Honey, who’d been about to switch off the light, paused at that. “Better? In what way?”
“Y’know, more himself.” Estelle shrugged. “Less cranky.”
“Buck is usuallymorecranky?” Flora sounded thunderstruck, and distinctly impressed. “Wow.”
“Okay, maybe he’s still cranky,” Estelle conceded. She rolled over, snuggling into bed. “But at least he’s not locking himself away and refusing to talk to anyone. G’night, Honey.”
“Good night,” Honey said, still privately boggling at the concept of an even grumpier Buck. “Don’t stay up too late talking, okay? You’ll want to be full of energy for all the activities tomorrow.”
The other counselors sharing the bunkhouse had already tucked in their campers and left. Honey turned off the light, tiptoeing out into the corridor. She hesitated outside the door to her own room. She wasn’t on cabin duty tonight, so technically there was no need for her to remain in the dorm… but maybe it would be safest to stay in her own room.
No, her head was still too full of unsettled problems to get to sleep. A walk would do her good, she decided. She’d go find Buck. They should talk over the day, discuss what to do about Ignatius. And maybe she could persuade him to tell her more about shifters. Purely to help her maintain her cover, of course.
Keep telling yourself that, she thought wryly. She was fully aware of herrealmotivation. Much as she kept reminding herself that she wasn’t part of this secret, magical world, she couldn’t help being desperately curious about it. She couldn’t stay, but at least she could learn as much as possible in the short time she had.
Isthat therealmotivation?some traitorous part of herself asked.Just curiosity? Or is there a different reason you’re finding excuses to spend more time with Buck?
Thatwas a thought she didn’t want to examine too closely. Shaking it off, she slipped out of the cabin and went in search of Buck.
He wasn’t in the dining hall, though a lot of the younger counselors were. From the looks of things, a first night party was well underway.
That wasn’t the only form of celebration going on. Honey spotted more than a few counselors slipping away into the shadowy woods, either alone or in small groups. With the kids now in their bunks, the adults not on duty were taking the opportunity to release their own inner animals.
In more ways than one,Honey thought in amusement, watching one girl pull a blushing, grinning young man into the trees. Even at a summer camp for shifters, some things were still the same.
Somewhat to her relief, Buck hadn’t gone into the woods, either to shift or for other purposes. She caught him coming out of the junior boys’ dorm, soundlessly shutting the door behind him. Catching her eye, he put a finger to his lips.
“Keep your voice down,” he murmured. He padded down the porch stairs, soft-footed as a cat even in heavy work boots. “Finally got them all to go to sleep.”
“Already?” Honey said, impressed. “How did you manage that?”
“Easy. Told them a bedtime story.”
Honey cast a glance at the silent cabin. “That must have been some story.”
“Yep.” The corner of Buck’s mouth twitched. “NPFA 295, Standard for Wildfire Control. Seen it put whole crews of grown men and women to sleep. Kids didn’t stand a chance.”
She smothered a laugh, since they were still within earshot of the dorms. “You did not.”
“Swear to dog.” Buck took her elbow, guiding her away from the cabin. “What are you doing out here, anyway? Something wrong?”
“Oh, no. Everything’s fine.” Honey swallowed, keenly aware of his fingertips against her bare skin. To try to distract herself, she asked, “Why do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Say dog instead of God, or things like ‘sweet baby cheeses.’”
“Oh.” He scrubbed his free hand through his hair, looking a little embarrassed. “Force of habit, I guess. Had to clean up my language after Zeph was born. My sister told me in no uncertain terms that she wasn’t having her son’s first word contain four letters.”
“You do it even when there aren’t kids around, though.”
“Let’s just say that my sister was a forceful woman.” Buck fell silent for a second before adding, “Wish you could have met her. She’d have liked you.”
Honey wasn’t quite sure what to say to that one. He still hadn’t let go of her arm. Had he even noticed that he was touching her?
Time to steer the conversation back to safer waters, she decided. “How’s Ignatius settling in?”
“He isn’t.” Buck scowled. “Threw a tantrum about having to share a room with the other boys. Apparently, his uncle had promised he’d have a private cabin. Surprised you didn’t hear the screaming all the way in the girls’ dorm.”
