”
    They made their way to the cinder block structure that served as Mighty Oak 2A’s nearly primitive restroom. While other facilities had been updated to include fluorescent lighting and a climate controlled bathroom experience, progress was slow to arrive at this end of camp. Six toilets, six showers, and a sloped concrete floor in the middle. Western-style wooden swinging doors with loose hook-and-eye closures were all that kept your business from your neighbor’s, and older fixtures with bright, harsh light illuminated things you’d rather not see—like the generations of spiders who’d called the high corners home since nineteen-seventy-two. Round, built-in fans at each end were meant to keep the air circulating. They were no match for the Texas humidity and served only to create a loud swish-and-clank sound that made it impossible to talk at a normal level while inside. Consequently, any scheduled shower time turned into a boisterous, chattering, shower-shoe-flapping, door-slamming, water-spraying, and ear-ringing cacophony that lingered long after everyone had left. Gia could still hear the echo in the bare walls though they were alone.
    “Take a look around,” she instructed. “Give the walls in each shower stall a good squirt and make sure there are no problems we need to report. I’ll check the potty side.”
    “Got it.”
    Gia paused at the row of sinks near the door. Her pale reflection in the age-streaked mirror came as a mild shock. Maybe Rebekah was right and she should see the nurse. Even now, the nagging queasiness made it hard for her to concentrate on more important things. Things like that afternoon’s cabin devotional, tomorrow morning’s staff Bible study, and her uncertain grad school future. Contrary to Rebekah’s babbling, she was not concerned with Rocky Lionakis.
    She steeled herself against the stinky, steamy air and prepared to tackle the potties.
    Within three seconds, there was absolutely nothing she could do to stop her body’s volcanic revolt.
     
    ****
     
    Rocky hit the brakes and skidded to a stop in his best friend Max’s driveway. Dust rose and whirled around his old but reliable Ford Taurus wagon as Max’s aging Great Dane, Leonardo, loped off the porch and sauntered around the front bumper to stick his head in the car window.
    Rocky patted the dog’s brindle head. “Hey, Leo, where’s your master? We’ve got work to do.”
    Max staggered out of the open garage door and shielded his eyes from the bright sun. His too-yellow board shorts added to the glare. “C’mon, Rock, is there a reason we had to do this at daybreak on a Saturday?”
    “It’s noon. And it’s Wednesday.”
    Max dropped his flip-flops and scooted them around the hot driveway with his toes until he got his feet in them. He did all this while attempting to pull a holey t-shirt