Page 25 of His Curvy Distraction

“What do you mean?”

“Well, winter break, spring break, any of the conference days and stuff like that, parents are scrambling to find a place for their kids. Half days, early dismissal, everything adds up. What if we had a way to take all the kids for all the days?”

“All the days?” I asked.

Amelia grinned like it was the best idea ever. “Yes! I mean, we had to limit the number of kids we had in here because of space, but you and I both know more needed a place to go. The stay at home parents were taking in kids of working parents and some parents were just off. They can’t do that all year. It’s unreasonable. But we have the space now.”

“But it’s not indoor. The campground is… There’s no way we can make that happen with the budget we have.”

Amelia nodded. “I know. And I’m not trying to say we should change what you have planned, but I think there’s a huge opportunity for us. A chance to make life better for so many parents.”

“How? How in the world can we do any of this?”

“We do it in phases, like you told Omar. Phase One is all the requirements that will make it safe plus the structure to keep the kids out of the weather. But I think we make the structure something that can be used year-round. Something that can have all the windows open in the summer but closed up and heated in the winter.”

My mind raced to catch up to what was clearly not a new idea for Amelia. When she first approached me about the summer camp, I was excited, but this… This was ten times what I imagined.

“I don’t know if it’s going to be possible.”

“I know you need time to think about things, so I’m talking to you about it now. I really think this could be amazing for the community. And if we start having fundraisers now, it’ll be easier to make this happen for the spring.”

Fundraisers. I hated that word. Not just because I hated asking people for things, but because it usually meant talking to people. Sharing my vision and thoughts with dozens and dozens of strangers.

“It’s an essential part of running a place like this, Natalie. I know you don’t like fundraisers, but you have to get used to the idea if you’re going to be in charge of this whole place one day.”

“I still don’t understand why in the world you would ever leave me in charge.”

“Because you have a passion for this. You love what we do here. You love these kids, and you love this community. You’re the only one I have ever considered leaving this place to. Not that I get to decide, but no one else has ever loved it here the way you and I do.”

My throat got tight. I swallowed around the lump. I did love it, but I couldn’t imagine walking into the mayor’s office and speaking to him the way she did, or speaking to anyone the way Amelia did. She was smart and strong. She could gather her words and make sense of her thoughts.

I was none of those things.

But I was passionate about the kids. And about the community center. Maybe that could be enough.

“Get out of here and think,” Amelia said. “I see those wheels turning.”

“I just got here.”

“Yeah, and I know you have things running through your head. You’ll figure them out faster if you can go where you need to go. Think about what I said, though. About not just having summer camp there but all the camps.”

I nodded. “I will. And thank you, Amelia.”

She winked. “We’ll figure it all out.”

She was right. I hoped. But she was definitely right about me getting out of there.

I grabbed my coat and knew the only place I wanted to be was at the campground.

The road was soft on my drive in, which gave me a little hope for the ground. I parked next to the camper and got out of my car, inhaling the fresh air and letting it clear my mind.

The area was more than big enough for a few buildings. We could do so many things at the site. Big things. A craft cabin. A sports arena. A tumbling gym. A games space.

With the idea of indoor camps in my head, I wanted all of it. Like everything else, we needed to figure out what the actual need was, but Amelia made it seem as though there were a lot more kids in need than we took. I had heard from a few that they were looking at other towns for camps. Some for the options, and some for the space.

The big ideas would have to wait, but what couldn’t wait was cleaning up the campground.

I grabbed a shovel from the trunk of my car. I’d asked for the utility companies to mark where underground wiring was, and I was ready to start digging up the first of the wires.

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