“With all that sugar, they’re not likely to sleep anyway,” Gretchen murmured.
Arthur chuckled as the children protested.
“Then we could play truth or dare,” Lara’s best friend, Mischa, called.
“No dares relating to the fire or anything which will get you hurt,” Darcy announced.
Another round of groans. Georgie stood up. “I’ve got some things to do. Matt, do you want to help?”
“Yep.” The two of them hurried away.
“We’ve got an early start tomorrow,” Brandon said as Mischa called truth or dare to one child. He and Amy quickly followed the others to the house.
“Do you feel we’re being deserted?” Gretchen murmured.
Arthur nodded, but he didn’t mind. It wasn’t difficult keeping an eye on the kids.
“Darcy, you go too,” Faith said. “We’ve got this.”
“Are you sure?”
She nodded. “I’ll see you in the morning.” They kissed and Darcy said, “Call if you need anything.”
They’d set up beds in the shearing shed, which was big enough for all the kids, and far enough away from the house so the farmers wouldn’t be disturbed if the kids didn’t sleep. It was kind of cool. Arthur had camped as an army cadet, but everything he did had been reported to his father, so he’d never been able to have any fun.
“Anyone want a cuppa?” Faith asked.
It would be nice to wash away some of the sweetness of the marshmallow. “Yes, please.”
“I’ll help you make them.” Gretchen stood. In a low voice, she said to Arthur, “I don’t want Jordan to feel as if I’m watching him.”
How thoughtful and completely opposite to his own father.
Arthur settled back and stared at the glowing coals. The heat warmed his face against the chill of the night and the smoke wafted from the fire. He sat on the opposite side of the fire to the children, but they spoke loudly enough to be heard.
Their challenges comprised daring each other to run to various places, now in the dark, to show how brave they were.
“My turn,” Lara called. “Truth or dare, Sherlock?”
Arthur jolted. Lara danced from foot to foot, biting her lip as she watched him. Oh, hell. What was going to get him in the least amount of trouble? “Truth.”
At that moment, Gretchen and Faith arrived with the drinks. Gretchen handed him a mug. “Thanks.”
Lara grinned. “Why do they really call you Sherlock?”
OK, so not too difficult. “It’s my code name from the army. We all had them.”
“Yeah, but why Sherlock?” Lara persisted.
“You don’t have to answer,” Faith said.
The disappointment on Lara’s face made him feel like a heel. “No, it’s fine.” How could he put it so it didn’t make him seem like an idiot? “I was always good with the detail.”
“Like the detective, Sherlock Holmes?” Lara asked.
He nodded, though it wasn’t quite accurate. His team had tired of him pointing out the obvious, and one day Brandon had said, ‘No shit, Sherlock’. The name had stuck.
“That’s so cool. I bet you had to unravel all sorts of info in the army,” Lara said.
