Snapshot (The Jamieson Collection) Read online

  “Whoever was playing sure knew their stuff,” AJ said.

  “I love classical music, and there’s something about a cello. It’s just so... mellow,” she said.

  “Do either of you play?” AJ sat on a nearby boulder.

  “The cello? God no. That would be a disaster,” Marti said.

  “I tried the guitar when I was younger, but I quit,” Haley said.

  “Why’d you quit?” AJ tossed a small rock back and forth between his hands.

  “You ever hear that guitar song Classical Gas? Well, I wanted to learn to play that so bad. That’s why I tried guitar lessons, but it was too hard to hold down all the strings. Never could play a lick.”

  “That’s too bad,” he said.

  “I love that song!” Marti said.

  AJ raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

  “I’m not kidding!” She laughed.

  “How do you know Classical Gas?” he asked.

  “I heard it all the time when I was little.” She almost said her dad played it to her at bedtime, when he happened to be around, but she didn’t want to bring him up again.

  “How about you, AJ? Do you play?” Haley asked.

  “Me? Nah.” He swiped a drink of his water and then stretched the fingers on his hand.

  “How’s everyone doing down here? Getting any good stuff?” Mike asked, joining them.

  “Yeah, lots of great shots!” Marti said.

  “Glad to hear it. Now, I need to have you gather your stuff and move about ten feet off the tracks.”

  “What’s up?” AJ asked.

  Mike checked his watch. “In about three minutes, the eleven o’clock train will be coming through.”

  “Oh!” Haley lifted her tripod, with her camera attached, and quickly moved it off the tracks.

  Marti and AJ tossed loose items in their packs, grabbed the rest of their gear and joined Haley.

  The distant sound of a train whistle startled her. She shared an excited look with AJ.

  “Oh my god! The rest of my gear!” Haley looked at her gear scattered on the other side of the tracks.

  Mike laughed. “Don’t worry, plenty of time.”

  The three of them raced over, gathered everything up, and ran back.

  The other kids in their group ran up with their cameras, ready to catch pictures of the train. A couple more minutes with an occasional locomotive whistle, and the tracks begin to rumble.

  Anticipation escalated as the noise grew. Marti expected the train to burst through the tunnel at any moment, but it didn’t. The sound became louder and louder, bouncing off the tunnel walls. The distant light on the engine shined brighter. She grabbed AJ’s arm with one hand, her camera poised with the other. He grinned at her.

  Suddenly the train engine burst through the tunnel. She fumbled with her camera and started snapping shots. The whistle blew loud repetitive blasts, causing her to stop and cover her ears. AJ lowered his camera and put his arm around her and laughed. She ducked into his embrace to block out the ear-splitting train whistle. He tipped her head up in time to see the engine pass. The engineer sat at the window and gave them a quick smile and a wave before letting loose on the whistle again.

  Some in the group concentrated on getting train pictures, others plugged their ears, and Kyle took pictures of everyone’s reactions.

  As the train passed and the sound faded, Marti stayed in AJ’s secure arms a few seconds longer. She didn’t want to attract undue attention, but geez, the guy felt great. He had strong arms and a solid chest as if he could protect a girl from anything. She stepped away and smiled shyly, which was dumb, because they’d made out last night.

  The train chugged along, and she experimented with a few motion shots to see how they turned out. After a couple minutes, the caboose flew past, and then the train disappeared around the bend.

  “That was awesome!” Ryan said.

  “I can’t believe we were so close!” Haley said.

  “Everybody get something they liked?” Mike asked.

  AJ looked at Marti and nodded.

  Her stomach did little flips.

  Chapter 4

  After lunch, Marti and Haley walked down to the lakefront for their swim test.

  “You and AJ sure seem to have something going,” Haley said.

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Marti said, pretending it wasn’t true. She still wasn’t sure what was going on. She knew she liked him, and he was a super nice guy, but…

  “Come on, you two are so cute together, and I can tell he’s totally into you!” Haley gushed.

  “You think so?” Marti nibbled at her lip. She hoped so. AJ made her laugh, and he had an easy-going confidence that was hard not to like. It’s like nothing could shake him up.

  “Yes! Oh my god! He’s always looking at you, and haven’t you noticed that he always manages to be right next to you?”

  Marti grinned, a new bounce in her step. “He is pretty hot!”

  “That’s an understatement! You know, he kind of reminds me of someone,” Haley said.

  “Me too!” Marti turned to Haley. “It’s been bugging me ever since I met him. There’s something that seems so familiar, but I can’t figure it out.” They stepped over a raised crack in the sidewalk.

  “Okay, this is going to sound crazy, but he kind of reminds me of one of the brothers from the band Jamieson. You know, the youngest brother, Adam Jamieson.”

  Marti tripped and stubbed her toe. “Ow!”

  “Are you okay?” Haley asked.

  “Yes,” Marti groaned, examining her scraped big toe and the gouged toenail she’d painted purple the day before camp.

  “So what do you think? Is that who he reminds you of? Adam Jamieson?” Haley asked.

  Marti tried to picture Adam Jamieson in her mind. She wasn’t a fan of the band, or any rock band for that matter, but their music was everywhere, and she had to admit it was pretty good. Her best friend back home, Kristi, was a huge fan, owned all their music and had their posters hanging in her room. The three brothers were all really great looking, but Kristi liked Peter best.

  “I don’t think so. Isn’t Adam the one with the curly hair?”

  “Yeah, but there’s something about when AJ smiles. I think he looks just like Adam Jamieson, minus all the hair, of course.”

  “Maybe.” She tried to picture the posters on Kristi’s wall, but she never paid close attention. Marti didn’t understand the whole appeal of idolizing someone because they were in a movie or sang a song. It all seemed pretty shallow, which described her father to a T.

  Haley continued. “And AJ could stand for Adam Jamieson.”

  That captured Marti’s attention. Her head whipped around to Haley, and she was about to comment, but then Kayla ran down the path toward them.

  “Hey guys, wait up!”

  Marti and Haley waited as Kayla skittered up, trying not to lose her flip flops. Her hair, up in a ponytail, bounced with each step.

  “I hate swim tests. Why can’t they just take our word?” Kayla said.

  The girls chatted the rest of the way to the beach and joined the other kids who were in various stages of the test.

  Marti shimmied out of her shorts and tank top, adjusted her coral striped bikini bottoms and put her clothes in a pile covered by her towel. Together, the three waded into the cool lake.

  “Oh my god, I hate cold water.” Haley hugged herself as they trudged to the lifeguard area.

  “You three going as a group?” Brian, the camp lifeguard, asked. He had that total laid-back lifeguard thing going. The sun kissed his hair with blonde highlights, and a bronze tan covered his body.

  “Ready anytime you are!” Haley flirted.

  “Hang on, we’re ready too!” AJ called out. He and Kyle splashed through the shallow water toward them. AJ wore a pair of loud floral swim trunks that on any other guy would be obnoxious, but looked perfect with AJ’s fit body and handsome face.

  Haley aimed a knowing look at Marti. “I t
old you, he likes you.”

  “Shut up!” Marti whispered back, but inside her stomach pole vaulted with joy.

  “Okay, listen up. First, swim to the far buoy and back. Use whatever stroke you want. When you get back, go to that deep area over there.” Brian gestured at a group bobbing up and down in the water. “Tread water for three minutes. Got it?”

  They all nodded.

  “Start whenever you’re ready.” Brian glanced out at the bobbers and checked his stopwatch.

  “Race you!” Kyle called and dove in, splashing Kayla, and started swimming. AJ dove in after him.

  “Kyle is such an idiot!” Kayla said.

  Marti, Haley, and Kayla stepped out further until the depth forced them to swim.

  Marti knew how to swim, but didn’t feel like getting her hair totally wet, so she did the sidestroke through the refreshing water.

  She wondered about Haley’s comment. It would be so weird if AJ really were Adam Jamieson. Kristi, back home, would have a coronary if she found out Marti spent two whole weeks at camp with him. But she couldn’t imagine in a million years what a guy like that, who spent his time touring and surrounded by groupies, would be doing in a remote location like Camp Hiawatha spending idle days taking nature pictures and hiking.

  She reached the deep water the same time as Haley. The other three were already treading water. Marti joined the circle right across from AJ.

  “I hate this part,” Haley said. “My body has absolutely no buoyancy. It’s like I have concrete legs.”

  “This is nothing. At my school, the teacher made us tread water for five minutes with our clothes on!” Haley bobbed as she spoke.

  “They keep the pool at my school at like sixty degrees. Every day we thought we’d die of hypothermia.” Marti spit water out after dipping too low.

  “I can’t imagine going to swimming class in the middle of the school day,” AJ said.

  Marti checked him out to see if he resembled Adam Jamieson. She couldn’t tell. The sun reflected off the water, making it hard to see.

  “Don’t you have swimming at your school?” Haley asked. “Where do you go?”

  AJ hesitated. “Well. Uh...”

  Marti exchanged a questioning glance with Haley. They swooshed their hands through the water and cycled with their legs to keep their heads above the lake as they waited for him to answer.

  “Actually, I don’t go to school,” he said and seemed a little embarrassed. Marti found it adorable, but wondered if he’d flunked out or something.

  “Why not?” Haley asked. “Did you graduate early?”

  “Or drop out?” Kyle looked hopeful.

  AJ laughed. “No, I’m home schooled.”

  “No way!” Kayla said. “Did you ever go to school? Or were you always home schooled?”

  “I went for a long time, just not the last few years. Hey, how long have we been treading water? Shouldn’t we be done by now?” AJ seemed uncomfortable, but maybe Marti was imagining it.

  “Why haven’t you gone the past few years?” Marti asked, as she felt a prickly sensation on the back of her neck. She didn’t know if it was the cool water or something else.

  “Oh, my parents just thought I’d get a better education that way,” AJ answered.

  “Do you like it? Kyle asked. His dark wavy hair was wet and slicked back, making his bushy brows stand out more.

  “No, man. It sucks,” AJ answered as Brian blew the whistle.

  “Times up, come on in,” he hollered.

  “Thank God!” Haley swam for the stairs at the end of the dock.

  Marti floated onto her back to rest her aching arms. So much for keeping her hair dry. She gazed up at the blue sky. Only a couple small puffy clouds floated by. So, AJ didn’t like being home schooled. She’d never met someone who didn’t go to school before. Now she wondered even more about him.

  “You coming?” Kayla called out.

  Marti flipped over and swam to the dock.

  “Go ahead.” AJ motioned her to the ladder, and she felt self-conscious when she lifted her butt out of the water and climbed the steps as he watched.

  She shivered as Brian secured the swim band around her wrist. Goosebumps covered her arms, but the sun warmed her skin. “You guys all playing volleyball later?” he asked. “It’s painters versus photographers. And I’m captain of the painters’ team.”

  “You bet. I’ll be there!” Marti said.

  “You’re going down!” Kayla taunted and batted her lashes.

  Brian laughed. “We’ll see.”

  They wandered down the dock and gathered up their towels. Kayla spread hers out on the sand to get optimum sunshine. Haley placed her towel next to it. Marti wrapped her towel around herself and looked at her fingers.

  “Look how wrinkled my fingers are,” she said.

  AJ stepped closer. “Now that’s attractive. They look like prunes.”

  “Let’s see yours!” Marti reached for his hands and turned them over, loving the excuse to touch him.

  “They’re worse than yours,” he laughed.

  Marti noticed big white bumps on the ends of each of his fingers. “What are those?”

  AJ looked down. “Oh, they’re just callouses from... it’s nothing.” He pulled his hands away.

  Confused, Marti said nothing, but then realization dawned along with a heavy feeling in the pit of her gut. The only other time she’d seen callouses like that was when she lived with her dad. He had callouses on every finger, just like AJ. Her dad used to say they were magic bumps, and that’s why he played guitar so well.

  Marti looked straight at AJ. The carefree glint in his eyes dimmed. She examined his face. He couldn’t be. Could he?

  “What’s wrong?” AJ asked with genuine concern. She didn’t like where this was leading.

  “I know what those callouses are from.” She spoke quiet and serious and wrapped her towel tighter.

  “I grip my camera too tight.” He grinned that familiar smile that made her want to melt in his arms, but instead the ache in her stomach grew.

  Marti shook her head and in a quiet voice said, “You are such a liar.” She picked up her clothes, grabbed her sandals and left the beach.

  “Marti, what?” He followed behind.

  When she reached the sidewalk away from the rest of the kids, she turned. “What’s your name?”

  AJ stepped back. “It’s AJ.”

  “What’s AJ stand for?” she demanded, knowing the answer before he spoke. A mixture of disappointment and dread surrounded her. She didn’t want it to be true. She wanted him to be normal, good-looking, charming AJ.

  He laughed nervously. “It stands for AJ. That’s all.”

  “You’ve been playing us all along. I can’t believe it!” She turned and stormed off.

  “Wait up. Marti!” AJ caught up to her and blocked the way. His suit dripped water on the sidewalk.

  She gave him the evil eye. He wouldn’t even be honest to her, and she’d thought she was the one person he’d connected with. “You’re lying. Again!”

  “No, I’m not. What have I lied about?” He folded his arms across his chest.

  “Everything! Probably. First off. Your name! Your name is Adam, isn’t it?” There it was. She’d put it out there. Be cool, AJ. Be honest. Don’t give me any more reasons not to like you.

  He looked toward the lake and then up at the sky. He pushed his hand through the short hair on his head and seemed startled. “My real name is Adam. So what? Sometimes I go by AJ.”

  Marti watched him battle some internal conflict. He clenched his jaw and kept looking one way and then another. A sense of betrayal grew with every answer.

  “Right. And you told Haley you don’t play guitar. But you do! The only way to get callouses like you have is to play guitar. A lot!” She glared him and could tell he was scrambling to figure out what to say that would have him in the least amount of hot water. She couldn’t wait to see how he tried to get out of this.

&
nbsp; “I’m not playing guitar… while I’m at camp.”

  She huffed.

  “That’s not a lie!”

  “Well, guess what? You don’t fool me. My dad is Steven Hunter. I’ve seen too much and known too many guys like you.” Adam’s jaw dropped and she could tell he was shocked to hear her dad’s identity. She hated to admit it, but Adam was just like her dad. Telling lies if it made his life more convenient. Looking out for himself before anyone else. She couldn’t afford to fall for a guy like that. She had the emotional scars to prove it.

  “Not only do you play guitar, but your name is Adam!” She cocked her head to the side. “You are Adam. Adam. Fucking. Jamieson!”

  He glanced around to see if anyone heard. “Yes,” he finally said.

  “And you’ve been playing us like a Les Paul ever since you got here. Well guess what? Your secret’s out!” And she was finished with him. Right then and there, it was over. He lied about his name, that he played guitar, where he lived, and probably everything else he said too.

  Marti stomped past. She didn’t look back, and she didn’t know if he followed her or not. She seriously could care less.

  Guys like Adam, famous rock stars, were always trouble. Always. Her dad, the king of messed up, egotistical, selfish musicians, couldn’t pull out of his driveway without doing something horrible like running over some little kid’s bike.

  Marti shivered in revulsion. She marched back to the cabin, gritting her teeth the whole way. She wanted to like AJ—no, Adam—but he lied from the word go, a sure sign of his true character. He might not be like her dad, yet, but he was only sixteen. He had plenty of time to perfect the skill.

  The last thing she needed was another loser in her life. Her mom was so screwed up on drugs that Grandma forbade her from coming around, and her dad was a poor excuse for a father. Marti spent the past six years wishing that man out of her life for good. And now Adam Jamieson showed up, tempting her back to that screwed up world. Well, she’d learned a thing or two and refused to let him do it.

  She let the creaky screen door bang shut and took a long hot shower to wash away her frustration.

  * * *

  Adam let Marti go. What could he do? He had no idea why his real identity pissed her off so much. He figured that if the kids at camp found out, they’d be star-struck or at least a little impressed. So he hid his real name, big deal! He didn’t want the whole camp to know that Adam, lead guitarist of the chart-topping band Jamieson, was on the property. Only Tony, the camp director, knew the truth.