Page 14 of Let's Go To Camp!

“Nope. But farm adjacent. My dad is a heavy machinery mechanic. We lived in a neighborhood—or what passes as a neighborhood in Ellsworth—and people either brought their tractors to his shop that was just down the street or he would travel to all the local farms.”

“I can see why you moved to Denver,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure Ellsworth is nice. But, like you said, not exactly needing a lot of cyber security experts.”

“Exactly,” she said. “My folks still live there. My sister and her family do, too. So, I go back a few times a year. It’s not too far from Denver.” She finally took another bite of ice cream, but took it slow, not wanting her throat to freeze up again. Or worse, her brain! “What do you do in California?”

“Coast Guard,” he said.

“Seriously?”

She watched as he nodded.

“Do you bust bad guys and stuff? Like board their boats and search for drugs?”

He laughed. “Nah. Some guys do that. But I’m on the rescue team. I’m helping stranded surfers, mostly. Sometimes an overturned boat or something like that.”

“That sounds exciting!” she said. “I bet it’s…” Her eyes fell to the door and she gasped, looking around frantically for an exit strategy.

Derek had arrived.

Declan cast a casual glance over his shoulder and then looked back at Maisie, not seeming to be very bothered. “You can’t hide from him all week.”

“The hell I can’t!” she said loudly. She then winced and said, much quieter, “Sorry. I shouldn’t curse. And I’m not trying to be rude. But…well,I have tohidefrom him all week!”

“Why?”

“Because he’s…a jerk! And he’s…coming right over here.” She groaned. Her mind raced, looking for any way out of this, but it was too late.

Derek had noticed her and was wearing an expression of utter shock as he strode straight toward her.

“Maisie?” he asked, nearly yelling her name.

“Hey, Derek,” she said weakly, raising her hand in an unenthusiastic wave.

“What are you doing here?” His mouth hung low once he’d finished voicing the question, his eyes bugging from his head. It was clear his brain was struggling to make sense of this new development.

Maisie couldn’t blame him there.

“Just…uh…attending camp. The same as you, it seems,” she offered.

There was no sense in lying about it. It was probably evident that she was a Little, just as it was obvious he was, too. Why try and hide it? It wasn’t like there was another reason the pair would be at Camp Mountainville.

“So…you’re…like me?” he asked.

Maybe this is a good thing, Maisie thought. Perhaps they could bury the hatchet, set their differences aside, and come together over their common bond.

But the look on Derek’s face told her that might not be an option. The man appeared truly disappointed to be seeing her.

“Hi. I’m Declan.”

Maisie watched as the handsome man thrust out his hand to greet Derek. It seemed like he was trying to cut the tension and awkwardness, and she appreciated that.

She appreciated everything about Declan.

It took her co-worker a moment, but finally, he shook Declan’s hand. “I’m Derek.”

The handshake was brief and seemed somewhat tense.

Derek returned his attention immediately to Maisie, as if the interruption by Declan was less than a blip on his radar. “You’re seriously here?”

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