Lucas, and Tyler wanted to hike in the surrounding forest without him or Mrs. Whitman.
Olivia sat in the hammock, her legs dangling over the side, a sketch pad in her lap. While waiting for the boys to finish breakfast, she’d started drawing Lily as a baby but added a cape and metal wristbands. Her Lily could fly. She was stronger than any of them put together. And her temper tantrum screams could fight evil by breaking windows.
She giggled. Lily didn’t need super screams to shatter glass. Her fit last night when she’d learned she couldn’t hike with them rattled their ears. Olivia stuck a pinkie in her ear and wiggled it around. Her eardrum still itched. Lily had shrieked directly in her ear when she carried her little sister around, patting her back, trying to calm her down while Mrs. Whitman tried to assure Lily they’d have just as much fun waiting for Olivia and the boys to return.
Olivia toed the ground with her brand-new hiking boots, rocking back and forth. Dwight bought her and Lucas pairs after she blew out her sneakers three weeks into last summer’s stay.
The back door slid closed and Mr. Whitman bounded off the deck shouldering an overstuffed backpack. Blaze, Lucas, and Tyler, wearing the ratty old T-shirts Mr. Whitman gave them because he had plans for the shirts and didn’t want them ruining their own, followed like weary soldiers who’d been up all night. Lucas hadn’t bothered to comb out his cowlicks. She could see a line of white scalp on the back of his head from where his hair swept to the side.
“Ready, Olivia?” Mr. Whitman asked as he passed her on the way to the shore.
“Ready!” She tossed aside her pencil and pad of paper and started to get up. Blaze launched himself onto the hammock, knocking her back. He hugged her waist, keeping her in the hammock.
“It’s too early,” he whined. “Tell him we want to go tomorrow. He’ll listen to you, Livy.”
“No way.” She, too, was exhausted. They’d stayed up well past midnight, playing card games and giggling in the center ring of their tent star. But she was also excited for this adventure. She read a survival guide on the way up yesterday just for this hike.
“You’re mean.” Blaze squeezed her tight, holding on as she tried to maneuver her way out of the hammock. His Aquafresh toothpaste breath tickled her nose. She loved the scent on him. She asked her mom to buy the same toothpaste when they returned home last summer. It reminded her of Blaze and the good times they had on the lake.
She smiled brightly.
“What?” Blaze asked, eyes narrowing. He was wise to wonder if she was up to something. She dug her fingers into his ribs. He grunted and squirmed, squeezing into a ball, fending her off with his hands. “Stop!”
Olivia laughed and rolled off the hammock. The sun had popped through the trees and she was already feeling warm. She pulled off the sweatshirt, dropping it on Blaze’s face, and straightened the large shirt Mr. Whitman had loaned her.
“Get over here, kids,” Mr. Whitman ordered, lake water lapping the heels of his boots.
Blaze groaned and rolled from the hammock. The four of them circled his dad like hatchlings waiting to be fed. She loved how engaged the Whitmans were with their kids, so unlike her parents, who never seemed to have time to interact with them. Except her dad. He spent time with her, usually in his office while he worked. He’d let her sit at his desk and do her homework while he paced the room, making calls.
“Only two rules for today,” Mr. Whitman began, showing them two fingers. “Listen and follow orders. You’ll learn, we’ll have fun, and we’ll be back before lunch.”
“Yes.” Lucas pumped his arm. “Dibs on the blue kayak.”
“You had it yesterday,” Tyler whined.
“Because I’m older, and you’re a baby.” He knocked Tyler’s shoulder.
“Am not.” Tyler knocked him back. He was a year younger than Lucas but just as tall.
Mr. Whitman cleared his throat. “Listen up, kids. I left five empty water bottles lying around. Go find them.”
It was a race. They took off in four directions. Blaze found a plastic bottle first. Olivia located one in the bushes. They all met back at the shore.
“Everyone have their pocketknives on them?” Mr. Whitman had given them the knives at dinner last night with explicit instructions on how to use them. Olivia pulled hers from her shorts pocket. They