“Sorry,” Piper said, but she didn’t look sorry at all. Her eyes were scanning the groups of kids already gathered near the camp entrance.
Tessa climbed out of the passenger side and watched as Piper jumped down from the truck. She pulled the back door open and grabbed her backpack, then slung it over her shoulders. The girl was practically vibrating with energy. Ryan pushed open the driver’s door and slid out.
“There’s Emma!” Piper exclaimed, waving frantically at a girl with dark braids who was standing near the entrance with a woman who Tessa knew was Emma’s mother, Debbie.
Emma spotted Piper and came running over, her own excitement matching Piper’s. The two girls hugged as if they hadn’t seen each other in months, not just a few days. Tessa remembered those times when she was Piper’s age. A few days away from your friends could feel like months.
“Hello,” Ryan said, greeting Emma’s mother with a warm smile as she approached. “Good to see you.”
“Hello, Ryan,” Debbie greeted them. She was a petite woman with the same dark hair as her daughter and a friendly, open expression. “Hi, Tessa, it’s good to see you both again.”
“Hi Debbie, you’re looking well,” Tessa said with a warm smile.
“Thank you,” Debbie said, looking pleased. Tessa knew she had been through a nasty divorce recently. Then she turned to Ryan. “I wanted to catch you before camp started. Emma has been begging us to let Piper spend the night tonight. There’s a newmovie that just opened, one of those kids’ fantasy things with dragons and magic. The girls are dying to see it, and I thought I’d take them to the early showing and then have a sleepover.”
“Oh, please, Uncle Ryan?” Piper said, her hands clasped together in a pleading gesture. “Please, please, please?”
Ryan glanced at Tessa, then back at Debbie. “If it were up to me, I’d say yes in a heartbeat. But I need to check with my father first. He might have plans for tonight.”
“Of course, I completely understand,” Debbie said. She pulled a card from her purse and handed it to Ryan. “Here’s my new number. Just give me a call and let me know. The movie starts at four, so if Piper can come, we’d need to pick her up right after camp ends at three.”
“I’ll speak to my father as soon as we get home,” Ryan promised. He looked down at Piper. “I’m sure it won’t be a problem, kiddo.”
“Yes!” Piper pumped her fist in the air, making both Emma and her mother laugh. “Thanks, Uncle Ryan.”
“Perfect,” Debbie said.
“Piper, if you do get to sleep over, text me a list of what you need packed, and I’ll pack it for you. Ryan can drop your overnight bag off before camp ends.”
“I will!” Piper said. She gave Tessa and then Ryan a quick hug, then, before they could say goodbye, Piper was already pulling Emma toward the camp entrance, the two girls talking a mile a minute.
“Have a good day at camp!” Tessa called after them.
Piper waved without looking back, too engrossed in whatever she and Emma were discussing.
“Be careful,” Ryan yelled, and this time Piper didn’t even respond. They were already through the front door. “I guess I know where I stand in the line. Right behind her best friend.”
“That’s youth for you,” Tessa laughed. “Fickle with their love and attention.”
“I guess we were the same at that age,” Ryan said with a sigh as they stood for a moment watching kids pile through the door.
“I know when I went to camp, I was just as excited as Piper was,” Tessa told him. “My mother had to restrain me to get a hug and kiss goodbye. I was always so excited to be there.”
“I bet it was tough always having your brother tag along as you were the same age?” Ryan said.
“Not really,” Tessa said with a shrug. “Between the ages of ten and sixteen, Trent and I were close but not socially close.”
“I was the tag-along with Grady,” Ryan told her. His eyes darkened as he thought of his late older brother, and Tessa’s heart squeezed.
She’d met Grady and his wife a few times when her mother had first moved to Nantucket. It had been a terrible shock and blow when they had both been killed.
Ryan and Tessa got back into the truck. Silence descended over them as Ryan started the engine just as his phone buzzed with a notification. He pulled it out and glanced at the screen.
“It’s a voicemail from my father,” Ryan said, frowning slightly. “That’s weird. He usually just calls back if I don’t answer his call.”
He tapped the screen to play the message and held the phone to his ear. Tessa watched his expression change as he listened, going from curious to alert to something that looked like concern.
After about thirty seconds, Ryan pulled the phone away from his ear and hit a button. “Let me put this on speaker,” he said. “You should hear this too.”
