A slight thrill moved through Cisco. If the move was made, Buffy would be sleeping in one of the kids’ cabins. That would mean Hilly’s would be completely hers…

No. Now was not the time to contemplate getting Hilly alone. Cisco needed to continue to pace himself, to show the skittish woman just how serious he was about pursuing her for reasons other than her body; letting her wrap her head around the fact that she was worthy of everything he could give, and more.

“I’ll start the tour,” Cisco told Hilly. “Take your time. Make sure Bailey understands you’re dead serious.”

Right. Cisco would give it twenty-eighty odds. Teenagers tended to have minds of their own; either tuning out adults altogether, or mentally manipulating their words of warning and wisdom to fit their own agendas.

Hilly’s face took on a resolute tautness. “Oh, she’ll know I’m not kidding around by the time we’re finished.”

Cisco hoped so.

Now that he knew Hilly had suffered bullying at a young age, he understood her commitment to the underdogs among them. He realized where her passion regarding all her charges came from. She’d clearly suffered at the hands of classmates, and although she hadn’t discussed it with him, it was now also apparent to Cisco that her father had been a major prick to Hilly whenever he’d been around. The nerve of the guy. Coming here and spewing hateful names at Hilly. If he dared do it again while Cisco was close, Marty Smittfield would find his teeth rammed down his throat.

Cisco’s jaw tightened. It was the least he could do for Hilly; keep her—and the people in her charge—safe from bullying now, where he’d failed to do so during her middle school years.

Cisco gave Hilly’s arm a squeeze. “Good luck. If you need help, we’ll be close.”

Hilly nodded, but he couldn’t help from repeatedly looking back as he led Crash and Adeline from the dining hall.

“Want to share what’s got you so uptight all of a sudden?” Adaline asked. “I know I’ve only met you a couple times, so if I’m overstepping with my question, just tell me to back off.”

Crash purposely slowed his gait the minute his wife had started in with her concern. “Umm, I’m going to use the facilities,” he called out, slowly walking backward toward the washrooms. “I’ll catch up.” He turned and disappeared.

Cisco let out a huge sigh. “Smart man.”

Adeline nodded, waiting for Cisco to either deny her assertions, or spill.

Was he prepared to share?

Why not? Maybe a female ear would help sort him out.

“I like Hilly. A lot. And I only found out recently that I went to school with her when we were young.”

Adeline raised a brow, but otherwise stayed quiet.

Cisco changed tracks, giving the woman a little of Hilly’s background. “You may have wondered why Hilly opened a camp for children with low self-esteem.”

Only mild curiosity showed on Adeline’s face. Right. She’d probably come to some conclusions on her own, or perhaps Mason had already filled her in. Despite that, Cisco continued. “It’s because of who she remembers herself as being. According to my recollections, she was a cute kid. And a little on the…solid side, if you know what I mean.”

“She was pudgy,” Adeline supplied with only a slight hesitation.

“Yeah. You could say that,” Cisco begrudgingly agreed. It didn’t sit well with him to label Hilly, even now. “And because of her weight—or maybe because her father is such an asshole—he taunted and belittled her until her mother put an end to it and kicked him out. By then, though, Hilly’s self-esteem was already shot, so her whole posture; her demeanor screamed her insecurities to the world. Her peers at school picked up on it, like kids will, and made her academic life, hell.” Cisco wasn’t proud of himself when he admitted the rest. “I was a part of the group that teased her.”

Adeline laid a comforting hand on his arm.

“I see where this is going, Cisco. But hear me out on this. I’m sure Hilly doesn’t hold any kind of grudge. The way she looks at you now? She has stars in her eyes.”

Cisco groaned. “Which blows my mind. Because I mostly turned a blind eye to her tormentors. I didn’t protect her like I should have.”

Adeline slapped his bicep gently. “Cut yourself some slack. You were a child,” she rebuked. “If⁠—”

A branch cracked in the woods somewhere behind them, and Adeline turned with a smile on her face, thinking it was her husband.

There was no one there.

“Hello?” Cisco called out. Peering into the trees he saw a flash of something he couldn’t identify. Whether it was a person or an animal, someone or something had been following them. He started in that direction.

Adeline stopped him, her grip on him turned solid. “I know you’re on edge right now, Cisco, but that was probably just a camper having a little adventure. You don’t need to be scaring the crap out of anybody with the look that’s on your face.” She then grinned as he ceased moving. “It’s hard to turn off your cop-brain, isn’t it?”

“Busted,” Cisco admitted with a wry smirk, his eyes still busy assessing the woods. “I see bad-guys and plots everywhere. But here…” He groaned. “I know there’s no danger. Yet I still want to make sure Hilly’s camp is exactly what it needs to be; a safe place for her, her staff, and her campers.”

“Which is highly commendable,” Adeline laughed, “but probably not necessary.”

Cisco shrugged sheepishly. “You’re right. Most likely,” he conceded.

This time when twigs snapped behind them, Crash’s voice rang out. “You guys didn’t get very far.”

Cisco took the hit. “My fault. I was hearing things in the woods that weren’t there.”

Still, he couldn’t help himself. “While you were walking toward us, did you happen to see anyone heading in the opposite direction?”

“No one, unless Coco and Nel count,” Crash chuckled. “The two of them have been zooming around the property like long-lost pals.”

“See?” Adeline told Cisco with a nudge to his ribs. “No spies. It was just the dogs.”

Cisco reluctantly admitted defeat. His spidey-senses were rarely wrong, but this time could be the exception. He was probably on edge because Hilly was tackling a distasteful task at the moment. He hoped the reprimand she was delivering, was well-received.

The three of them walked the rest of the way to the climbing wall, and of course—when they got there—both Adeline and Crash immediately wanted to try it. The pair had fun, laughing and teasing, racing each other to the top, until, from their lofty perch, they spotted the ropes course in the distance.

“Can we try that, too?” Adeline pointed, practically squealing.

Crash looked down at Cisco, deferring to him.

“Of course you can,” Cisco smiled up at them. “But for that one, I’ll have to insist on the safety harnesses.” The couple had eschewed them for the climbing wall, and Cisco had agreed, since their levels of expertise far surpassed that of the young campers. But the more difficult additions that he and Alvi had added to the ropes course, demanded an increased amount of safeguards.

Crash—for Adeline’s sake, Cisco was sure—readily okayed the augmentation of helmets, etc., and once they walked there, he and Cisco spent the next five minutes securing ropes, carabiners, and tethers, which Cisco would then oversee.

They climbed to the top of the first platform where Cisco gave direction. Not that Crash needed it, but Adeline was all ears.

Hilly showed up just as the fun was about to begin, having come up the ladder to join them. And although she smiled, her lips looked pinched.

“What did I miss?” She attempted a bright face, but in Cisco’s eyes, she failed miserably.

“These two are just about to try their luck on the new course,” Cisco told her. “You want to suit up and try it?”

“No. I’m good,” she told him.

Adeline gave him a quick wink and a reassuring nod before she and her husband began traversing the rope bridge, letting him know they’d leave him to suss out what was eating Hilly.