Secrets at the Loch (Loch Lannick #5) - Hannah Ellis Page 0,18
she looked at his serious features. If they’d have gone to school together, he’d have been the type of kid she would have teased.
“I definitely wouldn’t want to go back to my school days,” she said.
“Really?” He turned slightly to face her. “I’d have thought you’d have been one of those popular kids who loved school.”
“I guess I was popular. And I did like school.” She paused and rolled her eyes. “The social side anyway, not so much the academic part.” Sighing, she picked at a clump of moss on the rock beside her. She hadn’t been particularly mean at school, certainly not a bully, but looking back she’d never been overly considerate of other people’s feelings. “I liked school well enough,” she said. “I just wouldn’t want to go back.”
They were interrupted by Damian telling everyone to get into pairs.
“Pick me!” Nick whispered, leaning into Lexie. “Please, pick me. I don’t want to be left scrabbling for a partner.”
Lexie chuckled. “School really scarred you for life, didn’t it?”
“I think so,” he said lightly.
“I’ll be your partner,” she said with a sigh.
“Yes! I’m with her!” he said loudly.
She gave him a friendly poke in the ribs. “You’re such a numpty.”
“Oh, this is nothing like school,” he said, taking a step back. “The girls never flirted with me back then!”
“I wasn’t flirting,” she said, quiet but indignant. As she turned to listen to Damian, she hoped her cheeks weren’t as red as they felt.
“We’re so going to win this,” Nick said after Damian explained the challenge of building a bivouac. “I was a scout, you know.”
Lexie watched the kids set off into the trees to collect sticks and find a suitable place to build their shelters. “I’d have been shocked if you’d told me you weren’t a scout,” she said. “But we’re not going to win, because you seem to have forgotten we’re here to supervise, not take part.”
“We can’t build one?”
“No.” She laughed. “We have to walk around and check the kids are okay. And I think we can split up for a while.”
Nick shook his head. “Tim told me to stay by your side.”
“He also said you should do what I tell you. And I’m telling you to move away from me and see if the kids need any help.”
“Spoilsport,” he muttered as he began walking away.
“Nick!” she called after him. “Don’t help them too much!”
He turned back, grinning, before picking up some twigs and approaching the two girls nearest him.
It was almost an hour later when Damian walked around assessing everyone’s bivouac-building skills.
“Amateurs, the lot of them,” Nick said in Lexie’s ear. “I’d fail them all. And let’s hope none of them are ever in a situation where they actually need to shelter overnight in the woods.”
“It’s just for fun,” she said, amused.
He raised an eyebrow. “It’s all good fun until you’re stranded in the woods for the night. Then you’d be happy you picked me as your partner!”
“I’m sure I would,” she said, then turned and clapped along as Damian announced the winner.
Chapter Eight
The air had turned cooler by the time they started back to the activity centre. Lexie had put an extra jumper on under her jacket but was looking forward to a warm drink when they got back.
“That was fun,” Nick said as they walked. “I can’t believe you get paid for this.”
“It’s not always as much fun as today.” She had her eyes down, carefully picking her way through the exposed tree roots.
“Really?”
His sidelong glance made her heart speed up and her stomach flutter. She swallowed as her mouth felt suddenly dry. “I mean it’s fun with the kids,” she said quickly. “But a lot of my time is spent cleaning the cabins.”
“I see,” he said with a crooked smile.
Lexie shifted her gaze ahead of them in time to see one of the girls stumble and trip over a tree root. She broke into a run to reach her.
“Are you okay?” she said, crouching beside Grace. She was one of the oldest in the group at almost thirteen. Grace had been coming to the adventure afternoons for years, so Lexie knew her well. Her family lived in Lannick and Lexie also knew her parents, who regularly came in the pub.
“I hurt my ankle,” Grace said, wincing as she put a hand to it.
“Can you walk on it?” Damian asked, appearing beside Lexie.
“I don’t know.” Grace rolled her trouser leg up and pushed her sock down, but there was no visible damage.