over, and they were all headed out into the yard. Flip-flops that they’d been issued as shower shoes smacked on their feet as they chased down a lightning bug. They’d gone from talking about heavy topics to giggling like a bunch of little girls as they tried to catch the flickering yellow bit of light.
“All this after less than a week. We’re finally making progress,” Jayden muttered through a smile as she watched them.
Elijah appeared out of the dusky darkness and propped his elbows on the porch rail. “What’s going on out here? I figured I’d worn all of the girls out with that ball game.”
“They’ve discovered lightning bugs, or maybe I should say a lightning bug. I only see one,” Jayden answered. “Carmella wants to capture it alive, and Tiffany wants to draw it.”
“That’s strange. If we see fireflies at all in this part of the country, it’s usually in the spring, not hot summer,” Elijah said. “Look over there between Daydream and Moonbeam.” He pointed. “There’s two more.”
“Maybe it’s magic that’s happening just for my girls tonight,” she said.
“After this morning, you deserve some magic.” Elijah nodded.
“We got it,” Carmella yelled. “And it’s alive and look, Jayden, it’s still blinking.”
“There’s two more over there.” Jayden pointed toward Moonbeam Cabin, but by then there was nothing there.
“Guess they fell in love and have gone on their honeymoon,” Elijah teased.
All three girls stared at him as if he had an extra eyeball in his forehead.
“Lightning bugs flash their lights to attract mates,” Jayden explained.
“My poor little bug is a reject,” Carmella said, “and now I’m going to freeze him, so he’ll never have a wife or children.”
Jayden bit back a smile. “Could be that it’s a girl lightning bug and she’ll never know true love.”
“I don’t care if it’s a girl or a boy—it’ll be fun to sketch the thing,” Tiffany said. “Let’s get it in the freezer before it flies away. We’ve only got five minutes before bedtime.”
They all three hurried across the yard to the dining hall, and then jogged back together. Right at nine o’clock, the lights went out in the cabin. Jayden patted the table between her chair and the one connected to it. “Come on up here and have a seat.”
Elijah sat down in the chair next to her. “What’s your take on Novalene? Is she holding up all right? It’s always tough on everyone to lose a girl, especially this quick, and Novalene has never lost one of hers.”
“She’s one tough lady. I want to grow up and be just like her,” Jayden answered. “How about Mary?”
“I’m still really worried about her and Henry,” Elijah said. “She comes off as bulletproof, but she holds a lot of stress inside and doesn’t talk about it. She’s going to crumble one of these days. I just hope that she and Henry get a few years of retirement before that happens.”
“So do I,” Jayden said. “I really have gotten close to her. When I first said I’d come here, I didn’t think about making friends. I only came so Skyler would be happy. I planned to do my job and go home. Look!” She pointed out toward the dining building. “Now there’s dozens of lightning bugs flitting around.”
“And our two eloped before they got to know anyone else,” he joked.
“How do you know that?” Jayden cut her eyes over toward him. “Maybe they were hiding out of fear until the girls went inside. After all, none of them want to be frozen and then pinned to a board. When they realized Myrtle was caught, and the girls had quit running around in the yard, they all came back out to put on their show for us.”
“Myrtle?” he asked.
“I named her after my aunt Myrtle. My grandmother’s sister. She has always been a fireball of energy. She still made a garden and lived by herself when she was a hundred years old. I figured that would be a good name for the firefly,” Jayden answered.
“Is she still living?” Elijah asked. “Your aunt, not the firefly.”
“Yep, she’s a hundred and two and just got married six months ago for the first time. Her groom is ninety. After they went on a honeymoon to Disney World in Orlando, they moved into an assisted living center in Fort Worth,” Jayden answered. “She grows tomatoes in pots on their balcony, and he still plays golf twice a week.”
“Why don’t you want to grow up to be like her instead of Novalene?” Elijah