Buffy’s eyes narrowed playfully. “Unless you want to share details,” she quipped. “Then it will no longer be unspeakable.”

“I might give you a few tidbits if you’re nice,” Hilly teased.

“Hilly-billy, I’m always nice.”

Hilly got up from the sofa and gave her best friend a huge hug. “Yes, Buff, you are. And I love you.”

“I love you, too, girlfriend. Now go position your body—naked, of course—strategically on your bed and wait for that luscious man to return.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Hilly laughed. “Have fun with the kids.”

Buffy snorted and walked out the door.

Nel whined, watching the departing woman, then looked back at Hilly before dropping to her stomach and letting out a loud huff.

“Yes. I know. She was supposed to be sleeping here, and you’re torn over which one of us should have your company tonight, but I promise you’ll see her in the morning, Nel.” She went over to her pup, knelt down, and patted until Nel gave in, rolled onto her back, and wriggled for a tummy scratch.

“You’re such a sweetie,” Hilly crooned, obliging her dog for a few minutes before sitting back on her heels. “So, what do you think about Cisco, Nel?” she asked rhetorically.

Nel pawed the air, begging for increased attention. Hilly gave it to her, but more absently this time. Her brain had begun throwing doubts at her again, as it often did. “What if he sticks around for the summer, then decides he’s had enough?” she continued out loud.

Nel merely pawed the air in response.

“Seriously, Nel. I’m falling for him already, and if he leaves…” Hilly sighed. She was normally of the “nothing ventured, nothing gained” ilk, but the stakes here felt huge. “I guess the bigger question is…is a broken heart worth it if I get a full summer of Cisco?”

Nel groaned.

“Yeah,” Hilly agreed. “My thoughts, exactly.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Cisco prowled the grounds, attempting to look blasé while the campers and counselors made their way to their cabins to settle down for the night. A few minutes earlier he’d passed a smirking Buffy as she’d carried her belongings to her new digs. She fanned a hand across her face and winked.

Yup. The girls had talked. But Cisco found that he didn’t mind. Buffy would definitely be on his side, attempting to bolster Hilly’s ego and tell her she was more than worthy of his attention.

As soon as the scuttling back and forth to the washrooms by the residents had died down, Cisco took his investigation deeper. He entered the barn, leaving no nook or cranny unexplored. He then went through the camp store and the bathhouses, finally making his way to the picnic area, searching beneath tables and around fire pits.

Nothing.

He was just about to head back to Hilly’s cabin, anticipation growing over how the rest of their night would unfold, when a shadow emerged out of the trees.

It was…

…Carter.

Right. That was the slim, nervous looking kid’s name.

“Officer Andera?” Carter approached quietly, his gaze shifting from side to side, like if he looked Cisco directly in the eye his head might explode.

“Yes, Carter. What can I do for you?”

And make it quick, Cisco added to himself. I have a woman waiting.

“I think…” The boy coughed, then began again, glancing around all the time he conversed. “I was, uh, out walking earlier while everyone was watching the music and the magic show, and I might have, um, found something.”

Cisco’s ears perked up. “Found something? What?”

Cisco tempered his outward reaction. It could be nothing, and he wasn’t going to let Carter get him jazzed up over a figment of the boy’s imagination.

“Yeah. I… Well…” Carter sighed. “You have to come with me to see.”

The boy was twitchy, but that was nothing new. Cisco had observed the teen’s jumpy behavior for several weeks during self-defense classes. The kid was the nervous sort—definitely a needy, “follower” type—always up Lance, or Hilly’s ass. Not that Hilly saw it that way. She said the boy was simply insecure, had been severely bullied, and wanted to be closest to people he trusted.

“Okay,” Cisco agreed, recalling Hilly’s fondness for the boy. “Lead the way.”

Without a second’s hesitation, Carter headed for the woods beyond the picnic area, took a turn to the right, and headed into a part of the forest which Cisco had yet to explore.

What would have had the young man wandering so far afield? And why? Carter was in charge of ten campers, and was supposed to be supervising them at all times.

Speaking of which…

“Are your kids going to be okay while we do this?” Cisco asked, easily keeping up with the youth as they bushwacked.

“Yeah. They’re good. I told them I’d only be gone a little while, and to stay in the cabin.”

Cisco didn’t know the rules, but he seemed to remember Hilly saying that once the counselors had their kids settled for the night, they were allowed to do their own thing; convene at their firepit, relax, hobnob with each other.

Cisco figured the kid knew the rules. He attempted small talk while they walked. “How are you enjoying camp this year?” he asked. “Do you like the group you have?”

Carter mumbled something before throwing over his shoulder, “Camp’s good, and the kids are well behaved.”

“That’s great.” Cisco tried to engage further. “It seems like you’ve struck up a nice friendship with Lance.”

Carter stiffened ahead of him, but didn’t respond.

Cisco didn’t let it deter him. “Camp can be a place you make friends for life,” he continued. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Lance and some of your kids want to stay in touch once camp is over.”

“Maybe,” Carter muttered, but he didn’t slow his pace or show any overt interest in the subject. He simply brought them deeper and deeper into the woods.

Silence reigned for about ten minutes before Cisco started to get antsy. Something wasn’t quite adding up. He needed clarification before he went any farther. “How, exactly, did you find where we’re going, anyway?” he asked. “We’re a long way from camp.”

“There’s an old cabin out here, and I ran across it one day before the kids arrived when I was out exploring.”

Okay. That made sense. Cisco relaxed just a little. When he’d been young, he’d covered his share of woods behind his childhood home, having adventures and scouting deep into what he’d then considered, wilderness.

“And we’re going there now because…?” Cisco let the question hang.

“You were looking for what made Bailey sick.” Carter finally supplied after they’d covered at least another quarter mile. “I think I discovered something.”