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Hilly snapped herself out of her X rated fantasies with reluctance, and dragged in a deep breath. It was time to go over all the fucked-up things that had happened so far this summer.
She gave a sigh, and began enumerating.
First, there’d been the offers to purchase the camp, followed by veiled threats from Langford Cottins. When she’d turned him down, flat, he’d somehow managed to bring in her bastard of a sperm donor to make her feel she didn’t deserve the camp her grandmother had bequeathed to her. Her father’s involvement with Cottins, thank God, had so far been an epic failure, and would continue to be so, if by some slim chance he managed to take her to court.
Hilly was fully aware why Gran had left her the property, as were her attorneys. The woman had stated—numerous times before her death—that she didn’t like or trust her son; that if Hilly didn’t want the camp, she’d leave it to a nature conservancy before letting Marty possess even a single tree.
Another horror—one that had taken place off site—had been Cisco getting shot. Not that it had kept the intrepid man down for more than a couple days. But Hilly hadn’t bounced back as quickly. Watching footage of the event on YouTube which one of the bank hostages had recorded, she’d seen Cisco rushing the man, and the gun discharging. It had made for some rough nights’ sleep. She couldn’t get the thief’s spewed words out of her head. Not that Cisco had mentioned them, and the networks hadn’t quoted them, either. But social media sometimes revealed more than was reported. The thief had made explicit threats toward Cisco, saying he’d come after him and ruin his life.
Hilly needed to decide whether to air her concerns to Cisco, or not, determining eventually whether they had merit.
Back to camp drama, Hilly sighed, thinking of the shit that had unfolded here. Things could be worse she supposed, but not by much. Not only did she now have to keep an eye out for additional conflicts between an uncowed Bailey and some of her other counselors, she also had to worry that the nastiness Nurse Gorner had spewed before she had been escorted off the premises, would come back to haunt her.
Debbie didn’t seem like the type to let bygones by bygones, so Hilly had no doubt the lush would try to make good on her parting threats; attempting to stir up trouble from afar at some point during the summer.
Was it any wonder Hilly was having trouble sleeping?
Nel must have sensed her unease, because she belly-walked her way up from the bottom of the bed to rest her head on the pillow next to Hilly, nudging her with her sweet, wet nose.
Hilly’s hand went automatically to Nel’s head, where she stroked the soft fur until sleep finally overtook her.
The blast of her alarm was a shock, waking Hilly far earlier than her body wanted. She groaned and hit the snooze, hoping for a few more minutes, but Nel, used to their routine, was already up and bouncing around, asking to be let out.
No doubt her dog was probably not only anxious to pee, but to see if her new bestie, Coco was out and about.
“Okay, okay,” Hilly grumbled, throwing back the covers. “I’m coming.”
The only good thing about waking today? It was Cisco’s day to teach his self-defense courses, and Crash had agreed to put on a demonstration with the man, since they’d determined they had just about the same amount of expertise. The kids, and Hilly, would get quite the spectacle, seeing the two titans go at it.
Hilly suddenly felt energized. Being around Cisco was tops on her list these days for happiness quotients. And maybe, just maybe, the string of bad things occurring was at an end.
The police had made it pretty clear to Cottins and Marty that they weren’t allowed on premise.
Bailey—Hilly hoped—was sorted.
And the existential threats? Words were cheap, and there was really little reason to believe that either the bank robber—if he were somehow out on bail—or Nurse Gorner would follow through on their nasty remarks.
Hilly did a few, quick stretching exercises before leaving her bedroom with Nel on her heels. She quickly opened the door for the dog, who took off like a shot, then she went to the old-fashioned coffee-maker her grandmother had owned, filling it up with grounds and water before turning it on. Hilly mused. It might be time to buy one of those pod things. It would certainly cut down on how much she poured down the sink at the end of each day.
Hilly headed to the single bathroom, and showered quickly before Buffy got up. She knew the noise she made wouldn’t disturb her roommate. Buffy was a champion sleeper, and could snooze through a marching band.
Once she was finished, she donned her unofficial uniform of cut-offs and a t-shirt before she keyed up her mic and made the 7:30 announcements.
“Good morning, all! Another gorgeous day out there. The breakfast menu from Mrs. S today includes corned beef hash, and scrambled eggs. Make sure you fill those bellies, because instead of our regular morning routine, we’re all headed out on buses for a morning hike. Our target is a short, two-mile loop, but the hill I have in mind gives us a great view of our lake when you’re at the top.”
It was a hike Hilly had included in her agenda for the past two seasons. The campers grumbled a bit, but ended up feeling pretty good about themselves after making the small climb. Which was the point. Hilly tried to cheer her kids on at every opportunity, showing, rather than telling them they could accomplish whatever they set out to do.
And the jaunt would also keep Hilly busy during the morning hours, hopefully stopping her brain from perseverating on Cisco’s pending appearance after lunch.
Hilly gave the campers a few more tantalizing disclosures, including info about the match between Cisco and Crash that all the kids would attend later. She finished by telling them to get a move on. The buses she’d leased for the morning from the Orono School District would leave camp at nine o’clock, sharp.
The door to Buffy’s room swung open, and the yawning woman emerged. “Does it have to be morning?” she groused, then stumbled over to the coffee machine, next to which Hilly had poured her a big mugful. Black.
“You’re a life-saver, Hilly,” she groaned, cradling the cup in both hands, breathing in the life-giving dark liquid. She took a huge gulp. “So good.”
Hilly hadn’t yet asked Buffy about her plans for the day. “Are you hanging out here, or would you like to go hiking with us?” she asked.
“It depends. What grown-ups are staying behind? You’ll need some, you know, to sit out just in case a few kids opt not to participate.”