Dead of Summer - Page 126

That…doesn’t feel so great. Something ripples down my spine, and I’d be blind to not see the furrow of Kayde’s brows, or the frown that touches his lips before his expression smoothes out.

“Why?” I ask, feeling more suspicion than I probably should. “Is Daniel okay?”

“Ah, yeah.” He tosses a look over his shoulder at the other counselor, who’s sitting with his head buried in his hands. “He’s just having a hard time after yesterday. You know how sensitive he is.” Shawn doesn’t phrase it like an insult, and frowns at us again. “Kayde, could you maybe talk to him? He looks up to you a lot, and he’s having a rough time.”

My sociopath looks between us, expression calculating. “I could take your hike, Summer,” he says, ignoring Shawn’s words. “I don’t mind.”

“You can’t,” I sigh, head tilted to the side. “You’re taking over for Kinsley, remember? That leaves you with two groups of kids to keep from mayhem and destruction. It’s fine.” Though it wouldn’t take much to switch things around, I’d feel guilty bothering Kinsley again. “It’s totally…great.” It’s anything but. I don’t want to be on a trail with Darcy. Especially with this mood she’s in.

And I definitely don’t want to spend any time with Shawn if I can help it.

But I can’t help it. That’s the problem. And when Kayde sees that too, he lets out the breath he’s holding and leans over to blatantly kiss my cheek. “I’ll go talk to Daniel,” he acquiesces, getting to his feet and grabbing my plate and mug. I drain the cup of milk before he can grab it, and lay it on the tray with a soft, grateful smile.

“I appreciate you,” I inform him soberly. “Like, so much.”

“Well, I love you, so it’s basically the same thing.” Kayde chuckles, not bothering to take notice of Shawn’s startled glance. Without another word, he heads up to the kitchen, going through the doors to wash our dishes.

Shawn watches him, face screwed up in surprise. “Did he say he loves you?” he asks, obviously wondering if he’s misheard.

But alas, he has not. “Yep,” I sigh, sitting back again. “He most certainly did.”

“Crazy. You guys have only known each other, what, a few weeks? That’s insane.” But he looks at me again, eyes narrowing, and asks, “Do you love him too?”

And isn’t that the million dollar question of the week?

I hesitate, only to shrug my shoulders and grin up at him wryly. “Who knows?” I ask, folding my arms over my chest. “I’ll get back to you when I figure it out.”

Shawn just shakes his head and waits until I get up to join him outside, where the campers are already gathering. Following after him, all I can do is frown as I wonder how much worse my day can get now that I’m going to be stuck with Darcy and Shawn for the next few hours.

Surely, I think, it can’t get that much worse. Especially if I pretend they simply…don’t exist. With that as my plan, I follow Shawn more closely, hands in my pockets as I toss a winning, fake smile to my campers. One way or the other, I’m going to complete this hike and, hopefully, drag Kayde to my cabin before I crash for a nap.

I won’t tell him yet, but he’s the best cuddler I’ve ever met. Plus, I sleep better when he’s in my bed. And while that’s completely fucked up, given what he is, I can’t bring myself to feel bad about it.

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

Once we get moving, it hits me clear in the face how little I want to be on a hike with Darcy and Shawn. Hell, I’d take Mr. Fink and his bunions over them, and he complains like nobody’s business.

Though, for the most part, the two of them leave me alone. They hang out near the front of the line of campers, even though one of them should be moving up and down the line to check on the kids and make sure none of them sneak off.

Not that I think any of them will. Especially not after Emily’s accident yesterday, when it’s so fresh in all of their minds and they’re clearly afraid of the same thing happening to them. It shows in their careful steps, their caution, and the hushed conversation that drifts back to me every once in a while.

Yet again, I wish Fink would’ve let us switch days. We’ve done it for bad weather before, when it’s storming and dangerous for the kids to swim or hike or do the obstacle course. So why in the world can’t this be another exception to his ‘on schedule or die’ rule?

Especially since Emily did almost die.

Melody drifts back to walk beside me, silent for a few minutes as we stride through an easier part of the trail. “You okay?” I ask finally, when she still doesn’t say anything.

“Yeah,” Mel sighs, though she doesn’t sound like she means it. “You guys know that literally no one wants to hike today, right?” The question is blunt, and her tone is unimpressed when she looks up at me.

I shrug my shoulders, a frown on my lips. “Well, for what it’s worth, I tried to get today switched to not a hiking day. Seriously, I gave it my best shot with Fink. But there’s only so much I can do.” I’d argued with him as long as I was comfortable doing so, and I hadn’t been the only one. Kayde had supported me, along with Kinsley. But Fink hadn’t been swayed by us. He’d been distracted, which I can’t blame him for, but I can blame him for not taking the feelings of the other campers into consideration like he should.

“Oh.” Mel’s frown twists her lips, and she walks beside me without speaking for another few minutes. “Did you mean it?” she asks finally, her voice dropping in volume.

I glance her way and hop over a low, gnarled root. “Did I mean what?”

“That Emily is going to be okay.”

Her concern, and the way the kids in front of us glance back to see my reply, twists my heart for these kids. Even the ones who barely know Emily care about her more than most adults would. “Yeah, I meant it,” I assure her, keeping my voice at normal volume so the campers in front of us can hear me as well. “Emily is absolutely going to be fine. I heard it from Liza myself.” More like I heard half of it from Liza, and half of it from Kinsley. But I know they respect Liza’s medical opinion more than any opinions the rest of us have.