rainbow colors when the sun hit them. And the Creator made the crow’s meat taste bad like smoke so that man wouldn’t be tempted to hunt him.”
Summer’s upper teeth gnawed a piece of skin from her bottom lip. She hadn’t told Rick her dream of owning the camp. He’d acted based on what he thought she wanted.
Another drip trickled inside.
“Each time you see a crow, remember the sacrifice he made, and how he put the other animals’ needs before his own.”
Just like you, Rick...like you always do. Forever faithful...Semper fi.
She sighed, not wanting to wait until tomorrow when the kids were gone to talk. She couldn’t. She wanted to talk to him...make things right between them...tonight.
A long breath expanded her lungs, filling the space in her chest and warming it, making it feel not nearly so cold or hollow.
“We stand and unite our hearts by the joining of our hands,” Rick said, motioning everyone to their feet, and she was relieved for some action to shake her out of her lethargy.
They stood, each one clasping the hands of the person next to him or her.
A vibration of excitement thrummed through the group as Rick turned to face the trees, raising his arms and his voice. “The sign of fire from the unselfish act of Rainbow Crow to forever remind us of the unity of our hearts even as we walk the separate pathways of our lives.”
The echo of his voice sent an uncomfortable shiver up Summer’s spine. She didn’t want a separate pathway from Rick. Every part of her wanted unity—especially her pretty heart.
And then, even though she’d been in on all the planning, astonishment filled her, and she gasped right along with the kids as a flaming fireball shot out of the sky. The fire pit at the edge of the beach burst forth in flames.
Carlos’s and M&M’s grips tightened on each side of her, their eyes wide with wonder. After the initial shock, they regained their wits, and their hands, still clasped, shot into the air along with cheers. The campers’ awe soon gave way to a deluge of questions centered around “How’d he do that?” while Summer and Tara shrugged in response.
The kids didn’t need to know that the fireball was actually a roll of toilet tissue Neil had soaked in kerosene and lighted before sliding it down the monofilament line to the fire pit.
Let them believe in the magic.
Neil appeared out of the woods along with Ginny and Charlie, carrying a tray of Hershey bars, marshmallows and graham crackers for s’mores.
The kids toasted marshmallows on sticks that Charlie had whittled into points as Summer and Rick guarded the fire pit area to make sure no one got stabbed, stuck, burned or pushed. The others helped with assembly of the treats.
Summer was sweltering, standing so near the fire in the fairy princess costume. But the sight of Rick dressed in buckskin, rugged and sexy with his tanned skin burnished by the glow of the firelight, drew her unwittingly like a moth.
He seemed distracted...didn’t look her way—not once. Damn him and the way he made her feel. Totally confused, she didn’t know what her future held. And yet, more sure than she’d ever been, she wanted Rick to be in it.
“Great story, Rick,” she called over the fire, hating being ignored by him.
“Thanks. Yours, too.”
Silence.
She tried again. “Where’d you get the costume?”
“Mom drove to Oklahoma.”
A bead of sweat trickled between her breasts and onto her stomach as the last child marched away from the fire.
Her breath caught as Rick moved her way, but the smile froze on her lips when he brushed past her as if she wasn’t there and went to join the rest of the group.
Sheesh! He was driving her insane!
“Can we play hide-and-seek, Mr. Rick?” Howie’s tongue snaked out to lick a smear of chocolate from the corner of his mouth. “P-please? One last t-time?”
The emotion in the boy’s voice and eyes made a bite of Hershey bar stick in Summer’s throat. This had been a special time for him—a time to bask in some glory. Be the star. Earn his star. A time of learning, acceptance...safety. Tomorrow he would go back home...to what? Had his mom decided to give Howie, Sr., another chance? So often, abused women did.
Summer shuddered, wishing the camp could go on forever for Howie.
“Tell you what.” Rick tousled the boy’s hair with such a fatherly gesture, Summer’s eyes stung. “How ’bout the counselors be ‘it’ this time, and all the