to everything, turning Kentucky Lake an ominous shade of green. The surrounding trees looked as though an artist had flecked them with a neon hue.
Sometime during the night, Summer awoke from a fitful, sweat-drenched sleep and turned her air conditioner on for the first time.
The morning broke oppressively hot with humidity and temperature both hovering close to one hundred. The nature hike before breakfast had been like herding slugs.
True to their word, the girls lined up throughout the day with Greta emerging as an obvious leader, always making sure everyone was in the proper place.
A couple of tiffs broke out. One between Kaelyn and Braelyn, which seemed to be just normal sibling bickering. The other was a bit of a surprise when M&M told Lucy to “Shut up” after a particularly long whine about the heat.
Summer corrected both of the girls, secretly delighting in M&M’s spunk. She tried not to overreact when the verbal exchange took place right in front of Charlie. Some testiness was to be expected in a group of girls living in such close proximity...at any age. And the oppressive heat was enough to make even a hardened soldier—like Rick—grouchy. Charlie smiled at her afterward, though. That was a good sign.
She’d done a fair job of keeping her mind off the almost-kiss with Rick the night before. But the current situation had her shivering in anticipation despite the heat.
Rick stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders, and while she was trying to concentrate on his words, his voice kept getting lost in the sensations zinging through her as his breath feathered down the back of her neck.
“Are you ready?” he asked, and she nodded, tightening her grip on the bow. “Okay, nock the arrow.” Her hands shook, and it took a couple of tries to get the bowstring to stay within the slit. His hand closed around hers, helping her keep it in place. Large and warm, it engulfed hers with its size.
“Now, bring the bow up and pull back the arrow with the string in one easy motion.” His voice caressed the area behind her ear as he bent lower to help her aim.
She did as she was instructed, but the hard plane of his chest pressing against her shoulder blade made her pulse accelerate. The tip of the arrow wobbled all over the place.
“Just relax,” Rick whispered as the arrowhead zigzagged back and forth across the intended target. His low chuckle only made the movement worse, until finally Summer just closed her eyes and let it fly.
A gale of laughter erupted from the group behind them. She opened her eyes to see the arrow sticking in the ground about fifteen feet away...a good thirty-five feet short of the target.
“Okay,” Rick said. “Not a bad first try.”
“Whoo, that poor mole never knew what hit him,” Neil joked.
“Don’t you mean Talpidae, Mr. Neil?” Reggie had proven to be a whiz kid at remembering scientific names.
Summer laughed and handed the bow to Rick, grateful to gain some distance from the heat he’d stirred inside her.
Out of nowhere, a clap of thunder rumbled as a strong wind whipped simultaneously through the surrounding trees. A black front headed in from the southwest corner of the archery range.
“Everybody to the dining hall.” She pulled the arrow from the hole it had created. “And don’t forget your water bottles.”
Jimbo stood near her, but he looked to Rick for confirmation. “Us, too, Mr. Rick?”
“Ms. Summer said ‘everybody,’ Jimbo. That means the boys as well as the girls. And don’t worry about lining up.”
Finally! Summer smiled at Rick’s underlying message of support. If he really was trying to make things better between them, she supposed the next move was up to her.
As the kids took off with Tara and Neil, she turned to him. “Rick, I’m sorry about the warmonger crack yesterday. I didn’t really mean it. I’m thankful for our men and women who serve in the military.” She held out the arrow. “I don’t have an olive branch, but I’m hoping this can have the same effect.”
His chin buckled in question, then he took it from her and held it up solemnly. “I humbly accept this token. May your people and my people live in peace from this day forward.”
A loud, unexpected snicker bubbled out of her chest, and the surprise on Rick’s face transformed it into a full-blown laugh. The force behind it became uncontrollable, and the more she tried to stifle it, the harder she laughed. Tears streamed