Arthur exhaled. No one had ever wanted to be like him. He rubbed his chest.
“You’ve got a new fan,” Gretchen said. “Thanks for helping him.”
“It was nothing.”
“It was for him.”
He stared at the fire. Such a small thing, but he remembered being that age, remembered wanting to do anything he could to make his father praise him. Feeling so proud when he did something right.
“Maybe you should show them how it’s done,” Faith said.
“Yes!” Jordan exclaimed, overhearing her. “You should play, Sherlock. You can hide.”
A small part of him wanted to, but he wasn’t as nimble as he used to be. It would be mortifying if they caught him. “What are the rules?”
Jordan pointed out the boundaries.
“Please, Sherlock,” Lara said. “It would be so cool if you played.”
He had no hope with both Jordan and Lara pleading him. “All right.” He got to his feet, hoping he wasn’t making a big mistake. “Who’s it?”
Chapter 10
Gretchen bit her lip to stop from interfering. Arthur was old enough to say no if he didn’t want to play. The kids jumped around, excited because a trained soldier was going to play hide and seek with them. It was Natasha’s turn to be it and as she began the count, the kids scattered.
Not Arthur. He calmly strode over to a nearby tree and climbed it. He had a little difficulty with his leg, but when he couldn’t use it to get any purchase, he used brute strength to haul himself to the first branch.
Impressive.
He wasn’t more than ten metres away, but the leaves didn’t rustle and he blended into the trunk like he wasn’t there.
“This is going to be interesting,” Faith said.
Gretchen nodded.
Natasha called out, “Ready or not, here I come!” She swept the torch around and began her search. One by one, she caught all the kids, and they returned to the fire. At the last one she said, “Done!”
“You’re missing someone,” Gretchen called.
“Sherlock!” Lara exclaimed. “Did anyone see where he went?” Everyone shook their heads.
It couldn’t be comfortable in the tree, but there’d been no movement the entire time.
“Faith, do you know where he is?” Lara called.
Faith smiled. “I’m not telling. Why don’t you all look for him?”
The kids scattered in pairs, each going to their favourite hiding places to check if he was there. Another fifteen minutes went by, and they gathered back at the fire. “Did he go inside?” Mischa asked.
“He’s within the borders you set,” Gretchen said.
Jordan sidled over. “Mum, you’ll tell me where he is, won’t you?”
Gretchen smiled. “That would be cheating. Why don’t you keep searching? Maybe he’ll come out of his own accord.”
Another round of looking. Gretchen glanced towards the shed where Jordan and Cody were.
“I don’t have any leaves on me, do I?”
