She's Got a Way (34 page)

“What can that possibly mean? Of course it happened because she's here.”

“Why did she take off?”

“Because she hates Briarwood so much that she was willing to risk life, limb, and bears to get expelled, that's why.”

“So why would you bring her back there?”

“Because I need to figure out what to do—with her, with Eve, with … me. And I can't do that here.”

“Why not?”

She sighed.
Because, idiot. You're the reason I wasn't there for her when she got desperate enough to take off. You're the reason I feel like complete shit about my own skills after watching you make such huge strides with my girls in such a short time. You're the reason I can't walk in a straight line, because all I do is look for you.

“We just … can't be here.”

He nodded slowly. “So let me see if I understand. For the past, what—three years?—you worked your ass off to get a scholarship program approved, despite every board member but one being against it. And although you'd rather have fifty—a hundred—girls there with help, you know you can at least do well by these two.” He paused. “How'm I doing?”

She rolled her eyes.

“So then they come, and you firmly believe they'll embrace the opportunity, realize what they've missed, realize what you've given them, and be happy. Grateful, even.”

“I'm not looking for gratitude, Luke.”

He put up a hand. “Not what I meant. You envisioned pulling these two girls out of their hellish situations, setting them up for a better life, and having it work out, right?”

“Well, yes. That was the whole point of the program. Why wouldn't I?”

“You would. And that's why, when it doesn't seem to
be
working out, you're sitting here, blaming yourself, wondering what the hell you could have done differently to
make
it work out.”

“Yes.”

“I hate to tell you, but you can't.”

“Can't what?”

“Make it work out. You're not that good.”

She swallowed. “Thanks. Really.”

“Nobody's that good, Gabi.” He shook his head. “I'm not that good, Oliver's not that good. Nobody. This isn't something you can engineer with a handpicked roommate list, or three weeks at a summer camp.”

“Clearly.”

“But
four
weeks could make all the difference.”

Gabi sighed, shaking her head. “Because that extra week has some sort of special power?”

“Maybe.” He shrugged. “You never know when the magic will happen, and here's the thing. We tapped that magic yesterday.”

“We were on a search-and-rescue mission yesterday.” She ground the words out.

“Exactly. And those three girls doing the searching? They weren't doing it because we assigned them to it. They were doing it because they gave a shit about Sam. They carried her out of the woods on a litter they made themselves because they gave a shit about her. They maneuvered her up the hill to the garden an hour ago because they gave a shit. And they will bring her back down. Because they give. A. Shit.”

Gabi felt her eyebrows furrow as she heard the invisible periods punctuating his sentence. “It was an emergency. They didn't have a choice. It doesn't mean any of that will translate once we leave Echo Lake.”

“Wrong.” He shook his head firmly. “It's
exactly
the kind of thing that will translate. These four have survived a really unique experience here. It will bond them, whether they like it or not. This summer will be etched into their memory banks forever, and the fact that some really shitty stuff happened isn't necessarily a bad thing. Trauma bonding is some of the strongest stuff out there.”

“Great.” She laughed bitterly. “I've trauma-bonded my crew. The board will be thrilled.”

“They were scared out of their minds, Gabi. But they weren't scared of you. They weren't scared of me. They weren't scared of the elements. They were scared
for
someone, and I have a feeling that's not something that happens lightly. Not for any of them.”

“I … I don't know.” Her voice was almost a whisper, and her head was swirling.

“I
do
know.” He stepped toward her, putting a gentle finger under her chin. “Gabriela, don't make a decision today. Don't leave.”

His touch on her skin, the intensity of his eyes on hers, the heat of his body so close to hers made Gabi want to melt into him, feel his arms close around her, lay her cheek against his soft T-shirt. And that scared her just as much as anything else right now, because she could easily lose herself in this. In him. And whether it happened today, or it happened one week from now, she
would
leave, and the shattered little pieces of her heart would leave a trail behind her as she fled.

It would be easier to do it before she had a chance to fall for him any harder than she already had.

He pulled away as if he could read her thoughts clearly, and she shivered as a tiny chill crept up her spine.

“You're going, aren't you?”

She took a deep, shaky breath, knowing she hated the answer more than he could possibly believe.

“It's the only choice, Luke.”

“What about us, Gabriela? Are you leaving
us,
too? Before we even have a chance to figure out what—us—even could be?”

She closed her eyes, searching for the words that would hurt the least to hear … and deliver.

“I'm not making this decision lightly, Luke.”

“If you say ‘it's not you, it's me' right now, I'm throwing you in the lake. Fair warning.” She could feel the effort he was exerting, trying to keep his voice light, but tension crept into his jaw, his shoulders … the hands tightening on his own arms as he kept them crossed.

“But it
is
me. Luke, be serious. I'm Briarwood born and bred, and I don't know
how
to do anything different. Pretty sure the last twenty-four hours makes that really, really clear.”

He shrugged. “So learn. You've been doing that all summer.”

“I just—I don't know if I
want
to do anything different.” Her voice faded. “I'm sorry.”

“Well.” He nodded slowly, stepping backward. “I guess that's a different problem, then.”

 

Chapter 33

That afternoon, Gabi tossed the last sleeping bag into the back of the van, then closed the door firmly. The girls were milling around, strangely silent, as Gabi traced her finger down her checklist one last time.

“Okay, looks like that's it.” She slid the clipboard into the driver's seat and turned toward Piper, who was standing quietly next to the van.

Piper raised her eyebrows. “You sure about this?”

“Not at all.” Gabi tried to smile. “But I need to get everyone back on our own soil and try to figure out what to do next.”

Piper glanced toward Luke's cabin, her eyes concerned. “You sure you don't want to talk to him before you go?”

Gabi sighed, trying not to let her eyes travel to the cabin porch, where she and Luke had shared their first kiss. She tried not to look at the windows, tried not to wonder whether he was watching her leave.

“We … said our good-byes earlier,” she finally said.

Just then, Oliver came barreling out of the admin cottage, his eyes wide. “Don't get in the van just yet, Gabi.”

“Why?”

He pointed down the long driveway. “Because there's a car headed our way. Looks like we're about to get a surprise visit from the Briarwood Express.”

Alarms buzzed in Gabi's stomach. “What does
that
mean?”

“I don't know. Ike just called from the garage. Said a lady in city duds just filled up. Said she was heading this way.”

“That could be anyone … couldn't it?” Even as she asked, the alarms picked up speed.

Oliver nodded. “Could be, except that this particular
anyone
is driving a Briarwood town car.”

Gabi's stomach sank. It had to be Priscilla. And Priscilla had to have heard about Sam. But already? How?

Just then, they all turned as they heard wheels on gravel, and as she looked down the long driveway, a black town car inched its way toward them. Its windshield caught the morning sunlight, so she couldn't see who was driving until the car pulled to a stop beside the Briarwood van.

“That old codger at the gas station warned you I was coming, didn't he?” A cackly voice emerged from the open window, and Gabi felt her face break into a huge smile as she moved to open the car door.

“Laura?”

“One and the same. Help me out of here, would you? It's been a long drive. Not sure all my bones are still in the right place.”

Gabi laughed as the Briarwood board chair hauled herself out of the car, leaning heavily on both Gabi and Oliver, who'd stepped closer to help.

Laura finally stood up straight, shaking them both off as she grabbed a cane from the passenger seat. It was encrusted with pink crystals that matched the band on her hat.

“There. Guess I'm in working order after all. That's a relief.”

“What are you doing all the way up here?” Gabi asked. Despite her multiple attempts to sit down and write Laura, like she'd promised Luke she'd do, she'd yet to put the right words together, so the visit was completely out of the blue.

“I'm on a mission. Official inspection.”

“Oh.” Gabi's stomach dropped as she glanced over Laura's head at Oliver. Given the expression on Oliver's face, this inspection was definitely a surprise. She couldn't imagine what Luke's would look like when he found out. “What kind of inspection?”

“Well, I'm given to understand that there's a list of projects under way in order to shipshape this little camp, so I'm here to check on progress.”

“Oh.”

Gabi felt her shoulders sink at Laura's words. All this time, she'd been hoping there'd been some sort of misunderstanding—that the list was a fabrication of some sort, even though she'd seen it with her own eyes. All this time, she'd been hoping her school wasn't, in fact, going to be responsible for the demise of a program that had made a difference in the lives of so many deserving kids.

But no.

Apparently the list was real, her school
was
responsible, and now its longest-serving board member was here to verify that the t's were getting crossed and the i's were getting dotted.

Laura smiled, patting Gabi's arm. “Don't look so scared.” She turned to the girls. “Have we had a good summer, ladies?”

The girls mumbled and nodded politely, but didn't offer up any stories, thank God.

Laura pretended to do a head count. “Looks like you're all still in one piece.” She leaned around Madison in order to see Sam better. “Well, most of you, anyway. What happened? Camp director teaching you MMA fighting or something?”

The girls giggled nervously, and Sam shook her head. “Nah. Got in a fight with a bear. But he looks much worse than I do right now.”

Laura laughed, full-bodied and stronger than Gabi would have predicted for a woman her age. “Well, any Briarwood girl who's up for taking on a bear after just three weeks at camp is a girl I want on my team.” She winked at Gabi. “And any housemother who helps to get her there? I'll take her, too.”

Gabi smiled tightly. “Only the best for Briarwood.” She said the phrase automatically—an oft-repeated mantra she'd internalized throughout her childhood.

Laura waved her off. “All right, who's going to give me a tour? And where is Luke? I've got some questions.”

*   *   *

An hour later, Laura had oohed and aahed her way through a tour of the camp, even insisting on trying out one of the cots in the tent. She'd marveled at the bathroom, tested the hot water spray in the shower, and despite Gabi's arguments, had hiked all the way up to the garden to see the girls' seedlings. The farther they'd walked, the bigger her smile had grown, and Gabi had found herself viewing the camp through new eyes.

They really
had
done a lot of work over the past few weeks, despite the rocky start. Fresh paint covered the sheds and admin cottage, fresh gravel was spread in the parking lot, and the girls had repaired and painted the dock all by themselves over the weekend.

They'd even used power tools, and Gabi hadn't freaked out about it, thank you very much.

But through it all, Gabi had felt like she was handing Laura the nails to Camp Echo's coffin. Every time Laura gushed over the new showers or exclaimed about how much better the buildings looked, Gabi winced. Because each of those repairs brought this camp closer to being operational under the Briarwood umbrella, and that meant that Oliver and Luke would be out of jobs … and robbed of a mission both of them had dedicated their lives to.

Throughout the tour, Luke had stayed away, and Gabi didn't blame him. Gabi had tried to defend Briarwood all summer, not believing the board would really do what Luke firmly believed they would, and now they'd sent a board member up to inspect the place. Sure, she was friendly, and sure, she seemed really focused on making sure the girls knew how grateful she was for their hard work, but the undercurrent of Briarwood's real plan ran strong in Gabi's head.… and in Laura's questions.

But now the tour was done, and Gabi knew it was her last chance to plead Luke and Oliver's case. If she didn't act now, then it was practically guaranteed that this idyllic shoreline would be home to a bunch of twittering teenaged girls next year—ones who could easily afford to be a hundred other places.

“Laura? Could I please talk with you before you meet with the guys?”

“Absolutely, my dear.” Laura put a hand on her arm. “Girls, how about you take a break for the rest of the afternoon? Get your suits on and go swimming.”