Read Winning Back His Wife (Camp Firefly Falls Book 1) for Free Online

course not." Heather trundled beside him, and he knew he should slow down, but he'd just bared his soul—to himself, as much as her—and he felt raw.
    "I'm serious, by the way."
    "Of course you are. You're serious about everything you do."
    "Don't say that like it's a bad thing! You could take a page from that book."
    "Just because I let myself laugh at a shocking statement doesn't mean I don't also see it as a serious statement!"
    He pulled up short and spun on his heel to look at her. "What?"
    "I…" She trailed off and waved her arms in the air. "I believe you."
    "It doesn't feel like you do." He shoved his hands onto his hips. They were both breathing hard and still damp from the pool. And now cold, he realized. Shit. "Come on, let's get back to the cabin."
    "No." She crossed her arms and gave him a level look. "Repeat after me. 'Heather believes me.'"
    "Knock it off, sweetheart."
    She rolled her eyes. "Right, because this is such a weird idea. Some kind of freak hippie affirmation exercise. Totally out there—"
    "Fine. Heather believes me." Except when he said it, it sounded flat. Like he didn't believe that she…Oh. He frowned. "Okay. You believe me?"
    She nodded slowly. "I admit I don't really understand, exactly, but yes. I believe that you don't want to go back to your old life. Scary, isn't it?"
    His throat was suddenly scratchy. "Terrifying."
    "I've got the t-shirt."
    "You didn't seem scared when you did it. Walked away, I mean."
    Her eyes widened, for just a second, then she glanced to the side. "You weren't really paying close attention."
    No, he didn't suppose he had been. "I'm sorry."
    She flicked her wrist. "What's done is done."
    "I don't want to assume I can just waltz into your plans here, either." He turned in a slow circle, looking at the trees around them. Thinking about the shitty wireless signal and just how far they were from the city.
    Then he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
    Exhaled.
    And remembered.

Chapter 6
    1992
    Camp Firefly Falls
    " W hat do you want to be when you grow up?"
    Michael looked across the bonfire and down the hill toward the lake. Even at twelve, he knew the answer to this. His father was the CEO of Tully & Sons Trading, and his grandfather had founded the company at the turn of the century. "I'm going to…"
    But he stopped himself from answering the question, because those three words weren't really the answer. "I'm going to" wasn't the same as "I want to," a painful fact Michael had always understood.
    Some kids get to grow up with dreams.
    Michael had grown up with responsibilities. He was lucky, he knew that—as long as he did what he was told, he could also have whatever he wanted. Top marks in school? Ski vacation over Christmas. Be well-behaved at political fundraising events? A brand-new video game console would show up the following weekend.
    His older sister was getting ready for a year in Europe before heading to university.
    University . There was something fantastic about the idea of that place. He didn't quite understand how it was different from the private high school he was heading to in a year, but from the glossy pamphlets, he got the idea that it was a place of freedom.
    A pause between the responsibility of growing up right and joining his father in the company.
    "Michael?" The counselor looked at him expectantly.
    "I want to go to Dartmouth," he blurted out. "Not sure past that point."
    Beside him, his friend Heather gave him a curious look. "Me too," she said quietly.
    He grinned. "That's cool."

Chapter 7
    2013
    Camp Firefly Falls
    H eather held out her left hand. “Come with me.”
    Michael’s brow crinkled momentarily, and she wanted to stomp her foot. Why did he have to question everything? But then his gaze dropped, and when it landed on her hand—where she still wore her wedding ring—the creases softened. Her heart softened with them.
    She’d been a colossal idiot, too.
    The last few years, she’d been afraid she was losing