Thrill Me (Fool's Gold #18)(41)

“Filters are a great way to manipulate a picture,” she said. “There are lots of free apps for your smartphones that can change a regular picture into something more fun.” She paused. “Be sure to check with your parents before downloading any apps, okay?”

One of the Saplings raised her hand. “Not all apps are kid appropriate,” the girl said firmly.

“That’s right. Now with your digital camera, you do the editing on your computer. With a couple of good programs and your mouse, you can work magic.”

She’d hooked up her laptop to the screen provided. The meeting room where the Saplings met was surprisingly nice. There were desks and chairs, an area where the girls could sit on cushy carpeting and a craft station.

Maya clicked with her mouse and rotated the picture on the screen. It was a group shot of all eight girls. She’d taken it when she first arrived and now used it to demonstrate different ways to make an image more interesting.

She changed the picture to black-and-white, brightened the lighting, added a few special effects, then turned the girls loose on the computer.

She and Del had their smartphones with them. Each took a couple of girls and used pictures already on the phone to demonstrate different apps.

“This is fun,” one of the girls said. “We were worried because Taryn’s away for a while.”

Maya knew that Taryn was one of the Grove Leaders. Her husband, Angel, was the other.

“Taryn had a baby, didn’t she?” Maya asked.

“Uh-huh. A boy. Bryce. He’s really cute. She’ll be back soon. It’s nice that they have a baby.” The girl, Chloe, glanced pointedly at the man next to Angel.

Kenny, Maya thought, remembering him introducing himself when she and Del had arrived. Chloe’s stepfather.

The eight-year-old narrowed her gaze. “I’d like a little brother or sister,” she said loudly.

Kenny groaned. “I’m working on it. I’m working on it.”

“Work faster.”

Angel snickered.

Maya quickly pointed at Del’s phone. “Oh, look. He has pictures from his travels. Del, show us the pictures.”

Del hadn’t heard the baby conversation so looked a little confused, but he nodded, anyway.

“Sure. Let me hook my phone up to the computer.”

He pulled a cord from her tote and plugged in his phone. Seconds later, a slide show started on the big screen. The girls all stared at photos of mountains, capped in snow. They laughed when they saw a big yak.

“Where is that?” one of the girls asked.

“Tibet. Who knows where that is?”

Del went through about a hundred pictures. He explained about life in the village and talked about the different kids he’d met. The girls were enthralled—their photograph-editing session forgotten.

Maya watched and listened. She knew that a video would be even more compelling than still pictures. Del was on the right track with his idea to create videos for schoolkids.

She found herself wondering what it would be like to be a part of that. Not that he was asking. Or she was offering. Fool’s Gold was her home now, but it would sure be nice...

* * *

DEL TYPED ON his laptop on the porch of his cabin. Call him crazy, but he couldn’t get China off the brain. The country was geographically massive and diverse, and they were changing economically. Rural villages were giving way to factory jobs. Was it like postwar America in the 1950s or completely different? How did the rapid changes affect the children of the country?

China, he thought again, typing in the document. That was where he wanted to start with his video series.

Travel could be a challenge. Many areas were completely open for travel by westerners, but there would be parts that wouldn’t be. He made a list of people he knew in the State Department. Maya might have some contacts. Celebrities often traveled to unexpected places.

He would need her help with equipment. How little could he get by with? Probably some kind of satellite uplink would be best, so he could send footage back to a safe location, in case some local official took issue with what he was doing and confiscated their cameras.

The team would have to be small. In a perfect world, it would be him and Maya and—

He stopped typing and stared at the lake. Him and Maya? No. That wasn’t happening. They weren’t together, or even business partners. He was helping her with the town videos because the mayor had asked him. The fact that he’d gotten sucked in deeper than he’d planned was just one of those things. Working with Maya was fun. They got along. But he wasn’t taking her to China with him.

Still, they’d been good with those kids the other day, he thought. And on the tour. They worked well together. They understood and respected each other. Because of their past, he thought.

Once again he wondered how things would have been different if he’d realized she’d broken up with him out of fear and not because she didn’t care. If he’d been able to see that, to reach out to her. Would they have stayed together? He could have transferred to her college. And then what? He wouldn’t have enjoyed settling in LA any more than he would have been able to stay here. So eventually he would have had to leave.

Would she have gone with him? A question with no answer, he thought. Because the past was done and there was no changing it.

He looked up at the sound of an SUV driving toward his cabin. He recognized the battered vehicle and saved his work before closing his laptop. What he wanted to do was slip out the back door and not be seen. Only the cabin didn’t have a back door and he was too old to be hiding from his father.