Time to go. “Thanks. I better go check on the girls.” Max was probably being paranoid, considering how long girls took prepping in the bathroom and knowing how they did anything possible to legitimately stall their chores, but at least this way she wouldn’t have to make awkward small talk with Caley. If Brady knew about her, then it went without saying Caley did, too.
Max’s voice followed her down the barn aisle. “Caley’s here to meet the girls, so why doesn’t she go with you?”
She paused and turned slowly. “Sure.” Talk about awkward. Hopefully Caley wouldn’t want to talk about her and Max. Or anything to do with Max, for that matter. Not while her heart still tottered on her sleeve, her secret one breath away from being revealed.
Caley fell into step beside Emma as they made their way to the dorm. “Max wanted me to come speak to the girls at some point before camp was over, sort of show them what it looked like to follow a career dream.” She lifted one slim shoulder in a shrug. “I’m a firefighter, and he thinks they could use encouragement, since most of his campers don’t have good home lives. Sort of like I’m proof they can succeed even when they feel the odds are stacked against them.”
Her defense against Caley dissolved slightly. “That’s not a bad idea.” Wow, Max thought of everything. He seemed truly invested in each of his campers lives, especially to go to such effort to cover every element of their future.
Caley’s eyes shone. “I’m happy to help. I’ve been through some stuff in the past, and while it’s probably nothing like these girls, we’re all in need of grace.”
Wasn’t that the truth. Her steps faltered. She knew God gave grace to sinners...but what about when those sinners knew better, like she did when she messed up by getting involved emotionally and then physically with Max? Did that cancel it out? Or did she just have to pay more consequences, like now, with Cody’s rebellion and her own struggle regarding her feelings for his dad?
Thankfully they reached the dorms before she could determine an answer—if there even was one.
Emma stepped inside the temporary building. “Girls? There’s someone here to meet you. And by the way, you’re late for chores.”
Katie and Stacy looked up with guilt-ridden expressions as they hunched on the side of Tonya’s bed, whispering furtively. Tonya was nowhere to be seen.
Emma stopped and crossed her arms. “Okay, that’s it. What do you know?”
Katie looked away, and Stacy smirked as if confident she knew Emma couldn’t force her to tell. “Well, let’s see. Two plus two equals four, and the capital of Louisiana is—”
Caley snorted beside her, and covered it with a cough.
It would have been funny to Emma, too, though still disrespectful—but Caley didn’t know the whole story about Tonya, and there was nothing funny right now about the fact the girl wasn’t in her room, and her roommates were sharing secrets. Secrets Emma needed to know.
“To the barn. Now. Caley will walk you.” Let the firefighter introduce herself on the way. She caught the blonde’s eye, and Caley immediately nodded and ushered the girls out the door. “Max has told me a lot about you” were her trailing words as the door closed behind them.
Well at least she got to say it to someone.
Emma paced the small walkway between the beds, wishing the quilts could talk. She needed to alert Max in case Tonya had run away, but first, she wanted to figure out what was going on. Why had the other girls landed on Tonya’s bed to share secrets if she wasn’t here? Probably implied Tonya had been there recently. Maybe she and Caley had missed her on their way from the barn. Maybe Tonya hadn’t run away, just gotten upset and walked out first instead of coming over for chores together. Had the girls upset her?