When We Met (Fool's Gold #13)(76)

Chloe started to giggle but straightened her part of the line. The other girls did the same and all of them grinned at him.

“Better,” he told them. “We’re going to pitch tents. We’ll all work on every tent so you have a clear understanding of how they’re the same and how they’re different.”

Chloe’s eyes brightened. “For our camping bead.”

“That’s right, Acorn.”

Chloe giggled. “You sound like you’re in the army.”

“I used to be. Now, which tent is first?”

They picked a tent and went to work. Ten people working on a tent that slept two was problematic, but they got through it. They rotated through jobs on the tents. Each of the girls got to practice sliding together poles and hammering in stakes. By the end of the exercise, they’d put up his tent without any help, then the eight of them crowded inside and collapsed in mock exhaustion.

By six they were all lined up for dinner. Taryn stood next to him.

“Our group is serving breakfast, right?” she asked.

“Sunday morning. I brought eggs and sausage. They’re in the refrigerator.” Each grove was responsible for a meal. The Acorns had the second breakfast. It was going to be easy work, he thought. The girls could cook the scrambled eggs and sausages while he and Taryn supervised.

“Good. I’m having Danish delivered,” Taryn said.

Angel raised his eyebrows. “Isn’t that cheating?”

“It’s Danish. I don’t think anyone is going to complain. To make sure, the delivery includes lattes for all the adults.”

“Sneaky,” he murmured in her ear.

“I try.”

They waited while their girls served themselves from the buffet of burgers and salad, then joined the others in the communal dining area. After dinner, there was a quick cleanup, then Denise Hendrix started with announcements that included the schedule for tomorrow.

There would be a nature hike followed by the knot proficiency tests. After lunch there was an hour of free time before the group listened to a lecture by an ecologist from UC Fool’s Gold. One of the fathers would then be demonstrating martial arts.

Chloe turned to Angel. “They should have asked you to do that.”

Layla nodded. “You could so kick his butt.”

Angel appreciated the support but knew it was important to have unit solidarity. “You haven’t seen the other guy,” he said.

“We don’t have to,” Chloe told him.

The other girls nodded.

“You’re our hero,” Taryn said, her voice teasing.

Angel cleared his throat and motioned for them to pay attention to the rest of the announcements. While he wouldn’t admit it to anyone, he appreciated their faith in him. He was proud of his girls and pleased they were proud of him.

After the announcements, they went to sit by the big fire pit. Large logs surrounded the stone-ringed pit. Denise pulled a name from a box. The FWM girl called got to light the bonfire.

It didn’t take long for the kindling to catch. The sun was setting as the flames reached up toward the sky. One of the Grove Keepers brought out her guitar and began to play. Taryn nudged Angel.

“Turn,” she said, pointing to Regan, who sat next to him.

“What?”

“You and I are going to sit back-to-back.”

He didn’t know what she was talking about, but he did as she requested. Regan shifted so her back was to him, as did the girl in front of her and so on until four of the Acorns sat with their backs to him and four sat with their back to Taryn.

Taryn handed him four small rubber bands. “You’re going to French-braid Regan’s hair while she does Allison’s and so on.”

“Seriously?”

“It’s our thing,” she told him. “Go with it.”

He dutifully finger-combed Regan’s hair, then separated the strands on her crown into three sections. He worked easily now, not having to think about what he was doing.

Back when he’d first agreed to be a Grove Keeper, he’d been disconcerted to discover he would be working with girls. Now that he’d been with them nearly two months, he was pleased with the assignment. They brought something special to his life, and he hoped he did the same for them.

His initial plan had been to resign as their Grove Keeper at the end of the first year, but he was rethinking that. He wanted to see what would happen when they were Sprouts. It seemed that Mayor Marsha had known what she was doing.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

TARYN WAS ENJOYING the storytelling part of the evening right up until it started to rain. At first there was just a light mist, but that quickly turned into something steadier.

“Tell me again why we love camping?” she asked Angel as they led the girls back to their tents.

“This’ll pass. Even if it doesn’t, you’ll be dry in your tent.”

“Famous last words,” she murmured before turning her attention to the girls. “Okay, let’s get our toothbrushes and toothpaste and head to the bathroom. We’ll get ready for bed, then all pile into Angel’s tent until we’re sleepy.”

He looked at her. “Why my tent?”

“Because you’re our Grove Keeper. Where else would we go?”

One corner of his mouth twitched. “You’re paying me back because your hair is going to frizz, aren’t you?”