A counselor who had not kissed her hot co-counselor, and absolutely wasn’t still thinking about it, and definitely didn’t want to do it again.
The result was not convincing.
Letting out a groan, Paige slumped over the sink. She scooped up another handful of cold water, splashing it across her face.
Despite her best attempt to act as though nothing had changed, she was pretty sure Archie suspected something was up. He’d been notably subdued—at least for him—and she’d caught him staring at her more than once when he thought she wasn’t looking. If she didn’t get a grip on herself, it could only be a matter of time before he figured out she’d fallen for Conleth.
And shehadfallen for him. She might conceal that from Archie, but she couldn’t lie to herself any longer. Not after last night.
But she had to think about her family, not just herself. She couldn’t risk anything that might make life harder for her mom. Archie may or may not have ADHD, but he definitely still had a deep grudge against Conleth. Maybe he really did need medication, but in the meantime, getting together with his worst enemy certainly wouldn’t help him stay in control of his bear.
Conleth had said he could wait. And logically, it made sense to continue as if nothing had changed. Yet some small, selfish part of her couldn’t help imagining what might happen if Archiedidfind out. If there was no longer any reason to conceal her true feelings…
She sighed, turning away from her reflection. Unfortunately, camp life didn’t stop just because you were having a personal crisis. Glancing at her watch, she found that break was nearly finished. Time to round up her campers for the next activity.
Campers were free to do what they liked outside of the timetabled sessions, as long as they stayed within the bounds of the main camp and didn’t stray into the woods. Paige found Beth and Estelle huddled together at one of the picnic tables outside the dining hall, talking in low voices. They broke off as she approached, in a way that clearly indicated they hadn’t wanted her to overhear their conversation.
Paige had a sinking feeling that she knew what they’d been discussing. If Archie had picked up on her strained awkwardness around Conleth, the other campers must have noticed as well. From there, it was only a short leap of logic to figure out that something had happened between her and her co-counselor.
“Hi, Paige.” Estelle’s smirk only confirmed her suspicions. “We were just talking about you.”
Beth kicked the other girl under the table. “Is it time for the next activity, ma’am?”
“Nearly.” Paige looked around, failing to spot any of the other campers. “Where’s everyone else?”
“Nancy’s practicing her climbing with Uncle Conleth, ma’am.” In contrast to Estelle’s badly concealed glee, Beth looked even more worried than usual. There were faint shadows under her green eyes, like she hadn’t gotten much sleep. “Finley and Rufus went off to try to help Ig with his shifting. I don’t know about Archie.”
“Conleth said he’d collect the boys at the end of break, but we should find Hetta. Do you know where she is?”
“Nope.” Estelle flashed Beth a sidelong glance. “But I’m sure Beth does. Right, Beth?”
“Oh.” Beth worried at the end of her red braid, twisting it. “I—I’m not sure. She might be in the cabin, ma’am.”
“Yeah, she said she was feeling tired.” Estelle bounced to her feet. “Maybe you should check on her, Paige. We’ll meet up with you at the craft hut. Come on, Beth, let’s go find the boys.”
“But,” Beth started, but Estelle grabbed her wrist. Flinging Paige a last anxious, strangely apologetic glance over her shoulder, she let her friend haul her away.
Yep. They definitely knew.
Paige grimaced. That was all she needed. Well, she’d just have to act normal, and hope the rumors died down. Scrubbing a hand across her mouth to try to banish the phantom memory of the kiss, she headed for the cabins.
This close to the bell for the next session, the other counselors had already rounded up their campers and departed. There was no sign of anyone around as she pushed open the cabin door.
“Are you in here, Hetta?” she called. “Break’s nearly over. You need to come rejoin the group now.”
Silence.
“Hetta?” Paige went inside, heading past the counselors’ small individual rooms to the large dorm shared by all the girls. “Come on, time to wake up. You don’t want to be late for Honey’s pottery class.”
Her words fell flat in the still, silent air. Hetta’s bunk lay empty, as neatly made as it had been this morning, at the daily cabin inspection. There wasn’t the slightest sign that Hetta had been there.
Yet Beth could sense people, thanks to her pegasus. And she wasn’t the sort of kid to tell a lie…
Paige looked around the empty dorm room, her eyebrows knotting. Hetta still made excuses to duck out of a lot of camp activities, but straight-up hiding wasn’t like her. And besides, pottery was one of the activities she actually enjoyed. Why would she try to avoid it?
“Hetta?” she called uncertainly.
She wasn’t expecting a response, yet she got one. Not a voice, but the faintest scuffling sound. It didn’t seem to be coming from outside the cabin, but rather from one of the counselors’ rooms.
