Laughing, Megan shook her head. “Old? You’re the second person who’s called him that today. I hardly think he’s all that ancient, honey.”
“For you, maybe.” Roxy made a face. “I’d rather kiss a frog.”
“Who said anything about kissing?”
“Hey! You’re blushing,” Roxy said. “Don’t tell me you’re finally interested in romance! Oh, wow. I thought I’d never see this.”
Megan gripped the steering wheel tighter and composed herself before answering. “Mr. Harris and I are professional associates, that’s all. I admire the work he’s doing. It takes a special person to face troubled kids every day and not give up.” She paused, then added, “I was probably blushing because I was picturing you kissing Aaron. If that idea has even crossed your mind, I want you to promise me right now you won’t get involved with him. He’s much too old for you.”
Roxy giggled and slid down in the seat so she could prop her bare feet on the dash.
“Roxanne? Promise me.”
“Too late,” the teenager said with pride. “He’s already kissed me.” Another giggle. “And it was wonderful!”
Roxy had dozed off on Megan’s couch as soon as her head hit the pillow. Sleep didn’t come nearly as quickly and effortlessly to Megan.
Thinking too much was the biggest part of her problem, she reasoned, yet how could a person whose mind was whirling like an Arkansas tornado turn off those thoughts enough to relax? Consciously trying to do so was obviously the wrong approach. So was employing logic—assuming she possessed any anymore.
She stared at the ceiling of her bedroom, wondering how she was going to continue to help her sister, and do her job, without destroying the peace of the camp.
Would prayer help? Undoubtedly. Of course, that was taking for granted that she had the mental ability to concentrate on her heavenly Father while most of her brain felt like it was getting one of Bobby Joe’s swirlies!
Picturing such a silly scenario brought a chuckle. She rubbed her eyes. Clearly, this project at Camp Refuge had cast her as a student, as well as a teacher. She could show the children how to properly care for animals and encourage love and trust between them, but the real results were going to be up to God—on all fronts.
Megan could understand how easy it would be to adopt James’s habit of seeing himself in charge of whatever happened, good or bad. However, there was much more going on here than that. It looked as if she was about to enter another advanced course in what she’d come to think of as “God School.”
Self-doubt immediately began to flutter at the fringes of her mind like tiny moths circling a lightbulb on a summer’s eve. How could she hope to show anyone else the path to peace and happiness when she, herself, lacked absolute trust? She was human. She had misgivings, fears. Everybody did. The question was, why was she still fretting about those concerns when she should have given them over to the Lord’s keeping and gone to sleep long ago?
Megan took her frustrations out on her feather pillow by pounding it into a more comfortable shape.
Something told her she’d just been given her first exam in the new class God had enrolled her in. And she’d flunked, big-time.
James awoke to daylight from a fitful sleep, wondering how any time could have passed. If he hadn’t had his boys to worry about, he’d have pulled the covers over his head and dozed for at least another hour. Unfortunately, he could hear that they were already up so he had no choice but to join them.
He got to the door of the communal bathroom in time to see Zac put a headlock on his brother and start for one of the stalls.
James’s loud “Good morning” put a quick end to the prank.
“Hey, Mr. Harris,” the oldest boy called, giving Bobby Joe a parting pat on the head, “long time no see. I thought you were gonna sleep all day.”
Yawning, James raked his fingers through his hair to comb it back. “Don’t tempt me.”
Zac was grinning and leering at the same time. “You sure stayed up late enough last night. So, when’s that sweet thing comin’ back to see us?”
The arch of James’s eyebrow was no accident. He stared at Zac without speaking until the boy flinched, then looking around, James said, “I expect you all to treat Ms. White with the same respect and consideration you give me and everybody else who works here. The same goes for her animals. Understand?”
As soon as the boys nodded, he continued. “When she gets here and sets up her program, I’ll make up a daily schedule. Anybody who wants to learn about the animals will have a turn. But…if any of you cause trouble, that will end your chances to spend time in her campsite. Is that clear?”
Mumbled answers of “Yes, sir” echoed in the cavernous, tiled bathroom.
“Good,” James said. “I’m glad to hear it. Now, if you guys are finished with your showers, I’d like to take one.”
All the children scattered except Zac, who lounged with his thin back against a porcelain sink, crossed his arms and grinned from ear to ear.
James eyed him cautiously. “Yes?”
“I was just thinkin’,” Zac drawled. “If you want me to keep those kids busy so you can romance Miss Megan without bein’ disturbed, it’s gonna cost you.”
“Oh, it is, huh?” His mouth twitched with a suppressed smile. “And what makes you think I have any such notion?”
The boy huffed. “Man, if you don’t, you’re dumber than I thought you were.”
It was all James could do to keep from bursting out laughing. Instead, he grabbed a towel by one corner, flicked it in the boy’s direction with a snap that purposely fell short of making a connection and roared “Out! Out!”
Zac broke and ran, leaving James shaking his head and chuckling. What a kid. A real character. Smart, all right, but as unpredictable as Ozark weather.
Thinking about the boys in his care, James turned on the shower the same way he always did, stripped and stepped under the spray. The first few moments were fairly comfortable. Then the water turned icy!
Roaring, James dodged and groped for the hot water faucet. It was already on full force. Could those kids have used up all the hot water? Nothing like that had ever happened before. Shivering, he gave the taps a quick twist to end his torture and stared at the plumbing.
Now that the water had ceased to flow he could hear the buzz and titter of young voices outside the bathroom door. He listened closely. It sounded like they were laughing. And Zac was loudest of all. Had they set him up? Rigged the shower? Probably, but how?
His teeth chattering, James grabbed a clean towel and dried himself vigorously to bring back some warmth. Zac again. It figured. If that kid ever got himself squared away in society he’d probably do well in whatever career he chose. The trick was going to be in convincing him to choose lawful endeavors. Concepts of right and wrong were hard to explain to kids who had never been taught there was any difference.
James snorted derisively, thinking about life in general and his boys in particular, as he dressed. Making the right choices could be hard for adults, too. He ought to know. He’d struggled with the same fundamental principles of good versus evil for a lot longer than he wanted to admit. If it hadn’t been for a teacher who had cared what happened to him and intervened on his behalf, there was no telling what he might have eventually done with his life.
Continuing that example of caring and concern was a big component of his journey into a career of service. It was going to be a long time—if ever—before he’d feel he’d adequately repaid the enormous debt he owed Ralph Clarkson.
And speaking of owing—if his suspicions proved true, he owed Zac plenty.
Instead of putting on his shoes and socks, James walked barefoot and silent to the closed bathroom door. He listened. There was a soft scuffling and tittering on the opposite side of that door, further convincing him that his icy shower had been no accident.
Slowly, cautiously, he closed his hand over the knob, then jerked the door open without a word.
&
nbsp; Bobby Joe and Mark tumbled into the room. The others managed to keep their balance and immediately scattered, squealing and shouting.
James righted the two boys, released Mark and concentrated on Bobby Joe. “Where’s your brother?”
The blond-headed child’s lower lip was quivering. “Over—over there,” he whispered, pointing toward the laundry room.
“Okay. Now shush,” James said, placing his index finger across his lips. “Stay right here.”
It wasn’t hard for James to approach the laundry area without being heard. He paused at the open door and peered past the washing machines. There was Zac, kneeling at the base of the water heater and fiddling with the valve on the line that fed the boys’ dorm.
James paused long enough to stop grinning, then stepped into view with a gruff “Hey! What’re you doing?”
The boy sprang to attention. “Um, nothin’. Nothin’ at all. I was just—”
“Save it,” James countered. “I know what you did.”
“You do?”
“Sure. You heard me holler and you wanted to make sure the water heater was working right, so you came in here to check on it for me. That’s right, isn’t it?”
“Ummm…if you say so.”
Half of James’s repressed smile returned in spite of his determination to play out the scene seriously. “Would you say it’s working now?”
The boy backed away with a shrug of his thin shoulders. “Beats me. I don’t know nothin’ about plumbing.”
“Well, I do. And it looks to me like that valve is only partly open. Maybe that’s why I ran out of hot water in the shower this morning.”
Another shrug. “Maybe.”
As he bent to check the water heater, James said, “Just so you’ll know, in case this problem comes up again, if you shut off the intake instead of the outflow, you can run the holding tank dry and maybe burn out the heating element. If that happened, by accident of course, we’d all be taking cold showers.” His voice lowered. “Understand?”
“Hey, why tell me? I don’t have nothin’ to do with keeping this dump running.”
“No, but I do.” James stood and laid a hand on the boy’s bony shoulder. “The next time you think something needs fixing around here, I want you to come tell me, not take matters into your own hands. Okay?”
“Okay. Sure. No sweat.”
Shepherding Zac out of the laundry room and back to the dorm, James was thankful the prank hadn’t caused any lasting damage. He knew he should reprimand the boy, but no real harm had been done. There would undoubtedly be plenty of other instances when Zac would need his wings clipped. James figured he’d save any show of serious displeasure for a more important infraction.
Besides, he mused, there was no way a kid as sharp as that really believed he’d gotten away with the prank. He knew full well the camp director was on to him. And he also knew James had accepted being given a cold shower. It was all part of the unofficial game they played while feeling each other out, trying to find a common ground without having to give in too much.
James knew the game well. He’d played it for years on the side of the underdog. Now that he was the authority figure, he didn’t want to lord it over the boys. He’d decided long ago that the best way to prove he deserved respect was to earn it by being fair rather than insisting on absolute obedience. All the rules, all the threats in the world weren’t going to make a kid like Zac behave for long unless he truly wanted to. There was a very fine line between being the boy’s mentor and his jailer. That was the line James intended to walk.
Chapter Five
When Megan arrived back at Camp Refuge she was pulling a loaded stock trailer.
She parked by the cabin, helped Roxy move the rabbit hutches into the shade so the animals wouldn’t be stressed by the heat, then headed down the hill to report their arrival to James.
He almost flattened her when he threw open the door of the main hall and burst out.
Off balance, Megan staggered back at the edge of the top step, arms windmilling. “Ahhhh!”
“Oops.” James caught her neatly. Steadied her. “Sorry. I thought I heard somebody drive in. I was on my way to see if it was you.”
“It’s me, all right.” She straightened, disengaged his hold and smoothed her shirt over her clean jeans. “I just wanted you to know we’d arrived.”
“Have you looked at the cabin yet?”
“Not closely. Why?”
“No reason.”
His expression was hard for Megan to interpret. One moment he looked smug and the next almost embarrassed. The swing from enigmatic to endearing unsettled her almost as much as his brief but necessary touch had.
She gave him a nervous smile. “What did you do—rig it so I’d get a bucket of water dumped on my head when I opened the door or something?”
“Me?” He made an obvious pretense of wounded feelings. “I assure you, I never play practical jokes, Ms. White.”
Megan hesitated an instant, then said, “Okay. Sorry. It shouldn’t take me long to get my animals settled in. You can bring the kids up later, after lunch, and I’ll give them an idea of what I’ll expect when they work with me.”
“You mean if, don’t you?”
Disappointment colored her response. “My mistake. I’d forgotten you were so dead set against my project.”
“Hey, I didn’t say that.”
“You most certainly did.”
She knew the best thing to do was leave him before she gave in to the urge to blurt out something she’d be sorry for. Considering the way she was feeling at the moment, it wouldn’t be long. Besides, keeping company with James when she didn’t have to was bound to give Roxy more erroneous ideas about their nonexistent relationship. That was the last thing she wanted.
Megan stood proud. “If you’ll excuse me, I have work to do. I don’t want to leave my animals in the trailer any longer than necessary.”
Whirling, she clomped down the steps and crossed the dirt lane that passed for a road inside the campground. If James Harris thought he could thwart her by keeping those kids away, he had another think coming. Nobody was going to stop her. Nobody. She was in the right and she was not going to back down. The gall of that man. “If they choose to come see me! Ha!”
Increasing animosity gave her feet wings as she climbed the hill to her cabin. She didn’t care what he’d done to the place in her absence, what kind of awful furniture he’d dug up for her. She was not quitting. Not if she and Roxy had to sleep on the floor and store their clothes in cardboard boxes!
Megan’s jaw was firmly clenched, her lips pressed into a thin line as she breezed past her surprised sister. She grabbed the knob, threw open the door to the cabin—and froze. Her heart sank. Her breath caught. Oh, dear! It was worse than she’d thought. Much worse.
James had not only given her the things she’d asked for, he’d added so many other amenities, the place already looked like a warm, welcoming home. There was a settee, complete with throw pillows, a reclining chair beside a combination end table and magazine rack, a small dinette set with two matching chairs, and regular twin beds instead of the cots she’d expected.
This was awful! She’d practically spit in his eye just now, assuming he’d tried to sabotage her comfort, when he’d actually done the opposite.
Sadly, there was only one thing to do, and the sooner the better. It was time for another apology. A humongous one. And this time, it had to come from her.
Roxanne had trailed her into the room. “Oh, wow! I can’t believe the difference.”
“Neither can I.”
“So what’s your problem? You look like you just ate a bug or something.”
“No, but I am about to have to go back down the hill and eat my words. Buckets hasn’t shed all her winter coat yet but she’s a tough little mare. She’ll be fine waiting in the trailer till I get back. So will Beethoven. But move Rocky’s cage into the house for me, will you? And let Wiggles go with you so he can sniff a
round and make himself at home. Just keep him on a leash for now.”
The teenager gave a snort of disgust. “Anything else? Want me to put up the big corrals by myself, too, while I’m at it?”
Megan chose to avoid an argument by overlooking the sarcasm in the girl’s voice.
“No, thanks. We can do that together as soon as I get back. I don’t expect to be gone for more than a few minutes. It doesn’t take long to eat crow.” She pulled a wry face. “I just hope all those feathers don’t get stuck in my throat while I’m trying to swallow my pride, too.”
Megan found James in the main hall, supervising the boys. Some of them were studying while the others worked on craft projects that reminded her of activities in a normal summer camp. Flat wooden sticks, colored paper scraps and dots of white that looked suspiciously like glue littered the floor.
He smiled and started toward her as soon as he realized she’d come back. “Hi. How was the cabin?”
“It’s wonderful,” she said quietly. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
The younger boys had followed him and crowded around to offer their own greetings. Megan would have preferred to speak to James alone, but since they had an audience she figured she owed it to him to confess in the presence of the children. After all, what better way to teach than by good example?
She put a finger to her lips to shush their eager babbling, smiled and led everyone over to the homework table where the older boys, Zac and Mark, were still seated.
“Everybody please listen for a second, okay? I came to tell you I’ll be ready to show you my animals soon.”
As soon as the chorus of “Yeahs” subsided, she continued. “And I also came to apologize to Mr. Harris.”
Serious, subdued, she turned to James. “I’m sorry I misjudged you. You fixed up my cabin much better than I deserve, especially after the way I spoke to you. I truly am sorry.”
James gave her a lopsided smile. “Apology accepted. Actually, it wasn’t entirely my idea. Inez made a few suggestions and the boys and I did the work.”
Everlasting Love Page 5