Thanks for the reviews! Here is the next chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, or Temptation by Nora Roberts (I only combined the two)
Previous Chapter:
What did Conomi Nami know, former East Blue socialite, know about managing a girls' summer camp? Just enough to terrify her.
If she failed now, with this, would she be able to pick up the pieces and go on? Would there be any pieces left? Confidence was what was needed, Nami told herself as she turned the taps on. Once inside the narrow shower stall, she gave the tap marked HOT another twist. Water, lukewarm, dripped out halfheartedly. Confidence, Nami thought again as she shivered under the miserable spray. Yeah, plus some cold hard cash and a barrel of luck, a sarcastic remark from her temper that was usually kept under wraps.
She found the soap and began to lather herself with the soft vanilla scent that she still allowed herself to indulge in. A year ago she would have never thought of something as lowly as soap an indulgence.
A year ago.
Nami turned so that the rapidly cooling water hit her back. A year ago she would have risen at eight, had a leisurely, steaming shower, then eaten a breakfast of toast and coffee, perhaps some shirred eggs. Sometime before ten she would have been driven to the library for her volunteer work. Then, there would have been lunch with Law, possibly at the Baratie, before she spent her afternoon at the museum or one of Kaya's charities. Her evening might have been spent at one of East Blue's elegant dinner parties.
No pressure. No problems. But that had been when Papa was alive.
Nami sighed, the last of the soapy lather was rinsed away. The light scent clung to her even as she dried herself with one of the serviceable camp-issue towels. When her father had been alive, she had thought that money was simply something to spend and that time was forever. She had been raised to plan a menu, but not to cook; to run a home, but not to clean it.
Throughout her childhood,she has been carelessly happy with her widowed father in the ageless elegance of their East Blue home. There had always been party dresses and dances, afternoon teas and riding lessons. The Conomi name was an old and respected one. The Conomi money had been a simple fact of life.
How quickly things could change.
Because the tiny mirror over the tiny sink was dripping with condensation, Nami rubbed it with the towel. She took a dab of the small amount of imported facial cream she had left. She was going to make it last through the summer. If she lasted through the summer, buying some more would be her reward.
Nami found the cabin empty when she opened the bathroom door. If she knew Vivi the bluenette would already be down with the girls. Nami took her jeans and her red T-shirt with CAMP LIBERTY printed on the chest, and began to dress. Even as a teenager, Nami had never dressed so casually.
She had enjoyed her social life, the parties, the well chaperoned ski trips to North Blue, the trips to Red Line for shopping or the theater, the vacations in South Blue. The prospect of earning a living had never been considered, by her, or her father.
College years had been spent rounding out her education rather than focusing on a career. At age twenty, Nami was forced to admit that she was qualified to do absolutely nothing.
She could have blamed her father. But how could she blame a man who had been so indulgent and loving? She had adored him. She could blame herself for being naive and shortsighted, but she could never blame her father. Even now, a year after his sudden death, she still felt pangs of grief.
She could deal with that. The one thing she had been taught to do, the one thing she felt herself fully qualified to accomplish, was to cover emotion with poise, with control, or with disdain. She could go day after day, week after week through the summer, surrounded by the girls at camp and the counselors Vivi had hired, and none of them would know she still mourned her father. Or that her pride had been shattered by Trafalgar Law.
Law, the promising young doctor, a surgeon. Law, always so charming, so attentive, so suitable. It had been during her last year of college that she had accepted his ring and made promises to him. And he had made promises to her.
When she discovered the hurt was still there, Nami covered it, layer by layer, with anger. Facing the mirror, she pulled her long hair back into a ponytail, a style her hairdresser would have shuddered at.
It's more practical, Nami told her reflection. She was a practical woman now, and wavy, waist-length hair would only get in the way during the riding lessons she would be giving this morning.
She pressed her fingers against her eyes. Why are mornings always the worst? She would wake up, expecting to come out of some bad dream and find herself home again. But it wasn't her home any longer. There were strangers living in it now. Conomi Brian's death had not been a bad dream, but a horrible, horrible reality.
A sudden heart attack had taken him overnight, leaving Nami stunned with shock and grief. Even before the grief could fade, Nami had been struck with another shock.
There had been lawyers, black-vested lawyers, with long, technical monologues. They had had offices that smelled of old leather and fresh polish. With solemn faces and politely folded hands, they had shattered her world.
Poor investments, she had been told, bad market trends, mortgages, second mortgages, short-term loans. The simple fact had been, once the details had been sifted through, there had been no money.
Conomi Brian had been a gambler. At the time of his death, his luck had turned, and he hadn't been able to recoup his losses. His daughter had been forced to liquidate his assets in order to pay off the debts. The house she had grown up in and loved was gone. She had still been numbed by the grief when she had found herself without a home or income. Crashing down on top of that had been Law's betrayal.
Nami yanked open the cabin door and was met by the balmy morning air of the mountains. The breath taking view of greening hills and blue sky didn't affect her, She was back in East Blue hearing Law's calm, reasonable voice.
The scandal, she remembered and began marching towards the big cabin where meals would be served. His reputation. His career. Everything she had loved had been taken away, but all he cared about was how he might be affected.
He had never loved her. Nami jammed her hands into her pockets and continued walking. She'd been a fool not to see it from the beginning. But I learned, Nami reminded herself. It had only been a merger to Law, the Conomi name, the Conomi money and reputation. When they had been destroyed, he had cut his losses.
Nami slowed her quick pace, realizing that she was out of breath, not from exertion, but from temper. It would never do to walk in to walk into breakfast with her face flushed and her eyes gleaming with bottled up fury. Giving herself a moment, she took a few deep breaths and looked around her.
The air was still cool, but by mid morning the sun would be warm and strong. Summer had barely begun.
It was beautiful. Lining the compound were a half-dozen small cabins with their windows open to the morning. The sound of girlish laughter floated through the windows. Along the pathway between cabins four and five was a scattering of anemones. A dogwood, with a few stubborn blooms clinging to it, stood nearby. Above cabin two, a mockingbird chattered.
Beyond the main camp to the west were rolling hills, deeply green. Grazing horses and trees dotted them. There was an openness here, a sense of space which Nami found incredible. Her life had always been focused on the city. Streets, buildings, traffic, people, those had been familiar. There were times when she felt a quick pain of need for what had been. It was still possible for her to have all that. Kaya had offered her home. No one would ever know how long and hard Nami had struggled with the temptation to accept the invitation.
Perhaps gambling was in Nami's blood too. Why else would she have sunk what ready cash she had left into a fledgling camp for girls in the hills?
Because I have to try, Nami reminded herself. She had had to take the risk on her own. She would never go back to the fragile porcelain doll she had been. Here, centered in such open space, she would take the time to learn about herself. What was Conomi Nami made of? Maybe, just maybe, by expanding her horizons, she would find her place to belong.
Vivi was right. It was going to work. They were going to make it work.
"Hungry?" Her hair damp from whatever shower she had popped into, Vivi cut across Nami's path. "Starved." Content, Nami swung a friendly arm around Vivi's shoulder. "Where did you run off to?"
"You know me, I can't let any part of this place run by itself." Vivi swept her gaze over the camp. Her expression reflected everything inside her, the love, the fear, the fierce pride. "I was worried about you."
"Vivi, I told you, I was just cranky this morning." Nami watched a group of girls rush out of a cabin and head for breakfast.
"Nami, we've been friends since we were six months old. No one knows better than I what you're going through."
No, no one did, and since Vivi was the person she loved best, Nami was determined to do a better job of concealing the wounds that were still open. "I've put it behind me, Vivi."
"Maybe. But I know that the camp was originally my venture, and that I roped you in."
"You didn't rope me in. I wanted to invest. we both know it was a pitifully small amount."
"Not to me. The extra money made it possible for me to include the equestrian program. Then when you agreed to come in and give riding lessons…"
"Just keeping a close eye on my investment," Nami said lightly. "Next year I won't be a part-time riding instructor and bookkeeper. I'll be a full-fledged counselor. No regrets, Vivi." This time she meant it. "It's ours."
"And the bank's."
Nami shrugged that away. "We need this place. You, because it's what you've always wanted to do, always worked and studied toward. Me..." She hesitated, then sighed. "Lets face it, I haven't got anything else. The camp's putting a roof over my head, giving me three meals a day and a goal. I need to prove I can make it."
"People think we're crazy."
The pride came back, with a feeling of recklessness Nami was just learning to savor. "Let them."
With a laugh, Vivi tugged at Nami's hair. "Lets eat."
Two hours later, Nami was winding up the first riding lesson of the day. This was her specialty, her contribution to the partnership she and Vivi had made. It had also been decided to trust Nami with the books because no one could have been more inept with figures than her.
Vivi had interviewed and hired a staff of counselors, a nutritionist, and a nurse. They hoped to have a pool and swimming instructor one day, but for now there was supervised swimming and canoeing on the lake, arts and crafts, hiking, and archery. Vivi had spent months refining a program for the summer, while Nami had juggled the profit-and-loss statements. She prayed the money would hold out while Vivi ordered supplies.
Unlike Vivi, Nami was certain the first week of camp would be the toughest. Her partner had all the training, all the qualifications for running a camp, but Vivi also had the optimist's flair for overlooking tiny details like red ink in the books.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Nami signaled from the center of the corral. "That's all for today." She scanned the six young faces under their black riding hats. "You're doing very well."
"When can we gallop, Miss Conomi?"
"After you learn to trot." She patted one of the horses flanks. "Dismount, then cool down you're horses. Remember, they depend on you." The breeze tossed her bangs, and she brushed at them absently. "Remember to put all the tack in its proper place for the next class."
This caused the groans she expected. Riding and playing with horses was one thing, tidying up afterward was another. Over the past week, she'd learned how to link the girls' faces and names. The eleven- and twelve-year-olds in her group had an enthusiasm that kept her on her toes. One-by-one she nudged them to the stables.
"Nami!" Turning she spotted Vivi running toward her. Even from a distance, Nami recognized concern.
"What's happened?"
"We're missing three kids."
"What?" Panic came first, and quickly. Years of training had her pulling it back. "What do you mean, missing?"
"I mean they're nowhere in camp. White Yoko, Ryu Apis, and Shells Rika." Vivi dragged her hand through her hair, a habitual gesture of tension. "Robin was lining up her group for canoeing, and they didn't show. We've looked everywhere."
"We can't panic," Nami said, as much to warn herself as Vivi. "White Yoko? Isn't that the little brunette that stuck a lizard down one of the other girls' shirts? And the one who set off the morning bell at 3:00 a.m.?"
"Yes that's her." Vivi clenched her teeth. "The little darling. Judge White Chase's granddaughter. If she's skinned her knee, we'll probably face a lawsuit." With a shake of her head, Vivi switched to an undertone. "The last anyone saw of her this morning' she was walking east." She pointed a finger, paint-splattered from her earlier art class. "No one noticed the other girls, but I bet they're with her. Darling Yoko is an inveterate leader."
"If she's walking that way, wouldn't she run into that apple orchard?"
"Yeah." Vivi shut her eyes. "Oh, yeah. I'm going to have six girls up to their wrists in modeling clay in ten minutes, or I'd go myself. Nami, I'm almost sure they headed for the orchard. One of the other girls admitted she heard Yoko planning to sneak over there for a few samples. We don't want any trouble with the owner. He's only letting us use his lake because I begged, shamelessly. He wasn't thrilled about having a girls' summer camp for a neighbor."
"Well, he has one," Nami pointed out. "So we'll all have to deal with it. I'm the one most easily spared around here, so I'll go after them."
"I was hoping you'd say that. Seriously, Nami, if they sneaked into that orchard, which I'd bet my last dime they did, we could be in for it. The man made it clear how he feels about his land and privacy."
"Three little girls are hardly going to do any damage to a bunch of apple trees." Nami began to walk, with Vivi rushing to keep pace.
"He's Roronoa Zoro. You know, Roronoa Apples? Juice, cider, sauce, jelly, whatever can be made from an apple, they do it. He made it abundantly clear that he didn't want to find any little girls climbing his trees."
"He won't find them, I will." Leaving Vivi behind, Nami swung over a fence.
"Put Yoko on a leash when you find her." Vivi watched her disappear through the trees.
Mostly about Nami this chapter, I promise Nami and Zoro will meet in chapter three.