The Other Man in My Wife's Tent novel · Chapter 1 of 24
Chapter 1: Tent Three
Cal signs up for his wife's winter trip to surprise her and hears the desk assign her a tent with another man; a woman at his shoulder says she's that man's wife.
At the registration desk of Northern Pines Winter Camp, a receptionist handed a man a key and said, "Tent Three, Mr. Tolland, same as every year."
I stood three feet behind him with my duffel bag, holding my own confirmation printout.
I had signed up for the Wilderness Week in secret, under my own name, with my own credit card.
My wife Lindsay had gone on this trip every winter since before I met her.
She called it her girls' week.
It was her tradition, she said, and she came home every year glowing and sunburned and happy.
This year I wanted to surprise her.
I had left our five-year-old son with my mother and told Lindsay I'd be grading papers all break.
I had even bought two matching hats.
"And your tent partner is already here," the receptionist told the man. "Mrs. Niskanen arrived this morning."
Mrs. Niskanen.
That was my wife's name, and mine.
The man laughed, low and warm. "Perfect. She always beats me here."
He turned and walked out without looking at me.
I knew the back of that head.
I knew the silver at the temples and the way he rolled his shoulders.
Dean Tolland.
He was the principal of the high school where I taught chemistry.
He had shaken my hand at the staff party three weeks ago and told me my wife was a gem.
The receptionist smiled at me. "Name?"
"Cal Niskanen," I said.
Her smile held for one second too long.
"Oh," she said. "Ridge Camp. You're on the far side of the lake, in Tent Four."
"Is my wife here? Lindsay Niskanen?"
"She's at Lake Camp, Tent Three, with Mr. Tolland." She said it kindly, like she was giving me a weather report.
"They're two separate camps," she added. "Her side is a mile from yours."
I said thank you.
I don't know why.
Then I walked out into the snow with my duffel bag and my two matching hats.
Lake Camp sat in a ring of pines at the edge of the ice.
Fourteen tents, each with a number on a little wooden sign.
I stood behind a big spruce with my heart pounding so hard I could feel it in my teeth.
Tent Three had its flap tied open.
Inside, on a pile of sleeping bags, sat my wife.
She had her red scarf on, the one I gave her for our fifth anniversary.
She was laughing at something, head tipped back, hair coming out of her hat.
Dean sat beside her with his knee against hers.
He said something in her ear.
She slapped his arm, and then she leaned into him and put her forehead against his jaw.
It was not a hug.
It was how you lean on someone you do this with every day.
My phone buzzed in my hand.
A text from Lindsay, sent a moment ago.
"Girls' week is so boring without you. Don't work too hard, baby. Kiss Eli for me."
I looked at the tent.
She was typing with one hand, and her other hand was inside Dean's open jacket.
I should have walked in.
I should have thrown that duffel bag at his head and said her name so loud the whole lake would turn around.
Instead I took out my phone and filmed them for half a minute.
It's a strange thing, what your body does when it's decided.
My hands were perfectly steady.
Dean kissed her.
She kissed him back, and I stopped the recording and saved it twice.
Then I texted her back.
"Miss you too. Eli's asleep. Have fun."
I watched her read it.
I watched her smile at it and hold the phone up so Dean could see.
He read it over her shoulder and shook his head, and they both laughed.
At me.
That was the part I'll remember longest.
I turned around to go back up the trail, and someone was standing right behind me.
A tall woman in a blue parka, with a dark blonde braid and a face wrapped to the nose in a gray scarf.
She wasn't looking at me.
She was looking at the tent.
"Don't scream," she said quietly. "I did, the first winter, and it didn't help."
"Who are you?"
She pulled the scarf down.
"I'm Freja," she said. "Dean Tolland's wife."
She gave my duffel bag a long look, and then my face.
"I've watched those two for two winters," she said. "You're the first husband who ever showed up."
Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend