4

Kye had been avoiding her for two days, and for the life of her, Grace couldn’t figure out what she had done to upset him. He lifted the barbeque lid and slapped some patties onto the sizzling grill outside the camp kitchen. He only stood about four feet from her, but it might as well have been a mile.

She’d grabbed a bag of hamburger buns and carted it to the buffet table—picnic tables strung together in a line. It didn’t make sense. She’d done nothing but toe the line since moving onto the campgrounds and into the cabin next to his. She had been tempted to voice her opinions when the staff first arrived and began discussing the summer schedule, but she had kept her word to publically support Kye. She wandered back toward the kitchen.

Kye flipped the patties on the grill, and a cloud of smoke drifted into the sky. He talked shop with twin brothers Eric and Kaleb, expert rock climbers.

“The kids will love it,” enthused Eric.

“How long will it take you to set up the ropes and stuff?” Kye flipped another burger.

Grace touched the exterior wall of the kitchen to steady herself. The idea of kids scaling walls of rock left her dizzy.

None of the guys took any notice. “Should I use my power of invisibility to fight crime or for evil?” she mused.

“What was that?” Kaleb glanced her way.

“Oh, nothing,” she mumbled, fighting the urge to laugh.

Eric and Kaleb slipped right back into a story of their latest climb, and Kye focused so intently on the grill that she half expected it to burst into flames or do some other act of marvelous wonder.

This had to be about their dinner date. She placed her hand on her stomach to ease a rush of queasiness that had nothing to do with endangered campers or fighting crime.

Why didn’t she turn him down? She wasn’t interested in dating. She had assumed he’d invited her to a business dinner to hammer out the details of her new role.

She propped open the kitchen door with a thick branch broken off of a nearby tree, slipped inside, and grabbed the potato chips. She tried to catch Kye’s eye as she passed on her return to the picnic tables.

Nothing.

She had stewed the entire ride to the restaurant over ways to gently let him down in case their business dinner turned romantic, while mentally arguing that it wasn’t a date. It couldn’t be a date. Then, he’d introduced her to his mother. His mother!

She dropped the chips onto the picnic table beside the container holding mustard, relish, and ketchup. He was the one that crossed the line from professional to personal, so why was he freezing her out?

He leaned in toward the boys, giving them his full attention. His casual shorts and graphic T-shirt made him look like one of the guys rather than the man in charge. He adapted to his environment like a chameleon. Previously, he pulled off the polished office look perfectly. But this look—casual, confident in his skin, not trying to impress anyone—was the look she liked best. Should she pull him from Eric and Kaleb and just tell him that she wasn’t interested in romance? That she wasn’t the type to date her boss? Or anyone for that matter.

She had spent most of their meal together alternating between making nice with his mom and trying to figure out how in the world she was going to dump her boss.

He laughed at something they said.

She wasn’t interested in dating him. But if that was really the case, why was she obsessing over him?

“You OK?” Kate, her longtime friend, touched her arm. Kate also happened to be in charge of the arts and crafts department. At least someone here was on her team.

She tore her eyes from Kye, horrified to realize how much she had actually enjoyed dinner with him. Ugh! A lot of good that did her. Clearly, he didn’t enjoy dinner with her. Why else would he avoid her like the plague?

“I’m fine, thanks.”

Kate followed her gaze to the director. “He’s pretty cute,” she said in a questioning tone.

“I’m not interested.” She wasn’t sure who she was trying to convince. Kate? Kye? Or herself?

Kye carried a plate of hot patties to the picnic table and set them down. He cupped his mouth and called out to the fifteen or so college-aged kids splashing in the waves. His eyes skipped over hers. “Dinner’s ready!”

Yup, he was avoiding her.

The small group pressed in around her, shuffling her a touch closer to Kye, and he asked the Lord’s blessing over the meal. Kate’s knowing smile rubbed her raw. Newly engaged, Kate saw romance everywhere.

“Enrollment is up,” Kye said. “We have a great summer forecasted, and I can’t wait to get all the equipment unloaded and put together.”

A cheer went up.

“Today is about getting to know one another and having some fun before the work begins.”

“When does the equipment arrive?”

“Sometime this week. I’ll assign you all prep work as the stuff arrives. Until then, grab a burger, and have fun. But be careful to clean up after yourself. We don’t want to attract raccoons.”

Half the crowd hit the table, forcing both Grace and Kye to the outskirts, and the other half started up a game of Ultimate Frisbee. But not even the happy background noise of summer fun could smooth the awkwardness between them.

“Did you need something?” Kye busied himself flicking imaginary sand off his clothing.

“I think we need something.”

He stilled.

“We need to talk. About dinner—”

“No,” he interrupted, “let me go first.”

“You’ve had two days to go first.” She didn’t say it rudely, but she knew she made her point when soft pink flushed his cheeks.

“I wasn’t sure how to tell you. I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“Tell me what?”

“That dinner wasn’t a romantic thing,” he said in a whoosh of breath.

She laughed. She didn’t mean to, but relief hit like a tidal wave and she couldn’t hold it back. His perplexed expression only made her laugh more.

“I know I’m not a super catch or anything, but you don’t need to mock me.” His dry humor just about did her in.

“No,” she put pressure on the sudden cramp in her side caused by her giggle fit. “I’ve been stressing out about how to let you down easy for days. I thought it was a work dinner, and then your mother shows up. I mean, come on. Your mother?”

He cracked a smile. “Yeah, that wasn’t cool. The whole thing sort of got out of hand. What was the deal with you accepting Sunday’s invite?”

She quieted. “Yeah, sorry about that. I—” She hesitated. She couldn’t tell him that she had begun to enjoy the evening so much that she accepted without thinking it through. “Should we cancel?”

He thought for a minute. “Would you mind keeping it? My mom’s pretty intent on seeing me settled into a relationship. If she thinks we’ve got something cooking, it would give me some breathing space.”

If he wasn’t worried about a meddling mother and fending off arranged dates, he’d be more focused on saving the camp. It wasn’t like they had to lie or anything. They just wouldn’t correct her assumption that they were a couple. “Sure. I mean, what harm can it do?”

His cheek dimpled and he leaned in as if he was about to share a secret.

Her new assistant, Debbie, grabbed for a Frisbee but missed it. The disc hit the sand between Grace and Kye, and they jumped apart. The moment was lost.

“Sorry Boss-man,” Debbie called from where she lay prone in the sand, having missed the catch. Kye scooped up the plastic disc and faked a throw toward Grace.

She didn’t even blink. “You think you can take me?” she taunted.

His eyes twinkled. “Any day, any time.” He held it out of her reach with just enough cockiness to send adrenaline surging through her.

She made a sudden grab and snagged the disc. A quick flick of her wrist sent it sailing toward the lake.

“Hey!” He tried to grab her arm but missed.

She shrieked, running toward the water. “Beat you!” She ripped off her bathing suit cover-up as she ran and tossed it on the sand. He took off after her.

When the water hit her waist, she lost her footing and splashed down. Kye caught her arm and pulled her up. She spluttered and coughed. His laugh crinkled the corners of his boyish eyes. He should laugh more. It made the blue flecks in them sparkle.

Water streamed down her cheeks, and she shook her head. An unreadable look crossed Kye’s face, and he dropped her arm. He looked at her with…interest?

She snagged the floating Frisbee and used it to send a surge of water his way, and she let the waves tug them apart. Uncertainty washed over her heart. She couldn’t let a summer attraction affect her plans. She’d worked too hard to lose focus now. “I have to…to…I have to go.”

She trotted out of the surf and shrugged into her cover-up. She needed to get away. Away from Kye. Away from any distraction that might move her focus from her goal.

“Wait!”

She ignored him, grabbed a few bags of chips and snacks as a makeshift dinner, and headed for her cabin.

He caught her arm, swung her around, and the chips went flying. “What happened back there?”

She couldn’t explain it. She needed to focus on her program, not some summer romance with a man who made it abundantly clear he wasn’t available. She owed that to her dad. To Becky.

“I feel like I did something wrong.” His voice softened.

Kate watched them from the kitchen door with an I-knew-it smile on her face.

“Grace?”

She hardened herself against the catch in his voice and stepped back, putting a respectable amount of space between them. “It’s nothing. It’s me. I just remembered something that I needed to do. Don’t worry about it.”

“If you’re certain—”

“I am.”

“OK.” He turned and headed back to the group.

She slumped against a tree, hating how things had unquestionably shifted between them.

~*~

From the perch on his cabin porch Kye had a direct line of sight to Grace sitting on her cabin steps, morning coffee in hand, Bible open, eyes closed. He really should get to work. Get a start on his day. But something drew him to her. Something undeniable. Against his better judgment, he headed her way.

He hit the bottom step and saw the note. He ripped it down as exasperation shot through his veins. This is your last chance to leave.

A twig snapped in the woods. He spun around and peered into the trees. Nothing. He stilled and listened.

Quiet. Unnaturally quiet.

These notes were probably harmless. He’d received threats of various kinds at other jobs. But for some reason, this time they had him all worked up. His gaze dropped to the ground as he focused his hearing and noticed some markings. A closer look and his chest seized like a vise grip. Bear tracks leading toward Grace’s cabin.

The note slipped from his fingers. He whipped around at a new rustling. Nothing. He twisted back to Grace, still meditating on God’s Word, completely unaware and exposed.

He jogged over to her. “Good morning.”

“Morning, Mr. Fix-it.” She didn’t add the good. Was that on purpose? Despite yesterday’s obvious, almost insulting relief that she wasn’t interested in him romantically, something had definitely shifted between them. Whether that shift was good or bad remained to be seen.

“We have a potential problem.”

She arched a brow but said nothing.

“There are some bear tracks leading up to your place…” He wasn’t ready to share details of the threatening notes.

“What?” She leapt to her feet and scanned the trees behind him.

“I’m fairly certain he’s gone, but I’ll walk you to camp.”

She hesitated long enough that he stumbled to add, “It’s on my way to the office.”

She nodded. “Let me grab my things.”

They walked in silence, both listening carefully for any sounds out of the ordinary. She stood in her flip-flops and beach attire and he in his leather oxfords and business clothes. It was hard to believe they worked at the same place.

Her rigid gait lacked her usual poise, and a tiny vein pulsed in a rhythmic beat in her neck. She jacked her shoulders up to her earlobes. To say she was frightened was an understatement. He almost reached out and placed a comforting hand at the small of her back but caught himself in time. He stuffed his hand into his pocket. “So, ah, what were you studying back there?”

“I’m working through Proverbs.” Her voice wobbled a bit.

Her refreshing faith was beautiful—probably the most beautiful thing about her—and that said a lot because she was a striking woman. Her genuine love for the Lord shone through during their staff prayer times. Grace had proven to be very different from Annette. “Any special reason you chose Proverbs?”

She searched the trees, still on high alert. “Just looking for wisdom.”

He got it. She didn’t want to talk about it. Why should she? She hardly knew him. “Then Proverbs is a good place to start.”

Silence descended again, only broken by a rustling in the leaves behind them. “Did you hear that?”

She froze. “What?”

“That!” He pointed to a black bear crouching in the bushes and staring at them. He shoved Grace behind him and racked his brain. Should he look him in the eye? Should he shout? He looked over the bear’s shoulder and roared, “Get out of here. Go!” He slowly backed up, nudging Grace toward the camp.

He could hear her fervent prayers pressed into his back.

The bear stood to its full height, and for a terrifying moment Kye was sure the bear sized him up. But for whatever reason, the bear dropped back down and lumbered away into the thicker woods. Kye didn’t even know he’d been holding his breath until it rocketed out of his body.

Grace pressed deeper against him and released her grip on the waist of his shirt. “Thank you, God,” she whispered.

“Amen,” he echoed.

He spun and gave Grace a not-so-gentle shove. “Let’s get out of here!”

They took off as though the woods were on fire, and he steered her toward the safety of the dining hall. The cook always arrived early so the doors were bound to be open. Panting, he flung open the door so hard it bounced on its hinges. He held it as Grace slipped inside. His heart lurched at her trembling. He shut the door and scanned the wooded area surrounding the dining hall.

“Oh!” Her quiet gasp ripped his gaze from the trees.

The dining hall was trashed.

“Bobby? Bobby?” He strode through the mess toward the swinging doors leading into the prep area while calling out for their cook. This was Bobby’s first year with Camp Moshe, and this was hardly the best way to start.

Bobby came through the doors shaking his head. “Mr. Campton, I was just about to call you.”

“What happened?” He couldn’t believe his eyes. Two broken windows left shattered glass all over the floor, and there were clear claw marks on the window frames. A few overturned tables were rammed against each other, and there were long scuff marks on the floor.

“Best I can tell is that a bear got into the kitchen.”

“How?”

“The back door didn’t click shut. There was a wedge of a branch stuck inside. Just enough for the bear to push it open.”

“But the glass?”

Bobby shrugged.

Kye turned toward Grace. “Have there ever been bears here before?”

She shrugged.

“I heard from some of the returning staff that black bears have been spotted, but not too often. I have a shotgun locked in the back cabinet in the kitchen,” Bobby said.

“A shotgun?” Grace’s voice squeaked.

Man, this was getting worse by the second.

Bobby flicked a glance her way. “The cabinet’s locked. Besides, it’s a special one. Designed to shoot blanks. It’s called a bear banger. The noise scares them away.”

“That can’t be safe,” Grace challenged.

“Safer than this.”

Grace huffed.

Point taken.

“We had them at a camp out west. My experience is that once a bear hits the mother lode like this,” Bobby continued, “they can be pretty aggressive. He’s likely coming back.”

“Coming back?” Grace’s shrill voice cut through him. “We have campers arriving in a few weeks. Coming back is not an option.”

Kye moved in front of Grace and stooped down so they were eye-to-eye. He placed both hands on her upper arms and gave her a gentle squeeze. “It’ll be OK. I’ll fix this.” He turned back to Bobby. “Any idea of what drew him here?”

“Hasn’t been a good spring for berries and such. When the pickings get slim, they tend to wander in looking for food. There were some chips and snack items strewn around the woods back there.” He pointed towards Grace’s cabin. “That’s likely what first caught his attention.”

“I’m so sorry,” Grace cut in. “This is all my fault. You warned us about not leaving food around, and then when my chips...” Her voice trailed off, and his heart ached for her torment.

“What happened here?” As the staff wandered in for breakfast, their jaws hit the floor. Bobby filled them in.

“Dude, how are we going to fix that before the campers arrive?” Eric stared at the ceiling.

Kye looked up. How on earth did the bear pull down ceiling tiles?

He dropped his eyes back to Grace, who stood hunched over like the weight on her shoulders was too heavy to carry.

“Grace?” He spoke soft enough that the noise from the staff covered his words. “I spun you around. I was the one who dropped the snacks. This is not your fault.” He could tell by the look in her eyes that she wasn’t buying it.

“So what do we do?” Grace asked.

I don’t know about you,” Bobby interrupted, “but I’ll take inventory and head into town for more supplies. I got a boatload of hungry kids descending soon and this animal emptied my cupboards. You,” he directed his gaze at Kye. “You gotta find a way to stop that thing from coming back or consider postponing the start of camp.”

Kye nodded, suddenly grateful that he took a chance and hired Bobby. He’d been leery about hiring someone from across the country after a phone interview, but despite Bobby’s young age of twenty-two, he came with great references, previous experience as a camp cook, and a surprising knowledge of bears.

Kye snagged a notepad and pencil from the counter and walked out of the dining hall and felt Grace hot on his heels. “What are you going to do?” she asked.

“I’m going to see what kind of damage he caused and pray he doesn’t come back.”

He rounded the back to where the door had been propped open for yesterday’s barbeque. He jotted down details as he spoke. “Looks like our friend pulled away a few boards here.” He pointed to the exterior by the door jamb. “Ripped it right to the plywood here.” He pointed again and made some more notes.

“And it looks like some of the plywood has been chipped off too.” Grace leaned in for a closer look.

Her light vanilla scent caught him off-guard.

“Are these teeth marks?”

He held his breath unwilling to taste her again. Talk about needing the wisdom of Proverbs. “Looks like it.” He clenched his teeth until his jaw ached.

“Maybe you should call someone?” she suggested, oblivious to his discomfort.

“Good idea.” He pulled out his phone and searched up the number for the Ministry of Natural Resources. After a short wait, he was connected to the proper people. She folded her arms across her middle and rocked on her heels, listening to his side of the conversation as he filled them in. She tapped her foot.

“What do you mean by aggressive?” Kye said.

Grace stepped closer. “Aggressive?” she echoed.

“Do you really think that’s necessary?”

“What’s necessary?” she whispered. She clearly wanted him to pull the phone back so she could hear.

He turned away from her. “I will. Thank you.” He disconnected.

“What did they say?”

“It’s not sounding too good. He said bears are pretty smart and curious, and that if he finds food, he’ll keep coming back. He might become aggressive.”

“Aggressive? How long will he keep coming back?”

“Sometimes weeks, months, or even years.”

“We don’t have that long!”

“Because of the nature of this problem, and the fact we saw the bear this morning, they are going to look into removing him.”

“Kill him?” Her eyes widened.

“No, relocate him.” He smiled at her obvious relief. “I’ll call them back in a bit, and they’ll tell me the game plan.”

“This is not what Camp Moshe needs right now.”

“Yeah, you can say that again.” It wasn’t what he needed either.