Page 78 of A Soldier's Return

Eben Spencer just looked slightly rumpled in an entirely too-sexy way.

Heedless of the other children in the class, Chloe rushed to her and threw her arms around Sage’s waist.

“It’s not my fault this time, I promise.”

Under other circumstances, she might have been annoyed at the interruption to her class but she couldn’t ignore Chloe’s distress—or the frustration stamped on Eben’s features.

“Lindsey, can you take over for a minute?” she asked her assistant camp director.

“Of course.” The college student who had worked for the nature center every summer since high school stepped forward and Sage led Eben and Chloe away from the interested campers.

“What’s not your fault? What’s going on?”

“I didn’t doanything, I swear. It’s not my fault atallthat she was so mean.”

Sage looked to Eben for elucidation.

“The caregiver the agency in Portland sent over was...unacceptable.” Eben raked a hand through his wavy hair, messing it even more.

“She was mean to me,” Chloe said. “She wouldn’t let me walk out to the beach, even when I told her my dad said it was okay. She didn’t believe me so I called my dad and she got mad at me and pulled my hair and said I was a bad word.”

From that explanation, she gathered the caregiver hadn’t appreciated an eight-year-old going over her head.

“Oh, dear. A bad word, huh?”

Chloe nodded. “She called me a spoiled little poop, only she didn’t say poop.”

“I’m sorry,” Sage said, trying to figure out exactly what part she played in this unfolding drama.

“I didn’t care about the name but I didn’t like that she pulled my hair. She didn’t have to be so mean. I think she was abigpoop.”

“Chloe,” her father said sternly.

“Well, I do. So I called my dad again and told him what she did and he came right over from The Sea Urchin and told her to leave right now. He said a bad word, too, but I think she deserved it.”

She gave a quick glance at her father, then mouthed H-E-L-L.

Sage had to fight a smile. “I see,” she said. She found it admirably unexpected that Eben would rush to his daughter’s defense.

“And now the place that sent her doesn’t have anybody else to take care of me.”

Sage raised her eyebrows and glanced at Eben. “I suppose the temp pool is probably pretty shallow right now since the tourist season is heading into full gear.”

“I’m figuring that out,” he answered. “The agency says it will be at least tomorrow or the next day before they can find someone else. In the meantime, I’ve got conference calls scheduled all day.”

Sage waited to hear what all of this had to do with her, though she was beginning to guess. Her speculation was confirmed by his next words.

“I can’t expect Chloe to entertain herself in a strange place while I’m occupied. I remembered you mentioning a summer camp and hoped that you might have room for one more.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. We’re completely full.”

The center had always maintained a strict limit of twelve campers per session to ensure an adequate adult-to-student ratio. Beyond that, she had her hands full this year. Three of the children had learning disabilities and she had already figured out after the first few hours that two more might be on their way to becoming behavior problems if she couldn’t figure out how to channel their energy.

Even as she thought of the trouble to her staff if she added another camper, her mind raced trying to figure out how to accommodate Eben and his daughter.

“I was afraid you would say that.” He smiled stiffly. “Thank you for your time anyway. We’ll try to figure something else out.”

He looked resigned but accepting. His daughter, on the other hand, appeared close to tears. Her shoulders slumped and her chin quivered.

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