IT'S A DIRTY JOB

Lying in bed the morning after getting to know Matt felt delicious, as I had an extra half an hour before reporting to work. Stretching the kinks out of my sore, overworked body, I remembered the feel of his hard fingers caressing my stiff muscles and shuddered, wondering how it would have felt to give in to my feelings last night.

Too soon, I thought. Way too soon. I realized he hadn't even told me his last name or where he was from. Geez, desperate much, Karol?

The girls were still snoring softly in the other room and I decided to give them extra rest before cleaning the cabin for the next campers. Taking a cup of instant coffee out to the porch, I sat and drank in the early morning quiet of the campground and the soft gurgle of water flowing in the nearby stream.

It was time to begin living, not just surviving. I had been on the run for months and needed to take some time for myself or I'd be no good for anyone. Although Janie's suggestion to speak to the Godfrey's for me made me nervous as hell, it was a good idea. She was right. The campground was far too big and busy for one person to clean, now that the season was in full swing.

After grabbing a towel and my makeup bag, I locked the cabin door and trudged up the path to the shower house. Standing under the steaming water, I soaped up my body with the dish liquid I had borrowed from the cabin. What the heck, I dumped it on my hair and gave it a good scrubbing as well. So much for a frizz-free day. At least I would be clean.

I carefully removed the leftover makeup from yesterday and reapplied my sunscreen and a full face of makeup, just in case Matt showed up again today. I wanted him to know that I usually showered before dates.

Pulling my camp uniform over my damp body and combing out these hopeless locks, I headed to the cabin to surprise the girls with a graham cracker and chocolate bar breakfast, giggling about how surprised they'd be. It was a perfect Summer morning, the Cicadas were buzzing in the brush and songbirds serenaded the campgrounds.

Campers were slowly emerging from tents, cabins, and fancy campers. I waved to several of them sitting in front of their units drinking their first coffee of the day. This was going to be the start of a whole new life. I hadn't felt happy in a long time and I wanted to hold onto that thought. As I rounded the path that led to our stream-side cabin, I caught a glimpse of a dark figure peering into the back window of the girls' room.

"HEY! HEY, YOU! Stop. What are you doing? Help! Help!" I yelled loudly enough to make some of the other campers come running.

"What's going on?" A middle-aged man with a scruffy beard and jogging pants sagging low on his belly asked. The rest of the campers who came running surrounded him, looking to him for what to do next.

"A man was looking in the window at my daughters!"

He must have been the alpha male because he ordered everyone else to split up and look for someone who didn't belong at the campground. I ran to the cabin and let myself in. Thankfully, the girls were still asleep, oblivious to the clamor outside our cabin.

I collapsed onto the bed, legs shaking and heart pounding in my throat.