City Girls Don't Camp Read online

  City Girls Don't Camp

  Miss Fortune World: SS Beauty, Volume 12

  Kamaryn Kelsey

  Published by J&R Fan Fiction, 2018.

  Copyright © 2018 by Kamaryn Kelsey

  All rights reserved.

  This story is based on a series created by Jana DeLeon. The author of this story has the contractual rights to create stories using the Miss Fortune world. Any unauthorized use of the Miss Fortune world for story creation is a violation of copyright law.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author and the publisher, J&R Fan Fiction, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Also by Kamaryn Kelsey

  Mercy on the Bayou

  Sour Honey

  Miss Fortune World

  The Identity Inquiry

  Catch a Falling Spy

  The Treasured Letter

  Miss Fortune World: Mercy on the Bayou

  Wrong Turn

  Shot in the Park

  Spare Ribs and Cold Cuts

  Miss Fortune World: SS Beauty

  On The Bayou

  Bound For Hell

  In The Shadow

  Fast and Blue

  Adventures In Babysitting

  Down On The Vegas Strip

  On The Mountain Of Hope

  In-Laws, Outlaws, and Uninvited Guests

  When Worlds Collide

  On The Wagon

  Snapped, Cracked, and Popped

  City Girls Don't Camp

  It's All Relative

  The Missing Morrow

  Boot Camp Beauty

  Miss Fortune World: Wholly Moses!

  Murphy's Flaws

  Up In Smoke

  Filthy Stinking Rich

  Mo's Motel

  Cast and Catch a Fortune

  Dubious Deliveries

  Dirty Deeds

  Triple Threat

  Pandora's Shoebox

  Oh, Shoot!

  The Murphy Girls

  Tricks and Trouble

  Hit the Road, Jo!

  Out of the Storm

  PB & J

  Pary Barry & John- The New Neighbor

  Pary Barry & John- Who Can You Trust?

  Pary Barry & John- The New Job

  Pary Barry & John- Partners

  Pary Barry & John- The Team

  Pary Barry & John- The Body Drop

  Pary Barry & John- Now We're Cooking

  Pary Barry & John- Running Away

  Pary Barry & John- Life's Lessons

  Pary Barry & John- Pigmalion

  Pary Barry & John- He Says, She Says

  Pary Barry & John- Who's That Girl?

  Pary Barry & John- The Ex Games

  Pary Barry & John- The PJ's/ Mr. & Mrs. Smith

  Cookbooks and Crooks

  Pary Barry & John- Targeted (#6) & BLT (#7)

  Pary Barry & John- The Honeymoon (#17) & Designer Family (#18)

  Standalone

  Introduced by Karma

  Crazy Like Me

  I Love You- What's Your Name?

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Also By Kamaryn Kelsey

  City Girls Don't Camp (Miss Fortune World: SS Beauty, #12)

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

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  Author's note:

  This is Book 12 in the SS Beauty series and is not intended to standalone.

  This is a work of fiction. Other than Jana DeLeon's original story elements, the characters and names are creations of the author's imagination.

  The series is not about Fortune Redding, Sinful, and the Swamp Team. SS Beauty is Sandy-Sue Morrow and the series is about her and the life she makes for herself. She tires of her European vacation and comes home early, to Morrow's dismay. Wondering about her inheritance in Sinful, she takes a bus trip to check it out.

  Morrow sends Matt Meadows, who has done security work for him in the past, to keep an eye on her and to keep her from crossing paths with Fortune, and blowing Fortune's cover.

  At this point in her life, Sandy-Sue decides she's leaving the past behind, along with her name. She shortens it to Sady (sometimes she uses Sassafras or Sassy, the name she first gave Matt in book one of the series.) I took the liberty of giving Morrow a first name, John, since he makes appearances throughout the series and it didn't make sense for Sady to refer to him as Uncle Morrow.

  After the adventure in Louisiana, Morrow sends Sady to work for two former operatives, now retired and operating their own business, Knight Investigations in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Harry and CJ Knight are a husband and wife team.

  Amanda Keller, saucy and smart mouthed neighbor, soon becomes Sady's best friend. She likes to give Matt a hard time about anything and everything. After losing her job at the university, she joins the investigation company.

  Matt Meadows, Sady's love interest in the series, has stayed in Michigan. After Morrow repeatedly sends him back to Michigan to keep on eye on his niece, he realizes it will continue, so he makes the move as well.

  Character descriptions:

  Sady Morrow- Tall, slender, with long brown hair and big brown eyes. She often uses beauty pageant skills on the job. She is sweet, and sometimes goofy. However, she's intelligent and can be tough, when necessary.

  Matt Meadows- Tall, dark, and handsome. He has blue eyes and unshaven stubble. Hence, Amanda's nicknames for him, Stubbles or Blue Eyes. Frequently grumpy because of Amanda's constant picking. Matt sometimes uses Sady's pet name, Sassafras.

  Amanda Keller- Short, full-figured, black, and beautiful. She grew up in an exclusive suburb of Detroit. She has a smart mouth, a high tolerance for alcohol, and a full social dating calendar. She likes handsome men and isn't shy about saying so.

  CJ Knight- Short in stature, with clipped gray hair, green eyes, and an even shorter fuse. CJ is impatient and lethal with her hands. Even though she's small, she keeps them all in line.

  Harry Knight- Hot dang handsome with Siberian Husky light blue eyes, a stunning white smile, and good build. Amanda calls him Handsome, and he is- even though he is bald. Harry looks out for his team and plays the big brother/ father to Sady.

  The stories behind the supporting characters are developed throughout the series.

  Chapter 1

  "I'm not so sure about this next job," Sady told her co-workers at Knight Investigations. "I've never camped."

  "Ooh, are we going camping?" Amanda replied. "I love to camp! We'll have a good time!"

  Matt snorted. "Are you telling me that you've camped and enjoyed it? Come on, Amanda! Who are you kidding?"

  Amanda glared at Matt, then turned her back on him. "Take it from me, Sady, it's fun. They park one of those big ass motor-homes for you in your spot and it's like you never left home! You got A/C, a dishwasher, a flat screen TV with cable, an innerspring mattress... It's probably nicer than our apartments! Then they give you one of those carts to drive so you don't have to walk to the pool and spa. There's even a store. Some people actually use the carts for golfing, but I don't. It's bad for the environment."

  "Oh," Sady said in surprise. "So you walk the golf course?"

  "Don't be ridiculous! I don't waste the cart on golf. I use it for necessary tra
nsportation- like driving around the park to check out the men. Golf's too much like work when you're on vacation. What's so funny?" she demanded of Matt.

  "That's not real camping," Matt told her. "It's not even close!"

  Sady looked confused. "So what is real camping?" she asked while Amanda narrowed her eyes and took a breath.

  Harry interrupted before Amanda could speak. "Well, our destination is a little more primitive than that," he said diplomatically.

  CJ made a disgusted noise. "It's a lot more primitive! As in no electricity, no A/C, no golf carts... and vault toilets."

  Sady and Amanda looked at each. "What's a vault toilet?" Amanda asked suspiciously. "Is that like one of those things they use at carnivals- those germ infested green hunks of plastic that smell like a farm?"

  Matt shook with laughter. "You're getting close," he replied.

  "Oh, no! City girls do not consider that camping." She touched Sady on the arm. "Trust me, we don't want any part of this. That's not real camping- that's torture disguised as work disguised as fun. It's a lie! I've seen those people who unload a van full of kids and spend half the weekend setting up a big tent with most of the contents from their house. Except anything that's a convenience! Then they spend the rest of the weekend taking it down and putting it away. In the meantime the men are drinking beer and stinking up the park with a fire, the kids are raising hell, the dogs are barking at everything when they're not pooping and peeing everywhere, and the women are doing all the work. Uh, uh! That doesn't do it for me!"

  Now the Knights laughed as well. "So you really have been camping, haven't you, Amanda?" CJ asked.

  "It's a matter of opinion," Amanda said with a sniff. "I call it hell, especially when it rains in the middle of the night and the tent gets wet! I went with a friend when I was young and stupid," she explained to Sady.

  Matt opened his mouth and Amanda said, "Shut up, Stubbles! I was in college and the campground was full of good looking college guys. It was the worst weekend of my life," she warned Sady. "And I brought plenty of booze, so that should tell you something. That kind of camping should be left to Boy Scouts and the Army."

  "It's not that bad, Sady," Harry told her. "Amanda had a bad experience."

  "You want to talk about a bad experience?" Amanda retorted. "My friend got poison ivy from one of those community pasture pods! She looked like she'd fallen into a cactus garden by the time we got home. And those were the parts I could see."

  "How did you manage to avoid it?" Matt asked with a wicked glint in his eye.

  "The same way you avoid germs at all public restrooms, stupid! You cover the seat before you sit. I bet you don't. Well, I hope you get poison ivy," Amanda declared.

  "Come on, Sady," Harry said encouragingly. "It's not as bad as Amanda says. We don't have to deal with kids or pets and once we have set up camp, it's easy."

  Amanda muttered in the background. "Uh, huh. Until you have to put it all away."

  "You'll enjoy being outdoors and away from the city," Harry continued.

  "How do you feel about mosquitoes and sleeping on the ground?" Amanda asked. "Because if you love them, you're sure to have a great time."

  Harry gave Amanda a dirty look which she ignored. "The state really could use our help on this one, Sady. We don't have to confront the poachers. If we can get pictures or video, that's all the state needs. They'll take it from there."

  "You know how you get those plastic bags to cook turkeys?" Amanda asked. "Because that's how you'll feel in the middle of the night... and during the day. Basically, anytime you're in your tent. And with no power you can't even have a fan to move the putrid air."

  CJ watched Sady's head moving side to side, like she watched a tennis match. "Enough!" CJ snapped. "If you don't want to do the job, that's fine," she growled.

  "I didn't say I wouldn't do it," Amanda said defensively. CJ threw her hands in the air, exasperated.

  "So what was that coming out of your mouth?" Matt asked. "Because it sounded to me like you were declining the job."

  "Your problem is you don't listen, Stubbles," Amanda berated him. "I'll go, but I'm not sleeping in a tent and using facilities open to the general animal kingdom and every insect north of the equator. I'll make my own sleeping arrangements," she informed them. At CJ's raised brow she added, "Don't worry, I'm paying for this out of my own pocket." Then she winked at Sady and whispered, "Trust me on this, girl. You'll want to stay with me."

  "I guess it's settled then," Harry said with a smile. "We're going camping."

  CJ handed Sady and Amanda a few printed pages. "What to pack and important camping reminders," she said.

  "Is there gonna be a test?" Amanda asked. "Because I have arrangements to make, so if you'll excuse me." She left the conference room to make her arrangements.

  Sady looked worried when she glanced at the lists. "Bears- seriously?" Her brown eyes popped.

  "Seriously," CJ confirmed. "But not likely. Just make sure you follow the guidelines and you'll be fine."

  "We can always drop you off at the nudist camp at Hope Mountain, and pick you up on the way home," Matt teased Sady.

  She shook her head vehemently. "I'll take my chances with the bears, thank you very much!"

  Amanda poked her head into the room with her cell phone to her ear. "What's the name of the campground again?" she asked. Harry wrote it down for her and she took the paper with her, waving her thanks. Her head appeared again. "How long?"

  CJ and Harry glanced at each other. "Maybe four or five days?" CJ offered. Amanda nodded and left again. "Probably less," CJ said. "It's a big park but we know where to start looking for the poachers."

  "Do you think she'll survive that long?" Matt asked jokingly.

  "Should I be worried?" Sady asked. She still wore a wary expression.

  "No, you'll have a good time, Sady." Harry glared at Matt. "Trust me."

  "That's what Amanda keeps saying," Sady protested.

  CJ walked her to the door. "Just follow the instructions I printed out for you and you'll be fine," she said, pushing her out of the conference room.

  "Do we have a backup plan for when those two call it quits before the job is finished?" CJ asked the men.

  "Are we taking bets?" Matt asked.

  "They won't have a choice," Harry replied calmly. "They won't have a vehicle to drive home."

  "Oh, no you don't!" Matt yelled. "The last time we went up north I got stuck hauling the big mouth. Unless this campground has a 24 hour bar I am not driving Amanda!"

  CJ grinned. "We'll drive her there and you drive her home."

  "I still come out on the short end," Matt complained.

  "Come on, Matt! Are you really going to pass up a chance to see those two bathing in a lake?" CJ laughed. Sady was a former beauty pageant queen and Amanda had grown up in a wealthy family. Neither knew how to rough it.

  Matt rubbed his jaw with a grin. "You might have something there, CJ. Can I take pictures?" Sady was tall and beautiful, with big brown eyes and long brown hair. Amanda was beautiful as well, with her dark skin, snappy dark eyes, and full figure. But she also had a big mouth that drove him crazy.

  "As long as they don't catch you," Harry advised. "Poison ivy will be the least of your problems if that happens."

  "I'm willing to take that risk," Matt grinned.

  "Matthew Meadows, there is no nude bathing," CJ warned. "The list I gave them specifically says to bring a couple bathing suits- ones they can use for bathing!"

  "Buzz-kill," Matt joked. "Besides, I don't know if I'm ready for Amanda in all her glory. Sady on the other hand..."

  "Will be wearing a bathing suit," Harry said firmly.

  "Did you put bikinis on their list?" Matt asked hopefully.

  "Only on Amanda's," CJ teased, laughing at the look on Matt's face.

  "Are you trying to scare me off as well? Because you're doing a pretty good job," he threatened.

  "I'm sure you'll survive," CJ said sarcastically.
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  "Well, if they fall in the lake and need CPR, you're gonna have to do Amanda," he warned. "Or hope emergency services are within shouting distance."

  "Don't ruin my vacation," CJ warned Matt.

  "Vacation? I thought this was a job." Matt looked confused.

  "It's both, so I will repeat it- don't ruin my vacation," she said.

  "CJ loves roughing it," Harry explained with a grin.

  Matt held up his hand. "Yep, and that's all the information I need. I want the campsite farthest from yours."

  "One final thing," CJ said. "If I catch you taking pictures of me I'll tear off your arms and beat you with them, understand?" Matt didn't tell her that short women, with short gray hair, green eyes, and very short fuses weren't on his list of photo priorities.

  He just saluted and Harry asked, "What about me?"

  Matt didn't want a picture of Harry either. He'd leave that to Amanda, and a lot of other women who found Harry well built and devastatingly handsome with his striking light blue eyes and gorgeous smile. Women like his wife CJ, who agreed that his baldness didn’t detract from his looks one bit.

  "Let me out of this room before you answer that, CJ," Matt yelled as he rushed for the door.

  Harry turned to his wife with a grin. "Do you really want to take two city girls camping?" he asked.

  "It will widen their horizons," she replied. "Besides, why do you think Meadows is coming? He gets to babysit those two while we look for the poachers." She knew Sady wouldn't mind having the tall, dark, and handsome Matt watching over her. Amanda was another matter.

  "CJ, you realize this whole thing has potential for disaster written all over it, don't you?"

  "Harry, I'm ashamed to admit that's now part of the attraction in team work. It's like those three are the kids we never had. Or maybe I should say pets. It's fun watching them grow."

  "My mother will be thrilled," Harry replied sarcastically. "More adult grandchildren are at the top of her wish list."

  "Harry- don't ruin this now or you'll be sharing a tent with Meadows," she warned.

  "I take it back," he smiled. "Because you're at the top of my wish list."