“Then that’s all the hard parts done.” He fished a last few cubes out of one sleeve. “Now we just have to wait for Zephyr to make the announcement to the kids. At leastthey’regoing to be enthusiastic.”
The campers’ reactions were…mixed.
“Our parents are coming?” Estelle sounded like Christmas had come early. “Here?!”
“Our parents are coming?” Nancy echoed in a very different tone. “Like…here?”
Surveying the distinct range of expressions around the table, Paige thought that more of the kids’ reactions were closer to Nancy’s than Estelle’s. In stark contrast to the general excited chatter filling the dining hall in the wake of Zephyr’s announcement, their own campers seemed markedly subdued. She’d expected a certain amount of apprehension from some of them—Hetta especially—but notthismuch.
“Yes, this weekend.” Conleth sounded somewhat taken aback by the distinct lack of enthusiasm. “I thought you’d all be pleased.”
“What’s wrong?” Paige asked the kids. “Aren’t you looking forward to seeing your parents earlier than expected?”
“I would be,” Finley said. “Only…it’s fire season. And both my parents are on the wildfire crew. It’s not the sort of job where you can take weekends off or schedule a personal day. They’re probably not going to be able to come.”
Rufus stared at the table, rocking a little in the way that Paige recognized meant he was trying to calm himself. His parents Rory and Edith were on the hotshot crew too, she remembered.
“I’ve already talked to the crew,” Conleth said confidently. “They’re working a big fire out of state at the moment, but your dad assured me they’ll have it under control within the next couple of days, Rufus. After that, they’ll be heading back to Thunder Mountain for some well-earned time off. I can’t make any promises, of course, but I’m sure they’ll do everything in their power to be here.”
Nancy fidgeted in her chair. “You haven’t contacted all our parents, right? Only, mine are like, super busy. They definitely wouldn’t be able to come, and they’d probably feel really guilty about it. Maybe it would be better not to call them at all.”
“Actually, your parents have already confirmed that they’ll be there,” Paige said, smiling at her. “They said they can’t wait to find out everything you’ve been doing at camp.”
“Oh,” Nancy said faintly. “Great.”
Hetta’s huge eyes held a heartbreaking mix of dismay and desperate longing. “Is my dad coming too?”
“Yes, sweetheart.” At least she knew the reason forthatreaction. She squeezed Hetta’s hand, hoping the girl would recognize the covert reassurance in the gesture. “Don’t worry. Leonie’s organizing some games and competitions, but you can just watch with your dad if you feel, uh, too self-conscious to take part yourself.”
Conleth cleared his throat. “I’m afraid we haven’t yet been able to confirm that everyone’s families can attend, though. Ignatius, I’m sure a powerful dragon shifter like your uncle wouldn’t possibly be able to take time away from his responsibilities at such short notice. Unfortunately, the camp only has his contact details on record. Is there a way we could get in touch with your mother instead?”
“You mean, without my uncle knowing about it,” Ignatius said accurately. “Not really. Her talents are useful to the clan, so my uncle keeps her busy. If she took a day off, he’d want to know why.”
“I was afraid you’d say that.” Conleth grimaced, his mouth pulling to one side. “Ignatius, I hate to ask this, but--”
“Yeah, whatever,” Ignatius interrupted. He folded his arms, looking away. “Leave my family off the guest list. It’s not like I care.”
He was trying to affect an indifferent scowl, but it was obvious he very muchdidcare. Paige had had some misgivings about this whole scheme right from the start. Now, they were increasing to King Kong proportions.
Too late to call it off.She’d just have to try to make sure the campers had a good time on the day, whether their families were there or not. And hope thathermom enjoyed the event too.
Archie tugged at her arm. “Paige? Can I talk to you for a sec? In private?”
“Sure.” She caught Conleth’s eye as she rose, jerking her head at the rest of the campers in atry-to-do something-about-this-would-you?kind of way. Leaving him to it, she followed her little brother to a quiet corner of the hall. “What’s up, Archie?”
He fidgeted with the hem of his t-shirt. “Is Mom gonna come to this Parents Day thing too?”
“Yes, she is.”That’s the whole point,she didn’t add.“Why are you looking so worried? I thought you’d be happy to see her.”
“I am! It’s just…” He twisted the toe of one sneaker against the worn floorboards, voice dropping to a mumble. “She’s gonna see I still can’t control my bear.”
“Oh.” She wanted to put her arms around him, but she knew he wouldn’t appreciate her hugging him in front of the whole camp. “Archie, you don’t need to worry about that.”
“Don’t treat me like a little kid!” Despite the flash of defiance, his lower lip wobbled. “I know she’s worried about me. I have to be better by the time summer finishes, or I’m gonna keep getting in trouble at school. And, and I haven’t even been doing the special lessons with Moira or anything.”
“Because they didn’t seem to be doing you any good. There’s no point keeping on doing something that isn’t helping. Look, it really doesn’t matter if you’re still struggling with your shifting by the time school starts. Conleth’s got some ideas on that front.”
“Right,” Archie muttered. He shoved his hands in his pockets, scowling at the floor. “Of course he does.”
