‘That leaves me and Sierra to handle the check-in,’ Freddie said, sounding uncertain.
‘You’ve got this,’ Alice said to Freddie. ‘We’ll go over the cabin assignments again tonight.’
Just as she said it, Noah emerged again. ‘Harper’s coming,’ he announced, walking down the steps.
Briar’s eyes went wide. ‘Oh, Noah, you didn’t ask her to drive all the way here on her time off, did you?’
‘No,’ Noah said. ‘I told her what’s going on and she volunteered to come. Sheisthe only nurse we know.’
‘Thank you,’ Briar said quietly.
Noah hugged her. ‘Anything for you.’
‘Okay,’ Alice said, clearing her throat. ‘We have opening duties to go over. You can’t just rely on your fiancée; we’re putting you to work too.’
Alice and Briar spent the morning in the kitchen prepping dinner. They were making mac and cheese, and cooking for such a large group involved more chopping and cheese grating than Alice could’ve imagined. Her arms were sore by the time noon rolled around and the campers came into the dining room for a buffet of Uncrustables, pretzels, carrots and bananas.
Sierra popped her head in the kitchen. ‘There’s some girl here, says she’s Alice’s sworn enemy.’ Alice whirled around to see Harper standing in the doorway.
‘I didn’t say that,’ she clarified, her cheeks reddening.
Sierra nodded. ‘It’s true, I made it up because I thought it would be funny to see Alice’s reaction. And I was right, it was.’ She disappeared back into the dining room.
Briar, who had just settled with a plate of food, stood. ‘Thanks for coming.’
‘I’ve got it,’ Alice said, gesturing for Briar to sit.
Alice guided Harper up the steps to Cook’s room.
‘How’s Briar?’ Harper asked, after a moment.
‘Oh, you know,’ Alice said. ‘Can’t really say she’s doing well, but I hope she’s a bit better than she was last week, at least. I’ve been trying to not be a total bitch, which seems to be helping.’
Harper huffed out some air, and Alice couldn’t tell if she was annoyed or trying not to laugh. ‘And how are you?’
Alice frowned. ‘Me? I’m fine.’
Harper’s eyes cut sideways towards her. ‘I know you were close with Briar’s mom.’
‘I was,’ Alice said, surprised both that Harper had noticed and cared enough to ask. ‘But being here is keeping me busy. It makes it easier, when I feel like I’m being useful.’
She had no idea how she would feel if she was back home, but she suspected Tess was right, that she would be sad no matter what. At least this way she wasn’t avoiding it but living through it. She’d never felt closer to Susan or missed her more, but she was doing everything she could to carry on her legacy.
Alice opened the door to Cook’s room. ‘Cook,’ she called out into the darkness. He’d pulled the blinds over his skylight. ‘I’ve brought my friend Harper. She’s just going to make sure you’re already on the mend, as you’ve told me several times you are. Not that I don’t trust you, of course.’
She heard some grumbling that sounded likebloody buggers.
‘You should get back to cooking,’ Harper murmured. ‘I’ll be fine.’
Alice eyed the lump in the bed dubiously. ‘Are you sure?’
Harper put a hand on her hip. ‘I’m a nurse. I’ve dealt with difficult patients before.’
‘If he threatens you, you should know that he doesn’t actually have any knives up here. I confiscated them.’
Harper nodded as though this were par for the course, and Alice returned to the kitchen. She found Briar staring sleepily into the distance, a half-eaten Uncrustable in one hand.
‘Coffee?’ Alice offered. She started on the French press, packing the ground coffee into the bottom and putting the kettle on. ‘Harper seems utterly unfazed by Cook,’ she said after another minute of silence.
