the progress you’ve made,” Summer said. “You’ll be swimming before the week’s out.”
She couldn’t help but notice the hopeful timbre of M&M’s answering sigh.
The dance received one more vote and the bats got two before Summer asked the second part of her question. “What was your least favorite thing?”
The skunk and going to bed garnered all of the votes except one—Becca missed her dog.
Not much there she could change.
Summer pulled the new fairy princess wand from her pocket and held it up proudly. Her dad had become quite a craftsman during his retirement. The small piece of green granite thrown away by the grave marker company had been a booger to cut, but somehow he’d managed to do it and to polish the pieces into lovely little stars that topped a metallic gold dowel rod.
“As promised, somebody’s going to earn her wand tonight,” she said. The girls exchanged quick looks that melted into grins and a couple of snickers.
Summer picked up on the unspoken message. The winner had been predetermined. Which girl impressed them enough to bring about such a response? She hoped intimidation didn’t have a hand in this, but most likely, the winner’s name would let her confirm or deny that.
Tara handed out the pencils and small slips of paper. Summer watched the girls scribble their choices. There was no thought. No hesitation for anyone that she could see.
Tara had all the slips back and went to count them. Within a couple of minutes, she reappeared, a wide smile spread across her face.
“And the new fairy princess is...” She laughed and shook her head in disbelief. “Mr. Rick!”
* * *
RICK SAT AT THE PICNIC TABLE beneath the pavilion, waiting for the other counselors to finish with the kids. Who was he kidding? He was waiting for Summer. Tonight began week two of camp, and his outlook had pivoted a hundred and eighty degrees since a week ago. Camp Sunny Daze was precisely where he wanted to be right now.
An unexpected noise put him on alert, and he swiveled in his seat to locate the source.
He could make out the ten pajama-clad girls heading down the path toward him, Summer and Tara in the rear. Hell-pee-roo! What was Summer thinking? Letting the girls come out of the dorm after lights-out was a disturbing breach in protocol.
But if he’d learned anything this week about Summer, it was to not jump to conclusions. She generally had a good excuse when she broke the rules—at least, good by her reasoning. They had T-shirts over their pajama tops, so they were quite properly covered. Since he seemed to be their destination, he held his tongue as the giggling mass of girls gathered around him.
Summer’s mischievous smile gave him no indication of what was in store.
Amanda stepped from the middle of the group and cleared her throat. “Mr. Rick, this week during our bedtime chats, we’ve talked about how a true fairy princess finds out what makes her special.”
Ah, a lecture on fairy princess-ship.
She looked at Becca, who glanced down at her palm and said, “Then she uses whatever it is that makes her special to help other people.”
Becca poked Elise with her elbow, prompting her. Elise took the cue. “A true fairy princess listens to her pretty heart.”
The speeches moved on down the line with each of the girls saying an obviously rehearsed part.
“And her pretty heart tells her what makes her special.”
“Tonight we voted on who from the camp should get the first fairy princess wand.”
“We decided that you listen to your pretty heart.”
“The special thing you do to help other people is you save people’s lives.”
Oh, hell.
“You saved Mr. Kenny, Mr. Chance and Ms. Kyndal.”
But not my best friend.
“And we know you were a soldier and probably saved lots more.”
Damn! Rick pressed his lips together, keeping the tortuous emotion hidden.
M&M stepped forward from the end of the line and held out a star-tipped stick. “We know you’re not a girl, but you are like a true fairy princess, and we want you to have the first wand.”
A battering ram hit his gut. He didn’t deserve this...didn’t deserve any of the medals tucked away in his mom’s cedar chest. Dunk was the one who deserved the medals...the wand.
He hesitated, looking down the line of girls. Reverence...eagerness...excitement. Their sweet faces were filled with emotions, and the sight touched his heart. Undeserved or not, he couldn’t refuse their gift.
“Thank you very much.” Smiling, he took the wand and waved it over their heads. “This