‘You’re in London,’ Briar said stupidly, still standing.
‘I was,’ Alice said. ‘But I’m back.’
‘I can see that,’ Briar said, because she could, even if it didn’t make any sensewhyshe could.
‘Aren’t you going to ask me why I came back?’
‘Um, okay,’ Briar said, though she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. Whatever it was would probably only break her heart all over again. ‘Why?’
‘Because I want to be with you,’ Alice said. Like that fixed everything, like none of the problems that were insurmountable a month ago still existed.
‘But—’ Briar started.
‘But I didn’t have a plan,’ Alice said, holding up a hand to stop Briar’s protest. ‘And now I do.’
‘You do?’ Briar echoed faintly.
She’d made peace with how they’d left things. She’d been doing fine without her for the past few weeks. But having Alice in front of her again, Briar ached with how much she’d missed her.
Alice nodded. ‘Yes. First,’ she said, ‘you asked me what I was going to do. And I’ve decided to be the director of Camp Lakeside.’
Briar felt a pang of annoyance. She had almost let herself dream for a moment that Alice had solved their problems, that she was back for good. But of course not – that would have been too perfect for real life, something that only existed in Briar’s imagination.
‘I sold the camp.’
In the end, it had been simpler than Briar had imagined. She’d told Mr. Lavish that he could take the best offer he got, and it had sold a week later. Briar suspected the Randolphs were currently drawing up plans to fit the cabins with AK-47s or something equally upsetting. She wasn’t sure how Mr. Lavish had managed it; probably it was the miracle fix-up job Alice had done, but he’d sold her mother’s house, too.
‘I know,’ Alice said, tapping her manila folder as though that explained things. Briar frowned. ‘Would you sit?’
Briar sat, arms folded, guarding herself against whatever Alice said next, knowing it wasn’t wise to allow herself to be drawn in. Alice opened the folder, handing some papers to Briar. When Briar read them, the words didn’t make sense.
‘This is the deed to the camp,’ she said, confused.
‘It is,’ Alice confirmed.
Briar squinted at the name at the bottom. ‘Who’s Matthew Blair, and why have you stolen his legal documents?’
‘He handed them over willingly,’ Alice said, taking a sip of her beer and making Briar wait an infuriatingly long time for her to continue. ‘He’s the very motivated buyer who ended up outbidding the Randolphs.’
‘And he wants to keep an unprofitable camp?’ Briar asked suspiciously.
‘He has aparticularinterest in keeping it a camp.’ Alice pulled out a few more documents, placing them in a spread in front of Briar. ‘And he and I have spent the past few weeks developing a business plan to make it profitable.’
‘Well, this all seems very official,’ Briar said, impressed despite herself by the detailed plans laid out before her.
‘Thank you,’ Alice said, her cheeks going pink the way they always did when Briar praised her. ‘I’ve barely slept pulling it together.’
‘I assume there’s more,’ Briar said, eyeing the folder. Alice nodded.
‘With the camp staying open for outdoor education trips during the spring and fall,’ Alice said, ‘I thought we’d need another full-time staff member. There’s one assistant director in particular I happen to know is looking for a job.’
‘Freddie?’ Briar asked.
‘The visa paperwork should be sorted in the next week.’ Alice folded her hands on the table in front of her. ‘Truthfully, that was a bit of a nightmare, but I think the consulate was just looking to get me off the phone at a certain point. I can be very annoying when I need to be.’
‘I know,’ Briar said.
Alice ignored that. ‘And I’ll have other support too. Matthew will be nearby if I need anything. He also bought your mom’s house, and he’s planning on living there.’
