“Thunder Mountain Hotshots, crew superintendent. Over twenty years. Recently retired.” And not of his own volition, but that wasn’t a story he was eager to share. “Look, all that matters is that I owe my old crew more than I can ever repay. Least I can do is look out for their kids now.”
She worried at her lower lip. “But what if I’m found out?”
“You won’t be found out. I’ll make sure of that.” Without thinking, he took her hand, holding it between both of his. “Please, Honey. I’m literally down on my knees here. The kids need you.Ineed you.”
Her eyes were locked on his as though hypnotized. At these last few words, she flushed. Buck was abruptly aware of how close her face was to his. Her lips parted a little, and his whole body yearned for that soft, inviting gap. Need gripped him like pain, like closing jaws—
And it wasn’t real.
It hit him like a bucket of ice water. She was human, as human as he had once been. That was why she hadn’t reacted to him earlier. She wasn’t a shifter.
And that meant that the burning desire coursing through him, this all-consuming urge to hold her and never let go—it was just dumb animal instinct. The bestial urges of the monster squatting in his skin. Not his own at all.
Something must have changed in his face, because Honey’s lips pinched shut. She drew her hand free from his, the color in her cheeks deepening from soft pink to a heated, embarrassed red.
“I am such an idiot,” she muttered. She cleared her throat. “You’re sure Conleth will be able to find a replacement for me? I only have to pull this off for a few days, then I can go home?”
The scar on his arm burned all the way to the bone.
“I swear,” he said, ignoring the pain. “Just a few days.”
CHAPTER10
Leonie’s whistle sounded outside the cabin, making Honey jump. A second later, the head counselor poked her head through the door.
“Ten minute warning!” Leonie announced cheerfully. “Ready, Honey?”
Honey swallowed hard. She had never felt less ready for anything in her entire life. She did her best to muster a confident smile.
“Almost,” she said. For about the millionth time, she smoothed down the blanket on the nearest bunk bed, tucking the corners in even tighter. “I just need to fix these beds.”
“You really don’t.” Leonie’s eyebrows rose a little as she looked around the immaculate dorm room. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a spotless cabin. You realize that the weekly ‘cleanest den’ prize is for the kids, right? Learning to keep their own space tidy is an important part of developing their independence.”
“I know, I know.” Honey nervously plumped up a pillow. “I just want them to have a good summer. At least I can make the cabin perfect for them.”
“Hey.” Leonie padded into the room, every step so soft and fluid that Honey could barely believe that she’d evernotrealized this woman could turn into a lion. “Getting last minute nerves?”
Honey’s hands twisted in the pillow. “Just a bit.”
“It’s okay, you know.” Leonie took the pillow away from her, setting it back on the bed. “I’ve been doing this for a few years now, and I still get butterflies in my stomach right before the campers arrive. I’d be more worried if you weren’t nervous. Anything in particular on your mind?”
In the warmth of those soft, understanding eyes, Honey almost broke. Every instinct told her she could trust Leonie. Shewantedto trust her. The weight of her secret was like a backpack full of rocks.
Only the memory of Buck kept her from confessing the truth. Those black, piercing eyes, fixed on her own; the raw desperation in his voice.Please. I need you.
Still, she couldn’t flat out lie to Leonie’s kind, compassionate face. She moistened her dry lips, trying to think what to say.
“I’m worried that I can’t be the counselor that the kids deserve.” It was true, after all. “I can’t help feeling that I don’t belong here. That I should never have come in the first place.”
“I think you are exactly where you belong,” Leonie said, with such emphasis that Honey couldn’t doubt that she meant it. “Look, I don’t want to pry, but… is this about Buck?”
What?Honey blinked at the lead counselor, nonplussed. “Why would it be about Buck?”
“No reason,” Leonie said, a touch too quickly. “Just checking. I’m happy you’re getting along. Even if I’m a bit surprised at, ah, how well you seem to be getting along.”
Heat rose up Honey’s neck as she remembered how Leonie had almost walked in on Buck in her room. No wonder the head counselor had the wrong idea about their relationship.
“It’s not like that,” she said, hoping that her blush wasn’ttoovisible. “I mean, we were just talking. Nothing inappropriate.”
