Since I have nowhere else to go, I continue on to the dock. “Morning, Ed,” I say with a sigh, staring at my feet as I drag myself along the boards.
He looks up from the rope he’s coiling. “Aren’t you a ray of sunshine,” he says sarcastically. “Somebody pee in your cornflakes?”
I make a face. “No.”
“Then why so glum?”
I sigh again. “I need to talk to Gabe, but he’s always busy.”
Ed goes back to coiling the rope. “That’s camp life for you. Anything I can do?”
I think about that. Ed is Gabe’s right-hand man, and no matter how busy Gabe is, he always has time for Ed. Maybe Ed could speak to Gabe for me.
“It’s about a guest who just left—Dennis Savoy.”
Ed chuckles. “The fisherman with no fishing gear.”
“Right,” I say. “The thing is, I accidentally overheard him on the phone in Gabe’s office.”
“Accidentally?”
“I was standing in the hall, waiting to go in and dust.”
When Ed raises an eyebrow, I wince.
“I know. I should have left and come back, but I wasn’t eavesdropping. Honest. I just have really good hearing.”
“And?”
“Well, it sounded like he was talking to his boss. He said he’d gotten everything they needed to proceed. What do you think he meant? He’s an investigator, you know.”
“And you know this how?”
I lower my eyes. “I saw his business card. It was in the wastebasket in his cabin.”
“You went through his trash?”
“Not on purpose,” I say in my defense. “I knocked over his wastebasket, and I saw the card when I was cleaning up the mess.”
“I see. So you think Dennis Savoy is investigating the lodge?”
“Yeah. Why else would he say those things on the phone? I mean, we know he isn’t a fisherman, right? He admitted it. And he was always taking pictures and asking questions about the lodge and the staff and the work we do. Why would he do that if he wasn’t investigating the lodge?” I pause. “Is the camp in some kind of trouble?”
Ed looks surprised. “Not to my knowledge. But if you like, I’ll tell Gabe what you’ve told me.”
Relief washes over me. “Thank you.” Then I frown. “Do you think he’ll be mad about me listening in on Dennis Savoy’s phone call?”
Ed smiles. “I wouldn’t worry about it.” Then he changes the subject. “So where’s your sidekick this morning?”
I tilt my head curiously. “Sidekick?”
“You know. April. I thought you two were inseparable.”
I shrug. “Not really.”
“Oh?”
“We kinda had an argument.”
“Ah. Well, I wouldn’t worry too much about that either.”
“Why?”
He lays the coiled rope on the dock. “Things have a way of working out. Not always how you think they will or even how you want them to—but they work out.”
The planes start arriving at ten sharp, and the camp goes from lazy to crazy. Because Drake and his trailer are needed to move supplies, the guides deliver the luggage. Gabe usually takes guests to the lodge to get their fishing licenses, but today he’s needed on the dock, so April and I escort the new arrivals to their cabins. I’m coming as April’s going, so we manage to avoid each other all morning.
It’s a relief, but it can’t last. Even if we could stay out of each other’s way during the day, how are we supposed to manage at night? We share a cabin. We’re going to have to talk sooner or later.
I think about the different ways it could go. We could freeze each other out. We could have yelling matches. We could continue to play dirty tricks on one another. We could have a knockdown, drag-’em-out fight. We could have a guarded truce. Or we could talk out our differences and start over.
I’d bet my entire summer wages that that last one’s not going to happen—April isn’t the forgive-and-forget type, and she was only pretending to like me in the first place.
The last guests arrive around eleven, and after showing them to their cabins, April and I head for the lodge to get ready for lunch service.
We’re barely in the door when Cook says, “Gabe called from the dock. He wants you both back down there.”
“What for?” April grouses. “Whatever he wants, the guides can handle it. We have to serve lunch.”
Cook raises an eyebrow. “Since when do you call the shots around here? If Gabe wants you at the dock, I suggest you get your butts down there.”
Sending Cook a snotty look and grumbling under her breath, April stomps back outside. I follow a good ten steps behind.
I shade my eyes and look toward the water. Another plane is taxiing in. I’m surprised. I didn’t hear it coming. April’s step quickens. She sees the plane too.
“More guests?” I hear her mutter.
Though I don’t say anything, I don’t see how that’s possible. The camp is full. The plane must be carrying supplies. So why would Gabe want April and me to meet it? Drake’s the delivery guy. All I can think is that maybe there’s a cake or something else fragile that needs extracareful handling.
“You wanted us, Gabe?” April says. She sounds totally pleasant. I’m amazed.
But Gabe and Ed are securing the plane, and he doesn’t answer.
I try to see inside. It’s a little four-seat Cessna. With the sun behind it, the interior is dark. I can’t tell if there are passengers or not.
“This is ridiculous,” April says quietly in my direction. They’re the first words she’s said to me since I woke her up. “We don’t have time to be standing around here.” She glances impatiently at her watch. “Guests are going to be coming in for lunch soon.”
“Chill out, April,” I say. “So lunch is five minutes late. It’s not a big deal.”
If looks could kill, I’d drop dead on the spot. “You’ve been doing this job a big three days. What do you know?” she snarls.
“What I know is that you don’t handle a hangover well.”
April takes a step toward me. “You little…” she growls through gritted teeth.
For a second, it’s all I can do to stand my ground. April may be small, but she’s tough. And then it all seems so stupid. “Oh, April, get over yourself,” I say. “You’re acting like a two-year-old. So you don’t like me. Will beating me up change that? I thought you were mature and independent, but clearly I was wrong. I also thought you were my friend. Obviously, I was wrong about that too. But there’s a lot of summer left, and we still have to work and bunk together, so suck it up.”
To my surprise, April just stares at me.
I nod toward the plane. “Passengers are getting off.”
Of course, the pilot is first. And right after him is—
“Meira!” April and I shout in unison, rushing forward to welcome her back.