“She might be young, but sounds like she’s legal,” Tucker joked.
“The last thing I need is to get involved with someone, especially at work,” I said. “Not when I’ve got a whole summer program to run, an almost teenage daughter who barely tolerates me, and a trip back to Texas looming over my head.”
The guys stayed quiet for a few long beats. Then Tucker cleared his throat. “She’s a tween.”
“What?” I asked.
“Wren’s ten now so she’s considered a tween. You know, like in between a kid and a teenager.” His cheeks took on the faintest shade of pink. “I guess that’s what they’re called now.”
I slid a chip into the middle of the table. “Remember when it was easier? When we’d take the kids to the park and not have to worry about whether or not they actually like us?”
“Hell, I’d trade a little tension for all of those dirty diapers we had to deal with back then,” Walker joked.
“Just wait until Clementine becomes a ‘tween’ and you might change your mind,” I warned.
Brody picked up the deck. “Are we going to play cards or shoot the shit all night? And besides Clem and I have a deal she’s not going to grow up, so I don’t have to murder any guys who wanna date her.”
Finally. The tension in my shoulders let up as talk turned to the topics we knew best: sports and weather. But as much as Itried to focus on my cards, images of Delaney kept popping into my head… the way she’d smiled at me, the way my belly twisted when I’d gripped her small hand in mine, and the way her pretty brown eyes had sparkled when I passed her the keys.
The safest thing for me to do would be to spend as little time at the Big Wood Park office as possible this summer. There was plenty to do at the other sites. I should be able to avoid her for the most part.
Satisfied I had a plan on how to handle the bump in the road called Delaney Hart, I focused all my attention on my cards.
CHAPTER 3
DELANEY
I pushed openthe door to the park office and inhaled the now familiar scent of dampness and dust. Maybe if I opened all the windows, it would help air the place out. Stopping at the desk, I emptied my arms of all the supplies I’d brought with me. I’d sorted through the supply closet the day before and thrown out everything that was dried up, broken, or irrelevant. That didn’t leave me with much, but I was going to make the best of it.
Camp started on Monday and based on the curriculum Ranger Rhonda had left, I had my work cut out for me. Her programming was full of worksheets and videos that looked like they’d been produced decades ago. If I wanted a shot at a permanent placement next year, I couldn’t just babysit a bunch of bored kids with outdated worksheets. It was time to freshen things up, whether District Park Ranger Grump wanted to or not.
I got started in the classroom. The posters had been hanging on the walls for so long that they left marks when I removed them. I replaced them with some updated images I’d put together during a project at school. Immediately, the room felt lighter. Next, I pulled on some rubber gloves and started scrubbing years of dust and grime from the tables. The scent oflemon cleaner filled the air as I danced around the room with my earbuds in, shaking my butt to my favorite playlist I had stored on my phone.
The sound of someone knocking rose above the music. I yanked my earbuds out and turned, hoping it was just the wind that had knocked something over, but my luck had never run that good. Jace filled the doorway, his brows drawn together, silently judging me.
“Sorry. I didn’t hear you come in.” I fumbled with my phone, trying to silence the lyrics to “Baby Got Back” drifting from my earbuds.
“What’s all this?” The corners of his mouth turned down as his gaze swept around the room.
“I’m just getting a head start for Monday.” The music finally died, though Sir Mix-A-Lot’s voice still bounced around in my head.
He stepped into the classroom, his boots heavy on the wood floor. “You changed out the posters.”
“I like it.” A slim girl with two long, dark braids came in behind him.
“You took down the map of the trails,” the boy next to her said. “Dad, she needs to put that back, right?”
Jace put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “We’ll talk about that later, Eli. Right now, meet Miss Delaney. She’s taking over for Ranger Rhonda this summer. This is my son, Eli, and my daughter, Wren.”
“Um, hi.” I offered my friendliest smile. “Your dad said you’ll be participating in camp. Is there anything you want to learn more about?”
Wren’s forehead creased and her eyes slightly narrowed like she was sizing me up to see if I was worthy of her attention. “Like what?”
“Like whatever you want. This is your camp, so I want to make sure we cover things you’re interested in.” I intentionally avoided making eye contact with Jace though I could feel the heat of his gaze like I was standing next to one of those super powerful heat lamps.
“Wren just likes to draw,” Eli said. “Can we try fly fishing? Dad keeps saying he’ll teach me how to tie a fly, but he never has time.”
“Ranger Rhonda has the programming set for the entire summer,” Jace said. “All you need to do is follow the plan.”
