Leonie shrugged, taking another drink. “It’s Don’s first summer here, and he’s still finding his feet. I didn’t want him to feel I’d shot down his idea without giving it due consideration.Besides, it’s my job to be there for the other staff members.”
“You are off duty.”
She scoffed. “I’m the head counselor. I’m never off duty.”
He could taste that she genuinely believed it. “So I have observed. But I think that if you noticed one of the other staff members was constantly sacrificing their free time to help others, you would insist they take a break.”
She wrinkled her nose at him. “Okay, okay, point made. But this isn’t a nine-to-five sort of job. Honestly, I like it when counselors or kids come to me with their problems. It means they trust me to help.”
Vanilla and honey… and a trace of something richer. A core truth; the essence of who she was. “You like to be needed.”
“I suppose so.” She landed a little closer, lowering her voice. “Okay, your turn. Why do you do what you do?”
The question took him by surprise. “It is useful. The best way of utilizing my ability for the benefit of others, regardless of my nature.”
“It also means you’re spending a lot of time with people who are lying. Isn’t that difficult for you?”
No-one had ever asked him that before. “It is… often not pleasant.”
“Does that upset your animal?”
His monster stirred, as baffled by this conversation as he was. “Yes.”
She nodded at his gloved hands, resting in his lap. “Which makesthatworse?”
“Yes.”
“Mm-hmm.” She took another sip of coffee, amber eyes lingering on him over the rim of the mug. “Seems to me you’re not in a position to be lecturing other people about being too self-sacrificing, Shan.”
He had the sensation of having walked straight into a pit trap. All he could think to say was, “That is different.”
“If you say so,” Leonie replied, in the smug tone of someone who knew they’d won the argument. She raised her mug to her lips. “Don’t look now, but Beth and the others are watching us. They probably think you chased poor Don off out of jealousy.”
He was all too aware of the fascinated stares. “If so, they are incorrect.”
“Let’s not tell them that.” She hesitated, searching his face. “Shan, I know your animal is repulsed by lies. Does that make it difficult to lie yourself?”
“Not exactly.” His father’s face flashed through his mind. “But I do not like doing so. The qiongqi is deceptive by nature, willing to say or do anything to gain the trust of its prey. It is how it hunts.”
“I thought so.” Leonie shifted a little closer, angling her legs so that their knees nearly touched. “I’m sorry to have to ask you to mislead the kids like this. I know it can’t be easy for you.”
Even through his jeans, he could feel the warmth of her skin. Every breath filled his chest with her scent. His fingers tightened, claws threatening to rip through leather.
Control. Control.
He fought not to show any hint of his raging desire. “Hopefully, it will not be for too long. Have you had an opportunity to speak with Rufus?”
“Not yet.” To his relief, she sat back again, opening up more space between them. “I know my nephew. If he’s keeping a secret, it’ll be for a good reason. I’m still figuring out how to best approach him. I don’t want to tell him we know he’s lying, since that would mean revealing your ability.”
He remembered how Rufus had stared at him when he’dreacted to Spencer’s lie. “I believe he already knows. Or suspects, at least.”
Leonie frowned. “Are you sure? The other kids aren’t acting any differently. If he knows you can tell that they’re lying, I don’t see why he wouldn’t warn them.”
Shan had been wondering about that himself. “Perhaps he is afraid that if he does, they will change tactics. Take a more direct approach.”
“That’s possible. I suspect their next step would be to dress up as ghosts and leap out at the younger kids. Rufus knows I don’t want rumors flying around camp.” She finished her coffee. “Well, it was probably inevitable that he’d figure out what you can do. Though it’s a complication.”
Shan looked thoughtfully at Rufus through his glasses. “Or perhaps an opportunity.”
