“Will do,” Paige replied, grinning. As Leonie sauntered off, she turned to Hetta. “Are you sure you don’t want to join in?”
“No, it’s okay,” Hetta replied, though her eyes were wistful as she watched Nancy wind herself up and down the length of silk like a yo-yo. “I’d better not.”
Paige repressed a sigh. As far as she knew, Hetta still hadn’t told any of the other campers that she could shift. The girl joined in most of the activities now, but only when Conleth was available to whisk her out of sight.
“You really don’t have to keep it a secret, you know,” she murmured, for Hetta’s ears alone. “No matter what kind of shifter you are, your friends won’t care. And I don’t, either.”
Hetta shook her head stubbornly. “My dad might find out. It’s better if nobody knows. Not even you.”
Across the gym, Conleth finished untangling Ignatius. “You want to wrap the silk around your leg, not your whole body. Like this, see? Does anyone else need another demonstration?”
“Nope!” Estelle announced cheerfully. “We got it. Archie, it’s your turn.”
Grinning, Archie seized the silk in both hands. “WRECKING BAAAAALLLLLLL!”
Miraculously, they made it through the session without anyone breaking their neck. As Conleth unhooked the silks from the ceiling, the campers helped Paige put the crash mats away, talking animatedly the whole time.
“That was great!” Nancy hauled a mat into the equipment storage, dropping it with a resounding thud. “Almost as good as mountain climbing.”
“You should have joined in, Hetta,” Finley said. “And you, Paige.”
“Maybe next time,” Paige said, smiling. “I’m glad you all had fun.”
“Thanks to Uncle Conleth,” Beth said proudly. “He’s always teaching us interesting things.”
“Yeah,” Estelle agreed. “I never thought I’d say this, but I’m actually glad he’s our counselor this year.”
A general chorus of assent went around the pack—with one notable exception. Paige’s heart sank as Archie’s smile vanished.
“Come on, kids,” she said, before any of the other campers could notice her brother’s clear lack of agreement. “Let’s get these put away. Conleth’s waiting for us.”
“Archie seemed subdued this afternoon,” Conleth murmured into her ear, much later. “Something I should know?”
Some of Paige’s happy post-coital glow fled. She leaned back against his chest, steam curling around them. (Conleth, as she had been delighted to discover, really did have a hot tub.)
“It’s nothing,” she said. “Beth made a comment after the aerial silks session. Archie took it the wrong way, that’s all.”
“Ah.” Conleth’s fingers traced slow spirals over her hip. “Do I need to have a word with Beth?”
She shook her head, her hair waving in the bubbling water. “She didn’t mean anything by it. She’s your niece, of course she’s going to be proud of you. And I don’t want her to feel she has to censor herself for the sake of my brother.”
“Mm. Still.” His chest rose and fell underneath her as he drew in a long breath, letting it out again. “Remind me to have a word with Leonie tomorrow about scheduling some campers-versus-counselors activities. I’m sure Archie would appreciate the opportunity to hit me in the back of the head with a water balloon.”
She snuggled against him. “I’m all in favor of you arranging more activities that involve you running around in a wet t-shirt. Just make sure it’s on another day when neither of us are on night-time cabin duty.”
He chuckled, his hand dipping teasingly between her thighs. “Want me to pull some strings to clear more time in our evening schedules?”
The honest answer to that wasyesplease, but she shook her head. “Better not. The kids would be bound to notice that we were never in the cabins overnight. It’s hard enough to sneak back in before they wake up as it is.”
His finger circled, making her gasp. “Then I’ll just have to make the most of our limited opportunities to be alone together. And look forward to the day when I’ll finally be able to take my time with you.”
After camp. The thought was like a bucket of cold water, dousing her building pleasure. All the worry she’d been trying to repress came roaring back.
Is Conleth right about Archie’s shifting problems being due to ADHD? What if he gets treatment, but still can’t control his bear? How am I going to explain all this to Mom?
“Paige?” Conleth must have sensed her tense, because he stopped, pulling his hand away. “What is it?”
“Nothing.” She brushed a quick, apologetic kiss against his jaw. “Just thinking. Got pulled out of the moment.”
