Summer’s hands gripped her friend’s shoulders. “What’s happened?”
Tara held up the phone and shook her head. “I don’t know. My mom just called. She said not to worry...everybody’s okay and nobody’s hurt or anything, but I need to come home. They need to talk to me about something.”
“That’s odd, isn’t it?” Summer voiced Rick’s exact thoughts. “What could it be?”
“I don’t know.” Tara’s eyes filled with tears. “Unless they’re getting a divorce or something, but I can’t imagine that. I mean, with my dad being a preacher... They seem so happy and have never had any problem that I know of. ...” Her voice trailed off.
“Go,” Summer insisted. “I’ll find Ginny and Charlie and tell them right now.”
Rick stepped in. “I’ll find Ginny and Charlie. Y’all go take care of whatever you need to do.”
Summer gave him one last glaring look before they took off in opposite directions.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
RICK SENSED HER FOUL MOOD. The tense lines between Summer’s brows remained fixed the rest of the evening and all the next day. Her eyes and mouth were tight even when she smiled—and she’d smiled often, though never at him. She’d totally avoided eye contact with him since their argument.
Charlie had gotten up early, gone into town and had a souvenir copy of the Paducah Sun waiting for everyone at breakfast.
While a small photo of Summer included a caption about Fairy Princess Parties, the newspaper did a remarkable job of making Camp Sunny Daze look like a piece of kid-heaven on Earth. All of the kids were included in at least one photo, but Howie and his mammoth molar scored top billing, firmly establishing the little boy’s celebrity status among his peers.
Rick noted that even the kids who’d rolled their eyes at the youngster’s tall tales vied for a seat near him during morning snack, lunch, supper and bedtime snack. And with the wisdom of one who recognized the fickle nature of fame, Howie took it upon himself to group the kids into bunches of five and sat in the middle of one group each time.
Rick smiled as Neil led the boys toward the bunkhouse for the night. Howie was in the middle of the band of brothers, a line of ten comrades, arms around one another’s shoulders as they marched along singing the Sunny Daze camp song.
Although the girls were just as giddy, the party attitude didn’t extend to Summer. The attempt was there, but her raised, rigid shoulders spoke volumes. The one point of genuine pleasure he’d seen in her was when she presented Howie with his star. The boy’s grin split his face as he held it up and proudly proclaimed himself “just like Mr. Rick.”
A shudder passed through Rick at the words. He hoped like hell the boy’s nights weren’t haunted by nightmares like his were.
They allowed the kids to stay up later in celebration, so Rick canceled the staff meeting. It was for the best. His call to Sid to apologize had stirred up the cantankerous old man’s ire again and rekindled his own frustration with Summer’s antics. He could tell she was exhausted, having only Ginny’s limited help with the girls, so it was just as well they both had time to cool off.
He watched her walk toward the girls’ bunkhouse, where she would spend another night in Tara’s room.
With all the talking they’d done, how in the hell could he have missed her self-centeredness?
The term how in the hell mocked him when he entered the stifling hot cabin. A threat of rain that morning had convinced him to close the windows, and he hadn’t been back, spending the hour of quiet time getting a few photos of the archery field and the Byassee homestead.
He made quick work of opening all the windows, but it was going to take a while to cool the place down. Maybe a swim would cool his frustration, as well.
“Another hot summer night, eh?” Kenny appeared out of nowhere when Rick stepped out onto the porch, making him wonder if the security guard had been waiting for him.
Kenny loved to talk, so the long hours of the night shift probably passed slowly for him. Rick didn’t normally mind company, but he wasn’t up for small talk tonight. “Yeah.” He kept his answer monosyllabic so as not to give encouragement.
“Speaking of hot Summer...” Kenny grinned and shrugged his eyebrows suggestively, which irritated the hell out of Rick.
“Off-limits,” he growled, and stalked off toward the beach.