He was excited for the Fourth of July parade. He wasn’t a particularly patriotic person, but he liked the small town of Orion, and he liked the community spirit they had. If they were coming together to do something, he wanted to be a part of it.
Most of the campers wouldn’t attend the parade, as their normal activities prohibited it. A few of the counselors who had the day off would be there, and a small group of campers would represent the camp in the parade, along with Laurel Ackermann. Don wasn’t going this year. He said his time with the parade was done, but Drew had a suspicion that Don’s health was bothering him again. He was worried about Don, but he didn’t share those worries with Gabriel, because Gabriel had enough on his mind as it was.
Drew had been given permission to come late to work that day because there weren’t any early practice sessions on the rink. He used the extra time he had to do a longer run than normal, shower, dress, and then go to Dune Grass Coffee Roasters for a latte. He drank the latte outside, reading a David Baldacci novel, while he watched the passersby in their red, white, and blue outfits.
Fox, one of the baristas at the coffee shop, came outside to wipe some of the tables outside the shop. “Enjoying the book?” they asked.
Drew glanced up. “It’s good, so far.”
“You read a lot, I’ve noticed.”
Drew shrugged and smiled. “I enjoy it. I don’t have much time to read except during the summer because of my job.”
“What are you, a teacher?” Fox asked.
“Not exactly.”
Fox seemed to sense that he didn’t want to talk about his job, so they nodded and smiled and went back into the shop.
The parade was at 9:00 a.m. Drew had seen some big parades in his life. This one wasn’t big, but the locals had a lot of fun with it. It made Drew smile. The local Rotary Club sponsored the “float.” There were plenty of kids in the parade, laughing and waving and having a great time.
Drew had his first look at Stan Schumacher, the developer who’d made an offer to buy Orion’s Belt Hockey Camp. He didn’t like the look of Stan, who had false blonde hair and too-tan skin and big white teeth that glinted when he smiled. He wore a red and blue suit as the Grand Marshall of the parade, and was smiling his glossy white smile and waving a gloved hand.
Maybe Drew imagined it, but he thought that Stan looked right at him. He had a chilling feeling that Stan might know who he was, but there was no reason to think that. Stan Schumacher had never met him, and there was no reason to suspect that Schumacher knew his real identity or why he was in Orion.
He left the parade soon after that, uncomfortable because of how Schumacher had looked at him.
—
He couldn’t concentrate the rest of the day at the camp, and he let the campers free skate and scrimmage instead of providing actual coaching. They didn’t mind. Most of them were just there for the fun anyway.
He ran into Gabriel in the mess during lunch and told him about the parade and how he had seen Stan Schumacher.
“What did you think of that slug?” Gabriel asked. He was standing and shoveling a salad into his mouth. He rarely had time to sit and eat.
“I didn’t actually meet him, but it looked like he was staring at me. I didn’t like him,” Drew admitted.
“He’s a lousy man,” Gabriel agreed. “Be glad you didn’t meet him.”
“Do you think he knows who I am?” Drew asked, leaning in close.
“I doubt it. I don’t know how he would. It’s just my parents and I who know, right?”
“And Evan, the property manager at the house I’m renting.”
Gabriel nodded. “Evan DeVries, right? He wouldn’t tell. He’s a good guy. My friend Aubrey has had a crush on him forever.”
“Really?” Drew said, smiling. “Evan said something similar.”
“That he likes her?”
Drew nodded.
Gabriel swallowed a massive bite of salad. “I think we have a mission for the summer,” he said.
“Setting them up?”
“Obviously.”
