“And how, exactly, is the camp paying for these transport arrangements?”
“A generous donation from an anonymous benefactor.” He pushed his proposal document closer to Zephyr. “Look, I’ll handle everything. All you have to do is agree.”
“And if you continued to speak, I would take the shovel, and I would bang on the bucket until you stopped,” Leone explained to no one in particular. “And when you begged me, ‘Please, Leonie, let me out of the hole, because I do not like it when you put the bucket on my head,’ I would reply, very gently and kindly, ‘No, Conleth, for I am your friend, and I am doing this for your own good.’ Then I would beat the bucket even harder. This is something I have considered in great detail. I think about it often.”
Zephyr leaned back in his chair, treating Conleth to a long, uncomfortably thoughtful look. “This is important to you, isn’t it?”
“Not just to me. I’ve never asked you for anything, Zephyr. I’m asking now.”
Zephyr heaved a distinctly exasperated sigh. “Technically, youaren’tasking. But yes. I’ll make the announcement at dinner this evening. Leonie, can you brief the counselors in advance?”
The head counselor looked like her private fantasy might now involve diggingtwoholes, but she nodded. “I’ll make sure everyone is prepared.”
“Thank you,” Conleth said with heartfelt sincerity. Gathering up his laptop, he started to get to his feet. “I’ll handle?—”
“Oh no,” Leonie interrupted, pushing him back down. “We’re not done here, Conleth.”
He sank back into his chair. “Did you want to go over the plan in more detail?”
“No.” Turning on her heel, Leonie stalked out of the office. “Don’t move. I have to get a bucket.”
“Parents’ Day?” Paige’s mom said dubiously over the phone. “I don’t know, Paige. It’s awfully short notice.”
“Come on, Mom, you’re not working this weekend.” Paige knew that for a fact, having checked her mom’s shift schedule days ago. “And you don’t have to worry about how you’ll get here. The camp’s taking care of everything.”
A note of suspicion entered her mom’s voice. “You know I don’t take charity.”
“It’s not, I swear. The camp’s organizing transport for all the parents who don’t live locally. One of the founders is paying for it out of his own pocket.” The costs involved had seemed astronomical until Conleth had walked her through his personal finances. “Believe me, he can afford it.”
“Why would he pay for all the parents to come to camp?” Mom sounded bewildered. “Especially like this, with practically no warning?”
“It’s…kind of the way he does things.” She’d tried to argue with Conleth about springing his scheme on the poor staff like this, but he’d been adamant there was no point even asking until he’d confirmed enough parents were able to come. “Look, I know it’s last minute, but at least this means we’ll be able to see each other before the end of summer. I miss you.”
A moment of silence. “Will everyone else there be…?”
“Shifters?” Paige said, when her mom didn’t finish the sentence. “No, not all. A lot of the kids have a non-shifter parent. You won’t be the only one, I promise. Say you’ll come, Mom. I’d love to show you around.”
And see your reaction.Mom would be a lot more receptive to the idea of moving here if she already liked the area. And surely no one could fail to fall in love with Thunder Mountain.
“Please, Mom.” She played her trump card. “Most of Archie’s friends’ parents are coming. He’ll be disappointed if you aren’t there.”
A long, resigned sigh gusted from the phone speaker. “Well…all right. What are these transport arrangements, exactly?”
“I’ll send you all the details.” Some sixth sense made her look around, just in time to see Conleth step out of the office. “I’ve got to go, Mom. Love you.”
Putting her phone away, she hurried to meet her mate. “How did it go?”
Conleth was not looking quite as composed as he had earlier. Despite the summer heat, he was shivering, his lips faintly blue. “Better than I expected.”
She took in his bedraggled appearance; hair ruffled, clothes damp. “What on earth happened in there?”
“Leonie dumped an entire bucket of ice cubes down the back of my neck.”
“And you let her?”
“It seemed the wisest course of action.” Conleth shook out his shirt, dislodging a shower of melting ice. “Did your mother agree?”
“Yes, eventually.” She felt a bit guilty about how much pressure she’d had to exert. “She really wasn’t keen, though.”
