Hetta shrank a little. “I don’t know if I want to do those.”
“Oh, come on, Hetta.” Estelle rolled her eyes. “We won’t stand a chance in the inter-pack competitions if everyone doesn’t join in.”
“Besides, it’s a chance to show our parents how much we’re learning at camp,” Beth said. “Won’t that be fun?”
“Yeah,” Nancy said gloomily. “Fun.”
Conleth clapped his hands, attracting the kids’ attention. “Gather around, everyone. Before our visitors arrive, there’s something we need to discuss.”
Paige picked up the cue. “I know you’re all excited about your parents coming here today. And I’m eager for my mom to meet you all, too. But…she doesn’t know about me and Conleth.”
Archie had been fidgeting with a picnic blanket at the back of the group, clearly distracted. At Paige’s words, his head snapped up. “You haven’t told her yet?”
Beth looked dismayed. “Why not?”
Thatreaction was exactly why he’d convinced Paige to delay telling the children until the last possible minute. Conleth knew his niece. If she thought there were any cracks in his relationship with Paige, she’d worry about it non-stop.
“No need to be alarmed, Beth. There’s nothing wrong.” To prove it, he put an arm around Paige. “We just wanted to tell her the good news in person, that’s all.”
“My mom isn’t a shifter, and she doesn’t know about true mates,” Paige explained. She made a face. “To be honest,Ithought the whole idea was crazy the first time I heard about it. It’s going to take a while to explain things to her, and I didn’t want to do that over the phone.”
Archie looked between them. “Isthatwhy you organized this whole thing? Just to tell Mom about you two?”
“No,” Conleth said truthfully. “There are multiple reasons for holding this event, but that isn’t one of them.”
“But I do plan to tell her while she’s here,” Paige said. “I just want her to meet Conleth first. So can you all promise to keep our secret for a little longer? Until I’ve talked to my mom?”
“Of course.” Beth drew herself up to her full height, shoulders setting. “You can count on us. Right, everyone?”
Most of the other kids nodded—though not all of them. Conleth noted Archie withdraw a few steps, fading to the back of the group with his brow furrowed.
None of the other campers seemed to notice, but Paige did. From the worried look she gave her brother, she wanted to pull him to one side for a private talk, but she didn’t get the chance. The camp bell rang, putting an end to any further discussion.
“That means our parents are starting to arrive!” Beth squealed, her whole face lighting up. “Come on, everyone, let’s go to our cabin to meet them!”
The campers dashed off, some with more enthusiasm than others. Archie trailed at the back of the pack, casting more than one glance back over his shoulder.
Paige watched her brother, a crease in her own brow. “He knows we’re up to something.”
“Of course he does. We are, and he’s not stupid.” Since the kids had left, he pressed a quick kiss over that worried line in her forehead. “Don’t worry. Out of all the kids, Archie’s the last one who’d ever tell your mom that we’re mates.”
“That’s true.” Paige cast a longing glance toward the parking lot. “I know we’re both supposed to stay with the campers until their families arrive. But do you mind if?—”
He interrupted her with another kiss, this time on the mouth. “I’ll take care of them. You go find your mom.”
The parking lot was even busier than it had been the day she’d arrived. A couple of counselors directed cars to temporary overflow spaces, while a steady stream of buses dropped off passengers. Some of the oldest campers handed out welcome leaflets and pointed parents toward the cabins.
Paige hovered next to the bus drop-off point, scanning every new arrival. If the kids were excited about today, it was nothing to their parents. They hurried past her without a glance, eager to see their kids again for the first time in weeks.
Finally, a familiar figure stepped down from a bus. She paused, and Paige flashed back to her own first view of the camp; the cabins, the lake, the woods. The way the mountain had seemed to call to her, offering a freedom she’d never dared to seek, or even allow herself to want; that strange, powerful senseof nostalgia for a place she’d never known. Was her mom having a similar reaction now?
If she was, she didn’t show it. Instead of drawing in a deep breath of clean mountain air, she seemed to hunker in on herself, as though the cool breeze was a howling gale. Clutching her purse, she surveyed the crowd, gaze skipping nervously from face to face.
Maybe she’s just too eager to see me and Archie to be interested in the view right now.Swallowing irrational disappointment, Paige waved, raising her voice. “Mom! Over here!”
Her mom’s face brightened, that odd wariness falling away. She hurried over to hug her, fierce and hard, and for a moment Paige was just a kid again, safe in her mother’s arms.
“Paige!” Her mom pulled back, blinking hard. “Oh, it’s so good to see you!”
